Rural Real Estate Investing (Iowa)

[Kyle Schwery]

Hello. I am a current resident in a small town in Iowa and I am on the fence about buying a house. My area is an area with a low population and a flat to slightly downward population growth trend over the last 10 years. I am looking for a house to buy under market value, move in to for a year or so, fix up, rent, and refinance. I am curious if anyone has experience in smaller towns or situations like mine. I have a family and a business in so it would be hard for me to move and I know the area because I have lived here for 20 years and I grew up here. I always see people say that population growth is a key factor when deciding to invest in a property, but that is something I don't have the privilege of. 

Here is a snapshot of some statistics for my area form datausa.io. 

What is some advice you would share for someone like me? Thanks.