Heartland Investment Partners - April 2022

Heartland Investment Partners - April 2022

& STRIPES

HEARTLAND INVESTMEN T COMPANIES STARS

APRIL 2022

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DARINGARM 319-350-5378

My Property Is Filled With What?! THE REAL ESTATE SURPRISE OF A LIFETIME

As I write this, April Fools’ Day is just around the corner. No one has pulled an April Fools’ joke on me in years, but way back in 2005 I had a crazy experience selling a commercial property that felt like an April Fools’ prank.

it for myself because the last thing I wanted was to ask for $4 million for a property that was only worth $400,000. “Go ahead and take a look around, and start marketing it as soon as you’re ready,” the rep told me. A few days later, a local property inspector who specialized in commercial jobs joined me for a trip to Dubuque. We parked in front of the old

stairs, and almost ran headlong into … you guessed it … MORE TIRES.

The entire basement was so full of tires that I couldn’t even step off the staircase without going face-first into a wall of rubber. What the heck was going on?! We went through with the rest of the inspection as best we could, but inside I was freaking out. A building packed tight with 10,000 tires in the middle of downtown Dubuque was a HUGE fire hazard. If something lit those tires up, they would burn for weeks! I called up Firestone, and they swore they’d have those tires out of there in a snap. But they also swore there weren’t any environmental problems on the property, and let me tell you — neither of those things turned out to be true. Nine months and a whole lot of headaches later, Firestone finally emptied out the building in time for me to sell it to the local newspaper. I was sweating buckets the entire time! More than 15 years later I can’t help but laugh looking back on that April Fools’ joke of a deal. In the game of real estate, you never know what surprises you’ll find! P.S. – To learn about an iconic attraction in Dubuque that’s much cooler than a Firestone, turn to Pg. 3. –Darin Garman

It all started when I got a call from the Firestone Tires real estate department.

“Hey,” the rep said, “We have a location in Dubuque, Iowa, that’s moving to a new building and we’re looking to

Firestone. It was a big building with five dark

offload the old property. Could you sell it for us?”

auto bays. Stepping inside, everything looked normal … until we opened the door that separated the reception area from the auto repair shop. Our jaws dropped so fast they practically bounced off the floor! The entire five-bay space was filled

Even back then I was mostly dealing in multifamily real estate, but Dubuque is only about an hour and a half away from where I live in the Cedar Rapids area. I was intrigued by the idea of selling a Firestone

Our jaws dropped so fast they practically bounced off the floor!

Tires property, and someone had clearly told Firestone I was the guy to help them out. So I figured, why not?

from floor to ceiling with tires. We’re talking stacks and stacks of rubber soaring 15 feet high. There were so many tires that we couldn’t even walk into the space. So much for my inspection! We got claustrophobic pretty quick with all of those dark stacks looming over us, so we decided to check out the rest of the building. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a door to a basement the rep hadn’t mentioned when discussing the property. I headed down the

“Sure!” I said.

We chatted about the price they wanted to get for the vacant property and any environmental problems it might have (there were none). All that was left was for me to do a walk-through of the property with an inspector. I felt I should judge

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WORKING LONGER MAY BE A GOOD IDEA The ProblemWith Women Retiring Earlier

In 1992, counselor and author John Gray published his widely discussed book “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” The relationship book focused on the ways in which men and women communicate differently, offering insight to struggling heterosexual couples. However, in the world of retirement, that same title could apply. Women aren’t approaching retirement like men — and that’s not advantageous. According to studies, women tend to retire earlier than their male counterparts. In particular, white, married women without a higher education degree tend to retire at least 2–3 years earlier than men. In 2018, The New York Times explored this phenomenon and cited a main cause. Women tend to marry men who are older than them, and many couples retire together. Therefore, women are younger than men when they retire.

