"Who guarantees the return?"
I had asked this question repeatedly - but still no answer. Instead, the gentleman on the other end of the phone kept asking me how much money I wished to invest.
My response was to say it depends. It depends on the deposit needed. Whether they provide mortgages. The checks and balances in place to "guarantee" the nearly 10 per cent return they were touting. In fact, I wanted to know how it all worked. Who owns what? Who is building the student accommodation? Who is renting it out? That sort of basic level information. The adverts offered varying investment levels from prime London to less plutey digs in the north of the country.
I explained that I had emailed all these questions previously and had expected this scheduled call to provide answers. "Calm down," was the salesman's response. Momentary silence from me - I was quite taken aback. I then informed him that I did not find his response appropriate and that it was obvious he hadn't read the email. There was no point rising to the gender red rag.
I suggested he go back and read it and send me the answers in writing. I never heard back from him.
This was many, many months ago. I wasn't a vital "sell" to him because the company he represented had been raking in money from people living in the UAE. It seemed everyone wanted to invest in student accommodation. And that was before the pound took a dive. Since then, I know those providing mortgages to UAE residents have never had it so busy.
There's something to be said about earning in a currency that gives you a 20 per cent "discount" on UK prices - the value of the pound having fallen against the dollar since the Brexit vote.
The question is: is PBSA still the sector to go for? You know that it's serious business when there's an acronym. PBSA is Purpose Built Student Accommodation. It's worth a whopping £43 billion (Dh196.5bn). Gone are the days of students living in rickety housing owned by local landlords, or in university strip- lit communal bathroom dives. Instead students get cinemas, gyms and even pampering sessions if they can afford them. And many can. With at least 90,000 Chinese students in the UK - I would assume only children whose parents are happy, and able to, spend hundreds of pounds a week on their child's surroundings as well as the many thousands on university fees every year, you can see how the posh places can fill up. But not everyone is happy.
UK students can't afford this. Or should I say students of poorer parents can't afford PBSA. It's estimated that the cost of student accommodation has gone up 18 per cent since 2013, with the result that the offspring of poorer parents can't spend their time studying - they need jobs to pay for rent. This is why a panel of students picked to judge the "Student Experience" category for Property Week's Student Accommodation Awards last month pulled out at the last minute. They are not satisfied - as they put in an open letter published via Twitter - knowing their debt is lining the pockets of millionaire shareholders.
But hey, as long as you're not having to live in increasing debt to fund your education, what do you care? In fact, given a chance I bet you'd offset your child's accommodation costs by buying a place for them to live in. I'm not knocking that - really. But I am concerned about access to education boiling down to how well parents' pockets are lined.
But that's not what this is about. No. Instead let us go back to whether PBSA is still a great investment. Well, the good news is that there are 3.5 students for every PBSA bed, according to the biggest provider in the UK - Unite Group. They expect an extra 60,000 first-year students next year - the results of a cap on student numbers at universities being lifted last year, coupled with the fall in the value of the pound.
But this assumes a few things. That the children of wealthy overseas parents will continue to choose UK tertiary education. That said, parents will remain wealthy. And that foreigners will be allowed to take up places in UK universities - remember there is uncertainty around immigration and visas being granted in future.
When all is said and done, it's likely the lower value of the pound means the UK is and will remain attractive for those earning overseas - both in terms of fees and the cost of living. Plus with sovereign wealth funds buying into PBSA, my guess is that their countryfolk will be encouraged to fill them if there's a need. But no matter how attractive an investment seems, get your questions answered - and don't ever be bullied or fobbed off by a salesperson looking to make up their numbers.
Nima Abu Wardeh describes herself using three words: Person. Parent. Pupil. Each day she works out which one gets priority, sharing her journey on finding-nima.com
