Students Are A Good Source Of Income If You Have A House To Share

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by: maxcarav
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Word Count: 546
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011 Time: 2:37 AM
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If you are property owner in a university town then you may like to consider renting out your house to share. Students are considered to be a steady and reliable source of income for at least ten months of the year in all university towns.

This kind of letting does not usually fall into the designer, high quality furnished category and furnishings can be basic as long as they are clean and functional.

It is normal when arranging a house to share for students to ask that parents or guardians are guarantors for the rent, thereby ensuring that liability for any outstanding rent will be covered by credit worthy adults rather than the students themselves.

You can arrange to have utility and council tax bills in the name of the head tenant or guarantor, alternatively you can work out how much you expect these bills to be and charge an all inclusive rent. This option is probably only a good choice in a smaller purpose built modern property that you know will not waste money on heating, water and electricity bills.

New students may start hunting for a house to share after they receive their A level results in the middle of August but this group are much more likely to be hoping to live in University accommodation during their first year. The biggest student rental market will be 2nd and 3rd year students who have the confidence and knowledge of the local area to know exactly where they want to live and probably also know the people they will be sharing with.

This group will start searching for a house to share throughout the summer and hoping to arrange to begin their tenancy at the begining of the university semester.

A large house to share will be able to accommodate more people and generate extra income as house sharers will pay a premium for extra bathrooms, large shared living areas and a generously sized kitchen with plenty of cupboard space. You can charge a set price for each room and decide if you would allow people to share a double room or charge on a per person basis.

Take time to work out the figures and see what option is best for the number of rooms you have available in your property. Do not over charge as your property has to be competively priced although charging per person will actually boost your income, ensure that your charges will leave you a profit after paying extra for the bills e.g electricity,water and gas.

You must be ready to take up additional duties when earning income from students as you may need to ensure your property is well maintained. This may mean acting as a caretaker and providing cleaning services for communal areas. You must also have quick access to repair and residential maintenance companies (There are various companies offering on call insurance rates for such services).

The cost for these extra protection and facilities will affect your final profit but purchasing such services via a regular payment will help stabilize your out goings and count towards whatever profit you declare.

About the Author

Max Caravaggio writes commercial property, residential property and flatshare aticles for the Lettings Mall whenever he believes there is some knowledge he would like to share with everyone.

The Lettings Mall currently offers facilities for flatshares,flats to share,houses to share,homes to share, houseshares, shared houses and shared homes. You simply register and find a tenant or advertise your flatshares to let.