May 13, 2025 • 24 mins
On this episode, Jason shares his journey into college rentals and reveals the strategy behind his success.
Jason breaks down what makes a great college rental, from targeting safe, student-friendly neighborhoods to dialing in the ideal bed/bath ratio.
We dive into how he screens tenants, whether he uses individual or joint leases, and the unique methods he uses to fill vacancies fast, without turning his properties into the party house on campus.
https://rentalincomepodcast.com/episode521
Thanks To Our Sponsors:
Ridge Lending Group - Making investment Mortgage process simple and stress-free.
MidSouth HomeBuyers – Turnkey Rentals In Memphis & Little Rock. Instant Cash Flow On Day One. (Priced between $100,000 to low $200's)
Jason breaks down what makes a great college rental, from targeting safe, student-friendly neighborhoods to dialing in the ideal bed/bath ratio.
We dive into how he screens tenants, whether he uses individual or joint leases, and the unique methods he uses to fill vacancies fast, without turning his properties into the party house on campus.
https://rentalincomepodcast.com/episode521
Thanks To Our Sponsors:
Ridge Lending Group - Making investment Mortgage process simple and stress-free.
MidSouth HomeBuyers – Turnkey Rentals In Memphis & Little Rock. Instant Cash Flow On Day One. (Priced between $100,000 to low $200's)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The inspiring interviews with today is Top Landlords. This is
the Rental Income Podcast and now.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Damnly Jason, you invest in college rentals. Why do you
think that college rentals are such a great investment.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Well, they you know, when we think about college rentals,
you know, there's nomenclature behind it that, oh, it's crazy,
the kids destroy your properties, those kind of things. I
really have found that that's not really the case out
there today, and what I really enjoy is is finding
a property that I can create a safe home for
(00:39):
the students in the neighborhoods that they want to live
in round the colleges. And so, you know, for me,
it's it's been a great experience where I've been able
to take what I've learned over the last thirty years
and really bring a great product to market that the
kids love.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
On the podcast today, we're going to see if there's
a sweet spot in terms of the number of bedrooms
and bathrooms to look for in a college rental. We'll
see if this really is a recession proof business, and
we'll also talk about the unique way that Jason finds tenants.
Joining us on the podcast today from Dallas is Jason
Linwall will take a quick break to bank our sponsors.
(01:19):
We'll come right back and we'll talk to Jason. It's
a lot of work to find a really good rental property,
and when you actually find that property, you want to
make sure you're working with a lender that can get
that loan closed. The lender that I recommend is jay
Lee Ridge from Ridge Lending Group. She's a nationwide lender
and her specialty is helping investors finance rental properties. She
(01:40):
has a ton of loan programs and she can find
something customized to you for your situation. If you want
to find out more or you're ready to get started today,
just go to Ridge Lendinggroup dot com. That's our Idge
Lendinggroup dot com n MLS four two zero five six.
Investing in rental properties can be complicated, but it doesn't
(02:02):
have to be. My friends at mid South home Buyers
sell completely rehab turnkey properties in both Memphis and Little Rock,
and they've been doing it for twenty three years. All
their properties come totally rehab They put on a new roof,
new kitchen, new bath, new plumbing, new electric, everything is
brand new. They also have a tenant that's moved in
(02:24):
before you close, so you get cash flow on day one.
Mid South home Buyers also continues to manage the property
for you after closing. It couldn't be easier. Everything is
one hundred percent done for you. All their properties also
come with a couple of guarantees. They have a one
year total maintenance warranty and a lifetime occupancy guarantee. Personally,
(02:48):
I just closed on my fifth property with Mid South
home Buyers and I couldn't be happier. If you want
to talk to a happy customer, reach out to me.
I'm happy to answer any questions, or you can check
them out at Midsouth hoome buyers dot com. Jason, let's
set off talking about your portfolio. Can you tell us
what your portfolio looks like.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Yeah, so today I have over eighteen units that I
own and then I manage another ten to fifteen units
in the Dallas, Texas market, and those units are mainly
made up of student units or young professionals. I cross
(03:29):
over to the young professional because what I found was
that as my students were graduating and wanted to stay
in town, they were a great extension for me to
move them into smaller one bedroom or smaller two bedroom properties.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That's pretty smart. So you have a good tenant they
want to stay in town, you just find another place
for him.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, And I typically will buy in areas that they
want to live in. Those young professions areas of Dallas,
in the Uptown area or Lower Greenville area of Dallas
have been been really really good for me to to
own and to manage for other folks.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Now with the college rentals, is there kind of a
sweet spot in the number of bedrooms you want to have,
in the number of bathrooms?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
And so I'm in the in the in the Dallas
market around the SMU campus, Southern Methodist University campus, and
there are some interesting rules around the number of people
that can live in an apartment who are unrelated.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So this is the weird, weird thing.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
But so I typically try to stay in that two bedroom,
two bath, two and a half bath style unit and
that seems to work really well for me.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That's interesting. I would have thought that you would have
said more, the more bedrooms, the better. So why is
it better to have a smaller place than say a
five bedroom.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Well, Well, in this in Dallas, you can't have a
five bedroom and have a bunch of people living in it.
