All Forum Posts by: Tyler Hardin

@Darson Grantham lately I've been watching your one-shot propert analyses and for some reason it's more impactful to see this done with my local market. For my personal situation though, I'd like to hear more about how you analyze different markets. In particular, your bio mentions small multi-family units in rural markets. I'm from a small town in the area and have family currently doing some flips in those markets, so I may be interested in looking that direction for a second or third deal. How do you pick the markets you invest in, particularly with so many small towns shrinking the way they have been?

@Darson Grantham Thanks for the input Mr. Grantham! I was actually watching your video on this topic earlier today, which is what got me thinking about this. I'm glad to hear this isn't a big issue around here- one less thing to worry about!

I'm a new investor looking into a house-hack in the Des Moines metro. I'm aiming for a duplex, tri-plex, or four-plex, ideally within the next 6-8 months. I'm aiming for something in the suburbs, and my instinct is to lean towards Ankeny / Grimes / West Des Moines, but I haven't done much market research yet.

My question: Which suburbs in the metro a re more landlord-friendly? Are there any to avoid? I've heard that Ankeny may have restrictions on the amount of new construction for large multi-family properties, but does that indicate an unfriendly atmosphere for small multi-family investors?

@Tim Lucas awesome advice- thanks for taking the time to weigh in! I hadn't really considered them separately, as they're sort of packaged together, but they really are different animals and can't easily be evaluated as a single entity. I'll be keeping my ears open for referrals along these lines at future networking events and in my own search.

@Alecia Loveless Thanks for the advice!  Unfortunately, my checking is currently with Wells Fargo (all of my real money is transferred out of there as soon as possible, but it passes through that account), but I'm looking at making a change.  I'll be sure to consider lending options in my search criteria!

@Daniel Hennek Thanks for the advice!  I suppose I'll have to blame my naivety on my lack of experience- I had been thinking of this meeting more as a networking opportunity (as the person I'm meeting is said to work with investors in my market, and invests himself in the area), but I hadn't taken the time to consider his motivation.  I certaintly agree that I wouldn't want to work with someone based on one recommendation, especially from someone new to the industry and with an obvious personal interest.  I'll certainly be shopping around (and seeking recommendations from fellow investors) when I get to that point, but I wasn't actively searching for a lender at this point and hadn't put enough thought into it.

Do you have any advice regarding what to look for in a lender?  Obviously rates and closing costs are important, I've read some mentions of lenders failing to come through at closing, and I've heard a lot of emphasis put on the speed with which a lender can come through for you.  Are there any other important ideas I should be focusing on?

I'm very new to real estate investing and am hoping to do my first deal (ideally a tri-plex or quad-plex house-hack) in around 6-9 months. I'm still firmly in the education phase, but this seems like a good starting point for me. I have a small chunk of liquid cash, and pending the outcome of this deal, have an offer of private money for a second deal, which I'd like to put around 6 months after the first.

I recently mentioned my interest to a friend who has moved into conventional lending (primarily ag-related). He is interested in moving into real-estate lending and has offered to set a meeting between him, me, and a more seasoned real-estate lender he associates with. My question for the forum is what sort of questions should I be asking? As I said, I'm new to this and still learning, but what are the valuable topics I might learn from this lender? Also, what sort of questions will help me to make a firm connection with the lender so that I'll have that connection available in the future?