What Makes College Students the Best Residents

By Elana Goodwin on May 7, 2017

As a property manager, the goal is to fill the apartments or houses you’re managing with responsible, paying tenants. And if you’ve got property in a college town for rent, then you’ve got a hot commodity you should be able to fill with college students.

While there may be some risks to renting to college students, such as increased wear and tear on a rental, college parties, and a lack of credit history, there are actually many benefits to having college students as renters. Here are some reasons why college students are actually the best tenants to have in your rentals.

Photo Credit: Pexels.com

Higher Rent, Less Vacancy. Since there is such a need for off-campus housing close to universities since so many students head to or return to college each fall, you can charge higher rent in a college town for your rentals. Further, much of the time there is actually a shortage of off-campus student-friendly housing, which means your rental will be sought after and students will not falter at paying a higher rent rate, especially if they are still saving money or the price is similar compared to the price of room and board through the school.

Additionally, the rent being paid on time is consistent as well, since some students have their student loans, parents, or financial aid cover their living expenses.

With college student tenants and a high demand for off-campus student housing options, you will have less vacancy in your rentals, especially if you start the leasing process early in the year. By already beginning leasing season in the winter, you will fill up your rental properties in no time and motivate students to explore their housing choices and lock in their leases and pay a deposit promptly.

Plus, since college students usually need off-campus housing for anywhere between 2-4 years or more, and moving is a pain, college student tenants are more likely to renew their lease. Sending out info about lease renewals to current tenants early in the year will enable you to ascertain how many vacancies you will have once current leases are up and allow those renting to renew their lease before you secure new tenants.

Reliability & Security. Depending on the size of the university nearby, students can make up a huge chunk of the town’s overall population, which again, adds up to there being a high demand for off-campus rentals. The benefit of having college students as tenants is the reliability — each fall you will see an influx of new students to the college and each winter/spring, a fresh crop of freshmen ready to move out of the dorms and live off-campus the next year will be scouting places to live close to campus.

Because of the reliability of having student tenants, you will also see steady rental income coming in. Your leases probably vary from nine months to a year, which means you are guaranteed occupancy for that amount of time, giving you some security. And since some students have their rent paid by their parents, you really do not have to worry about the rent being paid late, if that’s the case, especially since some parents may prefer to pay months at a time in advance.

Low-ish Renter Expectations. For the most part, student tenants are not very fussy and do not have high expectations. This means that they may be more willing to consider rentals that do not have the most modern and updated appliances or features, as long as it is in an area close to campus and the rental rate is fair for the property. Of course, having more updated apartments and houses available for lease will enable you to drive up the price of rent, but it’s not a necessity when it comes to student tenants eager to find affordable and decent off-campus housing.

Easy Publicity. When your tenants are college students, marketing your property becomes convenient and easy. Firstly, you may be able to advertise on the university’s website or their off-campus housing page. You’ll also have a specific target audience who are basically in a small area, making it easy to focus your publicity efforts online and in buildings around campus.

You will also be able to be a part of the college’s off-campus housing fair, which usually happens at least once a year, and allows students who are looking for housing options other than the dorms to get information about what’s available to them.

Co-Signer Required. When you have college students as tenants, you can require a co-signer or guarantor, which will usually be the student’s parent. This gives you added security since many students haven’t established a qualifying credit score or history. In this way, college students are actually great people to have as tenants since you get that extra level of protection.

For these reasons and more, college students are actually the best tenants to have in your rentals.

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