If you are a parent of a student heading off to college next fall for the first time, did you know that in the course of your child’s college career, you (or your student) will pay somewhere between $30,000-$50,000 in dorm fees and/or monthly rent for an apartment? When students head off to college, it’s natural to think about tuition and books. Sometimes room and board is a given because students are required to live on campus. But what if it isn’t? Paying upwards of $1,500 a month during an academic year for rent is simply throwing money away. You will never recoup the month to month rent or dorm fees. But you could. At Stylecraft Builders, we are experiencing an emerging trend in our area where parents are investing in a second home—a new home—where their college age children will live for the four to five years that they are in school. Instead of spending money on rent each month, they are investing it in a new home. Whether they choose to have their child pay a portion of “monthly rent” to begin to understand the value of money and hard work or not, they have found a creative way to invest their money, so that once their child graduates, they can sell the new home (which will only be about five years old) at a higher price than what they paid for it, and reap the benefits of the equity in the home as well. It’s an interesting investment concept and one that seems to be working. Why not pay yourself instead of a landlord? Chances are, your mortgage payment on the new home will be about the same as or even a bit less than paying monthly rent for some rundown, cramped college town apartment. You can use also use this as an opportunity to teach your young adult about the power of investing in real estate. It’s a win-win all around.

Stylecraft Builders - Central Texas' New Home Builder
www.stylecraft-builders.com

Labels: college student, dorm fees, new home builder, real estate investment, rent, rental income, room and board, second home, Stylecraft Builders, tanner brewster