Looking to purchase in Milwaukee

[Kole Kingslien]

Hey guys, I am fairly new to biggerpockets, and have been studying and learning on here for about 2 months, and am finally ready to try and start investing. I live right outside of Madison, and I just purchased my first rental property in Beloit (closing in November), and am interested in getting into the Milwaukee area. I am just looking around to see if there is anyone on here who is active in that area who might have some valuable information and some tips? I don't really know good areas from bad areas, and I am also skeptical about finding a reliable property manager over there. I would be most interested in creative financing opportunities, and possibly partnerships. I also do not know anything of the rental market. My wife and I plan to take a drive over there in a couple of weeks to try to get a better sense of the neighborhoods, and try to understand what the market is like. 

If anyone has any useful information that they wouldn't mind sharing, I would greatly appreciate it! You can PM me here on bigger pockets if you want to talk. Thanks!

[Rebecca Knox]

This is a link to the neighborhoods of Milwaukee. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_neighborhood...

I like to look at up and coming areas and invest around those radius's. I also like the Trulia crime map which does a decent job at depicting the type of area it is, RED being the most high-risk investment area. 

I just want to mention something about partnerships that I've learned either being in them myself or hearing others stories. Many times people partner with people to fast forward their education or real estate goals. Before you partner with someone, check their credentials. If you are partnering to educated yourself, make sure they actually have a SUCCESSFUL system because if they don't have one, it will be a lot of distress.  I'm not trying to discourage you from partnerships as there are many successful ones that go on in Milwaukee, but just be sure to do your due diligence just as you would before hiring a contractor. 

Good luck in your REI adventures. If you need help with a PM, I can give you a referral.