<p>Has anyone dealt with scarce on-campus housing by purchasing a house or condo for their student(s) to use during their tenure at college? Did it work out to your expectations, or do you regret doing it? Did your student bring in other paying roommates, etc? </p>
<p>My son will be at a large state college this fall and there are no guaranties of housing post-freshman year. I'm thinking that buying a place that he could use for at least 3 years might be a benefit. Aside from housing, he could keep his stuff there over the summer, have paying roommates, keep a car, etc.</p>
<p>No, but I know somebody who did. They are thinking of it as an investment, which they will probably rent out or sell after their daughter graduates.</p>
<p>Yep, I know somebody who is doing it right now. Their D has one roommate who pays rent. The D is a Jr. and may stay there for grad. school plus a high sch. jr. sister is applying to same school. So the Mom told me she thinks it's a great investment. It's in a great college town and there will always be kids there looking to rent or buy whenever my friend's D's are done with it.</p>
<p>I know 2 people who have or are doing it. Both were very pleased. One sold the house after their child graduated. The other couple will be moving into the home for their retirement when their youngest graduates.</p>
<p>My friend did it at a large State School. Her son and his friend created a partnership and bought the house as co-owners. Then they brought in 2 more boys who paid them rent (and basically covered the mortgage) for 3 years. Now both boys have taken jobs in the area and continue to live in it.</p>
<p>I would be cautious and investigate thoroughly. Is the quality of life there good, would the house be able to at least hold its value if not appreciate? How hard would it be to sell in 4 years? Who would maintain it in the event that you chose to keep renting it after son graduates? Or in the event that it was not selling?</p>
<p>My parents were college professors in a small rural town in New Hampshire. For years they rented out their two upstairs rooms to students and this always paid their heating bill (no small matter there!). There were tax benefits because they could pro-rate any housewide improvements, for example a new roof, to the part of the house that they had rented.
THere was no kitchen upstairs; just a shower. My Mom says for many years the students rented as if it were a dorm room and ate on campus. Then with microwaves and mini-fridges, and a generation of students raised on same, the students didn't even ask about the kitchen; instead were quite happy just to have the microwave/fridge upstairs. There was a separate entrance.
My Mom preferred renting to boys, not girls, b/c when she rented to boys they always went to stay at the girls' rooms. When she rented to girls, she got their boyfriends too and doubled the wear on the house with no extra rent.
She reports that they left thousands of dollars in possessions behind them. There's a barn behind the house full of abandoned bikes, fridges, etc. She was
SHOCKED at how they walked away from their belongings.
So you might consider giving your own child some kind of priority quarters with the kitchen and downstairs, and make a separate arrangement for upstairs rooms minus the kitchen priveleges.
My folks were listed with college housing as approved off=campus rooms, so they never had to advertise. The housing dept. cleared all the applicants.
If it were me, I'd get a local realtor and pay him a contract to serve as "manager" to handle all the ins and outs, rather than stress out your own kid, but that's up to you. It's a lot to deal with.
Check for ZONING and parking rules in the neighborhood!! How will 3 or 4 cars work in the driveway there?</p>
<p>Just really know the market. Folks used to do this at UCs but the market in CA isn't so good now. 10 years ago it would have been hard to lose money in CA real estate, we all know it's quite possible now. Unless it's something you would want or the college town is somewhere your kid is likely to work, it wouldn't do it. I believe you almost never buy real estate yo wouldn't want to live in unless you are wealthy with a diversified portfolio.</p>
<p>Depends on the local market. There are things to think about if you're planning on becoming a landlord down the road -- college students can be pretty rough on a property and don't always understand what they're signing when they take on a lease.</p>
<ol>
<li>Liability</li>
<li>your student wants to transfer next year</li>
<li>too much responsibility for your freshman/sophomore "landlord"</li>
</ol>
<p>Sax has it right with the drawback. Though I only know very pleased parents who have taken this route, I can see what can happen if things go bad. All parents who did this knew the college and area, and were regular visitors, had responsible kids, and had multiple kids all going to the college. A good friend of mine has actually bought several houses in the area where her kids all went to college and is doing well with the enterprise. </p>
<p>I wish we had bought in the neighborhood of our alma mater, as the prices have sky rocketed. A fairly nice highrsise apartment building there is now a luxerious condo and those whose parents bought over 35 years ago really made out.</p>
<p>If you are talking about truly hot markets like Manhattan or San Fran,it is hard to lose investment wise. I truly wish we had bought a less expensive house here and bought a two bedroom apartment in NYC. Just in the several years we have been here, the prices have gone up, up, up.</p>
<p>If you are out of state, buying a condo in the child's name is the quickest path for the child to establish residency in many states. If done if the sophomore year or if the child is going to grad school in the same state, this could save a bundle in tuition, in addition to cost sharing if other students are living there and paying the equivalent of on campus housing. Generally, the property should be relatively new or newly renovated and very close to campus. Buying the nicest place you can afford will yield the greatest return.</p>
<p>My uncle did that for all his kids. The one attending was manager and was able to earn some of the equity. The other students paid for the place. Selling them help fund his retirement. Other friends have just done that with their first and are very pleased. Look at a growing college program and housing will always be an issue. </p>
<p>However, there are so many articles now on retiring to college towns that many are bidding up the prices, too.</p>
<p>I surely haven't bought housing near my kids' colleges. As it is I have to borrow loans to pay their housing rental fees for college. I could never dream of buying housing, as I don't even have the cash up front to pay the rent for them during college. However, one of my daughters is going to live in a condo in Manhattan next year which her apartment roomie's parents BOUGHT for her after her freshman year. I looked up what a similar unit in her building costs and it is about a million bucks. My child knew that if she lives off campus, i will only pay what campus housing costs (albeit at HER university, that is already a LOT). Obviously, what we will pay for my D's share in the expense of this condo is nowhere near half their monthly expenses to maintain this condo, she has an agreement with the other girl and her parents to pay the amount we paid for housing at school. My D is getting her own bedroom, own full bathroom, completely nicely furnished Manhattan condo, 24 hour doorman, landscaped rooftop garden/sundeck, laundry in building, AC, views, and so on. Obviously, this is an investment for the other family. My kid has a good deal. I don't think this is too typical, however. I kidded to her that she can be like "Annie," a role she once played on stage, LOL.</p>