Investing in Davenport, IA. ISO Connections and Advice

[Zack Thiesen]

Looking to invest in Davenport remotely and wondering if anyone has general area grades for the city. I have read that south of Locust St. in general is not the best area. Some general questions:

What are the best and worst areas? 

Is the city and county generally friendly or adversarial toward landlords? 

Are there any local legal quirks or nuances or hoops to jump through in Davenport? 

I've noticed the city on their website has an application for rental licensing. How frequent are inspections and what are they like, including initial inspection? 

If you are a landlord in the area, what has been your experience and your vacancy rates if you keep up nice, well-maintained units?

Any proposed changes on the horizon that may affect landlords in the near or longer-term, i.e. property tax reform, civic measures, building projects etc.

Thanks! Feel free to get in touch also if you have (or are) property management or contractor recommendations.

[Nicholas Z.]

In general, very landlord friendly. The rental inspections are no big deal. When you first buy the property, you file for a rental license. They come out to make sure the place is livable and will make you make repairs if not. How frequent the inspections are is based on the condition of the property. The better the condition, the less frequent the inspections. (Again, as long as you’re being attentive to repairs as they come up, this won’t be a problem.)

The most important dividing line is Locust St, which is about 2/3 of the way south in Davenport running West-east. North of Locust is where you get more appreciation and lower cash flow; South of Locust is low appreciation and higher cash flow. You generally want to stay away from the central part south of Locust (check out crimes maps online).