All Forum Posts by: Dave Carpenter

@Simon Panosh welcome to Milwaukee, or at least maybe in the near future. There are lots of Milwaukee investors who are active on BP. Do you have specific criteria you are considering? Price range, class of property, type of property. Based on that, you may be able to find a few specific investors that would be willing to help you. 

Dawn Anastasi have you attended these in the past? Seems like a worthwhile opportunity!

Zach F. It's no tool, but I have had pretty good luck scheduling 2 showings for my primarily "white collar" tenants. I do one showing late afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday and a second showing on a weekday from 4:30-6pm. I have shortened the windows a little over the years and gone from setting up custom times to doing two. These two options will work for 90% of the perspective tenants and if I need to I can set up a aspect of time for someone where those times don't work. I also send an email With minimum criteria (income 3x rent, strong credit, no evictions, etc.) I have found this weeds out 50-75% of those who contact me online. The goal is this leaves me with only the tenants who care enough to reply to an email saying they meet those criteria. From there I share the showing times. I find this to be pretty easy for the average tenant, but also enough of a hoop that they have to show a little initiative themselves.

Mayi Nelson I have 2 touchless (no spinning brushes) automatic washes. For those, I spend most of my time emptying trash near the vacuums. I'll do this 4-6 times per week depending on the weather. This is easy and pretty fast, but needs to be done. There is lots of little maintenance things I do regularly. Some weekly like taking money from the machines, and other things monthly like greasing machines. There are certainly things that don't work properly with that many moving parts. For example, if a dollar bill gets stuck in the machine it's on me to get it pulled out do people can use the wash bay. As the previous owner told me, "they pretty much run themselves, except for when they don't. And you won't know when that's going to be." I am by no means an expert at this point, but have learned that it's a pretty simple business as long as you stay proactive. If you have specific questions, certainly let me know!

Edward, congrats on beginning your journey. In terms of types of properties to consider I would provide this information. Unless you can pay managers there are very few property types that are truly passive. Having said that, there are different degrees. A duplex or 4 pled for example, may require you to manage it monthly for sure, and possibly be doing something weekly to make a repair, list a unit for rent, deal with a city or tax item, etc. Doesn't cramp your style very much, but you will do work. Having now owned two car washes for a few months, I can tell you that more is required day to day and week to week. Depending on the type of car wash you own, it can be a daily, but certainly weekly job. Timing can be flexible, but there's lots of moving parts that need to be maintained. I would recommend starting with a duplex and adding another ideally near by so you can manage both at the same time. Once you have that under your belt, you could consider more of a business like car washes or self storage. Both of these investments can be lucrative, but they either require management or time on your part. Good luck and keep taking steps forward!

I would echo Dennis' advice. I have seen similar pricing on my properties.

Stephen Kramar Congrats on the purchase! I have a few properties in that neighborhood and have good luck with Zillow rent manager (which will also publish to hotpad and a few others. I also usually post on Craigslist. Feel free and hit up the forums with questions. There are lots of Milwaukee investors active here and a few in the Washington heights area as well.

You might be able to do a cash out refi. You could also start talking to local banks about a commercial loan. After having your first property for 6-12 months you could start to show a track record and possibly get a commercial loan. Start that networking now.

Thanks Dawn!

hey all Milwaukee folks. I'm looking to install about a dozen new windows in one of my rentals and looking for recommendations on companies people have used in the past. I have talked with Lisbon but want to get a couple other bids as well. Any companies that you all recommend?

Thanks!