The Wealth Building Guy

A probable client just emailed me.  She is from Calgary, Alberta, and she’s looking to invest in the Kitchener-Waterloo Cambridge, Ontario area.   She asks:

"Would you recommend us to purchase properties for student housing?"

Most investors I meet with have a curious interest in student property - although not all purchase student rental houses, lodging houses or multiplexes.

The biggest reason people like student houses, is that student properties tend to have higher revenue per unit, or more cash flow.

Student tend to pay ‘by-the room’ - $400 a room for a 3br unit would bring in $1200, whereas a family renting a 3br apartment would likely not pay more than 900 or 1000 for the unit. 

Students tend to ‘turnover’ much more regularly than other tenants, often staying in a unit for only a year (as I did when I was in university).  This means that every year you are looking for a new tenants, and often 5 or 10, depending on how many student rooms you own. 

Student also tend to require more ‘hands-on’ management - they may call you when the lights need fixing or the toilet is plugged.  This is likely the first time these students are living away from home, so they don’t all know how to do stuff like that They way to solve this issue is to have a great network in place, including a property manager to look after your tenants.

If you are looking at a student property, location and condition are key.  Properties in rough shape, and further from campus get harder and harder to rent every year.  My clients who are buying student properties are looking at properties built within the last 5 years, within 1-2 blocks of campus and near major amenities.  Student love properties like this, and they can be great investments.

A student property can add a healthy amount of positive cash flow to your real estate portfolio.  With a great management team in place (ask me about mine!) it can be a great, hard working asset.

If you’re interested in seeing if a student property in Kitchener Waterloo would be a great investment for you, call or email me and we will set up a free, no obligation Wealth Building consultation.

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Kitchener Waterloo’s Favourite Real Estate Agent (Gold Award, Kitchener Waterloo Record Readers Select Awards 2007 - 2008) wants to show you how Real Estate Investing can make you wealthy. Benjamin works with people from across Ontario, Canada, and North America helping them build wealth through smart real estate investments.

Benjamin is hosting a FREE Millionaire Real Estate Investor workshop January 10th, 2007 from 7-8:30PM. Registration is free in advance. $5 at the door. Call or email Benjamin Bach today to register, and learn how you can start your Real Estate Investment portfolio.

Benjamin is a Sales Representative with Keller Williams Golden Triangle Realty in Kitchener Waterloo and would love to answer any questions about buying or selling a rental, income or investment property.

You can reach Benjamin at Benjamin(AT)BenjaminBach.com or call him at 519 570 4447