What if I told you that a simple duplex that costs $170,000 could bring in $5,000 in rent every single month? That's exactly what today's guest, Will Gaston has done, renting to college students. But before you go out to buy near a campus, you need to hear the full story. Because while the profits are huge, the headaches can be just as big, and this is something I know personally investing in a college

town. So if you're still curious in this episode, we're going to break down how college student

rentals are the most profitable and painful niche in real estate investing.

If we haven't met yet, my name is Chad Carson. You can also call me Coach Carson. And on this

channel, I teach you how to use real estate investing to achieve financial freedom so you can spend

your time doing more of what matters. Now let's get straight to my conversation with Will.

So Will, we have a really interesting, almost parallel story that I want to start with.

The fact that for those outside of

South Carolina, we've got to give you some context. I have a Clemson football helmet in the background

here. Will is wearing a South Carolina Gamecox jersey. He's Rev. The Gamecox. He graduated from the

University of South Carolina, I think, in 2002, right? 2002, yep. I was a Clemson grad of 2002,

and we both had been doing college student rentals for

22 years or so now. And so what I'm really curious about, Will, given all that, and that's really a fun parallel, what were your first steps? Like, what was your backstory going from college into getting into this rental game, where you've now really kind of gone all in on it? I appreciate the all-in reference, by the way,

as first dig at Carolina.

But yeah, my story is a little bit weird in

that I never put any thought into real estate, really, until I started. But went to South Carolina,

graduated in 2002, went to Alabama, got my MBA, and then I kind of floundered around for a couple years in

Columbia, trying to figure out what I was going to do, and I was bartending. And this was back,

I know you, I'm sure you have a bunch of countrywide mortgages. Like, if you could fog a mirror,

you could, you could get a loan. I mean, just period. And so did like five or six friends,

and family deals kind of while I was bartending.

And these for the more sophisticated investors, like had no underwriting experience.

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