All Forum Posts by: Jack Medford

Hi Amy. I'm a realtor in Madison and would be happy to be a resource for you. I'm not in Appleton, but I am fairly connected through BP and through my brokerage, so at the very least I can help connect you with some good professionals in the area. 

Also, we have a bi-weekly meetup downtown in Madison. The next meetup is tomorrow, the 25th. Check out the event page for details. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/755888-madison-real-estate-investors-club-meetup?highlight_post=4443629&page=1#p4443629

I use Welcome Home Milwaukee (WHM) and have been very pleased with the service. I'm on mobile, so tagging isn't working, but Matt Maurice is the owner and he is active here on BP if you want to reach out. 

@Garrett Davis might be able to help you out. He is a GC and property manager in the area. 

@Victor Martinez Lazaro Most of the really hard lessons were personal in nature. Once you really get out there and start putting plans in motion you'll come face to face with your strengths and weaknesses. You'll have to make adjustments where necessary. 

For instance, I love to crunch numbers and play with spreadsheets, but I'm not naturally gifted at managing contractors. I've had to learn how to simplify my analysis so I don't spend all day analyzing. I've also spent a lot of time reading and listening to resources concerning finding and managing contractors. 

I just try my best to go forward with the mindset that I am never an expert. There is always more to learn. 

If you're free on Wednesday nights you should consider attending a local meetup. We've got one that meets every other Wednesday. Here are the details of a previous event. The next one is actually tonight. 

@Account Closed Cool to see someone actually accepting BTC. I've been buying and selling it off and on since mid 2015, so I'd be more than happy to do the same if any of my tenants were willing. Problem is that it is hard enough to find someone to talk to about crypto, let alone a tenant open to paying in it. How did you find a tenant willing to pay in BTC/LTC? Did you solicit this or did they approach you?

@Victor Martinez Lazaro I'll chime in as someone with experience investing in Milwaukee while living in Madison. The reason I chose Milwaukee is for the great rent/price ratio compared to Madison. It is very difficult to find deals in Madison, whereas Milwaukee appears to have a plethora sitting right on the MLS.

The distinction to make is appears to. As Marcus points out, the market you choose should be based on what your needs are. I was looking for cash flow so I went to Milwaukee first. Now that I've got some cash flow and stabilized properties (after many hard lessons) I'm looking for convenience. 

I recently sold my primary residence in order to house hack a duplex here in Madison. I'm also going to be focusing all my efforts on finding deals in the Madison and surrounding area (specifically west side) since that is where I'm living and I'm tired of long drives. Similar to @Marcus Auerbach I'm tired of driving 45 minutes+ (1.5 hours to Milwaukee) in order to see deals and talk with contractors. I've got good PM there and am happy with my current holdings. I've hyper-focused my geographic area now in Milwaukee and plan to only see properties that fit certain criteria within this tight range. 

Since you are young and likely have more hustle than money, you may be fine driving all over the state to find deals. I'm past that stage so it isn't as attractive to me. That said, only 2 years ago I was more than happy to make multiple trips to Milwaukee per month because I was chasing cash on cash return. 

Lastly, if you are interested in looking outside of these two markets, reach out to @Garrett Davis. He runs a PM company down in Rock County and finds lots of solid cash flowing deals. 

@Don Whitlow Responded to your DM. Not against the rules to ask for contact info of lenders or anybody else as far as I am aware. Welcome to the forums. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll see if I can help. 

@Chris Munoz It all depends where you buy. There are certainly some "war zone" areas that are best to avoid. These are the ones that have duplexes available for $50k and less. However you can get properties in good working class areas that are well above the 1% rule, some even pushing toward 2%. 

Milwaukee has every type of neighborhood you could want, all the way from A-D grade.  The surrounding cities and suburbs also provide ample opportunity. 

If you're looking to learn more and get specific about what you're looking for, I'd suggest connecting with the following three people:

@Matt Maurice

@Matt Maurice

@Marcus Auerbach

Each one has a different specialty and can help you in a different way. 

@John Cole Welcome to BP! I second what @Stuart Grazier said about Milwaukee. I've been investing there for a little over a year. The rent to price ratios are pretty great. There are also a number of Milwaukee based investors/professionals who are very active on biggerpockets. Overall, there is a great support network available for someone who is investing from far away. 

Hi Chris, I do some investing out in Milwaukee. I can help answer some initial questions for you and point you in the right direction if you have specific needs.