New guy in Madison, Wisconsin

[Trevin Fritschka]

Hello BP! My name is Trevin Fritschka, I live in Madison, Wisconsin and just getting into the world of real estate. I've been spending a lot of time on this site, and listening to as many podcasts as i have time for. Currently I am 28 and in graduate school (physical therapy, graduate in May 2017), and am taking this time to learn as much as I can to prep for a future in real estate investment.

Ultimately I see real estate as an excellent augment to my full time job, and one that will eventually take over as my full time job. PT will be a way for me to get enough cash to get my foot in the door, and my goal is to ultimately generate enough income with real estate that it can take over for my full time job, and become a business in itself. The ultimate goal is to generate enough passive income that I can choose to work as much or as little as I want, in real estate or PT. I don't live an extravagant lifestyle, and try to follow a lot of the values you'd see at Mr Money Mustache blog for those of you that are familiar (what led me to BP in the first place), and real estate will get me there. I really like that it is something that can absolutely pay off and is directly related to the amount of work I put into it, which is not always the case with the salaried jobs that I will be looking at after school.

I've lived in a lot of different places and have no idea where I'd like to end up. I live in Madison currently, but have lived in Seattle, Chapel Hill (UNC alum), Kalispell, and Truckee previously. Wisconsin is where I grew up and I like Madison but the mountains are calling me back. As a physical therapist I should have some flexibility in where I can find a job, and I don't have ties to any place. That's something I'd also like to figure out in the next year as well. 

Anyway, that's me. I've gained a lot from this community already and look forward to learning more!

[Pete Sailhamer]

Welcome aboard!

[Alan Brown]

Big Welcome!  Sounds like you've got a plan... have you made a 5 year plan?  Would be good to identify where you're headed asap so you can start familiarizing yourself with the market there... I know how hard it is to be away from the mountains, and to know that you're only temporary where you are!  Difficult to put down roots but maybe not so tough to find good representatives (realtor, prop manager, etc) where you're headed and maybe invest from afar... Its not easy but it can work!  

good luck!

[Trevin Fritschka]

Hey Alan! Yes I am doing my research on where to live daily, but I have not developed a concrete 5 year plan. It is difficult right now without concrete numbers, the best I can do is estimate at what my salary would be, where I would live, and how much loans i will have to pay back at what interest rate. However, I could absolutely get a pretty good estimate on all of those things and figure out a realistic amount of money i could put away toward investing. 

My final year in PT school (starting next fall) is 4 clinical internships, and I plan to combine that with a little bit of scouting. I will be in your area, Bozeman, in the fall, and Milwaukee around thanksgiving (I chose these long before real estate planning was a factor). I haven't chosen my last two internships, but I might go for Pittsburgh for one. The housing costs are more affordable, while still offering the city appeal with good scenery. For the last one I might try something in the Southwest? I don't know, but I have time to figure that out.

Do you have any general tips as far as finding places to consider? Currently I have been looking at housing prices on Zillow (which I know isn't the best place to go to but it is very accessible for me at the moment) and comparing rent prices to see what kind of potential ROI there is. If there is a better strategy out there, I am all ears!

[Mark Nolan]

@Trevin Fritschka

Welcome to Bigger Pockets.

[Davon Lowery]

Welcome to BP.  Be sure to take advance of the wealth of information you have here.

[Edgar Causin]

Trevin! 

Good to hear you are doing well. PM me if you are interested in doing some business together. We have a few rentals in Seattle now and are looking to expand outside of this crazy market. 

Eddie