The Pros & Cons of Buying Investment Property for your College Kid

Photo by realtor.com

With the University of Mississippi gaining another record-breaking Freshman class, many parents are buying a condo, townhome or house for their college kid to live in while in college. Let’s look at this realtor.com article that breaks down the pros and cons of this ever growing trend.

As the article states, “By buying a property near their child’s university, parents can provide a stable and convenient living arrangement for their child but also capitalize on the potential for financial gains when compared to their child renting a home or living in a dormitory.”

Pros:
-Real estate in college towns tends to be robust and rise over time
-When including your son or daughter on the title and paying on time, it dramatically improves their credit history.
-The child can also share in any profits that might come from the sale of the house in the future.
-There are also multiple tax write-offs that aren’t usually available to renting college students.
-You don’t have to worry about losing your security deposit.

Cons:
-Your college-aged kid is now in charge of household maintenance and paying bills on time.
-Ownership also means that there’s no landlord to call when things break.