All Forum Posts by: Abigail Ford

This has been what I've been struggling with. I am itching to buy my first rental property, but I've been waiting and saving as much as I can to afford a larger down payment (currently have $20k), while also dealing with a cross country move myself. I'm in the Milwaukee area and already live rent free (staying in an in-law suite)... anyone have advice on if it's better to wait till the Spring to buy? I had initially set the goal to buy before the end of 2020, but I don't know how many people are moving around in the middle of winter - especially in a pandemic. 

@John Lyszczyk - Thank you!! As I am fresh out of college (and I stayed local for it) I am new to even the simple aspects of home/property buying hence why I wound up here. I was originally planning on doing my mortgage through my primary bank (a national branch), but they don't have any locations in Wisconsin! Any advice on if I should find someone here or if doing the mortgage process remotely works out okay?

@Phillip Davis - I am familiar with the house hacking strategy, but at the moment I am fortunate to be living rent free (I moved into a paid for in-law suite) and will be for the foreseeable future. I think I will end up using that strategy when I move again, which won't be for two or three years. Hopefully it will mark my second purchase! I'm not committed to any area, I would love advice on which market(s) you think are best!

@Rebecca Knox - I would love to invest somewhere relatively local to my area; so up to an hour vicinity from Milwaukee? Would love any advice you have on what neighborhoods are doing well! And thank you, I will check it out. I've seen a few houses that advertise new roofs, new cooling systems, new water heaters, etc... Would you say buying something newly renovated/updated would be best, as a general rule? I had assumed so but of course it means higher listing prices.

Hello BP!

I recently made a cross country move to Wisconsin following my college graduation. This means I'm not overly familiar with the local market (I would like to stay local for my first investment[s]). I have been reading and studying rental property investment and have saved up $20k to get started in my real estate journey. I am interested in achieving steady, passive income so that I don't have to work full time anymore and can be a stay at home mom. I currently work for a property management company who oversees condos, and am onsite in the office to help residents. I would love to be able to manage my own property but definitely need to learn more about what goes into that. I have set a goal to have purchased a property (I am looking at either single family homes or a possible duplex/triplex, depending on what I discover as I continue to study to the area) or at least be actively looking at deals before the year is up. 

My question is: what ducks should I have in a row before making the plunge and purchasing my first property? I would like to have some savings left over for personal emergencies and other misc. costs - so I will continue to save. What costs should I expect, other than a down payment and closing costs? Are there any ballpark numbers to know I've saved a comfortable enough amount? Do I need to have established an insurance policy, found a management company beforehand, etc? I'm basically just looking for clarification on the sequence of events I should be following.

Thank you in advance for taking time to read/reply!