All Forum Posts by: Thomas Fosnaugh

Starts of with small fee per transaction (25-50 cents I think)..mine are no charge now

Dwolla is great for online payments, very low fees.

We have also had good luck with lockboxes on site and we pick up at a certain date at a certain time - helps eliminate the excuses.  I also like it for picking up paperwork, storing extra keys, etc

Dwolla is great for online payments, very low fees.

We have also had good luck with lockboxes on site and we pick up at a certain date at a certain time - helps eliminate the excuses.  I also like it for picking up paperwork, storing extra keys, etc

Wondering if anyone has any experience in Iowa selling a fourplex that is held in a Coop?  I think most of use hold them in a "123 Main St. Residential Coop" type entity.  Does the buyer have to form a new entity or is it possible to transfer the ownership rights of the entity with the property?

Thanks

We own a couple duplexes on 3rd Ave in Marion.  The 3BR full basement with single garage rents for $900/month, 2 BR full basement single garage $750/month  (this one probably under market).

Our other duplex units are 2 BR 1BA with carports for 650-700.

I think $1250 with a decent renter  is pushing it unless the house has/will have top of the line finishes.  We've been looking at buying some SFRs in Marion for a while but can't find a decent enough deal for the numbers to make sense.

Garages and in-unit laundry seem to be big selling points for renters in my experience.

I went to six years of college to get my doctorate in pharmacy and I definitely think the most valuable and useful part of my entire education as it applies to my professional career was the typing class I took freshman year of high school. 

My wife and I always remember how priceless our private school liberal arts college educations are when we're turning units or hauling appliances up a flight of stairs.

Landlords of Linn County has a monthly meeting.  Lots of good landlording forms and there are always local vendors and landlords at the meetings. 

Anybody have any recommendations for reliable and reasonably priced snow removal in Cedar Rapids?

I have a fourplex in Marion probably similar to yours with window a/c.  I have noticed meaningful savings in common area electric cost in led bulbs and gas costs in insulation in attic.  At the same point as you are wondering how to save money the easy way - whether to keep dragging a gas/water old boiler along or switch to something cheaper?  Wonder about electic baseboard costs/ installation and keeping good tenants once you pass cost along in electric billl?

I'm in the Cedar Rapids area - my wife's parents used to live in Ottumwa and I've worked in that general area some.  Sigourney is a pretty small town in a very rural area.  Ottumwa is a big meat packing town, Fairfield is small college town, Riverside has a casino, Amana/Kalona are Amish areas.

Biggest issues in that area I would think would be proximity to jobs and meth.  Also, some of the small multi-family built in 70s and 80s in Iowa have wood foundations and most properties above a duplex are zoned commercial (much higher taxes) so you have to form a Coop or Condo (S Corp) to convert to residential status to drop the taxes.  Also seems to be a fair amount of Orangeburg pipe that was used in Iowa in older properties.