Four years ago, when our son Mason got accepted to the University of Florida, we started researching dorms and apartments. We looked at the costs in almost disbelief. That was a lot of money we were about to send out every single year, on top of moving him in and out annually, which comes with its own cost.
I'm no stranger to buying homes to flip, holding rentals, and everything in between, so I started a different kind of search. In a short time, we found the perfect place. Literally on the edge of campus, three private bedrooms and baths, safe, with included parking. We jumped in and bought it, then immediately started looking to fill the roommate spots.
The place needed some updating, so we did a small refresh, just enough to make it nice and see how it would work out. It worked out beautifully. One roommate's rent covered the bills. The second helped pay for insurance, taxes, and repairs.
Mason had a home. A place that was his, somewhere to cook, study, hang out, and sleep, and he was all set. It has paid us back over and over at the end of each school year, when we simply lock the door and leave it until fall. No moving, no searching, no couch surfing between summer and fall like so many of his friends dealt with.
In those four years, the condo has appreciated in value by 25%, which is remarkable in this market. It comes down to limited housing options near campus and a well-maintained complex, and together those two things have driven real returns.
This summer, we took everything we learned and decided it was time for an upgrade, with Molly entering the picture. Mason has two semesters left to finish his master's, so the two of them will be roommates for the year. That gave Molly a place to call her home for the next four years, and it gave Mason a chance to enjoy the upgrades for a year before heading out into the real world.
We're aware this condo is nicer than some people's homes, and it's nothing like the college places I lived in back in my own school days. But we also know those updates were needed, and they'll pay us back again in four years when Molly graduates.
Investing in real estate doesn't have to mean a flip or a traditional rental. Sometimes it's a college apartment. Sometimes it's a vacation home. Sometimes it's using your own personal home to hopscotch your way up into the house of your dreams, through carefully chosen updates that genuinely add value and return on your investment.
If you're a parent looking at the numbers on dorms and off campus housing and wondering if there's a smarter way, there usually is. I can help you figure out whether a purchase like this makes sense for your family, walk through the numbers, and find the right property near campus. It's a conversation worth having before the next tuition bill arrives.
Joy Hicks, MBA, Realtor®
SRES® – Seniors Real Estate Specialist
MRP® – Military Relocation Professional
RE/MAX Specialists
904.318.8619
hicks.joy@icloud.com
www.JoyHicksRealtor.com
Add comment
Comments