Property type
Single-family or small multi-family residential. No condos, no mobiles, no HOA-restricted, no large multifamily.
How Pando Works
The five-step process behind every Pando deal.
Five steps from submission to tenant occupancy. Eleven buy-box criteria on every deal. And the on-the-record ledger of every deal Pando has closed.
The Pipeline
Submission to occupancy, in order.
- Step 01
Founder-led sourcing
Pando's founders source properties directly in Iowa river-town markets — estate situations, absentee owners, long-vacant houses — and submissions come from local agents, homeowners, wholesalers, and anyone with knowledge of a property that might fit our buy-box. Each submission runs through Pando's evaluation system in about three minutes.
47 opportunities vetted - Step 02
Buy-box evaluation
Every submission runs through 11 criteria: condition grade, rental-comp strength, lot characteristics, taxation profile, flood-zone status, seller situation, and five more. Public county data, rental-comp triangulation, diligence in hours. A property either clears every criterion or we pass.
11 buy-box criteria - Step 03
Equitable-interest acquisition
Pando acquires the equitable interest in the property by signing a purchase agreement with the seller. This creates a contractual right — a marketable interest — that we can assign to an investor at transfer. The structure is disclosed under Iowa HF 2374 to every counterparty.
wholesale model - Step 04
Local-crew renovation
Trusted local crews handle the rehab in the same sequence: structural mechanicals first (roof, envelope, HVAC, plumbing), then interior finishes. No skipped systems to hit a cosmetic budget. Renovation scope is priced at evaluation so the value-add margin is protected before a shovel moves.
structural-first sequence - Step 05
Transfer & tenant placement
The investor pays the transfer price — set below post-rehab comp value. Marketable interest assigns, title transfers, equity at close lands on day one. Tenant placement runs around 41 days post-transfer. The investor owns the property outright.
18% avg equity at close
How we evaluate
Public data, structured by discipline.
Our diligence stack reads county assessor records, rental-comp data, HUD Fair Market Rent, Census ACS, and FEMA flood maps. Each source gets a confidence class; the dossier flags conflicts rather than silently picking a side. Here's what the three-tier model looks like on a single pedagogical property.
Illustrative dossier · three-tier confidence
Consider a typical buy-box pass — a 3 bd / 1 ba, 1,180 sqft home, post-rehab projected value $95K, acquired at $54K.
StaticProperty fundamentals
Public county records
- Parcel ID
- Illustrative
- Year built
- 1898
- Sqft
- 1,180
- Condition grade
- 5 / 10
Doesn't change between quarterly refreshes. Rendered without a confidence chip.
PeriodicRent + comps + tax
Rental-comp provider · HUD FMR 2026 · County tax roll
- Est. rent
- $975 / mo
- HUD FMR (3BR)
- $1,040 / mo
- Annual taxes
- $812
- Comparable count
- 8
Refreshes on a schedule. A small chip shows how fresh the data is.
Transaction-specificTitle + encumbrances
Title search (pending) · Active listings
- Last sale
- $29K (2017)
- Mortgage status
- Pending verification
- Liens
- None identified
Changes per transaction. Displayed with a verification-state chip until confirmed.
When two sources disagree (sqft between county records and a rental-comp provider, for instance) the dossier shows both side by side with a values differ chip above them. No silent reconciliation — a human decides.
The buy-box
Eleven criteria. Every deal. Every time.
Pando's buy-box is the discipline layer — eleven criteria a property must clear before it reaches an investor. Public county data, rental-comp triangulation, flood-zone status, seller situation, and the math behind the transfer all factor in. A property either clears every criterion or we pass.
Property3 criteria
Condition grade
Functionally livable or grade 5+ on a 10-point scale. Structural issues are acceptable when priced for them; complete tear-downs are not.
Lot characteristics
Lot size, setbacks, and zoning support a long-term hold. Renovation work is feasible without zoning relief.
Market3 criteria
Geographic market
Iowa river-town markets — Lee County and adjacent corridors with stable population bases. Declining population counties don't qualify.
Rental-comp strength
Three or more comparable rentals support the projected monthly rent. RentCast, HUD Fair Market Rent, and Census ACS triangulate.
Flood-zone status
FEMA flood-zone classification supports insurability at reasonable cost. Properties in extreme flood zones don't qualify.
