New Member Introductions
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 10 years ago, 04/29/2014
Graduate from Wisconsin
Hello! My name is Adam Johnson. I'm was born in Janesville, WI and also lived in Wausau, WI. I just learned about real estate investing over Thanksgiving weekend 2013 while talking to an investor I had just met. He was born Wausau and now owns his own company in Denver doing rehab and flips. I began researching real estate investing and on the web and went to my first local REIA meeting in Milwaukee on April 22, 2014. I am currently a student graduating from UW-Whitewater on May 17, 2014 and before I enter the police academy in the Fall I want to learn about what real estate investing has to offer.
My goal is to be financially independent. I know that breaking into real estate investing is going to be difficult as I was frustrated and discouraged after realizing how much I have to learn after attending the REIA meeting.
I am young and inexperienced but I am determined to make real estate investing work for me. I joined this website because the investor I met from Denver told me that if I want to be successful, I need to surround myself with successful people and I feel participating on this website will benefit my real estate investing career.
As of now, I am mostly seeking advice on how to get started. I encourage and appreciate any and all advice thrown my way from anyone on this site.
Hey @Adam Johnson , welcome to BP. (I've been to Wausau a few times, working for a certain van lines company, but based in Denver.) New to the game myself, I've found that I learn nuggets of information every day on the BP forum. Once you pick your niche, the information and advice is endless! Being a young guy that may be able to move around, you might consider living in 1/2 of an investment property while renting out the other half. It's a great way to get someone else to pay your mortgage and gain equity at the same time.
Welcome Adam! I'm a broker/investor here in Denver. Let me know if I can help as you get to know the area.
Hi @Adam Johnson Welcome to BP forum. I'm sure if you have probably been exploring this site you know how much good information there is here. I wish I had known about this sooner.
Welcome to the site @Adam Johnson . I think you've started on the right foot by joining the site and getting to a REIA meeting. Continue that and read the forum chats here. There is a giant wealth of within this site. Let me know if you have any questions, or send me a message, I'm always willing to talk WI market.
Hey Adam
Welcome to the site. One thing you will learn is everyone here is here to help and share their knowledge at various levels.
The benefit is learning and networking like you have started doing.
I would be interested in helping you in anyway I can.
You need to first try to target what area of focus you would like to learn and stick with it. It is very easy to get discouraged sometimes. I know first hand.
Drop me a note if I can assist in guidance.
Brian
I will probably see you at the next REIA meeting as I typically go but missed this weeks.
If you are not a member, you may want to join. This is my second year as a member and I take advantage of the discounted costs to attend different events. Last weekend it was an Equity Trust IRA event. May 3rd weekend there is Wholesaling meeting that is open to members only.
That being said, my advice is to not buy into any program until you've done your research and have asked around as to how good or bad the offering is.
I went with a Guru initially and only learned about Bigger Pockets after the fact. If I had learned about Bigger Pockets first, I would own a few properties with the Guru money I spent!
See you at the next Meeting!
@Mike Wadsley I was strongly considering the 1/2 option. What do I look for? Duplexes, multi family homes? Or if someone could direct me to the forum section I can post that question that would be great. I'm not up to date forum etiquette.
You can go either direction, but may be driven by availability in your chosen market. I prefer duplexes, because the logistics are able to be easily segregated.
There is a lot of information in the Multi-Family and Apartment Investing forum where you'll find a lot of do's, don't and gotcha's for multi-family investing.
There's a great thread going at http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/124948-sfh-2-4-units-or-5-multifamily---why-do-you-choose-one
Hey @Adam Johnson
I'm a fellow UW-Whitewater Graduate as well. I finished up there back in 2010. I was in your same position. I however was recently married and choose to go the single family house route, and I'm now fighting to find the capital to get units. Looking back at it if I could do it again and I would try to get as many units I could based on the owner occupant down payment requirements.
Its great that a duplex will pay your mortgage but I have found that the lower owner occupant down payment requirements is of the most value. If you can find a 4 plex or even 8-plex that cash flows already and that you can purchase with just 3-3.5% down that could really push you off to a fast start. Look around at what is out there for multi-unit buildings and what you can afford based on a 3.5% down payment. If the property is cash flowing already there shouldn't be much of a worry about making the mortgage payment either.
Student rentals is also a great option right in Whitewater. I still own a rental out there that I bought when I was attending school there.
Good luck and feel free to message me if you have questions or would like to talk further.
#3 Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements Contributor
- Investor
- Maui, HI
- 3,944
- Votes |
- 13,324
- Posts
#3 Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements Contributor
- Investor
- Maui, HI
Hey @Adam Johnson welcome to BP!
Welcome to BP! Listen to all the podcasts, read as many blog posts as you can, and continue to attend the local REIA meetings.
Get yourself some professional looking business cards, ask individuals at these meetings if they would be willing to do an informational interview, as you are extremely motivated, can tell they are the one in the room worth talking to, and that you are hoping to avoid having to learn all the hard lessons yourself that come with the industry.
Good luck!
Welcome to BP. I'm pretty new to BP still, but have found so much useful info just searching around the forums. I wish I would have stumbled upon this site before investing because I would not have ended up with a pretty bad duplex in Kenosha. Anyway, read as much as you can and ask lots of questions before you start investing. Figure out if you will manage the properties yourself or use a management company (mgt company is causing me a lot of headaches and it seems like that is the case for many people).
Where are you going to the academy at? I was a PO in Pleasant Prairie for six years before moving out to Vegas where I'm still a PO. My family is moving back to the Milwaukee area in June/July though where I'm going to get more involved in real estate by being an agent (maybe a PO part-time).
So, ask lots of questions and post whatever deal you may find on here so that others can chime in on it. Pretty sure if I posted mine when I started I would have been smacked upside the head for wanting to buy it. Good luck on the LE career. Let me know if you have any questions about being a PO and the academy.
Conrad
Does anyone have any property management recommendations for the Milwaukee area? I've looked some up online, however the good star ratings are often by tenants which doesn't help from an owners perspective!
@Richard F. maybe send @Carlton B. a private message
regarding Porch Light Property Management
What the size of the property ? sfr , duplex , multi-family
Originally posted by @Ramon Jenkins:
regarding Porch Light Property Management
What the size of the property ? sfr , duplex , multi-family
Thank you...I sent a PM.