All Forum Posts by: Dan C.

@William S.OK, I see.  So I suspect what  is happening is you are using the same price range for both cities, and for Milwaukee that is getting you rougher areas than the same price point in KC.  So while Milwaukee is a moderately priced market compared to many big cities, it may still be more expensive than KC.  For Milwaukee you will  probably need to increase your price range to get into neighborhoods you are more comfortable with.  I can give you some more advice via PM.

@William S. - I invest in Milwaukee but I have lived in Kansas City and my parents still live there.

It seems as though you are more comfortable in KC. Your future in Milwaukee sounds uncertain, whereas you will always have your KC roots, so I would go with that.

Very generally speaking the cities are similar in the affordability and cash flow potential of rental properties.

I have to call you on saying that Milwaukee has worse crime and shootings.  Shootings are so bad in parts of KC that it was the topic of Nightline just last month, and there was a recent documentary on how bad it is called "Kansas City Murder Factory."

Having lived in both I'd have to say in the aspect of crime its really the same deal - both have some very rough areas, but in both the vast majority of areas are quite safe.

So replace the toilet, bathtub and window as well with the tenant in there?  If I were in that situation, I would definitely not do any unnecessary work.  Doing work while a tenant resides there adds to the complications and stress. You also have to worry about the tenants personal items being swiped, or, a tenant at least suspecting that a missing item was stolen by the handyman or plumber, even if it wasn't.

It can be a real pain. Obviously this can vary based on the personality of the tenant.

@Gerald GomezWelcome to BP.  Its been a great resource for me.  You'll find a lot of local investors out here.

Simplicity and Ariens have good reputations.  I have an Ariens that still works great after 16 years.

Just make sure you and the tenant are familiar with snow blower safety.  Its not hard to follow the guidelines to avoid injuries.

@Sarah Anne A typical arrangement I've seen is the PM will not charge for advertising if there is not a cost too it (e.g. craigslist, the PM's own website, sign in front; though in truth there is a cost to them in terms of time), but the owner pays if there is a cost (e.g. newspaper classified).  A PM I've dealt with would let me make the call on whether I wanted to opt for paid advertising.

@Eric ArmstrongYeah with this particular company I need to be the point of contact for the properties which they do not manage.  But I think the larger point is if someone has multiple properties they may be able to use a PM for just one and then use the same company for maintenance only.  I don't know much about Wilmington, but obviously as part of a very large metro area I'm sure there are many PM options and perhaps there is one who would consider this.

@Devon CurneyWelcome to BP, there is a wealth of information out here, and a lot of local investors to interact with.  Make sure to set up Milwaukee and Chicago as your key word alerts.

@Eric ArmstrongI was able to arrange something like this.  There is a PM company in town which I do actually use as the PM for only one of my duplexes.  However the PM company is open to doing maint work for its customers for any property, not just the properties under management.  So for my other duplexes, which I manage, when there is an issue I just call or email them and they take care of it for me.  After that they bill me for the time and materials.  I had them re-key my other properties so its part of their system, so I don't even need to worry about leaving keys.  I'm very happy with the arrangement, as I've realized that overall I prefer to manage my properties, but with a full time job and young children, I don't have time to do the maintenance.

@Sam IvaziThe simplest and best way to determine this is to look at your competitors to see what they do or don't include.  This is an indication of what amenities or appliances renters in your area expect.