I was at The Capital TV the other day for the shooting of Kanta Residensi. I will be featured in Episode 10. With me on the same day was a famous personality in the real estate world, Abang Ensem. He has been featured in many other TV channels. He has a blog with huge following too. Here. Of course we must keep learning from people who has more experience than us, right? Especially with buying apartments to rent out to students. He shared a few tips as below. Writing down so that I would also be able to refer again in future.
Where to buy – Buy somewhere we are familiar. As he is familiar with Shah Alam, he chose to focus within Shah Alam and has been renting out successfully without any major hiccups for a great many years. Of course, the place we buy should also be near to institutions of higher learning. A popular one would be very useful.
What to provide – These are just students, there’s no need to give the world! He provides ONLY washing machine, fridge and stove. Not even bed frames! I think this is a good idea so that the maintenance of these items can be kept to a minimum. Replacing the items are also cheap too.
How to rent out – He will deal with one house leader and he would insist on meeting the parents of this student. He said it’s not so much to chase for rental but to keep these students in check. For example, some of these students may damage the home or even bring their boyfriends or girl friends home. This is when he would inform the parents. Good idea.
Why students – This is a market which will always be available. In fact it can be considered to be even more reliable than the office workers that I usually rent to. It’s nearly hassle free because not many students love to rent and then move out halfway. They are definitely more innocent too comparatively.
He also shared one last advice on how to buy so that he can rent out for higher profits. He said we should focus on ‘busuk’ (Foul) and ‘buruk’ (Bad). In other words, properties which many people normally overlook. I wrote something related here: Buy what others did nothing, see, view yet
I told him that until today, I have only rented to students once. It was for a period of 8 months to Petronas University students who were doing their internship in Penang. I think one main reason is because I rented out fully furnished. Hopefully everyone has learnt something. I told him that I would definitely consider buying something exclusively to rent to students. Will keep in touch with him for even more tips on renting out to students. Happy learning.
written on 19 May 2016
Next suggested article: Student accommodation, a profitable venture?