But but again, what I find is when you get
to the bigger unit styles, you tend to lose a
little control in the space itself, and then you're dealing
with lots of different roommate issues. It's crazy, but I
(05:27):
found that that two bedroom and mind you, having those
two bathrooms, each having their own bathroom makes a big
difference as well in what I can get for a price.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
On the market.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So do you find like like two friends that want
to live together or are you putting two people together?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Well, you know, for for me, what I've what I've
been able to do in the market that I'm in
right now, is I actually rent to sororities right now,
and I I have I have a property today where
I have uh four uh two bedroom, two and a
half bath units and I've owned.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
The property for for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And when I first bought the property, I had to
uh kapa uh ladies living in the unit, and they
asked me and said, you know, mister Linwall, would you
consider renting to more kappas? And I said sure, And uh,
That's actually worked out really well for me in the
sense of being able to have units that are specifically
(06:35):
rented to specific groups.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
And so when they move out, they graduate, they move on.
Do they pass it down to the younger younger students.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, so so since I've owned the property, I can
honestly say I've never had to lease a unit. What
they what what the the girls do is the ladies
do is they they actually will it to the next
set of girls when they graduate. And I'm typically getting
them for two years, that that junior and that senior year.
(07:11):
And so you know, around the January timeframe, we go
through the conversation, I said, Okay, it's time to will
the unit, and I get I get the next set
of of ladies to to sign up and move in.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I got to imagine that must make things so much
easier for you, because you're not having to show the unit.
Your tenants are basically finding you the next tenants.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yes, and I mean that's uh, it's fantastic. And and
what also happens Dan is is we we also get
a situation where you know, if someone's installing, say an
entertainment unit into the build, into the unit itself, they'll
leave that for the next set of of of ladies
(07:57):
that are moving in, and so it's been really easy
for me to do the turns. You know, we typically
are going in and doing some touch up and where
we need to, but but nothing major. They take very
good care of the units and that's been fantastic for me.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
That's really good.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
So if someone's looking for a college rental, and I
realized that every college is different and and what you're
looking for maybe different, but in general, like what are
you looking for in terms of locations? Is there a
certain distance from the school that you want to be?
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Yeah, I mean, look what I would tell you is,
you know, within within a half a mile is is
probably the easiest to look at if you think about
different colleges and the and the distances between the campus
and housing. You know, my son goes to school at
the University of Oklahoma and Norman a little more spread
(08:55):
out from the housing perspective, but uh, you know where
I am. I try to stay within within the blocks
of neighborhoods that the kids are living in.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Today.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
When I'm looking for property, and and I typically am
looking for that property that needs a little bit of
TLC to get it back up to you know, what
I would consider standards of living and and create a
great safe environment for for folks to live in.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Now, what about the risk that maybe if if you think,
say for a unit that you're not renting to the sororities.
I assume you've got some that you're not renting, yes
or okay, So say if you you don't find somebody
in that window when the kids are looking to line
(09:46):
up their properties for the next year, do you run
the risk that the property could sit vacant for a
long time?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, Dan, I've been fortunate to not have that situation.
You Know, what I would tell you is depending on
the market, depending on the student market you're dealing with.
It's it's pretty straightforward of when the leasing process happens.
It tends to be happening earlier on than it used to,
and so it gives us more time to fill that unit.
(10:18):
And to be honest, I've never had a situation where
I couldn't fill a unit. And that could also be
the you know, the colleges are growing in this area.
People are really wanting to go to these schools, and
the schools can't support, you know, all the housing that
they need, and so we as landlords are fortunate to
(10:38):
be able to rent to those kids.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah, that's great. I mean, you've got a built in
market there, it's easy to rent. Lots of demand. Now,
I got to imagine that it's hard to find deals
because it seems like such a lucrative Niche is it
hard to find properties for sale?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yeah? It is.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
But but what I would tell you dan is is
there's a lot of outside folks trying to to buy
into this market that I'm in today, and you know,
they'll stay away from properties that need need some work.
