All Forum Posts by: Joe McGovern

Hi BP!

I am looking for my first investment in Des Moines, Iowa (I live about 30 min away from DSM). I have found a property on the MLS where the numbers work great, but the property is located in a rougher area. This house itself was recently remodeled and is pretty much move-in ready. The houses around it look a little rougher. The house faces a park and is right next to a library.

I'm wondering how all you experienced investors weigh the factors of numbers working vs owning a property in a rougher area. What would cause you to pull the trigger on a property like this? Would you always avoid it? Do you think this is a good or bad idea for my first investment?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hello BP!

I'm a new real estate investor and got connected to a real estate agent from a friend who is an active investor in our area. The agent has been delightful to work with - answers questions very quickly, flexible schedule, and overall has been very helpful. 

What should my expectation be in terms of finding leads? Does my real estate agent's responsibility end at getting me set up on the MLS? Should they be finding leads outside of the MLS? I have been set up for email alerts on the MLS, and other than that, my agent has not brought any other leads to me. Is that expected? I really enjoy working with this agent, but don't know if I should be expecting more in terms of finding leads.

Can ya'll give me your thoughts?

Thanks!

Hello BP folks! I'm just getting into real estate investing! I haven't purchased my first property yet, but I am actively looking. One of the things that has become very obvious to me is that a key to success is having a steady stream of deals come your way. How would you recommend building a deal funnel? How did you build systems that put deals in front of you? Looking at the MLS and driving for dollars seem like low hanging fruit, but beyond that - what would you do? I feel a little awkward sending out mailers when I have zero properties in my portfolio.

Thoughts? Advice? I would love to hear it!

If you're in the Ames/Des Moines Iowa area, let me know!

Hi Hailey, I live and work in Ames (I actually work at the same place as Rick ^^). I agree with Rick - my sense has been that you can get houses in the Des Moines area for a lower cost than you could find in Ames, and they rent for the same price, resulting in a higher profit margin. The growth of ISU hasn't been as significant as what was projected, so there has been a bunch of new housing, which I think has been more challenging to fill due to the lack of growth and increased housing (i.e. more supply but less demand).

I did recently talk to someone who works as a property manager in Ames and she said that they were raising rent costs again, but that isn't convincing enough for me.

I live in Ames and work in Ames but am investing in the Des Moines area just because I think you can have a greater profit margin than what you can find in Ames.

Real estate investors continue to buy in Ames and they will make money doing so, but I just think there is more money to be made in the DSM area unless you are wanting to buy at a much larger scale (like apartment complexes).

Let me know if I can help in any way!

@Anthony Wick I would appreciate that! Thanks!

I missed the iowa keyword so just adding that here

Hi friends!

I'm a newbie getting into real estate investing in Des Moines, IA. Does anyone have any recommendations on great property managers in the area?

Thanks!

@Mike McCarthy thanks for the quick response!

For an example payment...

If you had 10k borrowed and an interest rate of 5%, would you pay $500/mo? Or would you divide that number by 12, for a result of $41? Not sure which (or if either) is right but just wanting to figure out how that monthly payment is calculated.

Thanks!

Hello!

I'm a newbie from Iowa to the real estate investment world and am in need of capital to make my first investment. One of the options I've been looking into is using a HELOC on my primary residence. Before doing this though, I want to make sure I fully understand it. I would like to borrow around 10-15k to assist with a down payment. My thought would be to make the minimum payment for ~6 months, and then repay the 10k in full. I could just wait 6 months for that additional 10k to be made available to me, but want to have the HELOC as an option in the event that I find an awesome deal before then.

Could someone tell me how to calculate the minimum payment on this? Does interest compound? Are there any annual fees, maintenance fees, or closing costs I should beware of in opening this account?

Does anyone have any experience using a HELOC to fund part of a down payment?

Thanks for the help!

Hi Ashley! I'm also a newbie, but I might have some answers...

1. I believe that the entire cost of the sale needs to be rolled over (profit + equity). There may be some ninja ways you can get that money out after the new property has been purchased, but I don't know enough to really speak to that. 

2. My understanding is that "like-kind" is talking about the type of asset, not necessarily the type of property. You can preform 1031 exchanges on other assets classes i.e. a classic vehicle. You could not 1031 your property to get an asset of a different class (the classic vehicle that will increase in value over time). As long as you are selling real estate and buying real estate with your 1031 exchange, you should be fine. Converting single family to multi family should be good.

I would recommend talking to an attorney and/or CPA about this to get the most accurate information.