How to Meet University Expectations – Invest in the Right Student Property
October 27th, 2015
Student Accommodation News
Minevra House in Nottingham
University is often a young person’s first taste of adulthood as they finally leave their parents’ homes and move into their student home. However, sweet as independence may be, often traditional student accommodation fails to impress.
For investors, it is key to invest in student accommodation that doesn’t disappoint. Ultimately, choosing the wrong type of student housing can leave tenants unhappy and not wanting to continue their tenancy.
After all, today’s modern students have high expectations of home comforts, high-spec features and fast internet, which all too often aren’t present in old-fashioned halls and drab student houses. However, there is an alternative student property investment- PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation).
PBSA can provide students with all the amenities they want, and often more. With communal rooms, on-site cinemas and gymnasiums on offer, the student experience seems better than ever before, as these social spaces allow students to meet and hang out with all their friends living in the same development.
Plus, PBSA often couples its numerous facilities with spacious studios for the students to live in. Studio-living gives students the chance to get away to their own space and maybe even do some studying. PBSA really does give students the best of both worlds and provides investors with some of the best yielding student property investments.
A recent poll looking at the most important things to students in their accommodation has had some interesting results pointing towards PBSA.
- The ultimate “must-haves” topping the table were big bedrooms and beds. Minerva House in Nottingham provides students with spacious, contemporary studios. These big rooms have lots of space and light in a beautifully renovated building.
- 93% of students want accommodation with furniture included. When you invest in student property you need to make sure it’s furnished, as students don’t often have their own. PBSA is designed for students, so not only does it come fully-furnished; but it often also includes student features such as a large desk space and well-furnished socialising areas, unlike old-fashioned student property investments, cramped HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) in the suburbs.
- 81% of students want to be close to their universities. Investing in student housing close to universities means it is more likely to be rented out year-on-year. Minerva House benefits from being only an 8 minute walk to Nottingham Trent University’s campus.
The publishers of this research (Uniplaces) founder- Ben Grech, noted how, “It’s easy to read through the checklist and think you are looking at an advert for a boutique hotel. The fact is, the quality of accommodation available for today’s students is better than it has ever been with more options in terms of location, price, size and spec than ever before. This has created a generation of discerning students that are determined to get the best they can.”
Choosing somewhere luxurious, boutique-like, and ultimately the kind of place anyone would like to live in, is crucial to a successful student property investment. After all, only 18% of those surveyed were happy to live at home, so the demand for student accommodation is as strong as ever.
Minerva House is a perfect student property investment to add to any property investor’s portfolio. Its spacious studios, numerous communal areas and brilliant location close to the university make it a lucrative deal. Plus, the whole development is completely sold out for the 2015/2016 academic year, meaning investors will receive immediate rental income.