And so, like I said, I try to find a
property that you know, really hasn't been maintained well, you.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Know, could just needs that TLC.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And so what I've been able to find over the
years is I've been able to find those properties that
you know, just really weren't taken care of and and
give them that that that lift that they need. And
so it hasn't been super hard to find something when
I needed it. But but yeah, I mean real estate
(11:44):
in general in this market is tough, just because of
the demands that that are are happening in this market today.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
We had someone on the podcast a while back that
was doing college rentals and when the student left. They
had a major problem where when the students left for
for Christmas break, they turned the heat off because they
figured no one was going to be there. They didn't
realize that the heat being off and it being cold
could cause the pipes to freeze, and they ended up
(12:16):
with a major repair with with frozen pipes. So is
that something you've ever thought about or is there anything
you're doing to prevent that?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Well, you know, I think we all have our one
time where that happens.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
And then and it did happen to me.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I did have a property where you know, there was
a there was a gap somewhere and cold air was
getting in and we had a we had a pipe
freeze and a pipe break. So and and you're right,
then the heat was turned off and it was an issue.
So what I've done in my properties is I've I've invested,
you know, just a little bit of money. It's not
(12:57):
super expensive to do this, but I invested a little
bit of money to where I'm putting in smart thermostats
that I can see myself as a landlord, not that
I control them when the students are there, but it's
when the students aren't there that I control them and
just as much in the winter when.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
The pipes are freezing.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
In the summertime, if it's too warm, we can have
other issues related to warping of windows and other issues
that we can run into with the with the extreme heat.
So I've invested some money there. I invested in electronic
locks because students are famous for losing keys as well,
and so i have electronic locks on every one of
(13:39):
my doors, and I've got the electronic thermosta or the
smart thermostats as well, and it's It's made a huge
difference in how I can manage those properties better.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
That's really smart. So the kids just have a code
to get in.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yeah, so the kids, the kids get a code on
the way in and and that code stays with them
the whole time they're in in the unit itself. And
it also helps when when we're doing maintenance work as well,
because you know, they we can identify who's going in
and out of the units, and we have that added
(14:18):
security to understand who is actually going in the unit
and out of the unit. So the and I, like
I was talking about before renting to the Kapa A group.
You know, one thing that's really important there is safety
and you know, and I talked to the parents a
lot about safety and the property because they're, you know,
leaving their daughters. You know, some some are pretty far
(14:40):
away from home. And you know, I have two daughters
of my own and who are are twenty five and
twenty four, So I know what they're what they're going
through when their little baby is away from home. And
so we had a lot of security. We have cameras
on our property. We make sure, like I said, that
the doors are managed so that if we do run
(15:01):
into anything, we can we can help me, you know,
support the kids in anything that's going on.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Now, what about screening. So you've got college students that
that probably don't have much credit, they maybe don't have
a rental history. This is probably the first time that
they've rented. How do you screen to make sure that
this is someone that's gonna be able to pay the rent?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Yeah, so so Dana, I I make sure that each
one of the kids that are coming in, So if
there's two kids moving into a unit, I make sure
that each one of them has a guaranteur that's tied
to the unit, and I run the credit and criminal
on both the kids. And the guaranteur to make sure
that we're we're able to support the rent for the unit.
(15:48):
And and the reason to run the kids too is,
you know, to find any any kind of issue we
may run into from a from a from a criminal
side of things. If there was to be an issue
you there, we would be able to see that in
that in that perspective. But it's been really good for
me to have that guaranteur, and I make it really easy.
I don't make it overly complicated for the guaranteurs. We're
(16:12):
just running a criminal and credit. They fill out an
application just like the kids do.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
But we don't.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
We don't get crazy like I'm dealing with in New
York with my daughter right now, where I've got to
send my tax returns, my three pay checks, my letter
from my company saying I've got a job. I mean,
you can get pretty crazy. But we try to make
it really simple for the kids, and it's worked out
for us.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Do you have one lease for the whole unit or
do you do individual leases for each student?
