Profit From Your Child's University Move

With school end approaching, some of us will be spending our summer vacations helping our children to settle into their chosen University town. Arizona State University is located in Arizona's most populous city of Tempe and if you are planning to look for accommodation in this area - you are in luck!

Tempe has an amazing range of places on offer and you can choose from town houses and condos through to family homes and mansions! Instead of paying out rent for your son or daughter, why not make money on buying an investment property? What are the pros and cons - apart from the obvious advantage of having a ready-made manager on hand to supervise the incoming revenue?

There are several factors that are constant for every family sending an offspring to University: (a) you will need to find a place suitable for your child to live in, (b) you need to find one that they will like, but that you can afford. (c) You hope he/she will make their funds last through the semester.

(d) You will not want your child to be so hampered by residential rules that he/she becomes stressed, (e) you will prefer a place near to University to save on transportation, and (f) you hope that fellow renters will not be into drugs, excessive parties or alcohol, etc

Most of these concerns can be eradicated if you buy a modest home and rent it to students - one of them being your child. You will have as much, or as little, control as you feel you need. Many of your worries will disappear into thin air....read on..

For instance (a) you know that your child will have a suitable place to live in, and (b) you will not have to put out money to pay rent as the other rental students will cover your mortgage. (c) You know that they cannot be given notice half way through the semester.

The residential rules (d) can be made to suit your child's preferences; for instance, if he is an early riser then noise will cease at 11p.m. (e) You can choose a place near to the school or at least walking distance of up to 20 minutes (therefore no car is needed with all that expense and worry of it being wrapped around a lamp-post!). Finally (f) you and/or your child will write the rules about parties etc and have the control over tenant's behavior.

Not only is this a worry-free suggestion, but it will actually make you money! You will probably find that you like the idea of having a second property financed for you in this way, and continue with the system long after the degree has been awarded!

Let's get down to a few technicalities, although a good real estate agent will help you with all this. If you have a home already in which you have accrued equity, you can use this as a surety (collateral) for a second home in Tempe. Perhaps you are retired in which case you can use a pension as 'income', or maybe you both work and financing is a doddle!

Your real estate agent can advise you on points to be considered when buying a rental property, practicalities such as suitable layouts, bathroom choices, front and back door positions etc. Sometimes a large bedroom with two windows can be made into two smaller bedrooms if there is also a living room available for residents etc. You can send/email a list of requirements to a local realtor and be the first one to hear of such suitable properties.

Now is a very good time to buy any second home, because of the low mortgage interest rate and also the large choice of homes. It is a buyer's market now, so you can shop around. It is easy to be more practical when you are not choosing a personal home. Having said that, Tempe is a great place to 'winter' in when you become retired, so pick a place you like. Tempe is a fun-loving town with many parks, pools and the large Tempe Town Lake to cool off in during the hot summers.

The fact that your son or daughter is going to move away and go to University need not be viewed upon as a financial drain; it may bring great joy into your lives. You will be financing a second home ready for your retirement! Thank goodness they chose Tempe to study in and not Chicago!