All Forum Posts by: Pat Desenberg

Bought a house in Waukee at the end of last year. Planning to BRRR it, but the rehab (full cosmetic) is dragging on due to difficulties with my contractor. I’ve been watching the Waukee sale and rental markets closely for a while now. I have 2 conclusions: 1.) houses sell fast, and you should probably hope for the 1% rule at best. 2.) SFR rentals don’t pop up that often, relative to WDM/Urbandale/etc. I’m hoping that this is indicative of a strong market.

Great thought, thanks Jenifer.

Great point, John. I may have to put a disclaimer about info security for email submissions.

I'm just finishing up the rehab on my first SFR rental. As it winds down, I'm really trying to streamline my application-to-lease processes. My plan is to give all interested tenants an application at the time of showing. There will be instructions on my website that outline options for returning applications (in-person, by mail, and by email). My questions for the BP community is whether or not email submission is actually allowed? Is it enough to have the applicant scan their signed application, or do I need to have the wet ink original?

I'm a new (wannabe) investor in the Des Moines area.  I'm currently evaluating SFRs in hopes of buying my first rental.  I'm also trying to read/learn all I can in the meantime.  I'm strongly considering getting my agent license for a few reasons:

• Education.  Since I'm taking the time to educate myself about real estate from an investor standpoint, I might as well get classroom credit for it.
• Submit my own Offers.  While I've only currently spoken with a few agents in the area about my investment plans, I already get the sense that they aren't too excited to work with investors (at least not if the investor is wanting to make more offers than they're used to.. and possibly lower offers than they're used to).
• Unrestricted MLS Access.

I've got a couple questions before I dive into the process of courses/exam/license:

• As an agent, I'll need a broker.  Are there brokers our there that work with investors/part-time agents better than others?  Does it matter?
• I was looking at the coursework through the Iowa Association of Realtors, but was wondering if there were any better/recommended offerings that others may have experience with?  I work a full-time job, so I'd be limited to nights/weekends.
• Are there any downsides to becoming a licensed agent, as an investor, that I may not be aware of?

Thanks,

Pat

Welcome Orian! My wife warmed up to REI after I broke down the 4 ways you can make money (cashflow, appreciation, tax, and loan pay down) vs other investment vehicles (e.g. stocks where you may only get appreciation and minimal dividends). Good luck!

Thanks, Timothy!

Thanks for the warm welcome, Gilian!

Thanks everyone.. wow.. great advice already!

Hello BP Community, my wife and I are excited to get into investing in the Des Moines area.  We are currently still in the "education" phase, and are starting to get practice looking at properties (single-family) and analyzing potential cash flow and CoCROI.  

For our first purchase, we are hoping to find something relatively turnkey so we can eliminate the rehab process to (hopefully) get a tenant in asap.  

At the moment, some of the big questions I've got are around landlording and the liabilities and legalities associated with it in our area (is an inspection/certification required, are our personal assets safe without forming an LLC, etc.).

BP has been a huge help in answering my questions so far, and I look forward to participating and learning more in the future... and building passive income through good buy and hold investments!

-Pat