Newbie looking for my first deal in IOWA

[Mandy Adams]

Hi everyone, I'm getting started on my REI journey. Do any of you invest in IOWA? What cities would be good to invest in? The strategy I want to do is buy and hold. This will be my first investment and out of state as well. I live in Hawaii. Any recommendation is greatly appreciated! Thank you

[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!