6 January 2020

Do you have a student heading off to the University of Guelph? Good, be proud! – it’s an amazing institution. But let’s also be smart and look at some math together. The amount of money you’ll be spending over the next 4 years on school, food and all that entertainment will be significant enough, so why not look at a way to recover some of those post-secondary costs? How? Housing is the answer you have been looking for. At $650 a month, you’ll be looking at paying over $31,000 for housing alone, and many single rooms in the Guelph area cost more than that.

There is a great solution here.

Purchasing a student investment property could be a great option and has many benefits outside of the financials. You get to be in control of where your child is living, who they are living with and have the added benefit of not paying off someone else’s mortgage with the rental amounts you’ll be paying for 4 years. Win/win/win again.

Investing in a home in the Guelph area allows you to pay off your own mortgage while adding money back into your pocket in rental income. It also gives you the added benefit of equity gain in the home while your child is living there (or however long you decide to hold the property)! The Guelph area has a general annual increase of between 5-7% depending on what you invest in and the location. At $450,000 over 4 years, that’s an added $90,000 minimum in equity gain alone. That should help pay for some tuition for you!

A conservative, extra $30,000 a year added to your savings with minimal effort involved sounds great, right?

Your next question is most likely going to be; but Sarah, when is the best time to buy a student rental? The answer might surprise you, but it is in the first few months of the year. There are a few reasons why, unlike other centres, Guelph runs with a May to May lease time-period. Typically in Guelph, families start looking for homes later in the spring, with an ideal timeline of a mid-summer closing. An advantage for you. The market is typically quieter in the first few months of the year, although it can feel very fluid with certain properties that are typically appealing to parent-investors. This is why you need to be working we a true LOCAL professional.

Buy right, with the right knowledge that only a Guelph local Realtor can provide.

Less competition in the first quarter means your hard-earned dollars will go further and most listings coming up at the beginning of the year will want a Spring close. This is ideal because you’ll be able to take advantage of other student investors looking to sell their property with a similar timeline. Their child is getting ready to graduate this year and this is the time in which they tend to go to market. The timeline works perfectly for both buyers and sellers here.

There are strategies behind every purchase, each one with its own need for careful consideration. Different markets depending on the time of year you’re looking require different approaches and an industry professional who not only knows what they’re doing but has access to inside information to help give you an added advantage. I’ve worked with investment properties and student rentals for years, and to be honest, I have seen some major homers hit by clients over the years. Feel free to reach out and let’s talk about making your investment in our city the smartest one possible for you and your family.