For parents buying near campus
Four years of rent,
or four years of equity.
It is a fair question and it deserves an answer with numbers in it, not a brochure. Here is how we work it out with families — and the conditions under which we tell people to keep renting.
The comparison
A worked example.
Every property is different, so treat this as the shape of the answer rather than the answer. When you send us an address we will run it properly, with your actual rate, your actual tax bill and your actual holding period.
OPTION A — RENTING
| Rent per bedroom, per month | [$XXX] |
| Twelve months | [$X,XXX] |
| Four years, before increases | [$XX,XXX] |
| Typical annual increase | [X]% |
| Money spent, nothing back | [$XX,XXX] |
OPTION B — BUYING
| Purchase price | [$XXX,XXX] |
| Down payment | [$XX,XXX] |
| Monthly payment, taxes and insurance | [$X,XXX] |
| Less roommate rent received | −[$X,XXX] |
| Maintenance, vacancy, management | [$XXX] |
| Principal paid down over four years | [$XX,XXX] |
| Selling costs at exit | −[$XX,XXX] |
| Net cost of four years | [$XX,XXX] |
What is deliberately not in this table: appreciation. Values in College Station have been roughly flat over the past year. Over decades the trend has been upward, and you will see that long-run figure quoted often — but a four-year hold is not a decades-long hold, and we are not going to build your decision on a number the current market is not producing. If the property appreciates, treat it as upside you did not pay for. If the deal only works with appreciation, it does not work.
Straight answers
When we tell families not to buy.
Your student has under three years left
Closing costs on both ends eat a short hold. Under three years, renting usually wins outright.
You would be stretched by two vacant months
Student rentals turn on a calendar, not on demand. If a summer gap would hurt, this is not the right purchase.
Nobody wants to be a landlord
Someone has to handle a broken water heater in July. If that is not you and management fees kill the margin, the maths has already answered you.
The building is mostly investor-owned already
Heavy investor concentration can affect financing and resale. We check this before you fall in love with a unit, not after.
Send us an address.
Any listing, anywhere in Bryan–College Station, whether or not it is ours. We will run the real numbers on it and send them back within two business hours.