Real Estate For College

I read this morning that Federal Student loans are in danger and some banks have even ended their loan programs for college kids.  How are kids that really want to go to college and get a professional degree going to finance their education?  Maybe through real estate!  Parents that anticipate their kids going to school in the next 10 to 15 years have a great opportunity to leverage lower interest rates, lower property values and time.  Not only is someone able to make a great deal on a property but they are also going to be able to spend many years having a renter pay down the principle and when college starts for junior, there sits your student loan.  Here is how it can work:  You buy a property now with a low interest rate and maybe a little work to be done to it.  Next you find a tenant that is willing to pay you rent.  Whether its a residence or a commercial space this will work.  The most important part of the project is to be sure they are paying close to the amount of your cost or more.  Eating a bit of the monthly cost is reasonable if you think of it like a savings account.  Next you will ignore the property, except to make necessary repairs and tenant management.  When it comes time to send those kids off to school you are sitting on an asset that should have very little debt and has been maintained as a cash flowing property.  This is were you have to get creative.  Next you need to decide if you will own the property or if your student will-but either way you need to pull out cash from the project.  You can either go to the bank that is already or had been the note holder and ask to refinance, or you can sell the property and realize a return on your investment.  The details in this type of transaction that need to be planned are what to do with the taxes on the income and when the right time to sell may be.  But either way, these are great problems to have for a college education and being able to take the government out of your system.