Why We Try to Live Near College Campuses

The last two houses we’ve lived in have been right down the street from a major university.

This was strategic for 2 reasons:

1. Many of the major universities have been around for awhile & the neighborhoods around them have older homes. This is great because [1] you can find a house that needs some work and create forced appreciation and [2] older homes often have detached structures that you can convert into habitable space.

2. Short-term rentals tend to do very well near universities. This is because you have a steady influx of parents coming in to visit kids, people traveling in to see the big games, and college kids coming to check out the school (among many other reasons).

In our first house, we were able to convert a storage space behind an existing detached garage into an Airbnb. And in our second house, we were able to convert a single car detached garage into an Airbnb.

And in both cases, the Airbnbs made a lot of money because of their location.

And when we sold them, we made a significant profit because of the location & remodeling we did (including the development of a new habitable space that can generate additional income).

If you’re looking to house hack, namely using your house to generate extra income & live nearly free, choosing to live near a university can be a strategic move.