<p>Dorms are the best part of college - to remove a child from that experience is a disservice to their college experience IMO.</p>
<p>Interesting article though.</p>
<p>This has been happening for some time and I personally think if you buy near campus the atmosphere is very much akin to dorm living.</p>
<p>My roommates did that in the 70's and they were not the first.</p>
<p>So to answer markudel2003 did they feel they "missed" out on the highly touted dorm experience?? I know that my friends who live off campus aren't missing anything.....including the shared bathrooms!!</p>
<p>I agree with markudel2003 - living in a dorm is part of the college experience - shared bathrooms and all. I'm only talking about first and second year. After that, a social circle is well-established and moving off-campus is ok.</p>
<p>I myself - would consider buying in a college town near campus - especially considering the costs of housing at most schools and that there is limited dorm space at many schools - and know quite a few kids whose parents have done that - good investment for them and yes - they do collect the rent - and pay the mortgage - but at least can be turned over when the student moves on in life. Not such a bad idea - at least something to think about - tho depends on the area I would think also.</p>
<p>I guess I just don't see why some folks see the dorm experience as being superior to the offcampus.......perhaps it depends on the school, I don't know. I mean most off campus housing is full of students and has everything except the Resident Assistant....that is all that I don't see as common. Meals can still be eaten in the dining hall if desired, sometimes the dorms and off campus housing are on the same street so what is the deal?</p>
<p>There is a difference between living in dorms and living in residential colleges (or houses). I lived off-campus during my senior year in college and frankly did not miss dorm life. There was not much social life that was based in the dorm. However, in residential colleges, quite a bit happen there. Some of it is academic (eg. study groups) but a lot of it is social.</p>
<p>Why oh why would parents want to suddenly become absentee landlords? What a pain! We have enough trouble keeping up with stuff around our own house.</p>
<p>At our State U there is minimal housing for upperclassmen. So parents buy 2-bedroom condos for their kids. With a room-mate the mortgage payment is halved. Sort of makes the student the landlord.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
"The parents are always looking on the low end, from about $300,000 to $500,000," she says.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Low end??!! :eek: Is that truly considered low end in California, or is Ms. Slotton's definition of low end the jaded opinion of someone who sells multimillion dollar houses every week?</p>
<p>Also, 4 years worth of housing at $14,000/year is a lot less than $300,000. There must be easier ways to make money- how much of their desire to do this is for their kids, and how much is a financial desire to make money by being a landlord?</p>
<p>You get nothing for under $200,000 in LA or SF. $300 is the low end for something safe and decent.</p>
<p>Two of the areas mentioned in the article and I would say the quote is realistic. I will also say that parents who do this then have housing for 12 mos. and the kids don't come home for the summers.......that can be a money saver also.</p>
<p>willow, $300k is definitely lowend in Calif....but, don't forget that the appreciation on the house/condo could easily equal dorm payments</p>
<p>and perhaps eventual gifting to kids. Many parents give a hand with a downpayment toward first home and in this case one can expense it, get ROI, and gift it down the road to kids.</p>
<p>A friend of mine bought a four-plex apartment house near the university her D was attending. She rented 3 of the 4 units and her D got a roommate and lived in the 4th unit. The mortgage payment was about equal to the rents generated. Unfortunately, her D never felt connected socially to the university and quit after her freshman year. Although the apartment was close to the university, once her D got home from class she didnt feel like going back to campus for other activities. She developed friendships with 2 graduate students who rented apartments neither was interested in becoming involved socially in campus activities.
This is just one childs experience - but enough to make me reluctant about off-campus housing especially freshman year.</p>
<p>Comment to markudel2003: I went to college a pretty long time ago. At that point, the only guaranteed dorms were for freshman year, after which probably 2/3 of the class moved off-campus into apartments in rowhouses in the "student ghetto" (the other third lived in frats or in University-owned housing which was in an apartment building).</p>
<p>Moving into my own apartment off-campus was one of the best parts of my college years. I absolutely <em>loved</em> the opportunity... the requirement to become self-sufficient and learn what it was like to manage myself in all ways. It truly helped me grow up. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't change my experience for anything.</p>
<p>I also went to college & grad school ages ago 75-82. Both times, I lived in the dorm my 1st two years at school & off campus in a nearby apartment after that. I was glad I lived on campus the 1st 2 years--I really wasn't ready for the hassles of choosing a roommate & finding a place to live & the responsibilities that go with living off campus. When I did move off campus, I really enjoyed that as well, but know of many freshmen (or in my case transfer student sophomores) who are not ready for apartment living.</p>
<p>In any case, it may well be moot for us, since I doubt I can afford to buy an apartment for $300,000-500,000 or anywhere in that ballpark, especially when I'm paying college tuition for son private school tuition for daughter in HS. Son will have more flexibility to transfer if needed if we don't have real estate further complicating the picture anyway.</p>
<p>HImom</p>
<p>Housing purchase might be a good idea considering the high cost of dorms for what you get, and the currently good real estate market. Maybe dorms are good for freshmen, but all the students that move to an apartment the first chance they get can't be wrong. Now if we could only afford to buy that 4-plex!</p>