Justin Newbury – Community Stories

Investing in Student Apartments with Justin Newbury

We sat down with one of our long term users Justin Newbury. Justin is a civil engineer who, with his wife, now has two investment properties: their niche? Student Accommodation. They have been using Landlord Studio for over five years.

Below we summarise the conversation highlighting some of the key points. For the full and unedited interview watch the video linked above. Alternatively, you can listen to your preferred Podcast channel.

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How Did They Get Started?

They decided, shortly after getting married to investigate purchasing a rental and after running the numbers quickly realized the opportunity that investing in student accommodation presented. They have built their real estate business and brand around policies of fairness and honesty offering quality affordable accommodation and great prices.

Justin gave us several key insights around investing in student accommodation. The first was around decor and furnishings. Durability and longevity are essential, essentially with this kind of accommodation. Think metals, vinyl, glass. Furnishings and surfaces that wear and tear may look better at first but will end up costing you way more down the line.

The second insight was around the marketing of their rentals. In their experience, and for this particular market their primary listing sites have been their own website as well as Craigslist.

We Asked Justin Why He Started Using Landlord Studio

“It’s really important if you’re collecting rent every week that you can track all your income efficiently and effectively. You need to be able to see who has missed payments or been late and chase them up, send receipts and reminders – all of which you can do from the app.”

“If you want an all-in-one solution this app is what you need. It’s so easy to use. If you’re using pencil and paper or excel spreadsheets – get rid of them and make your life easier. And with a free trial, there’s really o reason not to try it.”

Justin had two key pieces of advice for new real estate investors.

Number one: Make sure you have your normal life figured out first.

If you get into real estate and you haven’t got any way out of it or if it’s all you’ve got you could end up in trouble. With COVID-19 for example Justin and his wide found their properties empty for several months however they still had to pay their bills. Thankfully they still work, they’re financially stable, and were able to absorb that extra cost until they could get new tenants in.

Number 2: It’s going to be work.

You’ll need to chase payments, potentially do evictions, so make sure you’re willing to put in the effort to make it succeed.

Related Articles:

• The Ultimate Guide to Tenant Screening for DIY Landlords
• How to Transition from Spreadsheets to a Modern Property Management Software

For the full and unedited interview watch the video linked above. Alternatively, you can listen to your preferred Podcast channel.