<p>My daughter will be applying to 7 year programs for grad school next year. I was thinking that would be a good opportunity for me to buy another small investment property, and fix it up for her and a room mate or two. I’m looking for stories of how that worked out for folks on this forum.</p>
<p>Presently I have a small rental property near my home that I bought as a distressed property, totally upgraded, and now rent out through a property manager.</p>
<p>I’m wondering if it would be too much for my student to be the property manager, or if other’s had experience with their adult son or daughter calling for maintenance and collecting rent while a student. This house would not be local to me.</p>
<p>Also, for those who have done this, what are the pros and cons.</p>
<p>I’ve done this exact thing.</p>
<p>DS lives in a city not at all close to us. He is in a five-year grad program, and after his first year of paying his rent with student loans, DH and I bought a house for him to live in until he gets his degree. For him, it’s been great – he has a much better living situation, is living rent-free, and is responsibly taking care of the property. His GF has moved in and she is paying us some nominal rent.</p>
<p>From our perspective, it has been neutral. Because the house is old (> 100 years), there have been a few problems – leaking roof and a leak in the bathroom – and it really does need all new windows, which we don’t want to spring for right now.</p>
<p>All in all, I’d have to say it’s been a good thing. Assuming we get our money back – and I have no reason to think we won’t – it will have been neutral to us and positive for DS.</p>
<p>And if we can’t sell it quickly when DS is done with grad school, I plan to hire a property manager and rent the house out.</p>
<p>I have good friends who bought a condo in tourist-destination city for their daughter to live in during graduate school. She ended up marrying a guy from there who already owned a home so they kept the condo for a vacation home. It’s been great for them, since they are now grandparents and can visit whenever they want without imposing on their daughter, or worrying about my friend’s allergies to her daughter’s cat. </p>
<p>We might do the same.</p>
<p>Caution, however, we have friends who did this in Charleston SC and have not been able to sell the nice condo they bought. They are now landlords…and they do NOT want to be!</p>
<p>I kind of did this as a grad student. I lived in my parents’ home while they lived in a house that we used to rent out 4 hours away. I had roommates and we all paid rent. </p>
<p>It has been a disaster. The renters have essentially wrecked the house and it has been a huge source of stress. </p>
<p>If this hadn’t been our main home, I think it would’ve been fine. It was very stressful though as a grad student. </p>
<p>Like thumper’s friends, we were not able to sell the purchased home my son lived in while in Medical School. It made perfect sense to buy the house at the time, and the rent was paid for by my son’s student loans and his roommates. Unfortunately, when it was time to sell, the college was suggestion to students and incoming medical residents not to purchase; instead convincing them renting was a better option. This angered all the real estate agents in the area!</p>
<p>We were able to rent to 3 medical students, but being a distant landlord was not on our bucket list 
Two of the boys finish this May and the 3rd, next May. In order to sell it, the house will need some repairs, but we can’t afford to have it sit unrented or unsold, so not really sure what we will do. Everyone I hear has a kid heading to the area we let them know what a great idea it would be to buy a really cute small home!!</p>
<p>Hmm, first she needs to know the school she will be at. Then you need to find a place close enough to campus at a price that works. Assuming she gets her grad school paid for (as a TA or RA) she may enjoy having more choice in the matter and being able to select a better location next year once she is there. How does SHE feel about this commitment? Does she want the second job of troubleshooting a house while getting immersed in her studies? </p>
<p>D has had friends that left grad school after 2 years and took their masters. I agree with wis75, not sure you would really know where you want to live and what a new partner could bring. IDK maybe too much pressure for the grad student.</p>
<p>I think the hardest thing would be to screen, collect rent from, and possibly even have to evict the friends she may choose as housemates. Not a lot of people have the stomach for business transactions with friends, especially grad students who may not have the most economically stable lives. If her friend/ housemate has a few rough months with, say, unexpected health problems and major car troubles, is your daughter prepared to play the heavy? If not, are you prepared to carry the burden of her housemates’ unexpected financial reversals? At an even more basic level, is your daughter willing to ask permission to check the credit of her friends/ potential housemates? And to deny their rental applications if her friends’ credit doesn’t check out? </p>
<p>And then there’s the weird landlord/ tenant hierarchy.</p>
<p>I personally would not want to be the landlord to someone living in my home. And I’m a litigator accustomed to conflict.</p>
<p>My younger son is sharing a condo with 2 other med students. One of the roomies’ parents bought the condo and the boys are renting the rooms. I think it wasn’t a good idea. Once the boys go off to do their residencies (who knows where!?), I don’t think the parents will want to remain landlords</p>
<p>I see it probably would be too much for a doctorial student to also be a land lord to her friends. If I were to go ahead with this plan I’ll factor in hiring a propery manager, so she wouldn’t deal with collecting rent or repairs. </p>
<p>I’m always looking for a good income property, so depending on where she lands, I would factor in what the rental income would be if she weren’t there. If it’s still a good deal then it would work out.</p>
<p>@UCDAlum82: I’m curious what the subject of the 7-year doctoral programs is. That’s a lotta years. </p>
<p>
That’s actually shorter than the national average for a PhD, which is around 8 years. On average programs range from about 5-7 years in the sciences to up to 9-10 years in the humanities.*</p>
<p>*Many of the latter students have extensive coursework requirements. Learning multiple languages, common in linguistics and area studies programs, can require several years of coursework before one develops a committee and dissertation topic. The timeline in the sciences, where you complete your basic coursework and PhD exams by the end of the first year and begin dissertating as early as the second year, moves much faster.</p>