Newbie in Southeast Wisconsin

[Ricky Serna]

Hey everyone! 

Happy to finally be posting on BiggerPockets after listening to just about every episode of the podcasts. I am 25 and working in healthcare full time while saving up for my first small multifamily house hack. I live and grew up in Whitewater, WI but went to college at UW Milwaukee so I'm looking to invest in one of these areas to start. (Leaning towards the Greater Milwaukee Area) I will most likely be using an FHA loan to take advantage of a low downpayment and hoping to find a 4plex. Thoughts? Not rushing my purchase as I want to find the right deal and the coronavirus is really changing things rapidly but hope to purchase something by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Any advice for someone transitioning into a landlord part time?

Thanks for having me!

[Brett Kash]

@Ricky Serna Welcome to BP! I did the exact same thing you described in 2017 when I bought my duplex which I still house hack. This was an awesome way to get started for low money down. 4 Plex in Milwaukee is tough to find because everyone wants one but keep your ear to the ground. If you're buying FHA its worth noting that you'll more than likely be paying market price or even a little over if its an attractive listing. In my experience, finding a "killer deal" with FHA financing is near impossible. Reason being is that first your offer is always less attractive because its going to be harder for you to close with the FHA inspection at all, not to mention FHA buyers have a bit of a bad rep of getting cold feet as first time homebuyers. In addition, you cannot pursue anything needing any real work done again because of that pesky FHA inspection. That said, I still think its a great way to jump in, just important to understand the limitations of the financing you are using.