All Forum Posts by: Eric Calabrese

 I closed on a duplex in March @ 5.65. The rate was locked in Feb.  What is the rate that's being offered to you.. High... Low... is all relative. 

Fannie / Freedie underwriting guidelines are that 20% for SFH and 25% for MFH. If your investment is SFH and lender is stating you need 25% down, then maybe look for a different lender...?

It would be best to ask your lender versus the uninvolved BP community.

But, since you asked, 25% is a common requirement for banks' best rate for investor properties.  You may be able to get 20% if you pay a higher rate, maybe lower with an even higher rate.

@John Franczyk

I was there in Milwaukee the first week of April and you hit it right on. @Eric Calabrese I saw exactly what John was talking about. 

I am actively putting in offers in Milwaukee for duplexes but nothing yet. 

All the best to you guys,

Jorge

I'm about 30 miles south of Milwaukee, and I've been watching the changes that  the City is undergoing for the past three years. Like many other cities, you will want to stay away from certain sections until they are better stabilized (check out Trulia's crime maps for reference). Apart from those sections, other parts of the city are attracting significant amounts of attention. Walker's Point and Riverwest, for example, are both pretty hot right now. 

The city has a lot of mature housing stock that needs attention and updating. From what I can see, rents are generally stable. There's been a lot of attention recently on a few landlords who were gaming the system and the City's aldermen are cracking down on abuses, but I think that those landlords are more the exception than the rule. 

The City itself sometimes has a quirky feel to it - I've heard it called the Portland, Oregon of the Midwest. On the plus side, that quirkiness supports more locally-owned businesses that offer better service than national chains.  The weather might scare a few people away, but the locals keep themselves insulated and well-primed when the snow and wind come in.

The City is actively attempting to lure millennials from Chicago with an ad campaign that highlights the City's amenities and transportation benefits. There's a healthy flux of people moving north from Illinois, and the FoxConn development in Racine will likely continue to lure people from south of the border. All told, I would not be overly concerned with reports of Milwaukee's population issues.

 Milkwaukee is a great market that a lot of investors focus on. It doesn't really seem to be scaring people away but rather attracting people. My target market is Wilmington, Delaware which is another shrinking marking and I would argue doesn't have the same economic prospects that Milwaukee has. My goal though is to provide a better quality housing stock than what is currently available on the market because many of the house are old (late 1800's early 1900's) and have been neglected for decades. So by buying right and placing the right tenants I'm able to be more competitive, however I'm also taking 2 or 3 months to rent a place as a result of that decision. For more perspective though I'll pass the ball to @Dawn Anastasi and @Brie Schmidt who are far more the experts on Milwaukee specifically than I am.