That same New York Times report found that women live — on average — four years longer than men. In retirement savings-speak, this means women need more retirement income than men. Furthermore, women typically earn less than men, which means their contributions to retirement are often less than men. (In 2021, the Pew Research Center reported women earned 84% of what men made in 2020.) All of this adds up to a major problem: Women are having to rely on that reduced retirement income for a longer period of time. Granted, spouses often share retirement income, which could protect women who choose to retire when their husbands do or earlier than is the norm. However, it may be beneficial for women to work until the same age as their husband’s age of retirement — or longer — to pad their savings. Another New York Times article suggests that working until 70 can provide added income that

savings strategies alone cannot meet. There are many social, cognitive, and emotional benefits to working longer, too. However, retirement is your oyster! Retire when you feel it’s best for you and your retirement savings plan is ready to use. But if this article raises questions, consult with your trusted financial expert.

WOULD YOU GO ALL-IN? This Investment Declined 77%

Imagine you’ve come across an investment that has declined 77% over the last few years. Would you jump on it as an opportunity? Maybe you would. After all, the only direction it can go is up … right?

Now, which community would you buy an apartment complex in?

The answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it?

Wrong. There’s a very old adage in investing: “Buy low, sell high,” but not all investments fit that criterion — and sometimes real estate is one of them.

Stability and growth in the community are key to the success of your apartment investments. Those location factors go beyond all of the spreadsheets, charts, graphs, pro forma statements, and

Bear with me for a second. Yesterday, my wife was on the phone with her mother when the subject of high school graduations came up. It turns out my alma mater in small town Iowa is working hard on its upcoming ceremony. The graduating class this year is a whopping 28 students. When I graduated over 30 years ago my class was 92. That’s a 77% enrollment decline over the last 30-plus years. So, here’s my question to you: Would you invest in this small town? Would you purchase an apartment building in a community with this kind of decline? Hold that thought. The city I live in now is very different. My youngest graduated from high school here a few years ago and had over 600 people in his graduating class. Class sizes are growing year after year and there’s talk of building another high school to meet demand.

management and maintenance personnel details. If you can’t continue to rent your apartment and set them up for cash flow when you’re ready to sell, investing is a monumental waste of time, effort, energy, and of course money! That’s why the very first thing I look at when buying an apartment community for my investors is the RESALE POTENTIAL. Before any other items, THIS is where I spend my time FIRST. If I can check that box, I move on and see if I can turn that opportunity into ownership for myself and my partners. With that in mind, I won’t be investing in my high school town any time soon! –Darin

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I WA LIFE

SUDOKU

SOLUTION

I promised on Pg. 1 that there was something more interesting than a tire-filled Firestone in Dubuque, and here it is: The Julien Dubuque Monument! The monument is technically a grave marker, but it looks like a castle turret about 12 feet wide and 25 feet tall. You might think it was inspired by a medieval king — I definitely did the first time I saw it! — but it actually sits on the grave of Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian trader who settled in Iowa back in the 1700s. Dubuque’s story is pretty fascinating. Back then Spanish colonizers and the Mesquakie tribe had control of the area. When Dubuque showed up, he had to petition the Spanish governor for a piece of land. He also wanted to mine for lead, so he did the right thing and asked the Mesquakie for permission. When he got two yeses, Dubuque settled down and founded what the city of Dubuque claims was “the first Euro-American settlement in what is now Iowa.” (He didn’t name his land Dubuque, though — he actually called it “The Mines of Spain” because the governor was such a nice guy. The town wasn’t named Dubuque until 1833, and today The Mines of Spain is a combination historic landmark and recreation area.) Dubuque went on to marry a woman named Potosa, who was the daughter of the local Mesquakie chief. Talk about a smart marriage! Potosa is actually one reason why the monument is there today. When Dubuque died, the tribe buried him in a wooden mausoleum with tribal honors. Eventually the mausoleum came down and folks replaced it with the Julien Dubuque Monument in 1897. I try to stop by the monument every time I’m in Dubuque, just to check it out. That joke of a Firestone sale might have been the first time I saw it, but I visited again last summer when I was in town for a wedding. The view from the hilltop over the Mississippi is pretty nice and I like the old-school look of the castle. If you’re ever in Dubuque, add this spot to your list of things to see.

SALES AND SUCCES S

APARTMENT

AVAILABLE! 2 DUPLEX PROPERTIES! LOCATED ON ONE PARCEL! SIDE BY SIDE! $159,000

12 UNITS — SOLD!

FINALLY! OWN TERRIFIC MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES WITH YEARS AND YEARS OF TRACK RECORD! PASSIVELY OWN OVER 1,000+ APARTMENTS WITH DARIN IN 2022! CALL OR EMAIL DARIN FOR PRIORITY INVESTOR DETAILS.

