hints for earning by renting a big house to students.

[Francine]

have people rented out houses to students to get each room paying rent which gives back a higher rent than renting the whole house to a families

someoen i know does this and also on the way it gets him free accomodation as he usually takes a grannyflat out the back or something.

anyone know more about making money by doing this or getting paid for accomodation by doing this.

thanks francine.

 

[Propertunity]

Paula this topic has been done to death.

Do a search on "student" and you'll get hepas of threads & posts

Here's one to start you off:
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50227

 

[RumpledElf]

There's nothing to it, you buy a big house near a uni and you rent it out by the room to students. The only thing that matters is the number of bedrooms and the proximity to a uni.

Came across LOTS of houses like this when I was looking for accommodation during my last degree, it is very very common.

 

[letiha]

Just have to check the laws in your state. In qld there are new laws regarding the number of unrelated people living in the same house.

 

[Perp]

The only thing that matters is the number of bedrooms and the proximity to a uni.

To the tenants, maybe... but as a landlord, there are a lot of regulations/implications to be aware of, and it's not something to do lightly. As Propertunity suggests, this topic has been extensively discussed. And be aware that the regulations vary significantly by state.

In most states, I don't think it's worth it for any less than about 8 or 10 students. If you have only 3 to 5 bedrooms, you're better off looking for a group of 3-5 students who are prepared to be jointly responsible for a single lease over the whole property, than to sub-let. The hassles of 5 x one-room leases are too much for the extra money than you'd get.

PS Francine, even though this topic's been well covered previously, it is nice to see you posting about property!

 

[The Y-man]

Francine,

Please see
http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CA256902000FE154/Lookup/CAV_Publications_Renting/$file/RoomingComplete.pdf

Renting out rooms in your own home can be more practical and profitable than renting out a separate IP, due to that fact you can keep an "eye on what's happening".

My mum does this at the moment, and it works well for her, as she acts as "on site manager". She can nip problems in the bud where the tenant leaves a heater on all night complaining its cold, while sleeping with the window open

You might even consider homestays if you can provide the adequate care necessary. Many of my mum's tenants are "refugees" from homestays where they have complained of:
1. insufficient heating
2. bad/inadequate food (bread and butter for brekky, something straight out of a tin for dinner)
3. unclean house


Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Gee Cee]

It may give you a bit more cashflow. But for all the problems,/ fights/ nationality problems, legalities, Council & fire regulations, insurance costs etc, etc i really do not think it is worth it. (Unless you like sleepless stressful nights)
Especially as I have previously found. = Students move in around the end of February. Then move out around the start of November. Go home or backpacking then come back at end of February.
So Do Not count of 50 + weeks a year of income

And the maintenance and cleaning

Gee Cee

Old Fart

 

[Gatoblanco]

At the moment I rent out a couple of rooms in my PPOR but I have often looked at the idea of buying a place that has 5 bedrooms and rent out 4 rooms as it is quite good money. Living on site I think can be quite good as you can control things.
That is if you dont mind living with a lot of others. At the moment I dont. A place with a granny flat or an upstairs/downstairs arrangement would be good.
Actually it doesnt just have to be for students. You could rent to workers too.

 

[Perp]

Actually it doesnt just have to be for students. You could rent to workers too.

I was surprised to have loads of workers apply for rooms at my student accommodation. I don't take them because I'd have to become an accredited residential services provider, but if you have < 4 tenants, or have more tenants but can be bothered with accreditation, then my assessment is that there's definitely a market for this kind of accommodation for single people in their 20s (in Brisbane, anyway). You'd have to be in the CBD or a buzzing hub, though, where tenants can walk to clubs, restaurants, pubs - wherever young people go these days. I don't think it'd work in suburbia.

 

[craigb]

Remember the car parking issues, so if anyone is going to get caught out with this it is most likly its because their are cars parked all over the nature strips.

 

[v770]

Hey there,

Hope the following info helps. Dads in NZ doing exactly what u asked. Now whats he done is this. Bought a house near a uni. Then, WITHOUT the approval of the council, his decided to completely modify the internal of the house. Each room, his subdivided into a 20-25sqm room. Inside, it contains a toilet, electric stove, (Portable ones), own bed and small tv and cupboard. He rents each room for about $120ish PW. At one stage, one house had about 15 rooms. He looks after it himself. I tell u what though, he is lucky that people have paid him rent on time. It just takes one tenant to not pay and ur screwed. It is stressful + Not legal. Anyhow, time caught up, neighbours dobbed on my dad. Council came and told him to revert it back to original. So he had to renovate back to normal which cost him a fortune.

Anyway, to cut this short, If you can somehow do this in a legal way, it is a good investment. Otherwise, its simply not worth the risk. Anyway, thats just my opinion. Hope it helps.