All Forum Posts by: Andrew D.

@Adam Moehn

In Cedar Rapids a landlord can pull a water heater permit up to I think 100 gallons. Most landlords I know pull there own permit then buy their own water heater then have a handyman put it in. Saves the plumbers markup and the higher labor cost. I've been getting the Rheem 6 yr water heaters form HD and doing them myself. I've had good luck with them son far. 

@Account Closed Several years ago I remember seeing that title at my local public library.  I guess I skipped over it because I didn't see it pertaining strictly to Real Estate.  Maybe I'll have to give it a look.  Thanks for the info!

@Cliff Harrison Yes I do self manage my own rentals as well as doing quite a bit of my own rehab work. I have thought about paying off the smallest loans first but since I've only owned the majority of these houses for 4 yrs or less I'm not sure if this is my best bet.

For instance, if I have a property that I only owe 30k on its because I got it dirt cheap and put a ton of sweat equity in. If I take the time to pay of the 30k I've only freed up 150 to 200 dollars a month. Sure paying off my higher mortgages quick would free up significant money but it would take quite a while to do. 

@Glenn McCrorey I've always told my wife that I've got a hybrid investing approach.  I've read a lot of books and I feel like I've taken something from most but there are some things that don't work for me. I've heard the DR advice of paying one off before the next but am to impatient and worry about missing out on very lucrative deals in the mean time. Before I leave my day job I do plan on paying off my personal residence and any vehicle loans.

I've been investing in the Cedar Rapids, IA area for about 8 years now but only really stepped up my game 4 years ago.  After the addition of a child to our family during an almost year layoff I realized I needed to kick start my investing.  My wife read me Rich Dad Poor Dad while I drove us on vacation one year and my plan began to take shape.

These last 4 years I've been working full time days and then spending nights and weekends buying, rehabbing, and renting out houses.  I'm pleased to say we just put our 20th one under contract.  My plan has always been buy and hold but I have sold several between tenancies.

Now that I've hit 20 SFH I'm starting to wonder where to go with my investing next. Part of me wants to take a well deserved rest and get all the rehabs done, get the houses rented and then just cash flow on the side. Then sometimes I feel like I should continue to buy as long as there are deals present.

Sunday mornings I usually wake early and like to watch Dave Ramseys podcasts on Youtube.  I hear him talking about the debt snowball and how he usually recommends people pay off there smallest debts first then use that extra money to pay the next off and on and on.  While I agree that works with some I'm looking at a different approach.  If I am working full time and have all the houses rented, I'm planning on using 70 percent of rent profits on mortgage principal reduction on one single property every month.  The other 30 percent would be for an emergency fund.  So the newest loan would have the excess money on it the first month, then I would just go down the line every month paying the excess off only one mortgage each month.  That way by the time I'm ready to retire in 6 years all of the loans should be quite lean with most of the payments going to principal each month.

It makes more sense to me to do it this way but I know everyone has different opinions.  Does this plan make any sense?

@Austin Davis While I don't have much on the SW side, I know that anything in the College Community School District rents very well.  Unfortunately I haven't found any deals in these neighborhoods.  Also the North side of CR higher end rentals work well for Rockwell and Go Daddy employees.

With my limited starting funds but lots of ambition I started out in the Wellington Heights and Mound View neighborhoods.  I've gotten out of Mound View completely but still have a few in Wellington Heights.  I don't currently buy there anymore but have gotten very good return on investment from the houses that I do have there.

Like @Glenn McCrorey I've had good luck on the NE side outside of Mound View.  The majority of my houses are over by Daniels Park all the way up to 29th St.  Most people don't view this area as hood and the homes are still fairly reasonably priced.

@Carrie Oelrich welcome to the site!  Glad to see another Cedar Rapids investor here.

Welcome to Bigger Pockets @Edwin Lindeman!  Are you planning on investing in Cedar Rapids?

@Glenn McCrorey I've got 2 so far this year with 2 more closing in the next month.  I'm still in the growing stage and trying to expand.  These aren't quite the deals I was finding back in 2010 thru 2013 but they'll cash flow well enough.

We've been having great luck in Cedar Rapids.  Lately anything I've had come vacant I've raised rent 10 to 20% and had no problem renting it out quickly.