Newbie from Des Moines, IA

[Stephanie Hay]

Hello all! 

I'm Stephanie from Des Moines. I am a self employed Licensed Massage Therapist and Health Coach. I love what I do and I enjoy working part time and the flexibility to spend time with my daughter and family. 

I've been interested in real estate for about 6 years; read some books, taken some classes from Rich Dad, Poor Dad but never taken action. I want to take action! I'm looking to networking and creating friendships with people that have the same interests. Finding a seasoned and successful mentor would be very helpful as well. 

Owning residential real estate means that I can continuing working part time and still raise a family. More than that, I want to be able to give back to my community by helping other children that need a positive role model as well as healthy food to eat after school. 

I look forward to connecting with you!

Stephanie

[Joel Owens]

Hi Stephanie,

I love those massage therapists............. : )

I always get a deep tissue neuro muscular massage and some trigger point. I spend tons of hours on the computer and my shoulders and back take quite a beating.

Find an investor local to you ( maybe one on here) you would have to do a member search by location.

Welcome to BP! 

[Michele Fischer]

Welcome to the site Stephanie!  Hope you get the support you need to bite the bullet and jump in!

I like what you said about wanting to be able to give back to my community, and the specific ideas.  As a landlord you would have the opportunity to interact with kids.  We do low income landlording and often the kids are our link to the parents and property.  They are seeing and interacting with an adult no stuck in generational poverty.

What did you have in mind for offering healthy food to eat after school?  To your kids and their friends, or broader?  Our low income neighborhood has a community center.  If I didn't work full time I'd love to volunteer the after school hours so that the kids could have some consistent support, and I would sneak in healthy food.   I host a block party each year and I always make sure it is food I would eat - high quality, not cheap garbage.  

Anyway, nice to meet you!

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Welcome to BP community @Stephanie Hay  It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. Here are a few recommendations for you:

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Check out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/

If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select that person below. He or she will be notified of being tagged so that the conversation will continue.

Wishing you the best! 

[Dave Visaya]

Hey @Stephanie Hay welcome to BiggerPockets! It's great that you jumped in and introduce yourself! Feel free to go to the forums. Also check out the podcasts and blogs here.

If you like, you can check this quick guide to learn how to use BiggerPockets to grow your business: http://www.biggerpockets.com/biz

See you around!

[Ezra Nugroho]

@Stephanie Hay, Welcome to BP!

My sister is renting out her once primary home in Des Moines. Seems to cash flow very well! I think you have a great market in your neighborhood. Good luck!

[Paul Timmins]

@Stephanie Hay 

Welcome. Time to build the legacy and foundation below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and all the cash buyers (rehabbers) you will need.

Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.

You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good luck

Paul

[Stephanie Hay]

Wow! Thank you for the warm welcome! 

I'm so thankful I found this website/forum. This is what I have been looking for. 

I sincerely appreciate all the advice and recommendations on getting started. It's a good thing I enjoy reading. :)

@Michele Fischer Those are some good ideas and points you bring up. I've finished reading "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to REI", and one of the Chapters discusses finding your niche. I thought I was being specific enough when I decided upon multi unit housing. Do you have any recommendations for learning more about low income housing?

Does anyone else have any experience with low income housing? 

My dad owns a duplex here in town and even with screening and background checks, he's gotten some pretty unclean renters and some that have neglected to pay the utilities. 

As far as giving back to my community, I'd like to get involved in some charities. I have a few friends that put on a huge event each summer for the Boys & Girls Club. Also, the American Red Cross helps children plant a garden and teaches them where their food come from. It's surprising how many children do not know this! 

That is really neat what you are doing, thank you for the ideas! 

@Paul Timmins Do you primarily flip or buy and hold? Is there a certain HUD resource that you use? I like your idea of student housing--Ames, IA (Iowa State University) is close by.

[Paul Timmins]

@Stephanie Hay 

Was buy and hold may revisit.

One team I am with is on track to do a number of flips for the local govt.

My son bought his first property a 3 family from HUD. He was able to have HUD de-lead each unit for free. HUD has housing counselors who can assist.

Good luck with student housing.

Paul

[Rob Gillespie]

Welcome Stephanie! 

I love the Health Coaching!! It may not make the money that you will in real estate, but it is very rewarding!!

If I can help in any way, just ask. 

[Michele Fischer]

@Stephanie Hay , here are some good ways to learn about low income housing:

Search for low income and section 8 in the forums

Listen to podcasts 08, 24, 79, and 83

My Collecting Rent e-book on Amazon might be worth the $2.99, or see my personal blog on BP

Find low income landlords in your area to network with

Volunteer at local housing authority or other resource locations

Ask specific questions on the forums

If my tenants aren't willing to pay me for the utilities, I increase their deposit so that I don't get struck with it.  Figure out which utilities create liens in your area, what the tenants deposits to the utility company is, and if there is a program to get copied on late invoices.  We phone and check in with the utility company if we know or suspect someone is behind.

For cleanliness, include a housekeeping addendum.  Do maintenance inspection regularly.  If it is a pig sty, add a housekeeping inspection and hold them to the standard they signed.  Realize your lifestyle isn't theirs and pick your battles.  I go crazy over how the front yard looks more than the inside unless it is really bad inside.

For me the more difficult thing to deal with is unauthorized pets or people, smoking indoors, smoke detector batteries always dead, and difficulty contacting them (cell phone disconnected, become non-communicative when under stress, disappear in the night).

Cheers!

[Brandon Turner]

Hey @Stephanie Hay thanks for introducing yourself! It's great to have you here! Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.

Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:

The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books Ever

How to Rent Your House: The Definitive Step by Step Guide

How to Be a Landlord: Ten Tips for Success

Oh - and be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts- especially for "Des Moines" so you'll be notified when people mention it here in the forums.

Thanks again for introducing yourself!

[Jedd Braunwarth]

@Stephanie Hay welcome to the site. I'd love to hear when you take the step and buy some property. Let me know if I can be of any assistance as another local investor.