Buying Your College Kid a Place to Live Near Campus Can Be Profitable.

                Your child has been accepted to college and now you have to decide the best way to provide a place for he or she to live.  When attending the University of Florida in Gainesville there are many possibilities to consider.  They include living on campus in a dormitory setting.  These arrangements are very comfortable and affordable and are located close to most classes.  Basically you will be paying rent to the university.

                Another possibility is renting a room in a home or condo near campus or renting an entire condo or home close to campus.  These come in all sizes, ages, conditions, and prices.  Basically you will be paying rent to a private landlord. 

                A third possibility is renting an apartment in either a small, medium, or large apartment complex.  There are numerous apartment complexes scattered all over Gainesville and the urban area, near to and far away from the University of Florida.

                All three of these options will have the same end result when graduation time comes around a few years later.  You will have nothing to show for the money that you spent every month.

                Instead, you should consider BUYING a place for your child to live.  He or she will get a nice place to live and you have the opportunity to give yourself an investment as well.  Your real estate purchase will have a chance to appreciate in value over the few years your child is living there.  Depending on your choice and the price it can be near or far from campus thus giving you a resale market of students or parents or people not connected with the university.

                There is another benefit to purchasing a home or condominium for your child that is intangible but valuable.  Your child can learn to become a responsible homeowner, can learn about down payments, mortgage loans, property taxes, neighborhood and civic involvement, and home maintenance and repairs.

                However, it should be noted that this option is not for everyone.  With other college costs, it might be hard to come up with the down payment and good credit is necessary to obtain a low interest rate mortgage on what is actually a second home.  You should be very careful to understand that there is no guarantee that significant appreciation will take place in the relatively short time span of ownership.  Sometimes home prices level off or drop in the short term. 

                Also don't overestimate the monthly savings because there probably won't be much difference between a rent payment and a mortgage payment.  Your child's ability to care for the home or condo should be taken into account as some kids of college age don't have the emotional makeup to be an owner or a landlord if they rent out rooms to other students.  The cost of buying and selling such as closing costs, real estate commissions, insurance, and taxes should be factored in too.

                Despite these caveats, there are many cases where purchasing your college age child's living place instead of renting it can result in a significant gain, mitigating the pain of monthly payments. 

                At Eyemark Realty, we help people to buy and sell all kinds of real estate in and near Gainesville and the University of Florida.  Take a look at our website http://www.gainesvillefloridahomes.com/ and contact us to find out whether renting or buying a place for your college age kid is your best move.

Mark Cohen

Broker

Eyemark Realty, Inc.

http://www.gainesvillefloridahomes.com/