Hi,

I'm a somewhat experienced real estate investor who just accepted a verbal offer for a new job in Des Moines. My family and I are planning to move up there in the next month to 5-6 weeks or so. To that end, I'm looking at areas and believe I've narrowed it down to 2 main neighborhoods: Urbandale and Ankeny. 

Are there any agents on here who specialize in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure purchases? 

Have you been to the Des Moines area in person yet? Out of curiosity, what is driving you towards Urbandale / Ankeny?

Most agents will not be capable of the pre-marketing required to capture the foreclosure / pre-foreclosure leads prior to the sheriff sale.  To be blunt, most folks (agents included) still will not understand the process once it reaches the sale. I would recommend hitting up the local networking groups!  The marketing budget and time required to effectively handle a true pre-foreclosure deal flow exceeds the benefits of a one-off acquisition, as such you will a team that has the budget available and the foresight to follow-through long term.

Towards the investor networking, below is a handful DSM based networking events through meetup.   I would encourage you to check them all out, meet folks, and get a feel for the market.

1. DSM Investor Meetup - 3rd Thursday monthly @ Ingersoll Tap -- Here's a link to that meetup page!
2. IAREIA also has a local chapter
3. over the summer there was a handful of AIM (Apartment Investors Mastery)
4. @Chase Keller hosts a meetup also but not sure on the frequency

Thanks for the reply Mitch! 

I went to Des Moines for the interview, and spent some time around downtown. I even went out to the Merle Hay mall, which wasn't bad. Seems like a smaller city, which definitely has some perks compared to living in a city like Houston.

Mostly looking at Urbandale & Ankeny for the schools and the housing options. I'm trying to keep my primary residence to around the 250-300 range. All of my research on the schools indicates that Ankeny has a solid mix of schools that are both well rated, and mature enough to where my kids will be in good hands.  I joined the meetup group & will look into joining facebook groups.

@Augustine Cherukunnel  Do you have a residence waiting for you when you move here? I purchased a duplex in December in Ankeny and have a short term tenant in one side (until March 7) and one side open. Just thought I'd throw out there that I might have a side of the duplex open for a short term rental (I'm working with my realtor to possibly do short term rentals of 30-90 days on one side while people wait to move into their new purchases/home builds). 

I can't help you at all with foreclosures or the like, but my realtor is really good at single family homes in Ankeny. Let me know if you need a realtor for a personal residence in this area. 

We're looking at a few options, but I'll know more after our trip to be honest.

Augustine,

I am a licensed agent and home builder in the Des Moines area. I also invest in buy/hold single family properties, flip properties and help other find deals to buy and flip, hold or for personal residence. I have experience in foreclosure properties, but have not ventured much into obtaining information and acquisition of foreclosure. Let me know if I can be of assistance to you.