Boston Real Estate for Sale

Interesting article, originally published last

Spring, regarding parents buying condos for their college-bound children, instead of paying rent or

having them live on campus.

By

JEFFREY STEELE, Barron’s

Most parents don’t have much choice about

their children’s college living arrangements. When the kids gravitate to dormitories, fraternity

or sorority houses or off-campus apartments, their parents get stuck with the tab, which can be

$10,000 or more a year. It is an outlay that is never recouped. But some lucky parents,

particularly those of students attending schools in major cities, have given themselves a crash

course in beating the high cost of college housing. Call it Condo-Buying 101.

These

folks have purchased condominiums and installed their fledgling scholars in them. The parents can

write off mortgage and loan interest costs, providing a nice tax benefit. More important, prices of

most urban condos have been rising steadily in recent years. By the time their offspring leave the

costly groves of academe, the apartment’s market value might have risen considerably. The parents

can then sell the unit or keep it for use as a pied-a-terre.

Of course, there are

dangers. The student might drop out or decide to attend a college elsewhere. Or the property market

might decline. But even if prices do fall, the parents might not be any worse off than they would

have been paying for a dorm room for four years. In any case, it’s a gamble many people are

willing to take.

Complete article: Consider

Condos to Cut Student Housing Costs

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