Speaker 1 (16:42):
No?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know, what I have found is is that doing
the one lease for the two bedrooms really works well
in any issues we may run into because at that point,
it's a joint and several lease and so everybody is
responsible to make sure the rent gets paid.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
And that's worked out really well for me.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And then if say, like a student drops out of
school or or doesn't pay, like, what what do you
do at that point?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah, and so that we obviously first go to the guaranteur.
The guaranteur will will pay the rent associated to the
student if the the student has you know, dropped out
of school or I haven't. I've run into that once.
And what I was able to do obviously having the
(17:32):
the Kapa group, I was actually able to find somebody
to fill that spot for that individual, so that it
made it a little less difficult for the person that
was dropping out of school. But in those cases, you know,
the guaranteurs uh pick up the bill on that. And
and then if that guaranteur is not paying because it's
(17:53):
a joint lease and ends up falling under the individual, yeah, the.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Other the other end of in the unit.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
But like I said, I've only run into that once,
and you know, the guaranteur did pay and and and
then I was able to find someone to move in
for that next semester.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
So it ended up working out well.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
And then how do you deal with utilities? Are they
setting that up on their own?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, so believe or not.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know, I've got a day job too, and I've
recently joined a company called Move Concierge, And what we
do in the in move Concierge is we help UH
individuals when they're going through that move to set up
their internet, their security, their TV, their their utilities and
really help them make that that process really easy. And
(18:44):
so that makes it a lot easier, especially when when
I was mentioning before, some of these kids live you know,
cross country and they're trying to figure out.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
How to set up all their utilities.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
And everything for the unit. And so we use move
Concierge UH to help set all that up today and
it works really great.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
It works really great.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And then as far as making sure that you're not
renting to someone that's going to turn the property into
the party house of the campus, is that not really
a concern because this is an apartment and not not
a house, Like, do you think that lowers your risk?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It does a little bit.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
But what I would tell you, like in my case
where I've got that group of Kappa folks, you know,
I think one of the things I talked to the
to the ladies about is is that look, this is
this is a home in a neighborhood, and you know,
let's let's make sure to manage it that way. And
it's okay if they have friends over and as long
(19:45):
as it doesn't get out of control. But what I
found is, you know, the group of girls that that
are renting there, they really make it their own and
they don't want to see a situation where it gets
out of control. And they've they've been really good about
paying attention to that. And so if I live I
live in the neighborhood, right, so I live around the corner.
(20:06):
So if I'm driving by and I see a bunch
of things happening, I may stop in and say, hey,
how's everything going.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know, now, you've got some regular rentals that that
are in student rentals, Like would you say that the
student rentals are harder to manage? Like maybe are you
having to maybe hold their hand a little bit more
than a traditional rental.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yeah, you know, I would say it's a little bit
on the even side because I'm renting you know, students,
but then also to young professionals. Even the young professionals
are really learning for their you know, their first or
second time of having a place to live.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And so but you know, we we provide a great.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Service and it really makes a big difference for them
to have a landlord that actually cares and is able
to support them in in you know, the the use
of the property. And so we haven't really run into
anything major there. You know, it's really there is some
(21:11):
education of you know, the different mechanical systems in a property,
whether it's your HVAC system or your plumbing system. You know,
you just got to pay attention to those things. And
I have taught a few people out how to wash
the clothes. I can say, but that's always the fun
(21:31):
one where you say, you know this link thing in
the dryer, Yeah, you got to take that out and
you've got to take all this stuff out of that
and they're like, oh, oh, okay, okay, And I say,
I know you don't do laundry at home. So it's
always interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Tell us more about what you're doing today. So you
mentioned move conciers earlier. Tell us about what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
We've really created a mind blowing customer experience for the
folks that were doing and because it's a super stressful
time of that move. You know, you're trying to buy
a home or you're renting a home, you're making a
big financial decision, and then we're able to help you
set all those services up for your home in a
(22:15):
simple thirty minute phone call versus making that ten to
twelve different phone calls. Who do I use for this?
Who do I use for that? We're able to go
out and shop the market for our consumers and be
able to provide them with choices. We're big on choice
for every service we provide, whether it's your internet service,
(22:36):
your TV service, your security services, home warranties, renters, insurance,
whatever it is you need for your home. We've gone
out and done that shopping for you and we're able
to present to you the options in your market. And
we're a national firm. You know, we support over twenty
(22:57):
thousand home moves a month in our business today and
so we definitely deal with a lot of folks buying
homes and renting on.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
It's an interesting idea for our business. If you want
to learn more, I've got a link to Jason's website
on my website. You can find it at Rental Income
Podcast dot com slash episode five twenty one. I'd like
to thank Chayley Ridge from Ridge Lending Group for sponsoring
today's episode. If you're looking to buy a rental property,
whether you're just getting started or you want to add
(23:28):
to your portfolio, reach out to Chailey. She has a
ton of different loan programs and she can find something
that'll work for you. If you want to find out more,
just go to Ridge Lendinggroup dot com nmls for two
zero five six. Thank you so much for checking out
the podcast today. Make sure you hit the follow button.
