Uprooting to a new community is fraught with baggage — emotional and otherwise.
So when Cody and Sarah Earhart learned they were bound for Iola, they were pleasantly suprised to discover that finding a home would be the least of their worries.
The Earharts moved to Iola just this week for his job as an engineer at Cameron, the oil and gas equipment manufacturer at 25 W. Miller Rd.
Their search for a home was answered by GROW Iola, an acronym for “great real estate opportunities within Iola,” and the brainchild of Monty Rogers and Ryan Sparks since the first of the year.
The Earharts figured it would take some effort to find a place to live in Iola from their home in Houston. The effort amounted to a few telephone conversations.
“We dropped off our cat on Thursday (July 29) and went on to Pittsburgh (Pa.) for a wedding,” Cody said. The Earharts were back in Iola Monday, when their belongings from Houston arrived, and he was off to work while Sarah settled into their new home.
Their rental, at 2932 Dodge Dr., has exceeded expectations, in large measure because GROW Iola had made sure the home was all Rogers and Sparks wanted it to be before it appeared on their website, growiola.com.
“That’s what we want,” Rogers said, “a home that’s comfortable and safe, one that either Ryan or I would be perfectly willing to spend time in.”
Preparation of what became the Earharts’ residence included a thorough inspection, with attention to plumbing and electrical systems as well as creature comforts, and a fresh coat of paint on the outside.
“While every citizen of the community may not be prepared to own a home, they do deserve a comfortable, safe and affordable home,” Rogers said.
PROPERTY management isn’t new to Rogers or Sparks, nor is the relationship between them.
Rogers grew up in Iola and graduated from Iola High School in 1982. After earning a degree in pharmacy at the University of Kansas, he moved on to the Kansas City area, where he lives today in Overland Park.
But, he still considers himself an Iolan.
“I do a lot of presentations around the country” for his pharmaceutical company, Rogers said, “and when people ask where I’m from, I still say, ‘Iola,’ not Overland Park.”
Sparks graduated from IHS in 2000 and after completing his college education returned to Iola to work with his parents, Terry and Cheryl Sparks, in their State Farm Insurance agency, 15 W. Madison Ave.
When their paths began to cross more and more frequently, Rogers and Sparks learned each had interests in local housing. Sparks has ownership in four properties and Rogers owns two triplexes on North Buckeye and North streets.
“We got to talking about property management, recognized that each of us had a deep interest in it, as well as a passion for making the Iola community better,” Rogers said. “We decided why not join together.”
Since Jan. 1 they have taken on 20 properties in addition to the ones they own.
PROPERTY management from their perspective is more than just putting a client in a house and collecting monthly rent checks to send on to property owners minus a commission.
“We’re a full-service property management company,” Rogers said. “We inspect each new property and make sure it is of high quality and safe before we even consider offering it for rent.”
It’s marketed only when work by local vendors meet GROW Iola standards.
Potential renters also have standards to meet. Background checks are run on all potential clients, including their employment status and income to protect both the company and the property owner.
“We have several people waiting for homes to come open,” Rogers noted. “Some living here want to move to a better place and others are from out of town, looking for a place so they can move to Iola.”
“There’s a high demand for good rental properties in Iola,” Sparks said.
Available housing comes from several sources.
Rogers built the two triplexes, he said, because “Iola is my hometown and I have a concern for Iola’s infrastructure.” The two complexes unequivocally are upgrades from what were there before.
Many of the houses GROW Iola accepts to manage had been vacant and owned by family here or elsewhere that didn’t have the wherewithal or interest to make improvements. GROW Iola is willing to take on that responsibility and then recoups costs through a portion of subsequent months’ rental payments.
TO CONTACT GROW Iola go to its website, growiola.com, or call 365-6900.
To give property owners who might like to avail themselves of GROW Iola’s services, Rogers and Sparks have scheduled a seminar at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 in Riverside Park’s New Community Building.
