In 2018, my husband and I took a leap of faith and bought our first college rental house for our oldest daughter. I’d never really been into real estate, but this just felt right. My husband kept mentioning how many of his colleagues had bought rental properties in their kids' college towns—or how much they regretted not doing it. It got us thinking: why not give it a shot?

The housing options for students were pretty discouraging. We saw shiny new apartments charging $1,000 per room, and older, really run-down houses charging $500 per room a month. There had to be a sweet spot in between—so we decided to create it ourselves. Our mission was simple: provide safe, affordable housing for our daughter and her friends, while giving me a chance to unleash my inner decorator.

We bought the house in November, and boy, did it need some TLC. Every weekend became a crash course in DIY renovations, from painting and flooring to plumbing surprises I’d rather forget. During this time, we found ourselves diving into the world of rental management—learning the ropes (and making plenty of mistakes) as we went. There were moments of trial, error, and sheer panic, but also a lot of pride in watching it all come together.

And that’s how CollegeRentalHouse.com was born! After navigating the ups and downs of being a “parent landlord,” I realized there was a real need for a resource like this. I wanted to help other busy parents skip the headaches and learn from what I’d figured out the hard way. Here, you’ll find everything you need (and probably a little more) to become a successful parent landlord, from practical tips to a few laughs along the way.