Hit me up when you are ready to expand to the Cedar Rapids area.

I don’t remember off the top of my head but I think last I checked it was like 2% per year. 

This will better help you get an understanding of not just where market is today, but also where it may be heading.

To give some context, I am about to jump head first in to cash flowing rentals, intro post here, and am concerned about the foreclosure projections. 

And why do they always head for the Beach?

I suppose I now need to go over their heads and send the same pics to the city.Thanks for the help!

Those people were con artist and they saw me coming with a sign on my head called Sucker but I tend to think of the positive and this experience thought me the value of screening your tenants.

Another idea that popped into my head would be to put a locking door in the wall.

Consistently thinking realistically beats the crap out of optimism and keeps your head where it needs to be.

The strategy that would be best for you is largely determined by your specific current situation(money, family, etc), risk tolerance, and what your goals are in RE.I think @Nathan Gesner hit it on the head with the house-hack suggestion.