Austin, Texas, 7/20/2004 —
Twin brothers Erick and Kyle Frazier are educating other UT students about their college experience with real estate while attending the University of Texas. They’ve called it a “Real Life Internship”. When Erick and Kyle came to the University in 1998 their parents agreed to purchase a home for them instead of sinking all that money into a lease. Over the next four years they learned much about how to manage people and property. “Our father basically threw us the keys and said he didn’t want to see any bills! I’m not saying that approach would work out with everyone but the responsibility certainly was an educational experience” said Erick.
Erick and Kyle’s house located in Hyde Park has eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two laundry rooms to keep up and running. With their roommates sharing the $2,400 note and bills, the Frazier’s say they had a pretty good deal.
There’s no secret that savvy investors and parents have been taking advantage of what has commonly been referred to as a “kiddie condo” for some time, Erick and Kyle’s desire is to raise the awareness of the other less tangible returns on investment. Some of their returns are learning about setting rent rates, collecting rent, paying the mortgage and utility bills, keeping the tenants happy and the rooms filled and other countless “real life” skills.
“The way we see it is there are two sorts of pieces to this ‘internship’” said Kyle. “There are the investment principles that appealed to us and certainly many parents out there, as well as the practical principles that many don’t have the opportunity to learn while still in college”.
This “real life” experience has lead Kyle into the Real Estate business at Tower Real Estate on West Campus while Erick has chosen the mortgage lending side with AMC Mortgage. “Another result of the practical knowledge we gained by owning our own home through college is that it has actually led us to career’s that we might not have ever thought about otherwise, added Erick”.
Kyle and Erick Frazier have teamed up to share their passion for the home owners experience and encourage others, if it makes sense, to head down that road as well. By offering their input to soften the learning curves and help students and parents who are interested think through many of the issues, Erick and Kyle Frazier are using the experience they gained from the “Real Life Internship” so that others might have that as well. “We just love to share our experience and help people who are considering this route think through the pros and cons, so this is really fun for us, enthused Kyle”.
When asked why they have called this a “real life internship”, Erick says, “I realize that this isn’t a conventional internship like most are accustomed to hearing about. In a conversation with my father and Kyle, as we were reflecting back on our college experience and what we had learned, my father joking said that he put Kyle and I through a real life internship of our own. That conversation got me thinking, and the more I did, the more I realized how true that statement was. This was a real life internship and one that many students miss out on simply because they don’t know or think to research it”.
The brothers have spoken to various campus organizations such as the Freshman Business Association and the Pre-Law Fraternity to raise student awareness and interest. More information on this subject can be found at www.reallifeinternship.com.
Full-time students without a job or credit history can, with their parents’ support, get a condo or home loan from the Federal Housing Authority in their own name. Many expenses, such as repairs, may be tax-deductible.
Purchasing a home or condo for your student while they attend college isn’t always the best thing so it’s important to speak with a professional first to determine that.