First academic year done near a big state school. The summer surprised me.
I bought one house, half a mile from campus at a large public university that's been growing, and I've now finished a full lease year, so here's what happened.
Paid $372k, put 25% down, and spent $11,400 furnishing it because every comp in that market rented furnished and the ones that didn't sat. Four bedrooms, two baths, leased by the bed at $685, so $2,740 a month. Leases ran 12 months, August 1 to July 31, each resident with a parent signing a guaranty.
Collections were 100%. Two late payments, both fixed within a week after I emailed the guarantor. That part went better than I expected and I think the guaranty is why.
What surprised me is that even on a 12 month lease, the house is mostly empty from mid-May to mid-August. They pay, they just go home. That means no wear for three months, which is nice, and it also means anything that breaks in June breaks in an empty house and I find out late. My water bill in July was double June because a toilet ran for who knows how long.
Turn cost me $2,900 in August. Paint in three of four bedrooms, one carpet, a lot of cleaning, one interior door. I recovered $1,150 of it from deposits.
Year one, rent collected $32,880. Taxes, insurance, water and sewer, lawn, turn, and a $1,100 repair for a garbage disposal and a bathroom fan came to about $9,800, before debt service. That's roughly what I'd penciled, and the furniture spend is the thing I underestimated by about $3k.
The reason I'm posting this as a win rather than a shrug is that I preleased all four beds for the second year by March 20 at $710, without listing publicly. Two returning residents brought two friends.