All Forum Posts by: Faisal Farnas

James,
Thanks for the links! I guess I need to do some more online research :)

Dennis,
Excellent tip about the taxes. May I ask in what part of Iowa do you own? I am interested in the Iowa City area, but Cedar Rapids is also a possibility.

Jon,

Thanks for the quick reply! You are right about the 12k square feet being huge, I meant 1,200 square feet :)

It seems that the prices in Iowa City are inflated because of the proximity to campus and the hospital, yet the rents do not fully compensate for that (not sure why).

It does not seem like the best market for renting out property.
However I think it still makes sense to buy since I will live in the place for a couple of years, and given the new Iowa Mortgage Credit Certificate program announced last week:

http://www.iowafinanceauthority.gov/en/for_home_buyers/mortgage_credit_certificate/

Hello Fellow BP'ers,

I am looking to buy my first home in the Iowa City area. I currently live there and have been for the past 6 years (went to school, the got a job). The catch is that I am not sure if I will stay in the house for more than 2 years, so I want to buy something that I can either rent out for a decent cash flow after I move, or sell for a little bit of a profit. I think I am done renting, so I do not plan on renewing my lease. I have enough cash for 20% or even 30% down no problem and I am absolutely debt free.

I cannot decide between Iowa City (college town) Vs. North liberty (a burb 15 minutes from Iowa City).

According to my research, here are the pros and cons of both cities. I am looking for general or specific advice from experienced people, anything will be helpful so please do not hesistate:

***** Iowa City *****

Pros:
- Proximity to campus and the hospital makes it very easy to sell or rent out when the time comes.

- Rents are higher than other cities ( a $90k condo can rent for $850 a month, a $140k townhome can rent for about $1250 per month).

Cons:
- The most expensive real estate in Iowa
- There is not much appreciation in the values year over year.
- Hard to find good deals - those are snatched instantly.
- Prices were almost not affected by the recession.

***** North Liberty ****

Pros:
- Lots of new contruction.
- Plenty of cheaper and newer homes for sale.
- Area is expanding with more grocery stores/restaurants ...etc. This could mean more price appreciation when new construction finally stops?
- Prices went down slightly from 2007 levels, so potential to earn for appreciation if the market continues to rebound.

Cons:
- Could be harder to sell or rent out (why would people rent there if they can buy a relatively new home for a similar monthly payment?)

- Rent is cheaper than Iowa City. (further away from campus, mostly families live in the area and generally prefer to buy rather than rent).

I am looking for eather an apartment style condo in the $80k-$100k range, or a small townhome around 12k sq feet for around $120k-$140k range. Newer is better, as I don't want to deal with a lot of repairs at the beginning.

Regards,
Faisal

Hello There,

I stumbled upon BP while researching properties and buy/rent scenarios online, and allow me to thank everyone here for their contributions on this amazig site.

I plan on buying a property to live in somewhere close the the Iowa City (State of Iowa) area, but I intend to stay in it for around 2 years then rent it out. After reading several articles about being a land lord, many of them caution against renting out in a tenant-friendly state.

I am trying to determine what kind of state Iowa is. I know the property taxes are some of the highest in the nation, but I am not sure about laws governing the tenant/landlord relationship (evictions..etc).

Any people who own property in Iowa out there? What are your views?

If not, can you point me to resources that can help answer my question?

Thanks a lot,
Faisal