All Forum Posts by: Donald D Michna

@Shiloh Lewis I can not speak for San Antonio as I have never been, Milwaukee is a great market to house hack if you plan on moving here. I suggest West Allis or Saint Franics as they are still near downtown, but still cost effective areas. I also Like Walkers Point east of the Freeway, the area is a little rough at this time, but I understand that there are more than a few developments coming to the area not to mention the new Komatsu Headquarters and River1/Michels Construction new office near by. Milwaukee is low on inventory so you will need to move quick for properties that are priced to cashflow. These same properties will need some TLC, but if you are on your toes with a preapproval and ready to close you will find the right property. If you do plan to move to Milwaukee, I would close before spring. There has been a seasonal lull like every year, but many people are seeing with the low inventory that this year will be just as busy as last year if not more. 

Please reach out if you would like more information to your particular situation. 

@Mark Nielsen, If you have a problem reach out to a different lender or like @Nicholas Ludwiczak said try a commercial loan. It shouldn't matter if the purchase price is under the appraised price. I could see if the sales price was substantially lower than the appraised price, but it seems like the lender is being a little too weary. If the lender gives you much more trouble I would find another lender. 

@Michael Doyle There are probably about a dozen different meetups in the southeastern Wisconsin area. My favorites are the Brew City REI Club run by @Rebecca Knox and Cheesy Investors run by Michael Fitzpatrick. Both have Facebook groups, which you should join to find more information about when the meetings occur or if there will be video. Both groups provide a wealth of knowledge and do not have a cost to join. Cheesy Investors provide a monthly speaker from the area, I always find myself learning something from these meetups. You can typically attend in person or watch the video of the speaker live on FB or at a later time. Brew City REI Club has speakers some months and visits to real estate projects on other occasions. Reach out to Rebecca if you need anything, she is always willing to help and is great at connecting people!

@Daniel Devin Jewell this is a good post. I have seen the miter sheer cutter before, but don't have one. I like the idea of how you use this tool for cutting quarter round. 

I like the tool below for cutting small pieces of wood similar to the quarter round as well as for cutting PEX or anything else. The main reason I bought this tool was for the easy replacement and cost effectiveness of razor blades as the knife. I can see the advantage of sheer cutting tool with the multiple angles, I think I will add these to my tool bag. 

https://www.idealtruevalue.com...

I also recently bought the below wet/dry vacuum, the tool has the capability to be 120V or be battery powered if power isn't available. This tool is not a replacement for a large wet/dry vacuum, but for smaller projects the vacuum is ideal.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-...

Lastly the laser measure below is a great tool if you want to make quick measurements and it is not critical down to 1/16. The laser is really accurate down to an 1/8 or 1/16 depending on how far away you are. The tool is great for ceilings and for long distances.  

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-L...

@Brian Wilson Sun Prairie, Deforest and most areas on the northeast side of Madison are growing fast. I work for a commercial/industrial construction company that has performed several projects in the area in the past few years and see lots of growth in this area. I invest in Milwaukee County in Wauwatosa and the south side of the county. Investors from all over the country have been flocking to Wisconsin due to the lower prices and stability of midwest properties. This has caused housing prices to increase with the already low housing supply . There are plenty of areas throughout the state to invest in. If you plan to live near Oshkosh, I suggest investing in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Appleton or near these areas. These area have seen lots of growth in recent year with many companies investing in these areas including several Amazon distribution facilities. If you would like to connect, let me know. I can set you up with an MLS search, no obligations.

The point of this post is to be purely economic and not meant to be political.

The US is in a weird place right now, but the stock market does not seem to reflect the chaos. We have been hearing for years that high frequency trading is becoming more and more frequent. One of the last articles I can find indicates 80% of trades are automated, see below, the article is from June 2019. With the increased use of Robinhood and other such platforms over the past year, automated trades are sure to have increased.

Getting to the point, I believe that the basic flaw with what is going on in the stock market is 90% of trades are automated and are causing the stock market to deviate from the economy. Once automated trading gets to a point of +90% automation, automated trades will exponentially increase feeding off the growth of the market.

I am curious to hear what everyone's thoughts are on this? 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/80percent-of-the-stock-market-is-now-on-autopilot.html

@Timothy Douglas teaming up and providing some of the commission with another realtor may be the key. You provide the leads and  work with another realtor like @Robyyn Flahart and split the commission. 

3D walkthroughs are nice, but pictures as @Bruce Lynn said, the property may look great in pictures but once you see the property in person it is a different story. Also how a house smells can tell you a lot about a property, moisture and mold are absolutely things that you want to identify up front. Moisture and mold do not scare me away, but it will help when negotiating purchase price. 

@Timothy Douglas I agree most items can be handled over the phone or on the computer and I do believe that we are headed more to this direction, especially with COVID. I think most people still want their realtors eyes on properties, yes you can hire someone to perform a walkthrough with clients, but I think clients still want to feel warm and fuzzy. Clients typically have emotion when purchasing a home, investors have different mindset than home owners. Investors look for the numbers to work, home buyers purchase properties based on emotion. I would be curious if there is any legal liability to not viewing the property being the representative of the client, probably not, but just curious. 

If you can pull off doing everything virtually, I applaud you. Good luck on your endeavors!

@Leyla Ahmadi With the market the way it is, properties in the areas mentioned will be difficult to close on due to the high demand, but the properties are out there. As you probably already know, these properties need a little more TLC. A cash offer will always put you on the top of the list when presenting offers, so this will help you have the edge over others presenting offers. 

@Marcus Auerbach I like the near west side and think that there is going to be a lot of growth in the area in the future. This may take 20+ years, but there will be appreciation in the area due to the proximity between Wauwatosa/Froedtert and downtown. Specifically there has been a lot of investment on Vliet Street with smaller retail stores. With COVID I am assuming those shops are not doing well or stagnant at best. Marquette University, the College continues to grow and will be a driving force in the area. If you have the stomach to hold on and get in early you can make a nice profit on the backside. I myself am going to hold off to invest in the area for now.

Keep in mind this is one person’s speculation and only time will tell what up and coming neighborhoods would have been good to invest in.

If I could go back 10 years, I would buy every property I could have in Bay View...