(23:50):
I put out a new episode every single Tuesday, and
if you're following this show, you'll get notified when the
next episode comes out. My name is Dan Lane and
this has been the Rental Income Podcast
The inspiring interviews with today is Top Landlords. This is
the Rental Income Podcast and now.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Damnly Jason, you invest in college rentals. Why do you
think that college rentals are such a great investment.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Well, they you know, when we think about college rentals,
you know, there's nomenclature behind it that, oh, it's crazy,
the kids destroy your properties, those kind of things. I
really have found that that's not really the case out
there today, and what I really enjoy is is finding
a property that I can create a safe home for
(00:39):
the students in the neighborhoods that they want to live
in round the colleges. And so, you know, for me,
it's it's been a great experience where I've been able
to take what I've learned over the last thirty years
and really bring a great product to market that the
kids love.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
On the podcast today, we're going to see if there's
a sweet spot in terms of the number of bedrooms
and bathrooms to look for in a college rental. We'll
see if this really is a recession proof business, and
we'll also talk about the unique way that Jason finds tenants.
Joining us on the podcast today from Dallas is Jason
Linwall will take a quick break to bank our sponsors.
(01:19):
We'll come right back and we'll talk to Jason. It's
a lot of work to find a really good rental property,
and when you actually find that property, you want to
make sure you're working with a lender that can get
that loan closed. The lender that I recommend is jay
Lee Ridge from Ridge Lending Group. She's a nationwide lender
and her specialty is helping investors finance rental properties. She
(01:40):
has a ton of loan programs and she can find
something customized to you for your situation. If you want
to find out more or you're ready to get started today,
just go to Ridge Lendinggroup dot com. That's our Idge
Lendinggroup dot com n MLS four two zero five six.
Investing in rental properties can be complicated, but it doesn't
(02:02):
have to be. My friends at mid South home Buyers
sell completely rehab turnkey properties in both Memphis and Little Rock,
and they've been doing it for twenty three years. All
their properties come totally rehab They put on a new roof,
new kitchen, new bath, new plumbing, new electric, everything is
brand new. They also have a tenant that's moved in
(02:24):
before you close, so you get cash flow on day one.
Mid South home Buyers also continues to manage the property
for you after closing. It couldn't be easier. Everything is
one hundred percent done for you. All their properties also
come with a couple of guarantees. They have a one
year total maintenance warranty and a lifetime occupancy guarantee. Personally,
(02:48):
I just closed on my fifth property with Mid South
home Buyers and I couldn't be happier. If you want
to talk to a happy customer, reach out to me.
I'm happy to answer any questions, or you can check
them out at Midsouth hoome buyers dot com. Jason, let's
set off talking about your portfolio. Can you tell us
what your portfolio looks like.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Yeah, so today I have over eighteen units that I
own and then I manage another ten to fifteen units
in the Dallas, Texas market, and those units are mainly
made up of student units or young professionals. I cross
(03:29):
over to the young professional because what I found was
that as my students were graduating and wanted to stay
in town, they were a great extension for me to
move them into smaller one bedroom or smaller two bedroom properties.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That's pretty smart. So you have a good tenant they
want to stay in town, you just find another place
for him.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, And I typically will buy in areas that they
want to live in. Those young professions areas of Dallas,
in the Uptown area or Lower Greenville area of Dallas
have been been really really good for me to to
own and to manage for other folks.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Now with the college rentals, is there kind of a
sweet spot in the number of bedrooms you want to have,
in the number of bathrooms?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
And so I'm in the in the in the Dallas
market around the SMU campus, Southern Methodist University campus, and
there are some interesting rules around the number of people
that can live in an apartment who are unrelated.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So this is the weird, weird thing.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
But so I typically try to stay in that two bedroom,
two bath, two and a half bath style unit and
that seems to work really well for me.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That's interesting. I would have thought that you would have
said more, the more bedrooms, the better. So why is
it better to have a smaller place than say a
five bedroom.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Well, Well, in this in Dallas, you can't have a
five bedroom and have a bunch of people living in it.
