As an investor with Clear Property Investment you should certainly consider renting your property out to students.

Traditionally, in the world of property letting this group haven’t had the best press - to say the least. This is mostly due to stereotyping, taking into account the young age and limited income of most students. But sit down and think about it. If you have a student/s in your property you’re more likely to have a guarantor (their parents) for the rent and less likely therefore to be out-of-pocket.

You’ll also know where you stand for the next year or so because most students stay until the end of their course year, and many until the end of their actual course (three to four years).

Other reasons to consider letting to students are:

  • The sheer size of the market ie the potential number of students in Glasgow and Aberdeen alone is huge and into the thousand marker
  • Many students, particularly at Universities, are serious and well-intentioned. They are there to learn and aim for a career. Contrary to popular opinion, they don’t want to party every night
  • Most colleges offer a directory of rented accommodation for prospective tenants so you don’t have to work too hard at marketing your property

Myra Blair, Operations Director, Clear Group Scotland Ltd said: "Student property investment is an area of the market landlords really cannot afford to overlook. With the number of university and college places increasing –  due in no part to the nation-wide shortage of  jobs, many individuals are wisely re-skilling through further study and  re-training. As a result, demand for student properties is increasing year by year and looks likely to continue.

“With most tenants signing up for at least 12 months, it means you’re able to calculate yields. And, if you’ve been a reasonable landlord, you really don’t have to worry about finding future tenants. Word-of-mouth marketing is prevalent amongst students.”

All areas in which Clear Property Investment is situated – Glasgow, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline – are well-populated with students, particularly the two cities. Glasgow boasts two universities and the world-famous Glasgow College of Art. The University of the West of Scotland campus is nearby while there’s at least four more colleges within the city.

Aberdeen has both a university and the prestigious Robert Gordon College. Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline meanwhile are served by one of the UK’s top universities – St Andrews – and the Adam Smith Institute (which has places for 35,000 students). In addition, as an investor you may be interested to learn, there’s more graduates in Fife than the national average.

So if you've been of a mind to ignore the student market previously, maybe it's time to rethink.

For further advice on student letting and marketing contact any of our Clear staff.

View other news from July 2010