There has been an age-long debate whether it is a good idea for landlords and property managers to rent to college students. The University of California, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Pierce College, American Career College, Loyola Marymount College, and more all have students in Los Angeles looking for a place to live.
When you have a rental property in Los Angeles, you will need to decide if you should rent to college students. Most students that don’t want to live in accommodations provided by the school will probably come to you because they need their privacy. Of course, these people are not actively working, so you may have some reservations about renting to them.
Students bring extra complexities to the tenant-landlord relationship. We will like to help you make up your mind. In this article; you will learn the pros and cons of having students as tenants. This will help you make up your mind whether you should rent to college students or not.
Pros of Renting to College Students
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Low Vacancy
When you decide to rent to college students, you will have low vacancy rates. Students are always available for short-term rent, you won’t have to worry too much about marketing, you just need to list your website on the school website and you will get students contacting you for their accommodation needs.
- Low Cost of Marketing
Like we stated above, renting to students means you don’t have to spend a lot of money in marketing or hunting for tenants. You will always have student tenants available to take up any space you have.
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Lower Expectations
Unlike people with family and those with high-paying jobs, students don’t really have a lot of expectations when they are searching for an apartment. Most of them aren’t looking for luxury, instead, they need a cheap accommodation. If you have a property that doesn’t have high-end amenities, you should consider renting to students.
- Co-Signers
Since most students aren’t working or don’t have jobs that pay them enough, their rents are usually paid by their parents. You don’t have to worry about rent payment; you just need to come up with a system that ensures you get your rent from their sponsors before they arrive at your property. There are even parents that are willing to pay an entire semester up-front.
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Empowering a Younger Generation
When you are renting to students, you will take satisfaction from empowering a younger generation. Giving your rental property out to students means you are helping them to get the college life they envisioned.
Cons of Renting To College Students
- Too Many Parties
College students are prone to hosting too many parties. Other tenants may find the noise very disturbing. If you must rent to college students, have a policy about parties and noise.
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No Rental History
Renting to college students may be difficult because of lack of rental history. Most of them might not even have a job to show they can meet up with rents in the future. You should come up with other ways to ensure they meet up with their rent responsibilities.
- High Risk of Damaging Property
Most students don’t care about how they use the property since they are only renting for a short-term. When you start accepting students, the rate of wear-and-tear on your property can go up. If you must rent to students, have a policy that guards against damages.
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Immaturity
Since some of these students are on their own for the first time, they will like to experiment and experience life on the high side. This may be a problem for most landlords and property managers.
How To Minimize the Risk of Renting to College Students
Like we mentioned above, renting to students come with some serious risk. A good way to minimize these risks is to get an attorney to create a special lease. You should ensure that the student’s parents or their sponsors sign this lease. This means you will have to hold them responsible if anything happens.
If you want to screen them to ensure they can pay your bill, you can screen their parents to know if they are responsible people that will meet up with their rent. Again, you can allow the students pay the utility bills, this way, they will control the way they use the air conditioning and the heat.
Conclusion
As a landlord, the best way you can work with students is to give your property to a top Los Angeles Property Management Company. Experienced managers know how to work with students. This way, you can rent to college students with peace of mind.
