All Forum Posts by: Darson Grantham

@Mandy Adams Love that you are exploring the BP forums to gather info about an OOS area you are looking to invest in.  I've psoted about this many times but to keep it short, Iowa in general is small, but investing in different areas is completely different.  Des Moines vs Ames vs Coucil Bluffs/Omaha vs Iowa City vs Waterloo vs Davenport.  Each has its advantage and disadvantages.  I actually recoreded an interview on my YT channel sharing the different between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids/Waterloo investing areas.  Feel free to go check that out.

All in all, first step is to build a team, realtor, banker, property manager, and potentially contractor.  I've helped dozens of folks buy their first rental in the Des Moines metro from Single family turnkey @Brian L Radcliffe , to househack duplex , to full rehabs , to the ultiple 4plex @Collin Wallace Chesnut househack!!

Depending on your situation, there is no "right" way to do it but a good guiding person to be your boots on the ground is key to understanding the market & making sure you are not buying the worst deal in Iowa that looks like the best deal in Hawaii if that makes sense....

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you want to chat for 15-30 mins!

@Joseph Lyons, regarding deal flow for 10+ units, you have a couple of options.

1. Contact and build a relationship with 2-4 agents that are in this market THAT ARE WILLING TO SEND YOU DEALS.  

2. Pull a list of potential properties, in the DSM market, there are not more than a couple hundred 10+ units in the Des Moines area.  So you need to start talking to those owners.  This process will be a significant amount of work, ask me how I know ;), but it is a long game-type play for me as an agent.  

I’m fairly involved in the smaller multi world of DSM real estate, if you got 6 units for around 32/unit that type of deal just doesnt come around very often. 

But if those are your criteria, be patient and keep grinding!
we do an investor meetup friday mornings at 7am - 8:30 am at smokey row downtown!  

Every single Friday for the last 2+ yrs!

This event is today at Noon! Hope to see you there 

My team and I at The Grantham Group, are gearing up for our next real estate education series event. The topic this time will be on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMS). We have the Assistant Vice President and Mortgage Loan Officer, Tyler Kagemann, with Union State Bank joining us to share how ARMs can be structured, why they have such a bad stigma today and to understand the pros and cons of this type of loan product.

Hope you can make it on Thursday, June 23rd, but be sure to register: https://forms.gle/4zVqi5AqhFD5Lapv9

@Reid Sealby, I've worked with dozens of STR and MTR clients buying and selling here in Central Iowa, from Luxury 500K acreage to standard SFH near the inner city and everything in between. I have yet to find anyone who isn't well ahead financially from running these here in Des Moines. Now as you and I both know this type of investment is different than long-term rentals and each city around central Iowa handles STR differently so be aware buying in Des Moines proper is different than Windsor Heights, different than Ankeny, and is different than Altoona.

I just saw a message come through my email from you, thanks for reaching out!  Talk soon!

Hey @David Mulholland, for some perspective the Des Moines market is slightly ahead of units sold currently YTD compared to 2021 same time period.  The pending sales (properties that are under contract) are down 30%.  So we are soon to see headlines that say "Des Moines Market down 30%" but in reality, this number is ONLY units sold, not the average price of properties sold.

I own some property near Drake, and many of the rental units in that area are actually not occupied by students in their first year of college. But if you are not necessarily looking to buyer HER a place to live right away, but to find a way to "write off" your travel expenses and stays in Des Moines, I think you'll be surprised at the quality of long term rental market in Des Moines.

You will want to pay close attention to the property taxes, as they are higher than most would expect, and also each property will have utilities set up in a different way, sometimes tenants pay, and sometimes landlord pays.  You'll want to inquire heavily there.

Lastly, pay close attention to the rental inspection certificate of each property.  Des Moines is notorious for giving investors a hard time in obtaining/renewing rental certificates and if you don't have one, the city can penalize you heavily. 

All that being said, 50% of my business is from out-of-state investors, so to fully answer your question, yes people are buying in Des Moines!  And if purchased with eyes wide open, most will say it was a good experience.

Send me a message and I'm happy to get on a zoom call with you to answer any other questions you may have!

No agenda, beginners & experienced investors share their experiences, ask questions and network with others in the real estate investing market.

My team and I at The Grantham Group, are starting a quarterly education series and our first one is Thursday, May 5th at noon. We will be discussing the Fundamentals of a 1031 Exchange. Our guest speaker is Ken Tharp, President of the Iowa Equity Exchange. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in this topic, and I am excited to interview him.

He will spend the first half of the webinar sharing about a 1031 Exchange, and then I will be holding it open for a Q&A. I have a few questions prepared, but I invite you to join along and ask away!

Feel free to join the conversation, sign up by clicking the link below, and we will send you a link to the live webinar.

Click here to sign up!

@Kyle Schwery I think you are in a fantastic position to become the "rental guy" of your small town.  Although most small towns are slowly dying, if you buy correctly (heavy discounts) and you provide a decent property to your tenants, you will develop a large portfolio of rentals that cashflow really we 2% all day long, and will have some equity.  Don't calculate appreciation at all in your formula, ONLY cash flow IMO.

I see a couple of guys who own 60+ properties I the couple of small towns I grew up in, and they are NOTHING special, they just simply bought every house they could for 25-55K spent $10K in lipstick reno, and rent them all out for 600-850/mo.

Now the downside here, is that the mental bandwidth you'll need to communicate with this level of sophistication of tenant will be heavy.  Proceed with caution and be self-aware as to what you are capable of.