All Forum Posts by: Matthew Abrahamzon

Dustin Ruhl I would have to agree with you on that assessment here in Madison, WI

Hi Sean, Randy Hess is a great Real Estate agent who invests himself.

That is a good answer in my opinion. The just getting started part is key. My first purchase was a duplex, but I am house hacking so I only have to deal with one tenant so I see your point. I am hoping to find a 4 plex soon and then house hack that. You know with two tenants you could just learn how to work with them twice as fast :) Actually, you probably know how to work with them already if you have listened to all the BP podcasts. Great job writing on the forums!

Hey Matthew! I can read your excitement about real estate. I think it is pretty neat your occupation involves a step in that process. Who knows, you could maybe run into other investors there. I work in retail and it is a little more difficult to run into investors there. I recently purchased a duplex in the Madison area and am very excited about the opportunities it has given me so far. There is no wrong way to start investing. May I ask why you want to focus on SFHs? It definitely depends on your goal, but you may want to check out multifamily homes as well. They may get you to your goal faster. Matt

I would agree with Rachel. They are available but go fast, especially the good deals. When I first started looking in Madison a little over a year ago, there was an REO 4 plex on Turbot Dr that was listed at $205k. Granted it did need some work, but with about $20k and some sweat equity it would have been a beauty. You are right though, most are listed for more. You have to find the distressed sellers. Once you find a deal, you have to be ready to move on it immediately. Several times when my realtor let me know of a great deal, we would schedule to see it. Due to my job I couldn't schedule to see it until 2 or 3 days later and when I eventually got to view the property there would be a pending offer already. A couple times I would get a call back from my realtor before we even saw the property and the seller had an accepted offer already. Madison is a hot market. I would recommend finding a realtor that is an investor themselves, or has worked with investors. We are here to purchase properties not due to some emotional attachment like most home buyers, but due to the cold facts and metrics of due diligence.

Madison can be a little difficult to find deals, but they are out there. I purchased a duplex this past year with my wife on a short sale, and it meets the 1% rule. This may just indicate that it is currently a great place to own property and not necessarily to purchase for the time being. 

Whoops, that was Koritzinsky of Koritzinski & Karls, LLC, not Korzinski

The current cap rate of my duplex is about 7.02% and right on the Fitchburg border to Madison. I have not been an investor for long, but it seems the current Madison market is close to a real estate peak and deals are hard to find. Many properties will be listed for two or three days and are sold at a high price. However, the economy seems pretty strong locally. Then there are industries such as Epic and the University downtown that are keeping demand for housing high. 

@Dustin Schaefer Please message me if you are still looking. I know of a great one. 

I know this post did not receive much feedback. In case you are still looking, I have heard Jay Korzinski is one of the best landlord attorneys in town.