But but again, what I find is when you get
to the bigger unit styles, you tend to lose a
little control in the space itself, and then you're dealing
with lots of different roommate issues. It's crazy, but I
(05:27):
found that that two bedroom and mind you, having those
two bathrooms, each having their own bathroom makes a big
difference as well in what I can get for a price.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
On the market.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So do you find like like two friends that want
to live together or are you putting two people together?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Well, you know, for for me, what I've what I've
been able to do in the market that I'm in
right now, is I actually rent to sororities right now,
and I I have I have a property today where
I have uh four uh two bedroom, two and a
half bath units and I've owned.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
The property for for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And when I first bought the property, I had to
uh kapa uh ladies living in the unit, and they
asked me and said, you know, mister Linwall, would you
consider renting to more kappas? And I said sure, And uh,
That's actually worked out really well for me in the
sense of being able to have units that are specifically
(06:35):
rented to specific groups.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
And so when they move out, they graduate, they move on.
Do they pass it down to the younger younger students.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, so so since I've owned the property, I can
honestly say I've never had to lease a unit. What
they what what the the girls do is the ladies
do is they they actually will it to the next
set of girls when they graduate. And I'm typically getting
them for two years, that that junior and that senior year.
(07:11):
And so you know, around the January timeframe, we go
through the conversation, I said, Okay, it's time to will
the unit, and I get I get the next set
of of ladies to to sign up and move in.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I got to imagine that must make things so much
easier for you, because you're not having to show the unit.
Your tenants are basically finding you the next tenants.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yes, and I mean that's uh, it's fantastic. And and
what also happens Dan is is we we also get
a situation where you know, if someone's installing, say an
entertainment unit into the build, into the unit itself, they'll
leave that for the next set of of of ladies
(07:57):
that are moving in, and so it's been really easy
for me to do the turns. You know, we typically
are going in and doing some touch up and where
we need to, but but nothing major. They take very
good care of the units and that's been fantastic for me.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
That's really good.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
So if someone's looking for a college rental, and I
realized that every college is different and and what you're
looking for maybe different, but in general, like what are
you looking for in terms of locations? Is there a
certain distance from the school that you want to be?
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Yeah, I mean, look what I would tell you is,
you know, within within a half a mile is is
probably the easiest to look at if you think about
different colleges and the and the distances between the campus
and housing. You know, my son goes to school at
the University of Oklahoma and Norman a little more spread
(08:55):
out from the housing perspective, but uh, you know where
I am. I try to stay within within the blocks
of neighborhoods that the kids are living in.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Today.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
When I'm looking for property, and and I typically am
looking for that property that needs a little bit of
TLC to get it back up to you know, what
I would consider standards of living and and create a
great safe environment for for folks to live in.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Now, what about the risk that maybe if if you think,
say for a unit that you're not renting to the sororities.
I assume you've got some that you're not renting, yes
or okay, So say if you you don't find somebody
in that window when the kids are looking to line
(09:46):
up their properties for the next year, do you run
the risk that the property could sit vacant for a
long time?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, Dan, I've been fortunate to not have that situation.
You Know, what I would tell you is depending on
the market, depending on the student market you're dealing with.
It's it's pretty straightforward of when the leasing process happens.
It tends to be happening earlier on than it used to,
and so it gives us more time to fill that unit.
(10:18):
And to be honest, I've never had a situation where
I couldn't fill a unit. And that could also be
the you know, the colleges are growing in this area.
People are really wanting to go to these schools, and
the schools can't support, you know, all the housing that
they need, and so we as landlords are fortunate to
(10:38):
be able to rent to those kids.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah, that's great. I mean, you've got a built in
market there, it's easy to rent. Lots of demand. Now,
I got to imagine that it's hard to find deals
because it seems like such a lucrative Niche is it
hard to find properties for sale?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yeah? It is.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
But but what I would tell you dan is is
there's a lot of outside folks trying to to buy
into this market that I'm in today, and you know,
they'll stay away from properties that need need some work.