Deal3 criteria
Acquisition price
Acquisition target within Pando's range — distressed pricing relative to post-rehab comp value, with margin for rehab, transfer spread, and investor day-one equity.
Renovation budget
Renovation scope and budget are bounded — cosmetic to moderate structural, not raw demolition. Budget protects the value-add margin before work begins.
Transfer economics
Transfer price below post-rehab comp value. Investor receives day-one equity at close; Pando is compensated on the assignment spread.
Counterparty2 criteria
Seller situation
Estate, absentee owner, pre-probate, tired landlord, motivated seller. Active litigation, unclear title, or auction-only situations don't qualify.
Taxation profile
Property tax burden is sustainable post-acquisition. Tax-history irregularities (back taxes, assessment disputes) get flagged before a purchase agreement signs.
Submitters get a specific reason on every rejection — which criterion didn't fit, what would change the answer. The agents and homeowners with the highest acceptance rates by month three are the ones who read the feedback on the misses.
State
Archetype fit
0%
Showing 6 of 6 past deals
Keokuk, IA
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,180 sqft
Purchase
$54,000
Transfer
$86,000
Equity
21%
+$32,000
Proj. rent
$1,050 / mo
Closed
AUG 2025
Heavier rehab — full roof + kitchen. Comp'd against 3 in-neighborhood pairs.
Keokuk, IA
2 bd · 1 ba · 980 sqft
Purchase
$48,500
Transfer
$72,000
Equity
17%
+$23,500
Proj. rent
$925 / mo
Closed
SEP 2025
Turnkey. Tenant placed 38 days after transfer.
Fort Madison, IA
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,340 sqft
Purchase
$62,000
Transfer
$94,500
Equity
19%
+$32,500
Proj. rent
$1,175 / mo
Closed
OCT 2025
Purchased as part of a two-property sequence for the same investor.
Keokuk, IA
2 bd · 1 ba · 910 sqft
Purchase
$41,000
Transfer
$63,500
Equity
15%
+$22,500
Proj. rent
$825 / mo
Closed
NOV 2025
Entry-level for a first-time rental investor.
Keokuk, IA
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,220 sqft
Purchase
$58,000
Transfer
$88,000
Equity
18%
+$30,000
Proj. rent
$1,085 / mo
Closed
JAN 2026
Light rehab — kitchen refresh + mechanicals. 9% under comp spread.
Burlington, IA
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,420 sqft
Purchase
$67,500
Transfer
$99,000
Equity
16%
+$31,500
Proj. rent
$1,240 / mo
Closed
FEB 2026
Strong rent-to-price — 1.25% rule met.
Addresses are shown at city-level precision. Street-level details are withheld until the property is delivered and the investor explicitly authorizes public display — this protects tenant privacy post-transfer.
Frequently Asked
Questions we hear about the process.
INSIGHTS.DEAL-MECHANICS
The mechanics, stress-tested.
How wholesale transfers actually work — equity math, title, diligence, what happens after close — written for the investor reading to find the catch.
DEAL-MECHANICS.06
Equity at Close, Explained: The Math of Buying Below Comp Value
Instant equity is the gap between what you pay and what the property appraises for on day one. Here's the math, the catch to check for, and how to verify it.
June 11, 20266 min
DEAL-MECHANICS.07
Buying From a Wholesaler: What Smart Investors Verify First
Wholesalers have a trust problem — some of it earned. The six things to verify before buying from one, and what a legitimate operation looks like.
June 11, 20267 min
DEAL-MECHANICS.22
How to Verify an ARV: Auditing the Comps Behind a Deal
ARV is only as honest as its comps. A working method for auditing after-repair value on any deal — what to pull, what to reject, where claims break.
June 11, 20267 min
INDEX / MORE DEAL-MECHANICS
- 08Wholesale vs Turnkey vs Syndication: Which Model Fits Which Investor
- 09Inside the 11-Criteria Buy-Box: Why We Pass on Most Properties
- 10Iowa's Wholesale Disclosure Law (HF 2374): What Buyers Should Know
- 21Assignment vs Double Close: How Wholesale Deals Actually Transfer
- 23Inspecting a 100-Year-Old House: What Diligence Catches in Old Midwest Stock
Next Step
See how your profile fits.
Request access to the Deals Room, or book a Discovery Call if you'd rather talk it through with Marc first.
Or talk to Marc directly — marc@ownpando.com