Is it a bad idea to buy a Milwaukee property in the winter?

[Kelly Oswald]

Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to Bigger Pockets and am working on purchasing my first investment property in Milwaukee. I grew up in the Midwest but have lived in Seattle for the past 20+ years. I'm looking forward to getting to know other investors in the area and partner on future projects!

I'm currently searching for a single family or duplex and am in the process of lining up my financing. My memory of Midwest winters is a bit hazy by now but I've heard that people don't (understandably) want to move in the winter given the weather. Would it be wise to hold off on my preapproval for now in case I don't find the right property in the next month or so? I don't want to wind up with an empty rental until Spring if I buy at the wrong time or have the preapproval expire if I get it now and need to wait a few months. I am eager to hear the thoughts of any of you in the Milwaukee area about this issue, and would also really appreciate PM company suggestions in the area.

Thank you, in advance, for your insights!
Kelly

[Marcus Auerbach]

The Milwaukee market has a very strong seasonality and we see the same pattern every year. Fall has always been my favorite time to buy. After the GFC banks wanted to get REO off their books before the end of the year and consumers are not that much different. Prices soften, sold to list ratio is coming down from it spring peak too. Ironically Jan and Feb are probably the two wort months to buy, but the reason my surprise: we have no inventory. Sellers are waiting for spring, this creates the worst imbalance in the marketplace every year. You can find the data on my YouTube channel.

The renting out issue is a bit overrated; sure it is slower during winter, but there is also much less inventory. And does it matter - we average between 70 and100 inquires in the first 48 hours on Zillow. And our average rent is over 1800. So it may take you an extra week or so to fill a vacancy during winter..

Home inspections: snow can be an issue. It prevents you from seeing the roof and the ground around the property, sometimes you cant tell the condition of the concrete driveway. However, we don't have that much snow. And when it snows it does not last that long, a week after snowfall roofs are usually clear again, especially if the attic insulation is not that great (like R60 which is over 2 feet of blow in insulation you see in new construction).

Moving is hard: I would say that's mostly a misconception. People always picture carrying a sofa out during a snow storm. It's almost easier to move during a snow storm in winter than during a rain storm in summer when everything gets soaking wet and your cardboard boxes get soggy and soft. 90% of our winter days are cool and dry, perfect weather to move actually. Precipitation (heavy rain or snow) is never good, winter or summer.