And so, like I said, I try to find a
property that you know, really hasn't been maintained well, you.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Know, could just needs that TLC.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And so what I've been able to find over the
years is I've been able to find those properties that
you know, just really weren't taken care of and and
give them that that that lift that they need. And
so it hasn't been super hard to find something when
I needed it. But but yeah, I mean real estate
(11:44):
in general in this market is tough, just because of
the demands that that are are happening in this market today.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
We had someone on the podcast a while back that
was doing college rentals and when the student left. They
had a major problem where when the students left for
for Christmas break, they turned the heat off because they
figured no one was going to be there. They didn't
realize that the heat being off and it being cold
could cause the pipes to freeze, and they ended up
(12:16):
with a major repair with with frozen pipes. So is
that something you've ever thought about or is there anything
you're doing to prevent that?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Well, you know, I think we all have our one
time where that happens.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
And then and it did happen to me.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I did have a property where you know, there was
a there was a gap somewhere and cold air was
getting in and we had a we had a pipe
freeze and a pipe break. So and and you're right,
then the heat was turned off and it was an issue.
So what I've done in my properties is I've I've invested,
you know, just a little bit of money. It's not
(12:57):
super expensive to do this, but I invested a little
bit of money to where I'm putting in smart thermostats
that I can see myself as a landlord, not that
I control them when the students are there, but it's
when the students aren't there that I control them and
just as much in the winter when.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
The pipes are freezing.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
In the summertime, if it's too warm, we can have
other issues related to warping of windows and other issues
that we can run into with the with the extreme heat.
So I've invested some money there. I invested in electronic
locks because students are famous for losing keys as well,
and so i have electronic locks on every one of
(13:39):
my doors, and I've got the electronic thermosta or the
smart thermostats as well, and it's It's made a huge
difference in how I can manage those properties better.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
That's really smart. So the kids just have a code
to get in.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yeah, so the kids, the kids get a code on
the way in and and that code stays with them
the whole time they're in in the unit itself. And
it also helps when when we're doing maintenance work as well,
because you know, they we can identify who's going in
and out of the units, and we have that added
(14:18):
security to understand who is actually going in the unit
and out of the unit. So the and I, like
I was talking about before renting to the Kapa A group.
You know, one thing that's really important there is safety
and you know, and I talked to the parents a
lot about safety and the property because they're, you know,
leaving their daughters. You know, some some are pretty far
(14:40):
away from home. And you know, I have two daughters
of my own and who are are twenty five and
twenty four, So I know what they're what they're going
through when their little baby is away from home. And
so we had a lot of security. We have cameras
on our property. We make sure, like I said, that
the doors are managed so that if we do run
(15:01):
into anything, we can we can help me, you know,
support the kids in anything that's going on.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Now, what about screening. So you've got college students that
that probably don't have much credit, they maybe don't have
a rental history. This is probably the first time that
they've rented. How do you screen to make sure that
this is someone that's gonna be able to pay the rent?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Yeah, so so Dana, I I make sure that each
one of the kids that are coming in, So if
there's two kids moving into a unit, I make sure
that each one of them has a guaranteur that's tied
to the unit, and I run the credit and criminal
on both the kids. And the guaranteur to make sure
that we're we're able to support the rent for the unit.
(15:48):
And and the reason to run the kids too is,
you know, to find any any kind of issue we
may run into from a from a from a criminal
side of things. If there was to be an issue
you there, we would be able to see that in
that in that perspective. But it's been really good for
me to have that guaranteur, and I make it really easy.
I don't make it overly complicated for the guaranteurs. We're
(16:12):
just running a criminal and credit. They fill out an
application just like the kids do.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
But we don't.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
We don't get crazy like I'm dealing with in New
York with my daughter right now, where I've got to
send my tax returns, my three pay checks, my letter
from my company saying I've got a job. I mean,
you can get pretty crazy. But we try to make
it really simple for the kids, and it's worked out
for us.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Do you have one lease for the whole unit or
do you do individual leases for each student?
Speaker 1 (16:42):
No?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know, what I have found is is that doing
the one lease for the two bedrooms really works well
in any issues we may run into because at that point,
it's a joint and several lease and so everybody is
responsible to make sure the rent gets paid.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
And that's worked out really well for me.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And then if say, like a student drops out of
school or or doesn't pay, like, what what do you
do at that point?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah, and so that we obviously first go to the guaranteur.
The guaranteur will will pay the rent associated to the
student if the the student has you know, dropped out
of school or I haven't. I've run into that once.
