I bought a 3 bed/2 bath (1750 sq. ft.) for $95,000 in January 2012 in Fort Myers, FL. My current total mortgage is $650 including taxes and insurance. The total will go up to $700/month because I will lose a tax break for not living it in any longer and my insurance will be higher.
I asked for $1,400/month and have to pay my step-sister a one-month realtor fee for listing the house for rent and to manage the property for a year. She has a handyman that she has used for the past 4 years on other rentals that she has listed.
I was going to pay for lawn care at $70/month. I under-estimated the market and we got multiple people over-bidding, mostly parents looking for a place for their college kids. We settled on $1,600/month and they will mow the lawn.
My step-sister listed the rental at 8:00 p.m. on a Tuesday night. First thing Wednesday morning she got 6 calls to want to see the house asap. She stopped accepting "showings" after six people and they walked through the house 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
I was optimistic that the demand from the local college students would increase in the next 2-3 years. However, I wasn't expecting just a positive response this year.
I also own a second college rental in Fort Collins, CO that I manage myself. I bought for 182K in May 2007. Current mortgage, insurance and taxes is $950/month and the current rent is $1900/month
I am a Professor and have lived in college towns my whole life. I had accidentally learned a lot about college housing based on life experience and figured out a way to have that knowledge make me money. I am very optimistic about the rentals in the future, but time will tell.