CONTACT DARIN TODAY AT 319-350-5378 FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE LISTINGS!

–Darin

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HEARTLAND INVESTMENT COMPANIES

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Darin Garman: Heartland’s Most Trusted Multi-Family Investment Advisor 2505 Silver Oak Trail Marion, IA 52302 DarinGarman.com 319-350-5378

INSIDE

Page 1 Darin Gets Pranked in a Crazy Real Estate Deal Page 2 Women Retire Before Men — Why That’s a Problem

When NOT to ‘Buy Low’

Page 3 The Tale of Iowa’s Tiniest Castle

Apartment Sales and Success

Page 4 ‘Chatter’: Your Guide to Thriving Under Pressure

Take Your Internal Pep Talks Up a Notch

WITH TIPS FROM ‘CHATTER’

You probably know about the benefits of positive self-talk, but have you mastered it? If not — or if you’ve never heard that phrase — “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It” by Ethan Kross may be the most important book you read in 2022. Positive self-talk is something most of us engage in daily. It’s the “you can do this” nudge you give yourself to combat dark thoughts like “I don’t know what I’m doing” and “no one will take me seriously” before a big presentation. But few resources give you precise strategies for how to engage in positive self- talk effectively so you can make those negative impulses go away. “Chatter” is an exception to the rule, perhaps because it was written by an actual psychologist! Leaning heavily on scientific research and engaging case studies, Kross offers concrete tips for reducing negative thoughts (what he calls “chatter”) and giving your self-confidence a boost. One of his biggest tips, which drives a big chunk of the book, is the importance of creating “mental distance” during your internal pep talks. Mental distance is exactly what it sounds like — stepping back mentally from your worries and problems so you can gain a new perspective. Kross goes over several ways to do this, including trying to “look back” at your current

situation from one, five, or 10 years later; comparing this hurdle to tougher ones in your life; and shifting your internal monologue to third person so you can try talking to yourself as if you were your own friend. With these strategies, we can transform our thoughts, rather than avoid them. Of course, those suggestions just scratch the surface of what’s offered in the book. Kross also goes over how to help your friends, colleagues, and employees eliminate chatter, and how mastering your inner voice will help you thrive under pressure. The magazine Inc. named “Chatter” one of the “4 Business Books That Will Accelerate Your Success In 2022” — don’t miss it.

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DARIN GARMAN ’ S MULTI - FAMILY INVESTMENT SUMMIT

We here at Multi — Family Central are going to have an Investment Summit and Property Tour and you are invited! I will be hosting a LIVE SUMMIT AND PROPERTY TOUR ON Friday April 22nd, 2022 from 9 am to 3 pm and am limiting attendance to only 10 people. This live Summit and Property Tour will be one that may already be “SOLD OUT” by the time you get this, however, if you want to spend a day with likeminded multi-family investors and see

AND PROPERTY TOURS!!

Will You Be Attending The Areas ONLY Multi - Family Summit and Live Property Tour At The Forest Ridge Clubhouse on April 22?

some great real estate contact us today!

REGISTER BELOW!

NAME: _____________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________ ‘ CITY: __________________________________________________ ST: _______________________ ZIP: ____________ *EMAIL: _________________________________________________ Yes Darin! I will be attending your MULTI - FAMILY SUMMIT AND PROPERTY TOUR from 9 AM - 3 pm as the Forest Ridge Apart- ments Clubhouse located at 1220 Sierra Drive NE Cedar Rapids. I am looking forward to participating and know that there is limited seating and understand there is no cost to attend. 1. Scan and Email: [email protected] Subject Line: “ SUMMIT ATTENDANCE ” 2. FAX 1 - 319 - 774 - 2611 No Cover Page Needed. 3. Mail: 1350 Boyson Road A1 Hiawatha, IA 52233 **DEADLINE TO RETURN THIS FORM IS APRIL 19TH!! Questions? Call Darin #319 - 350 - 5378!!