And what I was able to do obviously having the
(17:32):
the Kapa group, I was actually able to find somebody
to fill that spot for that individual, so that it
made it a little less difficult for the person that
was dropping out of school. But in those cases, you know,
the guaranteurs uh pick up the bill on that. And
and then if that guaranteur is not paying because it's
(17:53):
a joint lease and ends up falling under the individual, yeah, the.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Other the other end of in the unit.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
But like I said, I've only run into that once,
and you know, the guaranteur did pay and and and
then I was able to find someone to move in
for that next semester.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
So it ended up working out well.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
And then how do you deal with utilities? Are they
setting that up on their own?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, so believe or not.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know, I've got a day job too, and I've
recently joined a company called Move Concierge, And what we
do in the in move Concierge is we help UH
individuals when they're going through that move to set up
their internet, their security, their TV, their their utilities and
really help them make that that process really easy. And
(18:44):
so that makes it a lot easier, especially when when
I was mentioning before, some of these kids live you know,
cross country and they're trying to figure out.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
How to set up all their utilities.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
And everything for the unit. And so we use move
Concierge UH to help set all that up today and
it works really great.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
It works really great.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And then as far as making sure that you're not
renting to someone that's going to turn the property into
the party house of the campus, is that not really
a concern because this is an apartment and not not
a house, Like, do you think that lowers your risk?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It does a little bit.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
But what I would tell you, like in my case
where I've got that group of Kappa folks, you know,
I think one of the things I talked to the
to the ladies about is is that look, this is
this is a home in a neighborhood, and you know,
let's let's make sure to manage it that way. And
it's okay if they have friends over and as long
(19:45):
as it doesn't get out of control. But what I
found is, you know, the group of girls that that
are renting there, they really make it their own and
they don't want to see a situation where it gets
out of control. And they've they've been really good about
paying attention to that. And so if I live I
live in the neighborhood, right, so I live around the corner.
(20:06):
So if I'm driving by and I see a bunch
of things happening, I may stop in and say, hey,
how's everything going.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know, now, you've got some regular rentals that that
are in student rentals, Like would you say that the
student rentals are harder to manage? Like maybe are you
having to maybe hold their hand a little bit more
than a traditional rental.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yeah, you know, I would say it's a little bit
on the even side because I'm renting you know, students,
but then also to young professionals. Even the young professionals
are really learning for their you know, their first or
second time of having a place to live.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And so but you know, we we provide a great.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Service and it really makes a big difference for them
to have a landlord that actually cares and is able
to support them in in you know, the the use
of the property. And so we haven't really run into
anything major there. You know, it's really there is some
(21:11):
education of you know, the different mechanical systems in a property,
whether it's your HVAC system or your plumbing system. You know,
you just got to pay attention to those things. And
I have taught a few people out how to wash
the clothes. I can say, but that's always the fun
(21:31):
one where you say, you know this link thing in
the dryer, Yeah, you got to take that out and
you've got to take all this stuff out of that
and they're like, oh, oh, okay, okay, And I say,
I know you don't do laundry at home. So it's
always interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Tell us more about what you're doing today. So you
mentioned move conciers earlier. Tell us about what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
We've really created a mind blowing customer experience for the
folks that were doing and because it's a super stressful
time of that move. You know, you're trying to buy
a home or you're renting a home, you're making a
big financial decision, and then we're able to help you
set all those services up for your home in a
(22:15):
simple thirty minute phone call versus making that ten to
twelve different phone calls. Who do I use for this?
Who do I use for that? We're able to go
out and shop the market for our consumers and be
able to provide them with choices. We're big on choice
for every service we provide, whether it's your internet service,
(22:36):
your TV service, your security services, home warranties, renters, insurance,
whatever it is you need for your home. We've gone
out and done that shopping for you and we're able
to present to you the options in your market. And
we're a national firm. You know, we support over twenty
(22:57):
thousand home moves a month in our business today and
so we definitely deal with a lot of folks buying
homes and renting on.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
It's an interesting idea for our business. If you want
to learn more, I've got a link to Jason's website
on my website. You can find it at Rental Income
Podcast dot com slash episode five twenty one. I'd like
to thank Chayley Ridge from Ridge Lending Group for sponsoring
today's episode. If you're looking to buy a rental property,
whether you're just getting started or you want to add
(23:28):
to your portfolio, reach out to Chailey. She has a
ton of different loan programs and she can find something
that'll work for you. If you want to find out more,
just go to Ridge Lendinggroup dot com nmls for two
zero five six. Thank you so much for checking out
the podcast today. Make sure you hit the follow button.
(23:50):
I put out a new episode every single Tuesday, and
if you're following this show, you'll get notified when the
next episode comes out. My name is Dan Lane and
this has been the Rental Income Podcast
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