Students are just as fussy when it comes to property as everyone else (more so in some cases)
I keep reading that one of the benefits of letting property to students is that they aren’t as fussy as professional tenants. And to quote from one article that they “are more prepared to put up with slightly outdated kitchens and colourful bathroom suites than design conscious professional tenants.”
Personally I think the author has got this wrong. Today’s students are brand buying power houses. Students want the very best and that includes housing. They are the IKEA generation. Not only do they wear the latest branded fashions they want to live in the brand house too.
Time and again I’ve talked to landlords who have struggled to rent their property. Good decent housing in the right locations. I recently had a look round just one such property in Sheffield. The house in the desirable Ecclesall Road area was of a good standard. The landlord had extended at the back to provide a huge kitchen and combined living area. It was a nice house in a good location. The only problem I could see was the furniture was the trusty sturdy ‘Old fashioned’ type.
Students want cool, sleek and contemporary properties. If your house does not come up to standard then you’ll likely find it harder to rent them. The problem is if you are new to student renting unless you get the right advice you could easily end up with empty properties.
You need to know what property standards are like in the city you have student property or where you intend to buy (is anyone buying in the current credit crunch climate?). There are a number of ways you can do this
1 Look for adverts with internal picture of houses (more and more of the advertisers in the Student Housing magazine ‘New Student Des Res’ use internal photos to on their adverts. While four student properties on the same street all tend to look the same. Good internal photos can really add selling power).
2 View some properties. If you are buying you will do this as a matter of course. But the empty ones for sale may not be a good indicator of current trends. After all they have failed to let. So view tenanted student houses for sale too.
3 Look at houses for rent or currently tenanted (and not for sale). How can you find where these are? Just go on into a campus bar (in the students’ union) and talk to some students. Buy them a pint and they happily show you their and even their friends houses too. What’s more they’ll likely know who has the best houses. Alternatively you can look at property in the area you are looking to buy in by literally going round and knocking on doors. Some will likely refuse and treat you with suspicion yet others will show you their home.
4 Talk to existing student landlords and student letting agents. Agents in particular know what rents easily and why. They will be able to advise you and possible even show you some property that goes quickly. A good student letting agent should be happy to help you because they’ll see you as a potential future customer.
What will you learn from this - students are much fussier than guides claim, they want contemporary housing. And that good housing even in the right ‘sought after’ area can struggle to let in the furniture or decor is tired and dated.
Student Buy-to-let has great rewards as long as you provide housing that students actually want.
Let me know your thoughts.
Kind Regards
Paul Allison
Filed under: How to get your property rented