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Your baby is all grown up and ready to head off to ASU in Tempe, Arizona. Among all the other decisions that must be made, it's important to remember that housing can seriously affect how a student performs in college.
ASU's policy is, "All first time freshmen students (defined as students who have compiled fewer than 25 hours of college credit) are expected to live in Arizona State University housing on the campus where their academic major is located for the entirety of their first academic year."
However, roommate disputes, waiting for an open machine at the laundromat, and loud dorm room parties can create quite the stressful situation that distracts from academics.
That's why many parents decide to buy a condo for their child to live in during their remaining college years, considering it an investment. While it may sound a little like over-kill initially, this purchase can be a wise choice that actually helps pay for your child's college education in the end.
Paying rent vs paying a mortgage
Rent for student housing adds up fast; in fact, housing is frequently the 2nd highest cost of attending college, only being beat-out by tuition. ASU's dorm fees range between $5,500 and $8,000 per school year.
Condos in Tempe range from $170K to 360K. With today's interest rates that means the monthly payments will run about $1,000 to $2,000 per month.
When you buy a condo, more than just your child can stay there. In fact, many Tempe condos are large enough for 3 or more additional students to stay with your child. That's a lot of rent you'll be collecting to put towards the mortgage payment. In the end, you may find that your child is essentially living rent-free. Additionally, as you're collecting those rent checks, you'll also be building equity.
Once your child graduates, you can hold on to the condo and continue to rent it out, which can help pay off any student debt your child has. Or, depending on how the real estate market trended during the time that passed, you can sell it for a profit.
Choosing roommates
Odds are that, at one point in your life, you've had a roommate straight from hell. Perhaps he/she cheated off your homework, stole your food, or liked to throw loud parties during finals week. Either way, a horror-story roommate can cause enough distraction to lower your child's grades.
When staying in student housing, your child has practically no say over roommates. Sure, there are dispute resolution policies put in place to help keep relations between roommates good, but frequently these practices don't work.
When you're the landlord, however, you and your child will get to choose who he/she lives with. This extra bit of control takes a lot of guesswork out of the process.
Younger children can stay
For families with more than one child to put through college, purchasing a condo in Tempe makes even more sense. As each child comes of age, he/she can stay in the unit when attending school. Meanwhile, you'll still be building equity and saving money off of rent; it just makes good financial sense.
If you are looking for a condo to buy in Tempe for your ASU student, We Know Urban Realty will help you find the perfect place. Their realtors are experts when it comes to urban living. Visit the site to see what's available right now: http://weknowurban.com/
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