All Forum Posts by: Alex Witte

 Absolutely! There are many C class neighborhoods where the price to purchase versus market rents is very favorable for investors. 

The landlord tenant laws are also very fair here. 

Way to go Robert! You shouldn't have an issue refinancing before the balloon. 

I took a different route to get started. I used my personal credit to get better rates (4%, 4.25% and 5%) on my initial properties. I liked the fact that I got 2 - 30 year fixed mortgages and 2 - 5/1 ARMs. 

I am now looking to get into larger properties (my portfolio is duplexes and SFH) so I can utilize the commercial loan side. I want to start building that relationship with a portfolio lender to grow my business.

Sorry to digress. Bottom line. Way to go on taking action! 

Hey there! 

Milwaukee is a great place to invest! I can't know for sure without an address or neighborhood, but I have seen 4 family going for 200k in the C/C- neighborhoods. Obviously with 4 family and larger it really just matters about the performance of the building. 

As long as it has a good rent history, then it could even be a D neighborhood and still be going for 200k. 

I typically withhold 10% for maintenance, 10% for vacancy, and 10% for property management. 

I still see about $150-200 per door after all things considered. 

Hope this helps. 

@Josh Jacobson reach out to Bob Zarzynski at Summit Credit Union. 

Tell him I sent you. I will PM you contact info

Thank you everyone for the input! And you're right I find it funny how we all could view one another as "competition" but one thing I learned early is that every connection in real estate is not a competitor but a potential partner or future opportunity. There is too much real estate for any one business or person to own. lol

To @Joshua Martin point I am in the flipping business with my partner @Daniel Hanson. We are certainly evaluating more potential deals so please bring them our way. 

You may be asking yourself, "then why is he trying to become a wholesaler?"

The goal I referenced in my OP for 2019 is as follows: Design, plan, and execute at least 1 mail marketing campaign targeting motivated sellers in X zip codes and gauge response.

I have other goals around acquiring/flipping more properties. I just wanted to use 2019 as my year to explore other aspects of the real estate business. 

I mean we have all had that thought, "all so-n-so did was get an assignment contract, found a buyer, and did a double closing for $20k?!?!? I CAN DO THAT!" 

lol

Cheers mates. 

@Sam Shueh thank you for the feedback! I will have to modify and repost for additional comments. 

Hello all!

2019 is an exciting year so far! I hope you all are crushing it!

One of my goals this year is to try my hand at wholesaling. I have a good network of both buy and hold investors as well as flippers, so I figured they would be my "buyers list" to start. If that doesn't work then I would post my deal on Facebook groups I am a member of. 

From what I have heard it is easy to sell a deal if you truly get a good deal...so I am not worried about the buyer's list right now. 

Up until now I have only been a buy and hold investor, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to find deals that hit my numbers through other wholesalers or on the MLS. Why not negotiate directly with motivated sellers?!

I am starting small. I have targeted absentee owners with 50% or greater equity in C/C- class neighborhoods in the greater Milwaukee area. 

My first mailing is to 400 property owners. I am doing post cards 3.5 x 5 black and white. 

The image I have included is my first go around at this... I have an engineering background so making things "pretty" and understanding what attracts the eye is not my forte. 

I was hoping to get feedback from you seasoned mailers out there! 

What works?

What doesn't? 

What do you think?

How soon do you do a second mailing to the same list? Every quarter?

I currently have a freelancer working up business logo concepts, so I do not have a logo for my company yet to include on my mailers. 

Can anyone shed light on what "fair rates" and "good response time" is?

I self manage 4 units near Burleigh and Sherman Park. 

I have heard 10% of gross, but I do not know what that includes... 

Maybe I will reach out to Sonya too. 

Hello all!

I know it is a "to each their own" kind of topic, but I wanted to get a gut check on what others are doing for cash reserves based on their portfolio. 

My portfolio is small. I have 5 units and I am in the process of my first flip. My primary business strategy is buy & holds. 

I am working on managing my risk. I like flips, but they take up a huge amount of cash. I think I have $40k into this one(which some of you flippers are thinking HA THAT'S NOTHING! lol)

What do some of you use as a guideline for cash reserves?

6 months x total monthly expenses

Total Monthly Expenses = vacancy, debt service, 10% of GSI for repairs, Property management, and Insurance

Or do you only do debt service x 6 months? 

Do some of you simply just say to yourselves, "I will keep $5000 per property as cash reserves"?

Thanks in advance for any replies! 

Brandon! I sent you a message!

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!!

Sounds like you're giving your gameplan really good thought. First step to success!