All Forum Posts by: Anthony Vaiana

@Jordan Smith

My reasons behind preferring duplexes is mainly due to availability and cash flow. 4 unit buildings have been hard to come by, and anyone in a decent area is hard to find for a reasonable price compared to duplexes. 4 units between 200-250k need a lot of work or in non so great areas. If a nice 4 unit pops up it tends to be around 350-400k. Rents might be 800-950 per unit at that price point.

Now, if I had the option between a 400k 4 unit that rents for $3.6-3.8k/mo VS two 200k duplexes that can rent for between $1050-1250k per unit (both my duplexes rent for $1237.50 when averaged out, and were purchased for 185k and 189k in same neighborhood). I’d take the duplexes because more rent potential, easier to rent, less tenants complaining about each other, easier to sell, less turnover as it feels more like a home than smaller apartment, and various other personal reasons.

As far as where to house hack, like you, me and the GF are in same position. kidless and enjoying going out somewhat often still. I settled on an area called Nash Park as its close to Wauwatosa which has its own nightlife, downtown, trails and parks and only a 15 min drive from DT MKE. It was a bit cheaper than Washington Heights which has soared past 4 years.

But if I had to pick areas near all the cool bars, restaurants, parks and other fun things I’d go with any of the following: Bayview, Lower East Side, River West, Walkers Point, Washington Heights, Wauwatosa near North Ave or its Downtown, West Allis. And none in a particular order.

If you do want to get a little more cash flow and prices that aren’t mid 250k+, West Allis, Kops Park, Nash Park, Enderis Park is a nice west side area to look close to Tosa.

Hey Jordan, and future welcome to Milwaukee! Summer is def the best time to experience the city, and you'll quickly learn all it has to offer and areas you want to invest. Definitely follow the Milwaukee forums here and also join Brew City REI Club if you're on FB.

With that said coming in with that amount of cash to invest can go a lot farther than your former city. Obviously your goals are your own. But specific to what you were asking if I had that money starting out here at one time, and to achieve your early FI Goals, I would:

1) Purchase a duplex to house hack while you get familiar this summer

2) Buy a second duplex going into winter when you have a better feel for target areas.

3) Purchase a third duplex or decent SFH depending how much you have left and keeping enough in reserves.

Quick way to 6 units and personally prefer duplex’s over 4 family’s ATM. Now like Denver (and most US) Milwaukee market is very competitive so that will be your big challenge. 

I have some contacts for contractors and handymen, as I am a property damage appraiser for a major insurance carrier and work with plenty of contractors daily. Also can use my customers claim repairs as a way to see their work before hiring for my own needs haha (customer hire them, and if they are good I save their info).

Feel free to reach out with any questions, I’m always up to talk real estate!

@Amalia D Salinas

Outside of rent tenants are normally responsible for electric and gas in most cities. Most landlords I know in IL and here in WI including myself make the tenants responsible for water as well. Whether through submeters or RUBS. Of course you could just make it easy and price rent to reflect this, but tenants are more aware of their usage if they are paying for it.

Tenants should also be in charge of lawn care and snow removal. I personally give them a discount on rent for being a grounds keeper if its multi family. For SFH it's expected and written in lease they are to maintain grass and snow removal.

Ok that makes sense and is an awesome advantage! If you do pick Milwaukee I would def break up your time by staying in CA from Oct-April though. Milwaukee isn't much fun in the cold and snow haha. If that is the case, finding a duplex to "owner occupy" where cash flow from one unit at the very least covers the mortgage can work well. And one you pass the one year mark rent out the other!

 Can't remember exactly, but that may have been the same. After closing I deposited the 5k I had left over into a business account, but used that money for the initial rehab the following month. So pretty much depleting myself to zero (and slightly negative with credit card debt to fund rest of rehab) before building back up months down the line. Pretty stressful at the time but paid off, and thank you sir!

 I have no experience with mysmartmove here so I can't say. Not sure if it is used purely for credit and background, which Cozy would still be good idea for rent collection then. But sure for the purpose of your post, you can't go  wrong with either!

Like others have mentioned, take which ever nets you the most cash flow. But if any two properties are comparable, I would rather go with the duplex. Two less tenants, less mechanicals and less maintenance for the same amount of cash flow.

I second the use of Cozy! Tenant fills out online and pays $39.99 for credit and background check. The easy to follow reports are sent directly to you for review. It will be a soft credit pull as well if they ask, which won't affect their credit. I use  Cozy specifically for this and rent collection and it makes life so much easier. I have used them for application process as well once, and that seemed to work well enough too. 

So you are planning to relocate to either city then solely based off what property you will purchase? Cause that can be a big deciding factor there. I live in Milwaukee and though prices have risen considerably over the past few years, it is still more affordable than many other cities. Housing stock is older here so more repair and capex should be planned for. You'll need to factor in things like snow removal you wont have in TX. I believe taxes may be a bit lower in Texas and from a living stand point, no state income tax is pretty sweet.

From a citizen perspective Milwaukee has seen a lot of new development in recent years, with a lot of it being downtown. New Bucks stadium was just built surrounded by a awesome entertainment district. Lots of different things to do around the city. No shortage of breweries and bars. I believe Airbnb said MKE was a top travel destination for 2020 prior to the Covid pandemic. In the summer it is a fun city and a way cheaper alternative to the larger Chicago an hour and a half south (where I originally moved from).

Right now any local agent will tell you the real estate market is extremely competitive with most decent homes going for $5k-$15k over asking. Inventory is low and when something good does come up, it is gone with a couple days if not a couple hours. The Midwest is great for cashflow, but Milwaukee is getting a bit tighter with prices skyrocketing and the city increasing property taxes these past couple years. I have heard of a few landlords that have seen a 25% increase across their portfolio. 

Regardless good cash flowing deals are possible, just need to be ready to move fast.

Thanks man! I didn't even think about the first time home buyer thing until my brother bought a condo with it the next year... Definitely would have been awesome to utilize that haha