All Forum Posts by: Michael Crane

From a tenant perspective, in Milwaukee I have ended up signing short term or month to month leases when I enter a property in the winter months.  Most landlords have wanted to re-set their clocks to June and August, so I have done short leases to get to that point then re-signed a year lease once the warmer months come around.  

Hello Jennifer, 

I am basically brand new to all this, but I have been living in Milwaukee for 20+ years, so I would be happy to give an impression on any neighborhoods you are interested in.  Riverwest tends to be lower income than the neighborhoods closer to the lake (ex. Bay View, Shorewood, East Side).  I suspect that you will end up with a lot of turnover there.  In my search I have been looking at a few places in Riverwest, but the majority have needed a lot of repair.  While you probably already realize this, Milwaukee is a lot colder than SC.  Your heat costs will be a lot higher, especially in the older buildings that tend to be prevalent in Riverwest.  Also please be aware that snow removal is a real thing, and the city can fine you if you fail to clear it up.  Parking is premium on that part of town.  If you find a place with off street parking, even more so if covered, you would be a much more attractive to prospective tenants.  There are a lot of college students (UWM) in that area.

Good luck!  

Hello BP community, 

I (28M) signed up and have been lurking the forums and articles for a few weeks.  I keep getting prompted to introduce myself, so here goes.  I live and work in Wisconsin, specifically the Milwaukee greater metro area.  I recently decided that I need an alternate income stream, and that I hate paying my landlord (for a variety of reasons that are not relevant here).  As such, I want to try my hand at purchasing an income property with 2-4 units, live in one of them (perhaps with a roommate), and try to build up from there.  I work as an attorney (but not in real estate).  I have enough for a down payment for up to my pre-approval amount if I choose to put down 20%. 

So, what I have done so far:

I signed up here. I bought "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow ...and 36 other key financial measures" by Frank Gallinelli. I read it all the way through, and understood about 2/3 of it. I identified the limited neighborhoods that I would want to live in, which I marked on a map with highlighting. I created accounts on Zillow and Trulia and have been looking at properties in a very casual sense, not doing outside research, rather just seeing what is available. I made an excel spreadsheet based on the book, which still needs some help as some of the calculations are a little confusing and others I do not think I need or do not care about. I contacted my personal bank (US Bank) and got pre-approved for a loan with a purchase price of 320K with 20% down. I contacted 2 other financial institutions and am working on getting pre-approval from them as well. I looked into FHA loans and determined the cap amount in my area. I saved up and/or was given enough to have a down payment. I talked about the idea with my parents and a few friends who are all more or less supportive.

What I am planning to do next:

I think I am not going to get a real estate agent. I think that I can do most anything that my agent will do and I want to see if I can use the 2% as a negotiation tool. I want to look into how my city does foreclosures and consider pursuing this option. I want to finalize up the pre-approval from the other two lenders. I want to find a short list of properties and actually start running the numbers on them for real instead of the quick benchmark calculations. I want to take a "how to landlord" class offered by the city which I looked up but have not registered for yet. I need to develop my leasing and other LL documents, which should not be too hard given the examples I have on hand. I want to look into starting a small business, perhaps an LLC which I can use to run and manage the property, also insulate myself from a little risk. Hopefully things go well and I purchase another property shortly after the first, which I would want the business to hold and operate if possible (this is not a well developed plan yet). I want to buy a property and be ready to move in by the end of May 2017. I want to still have my shirt by the end of it all.

Long term:

I want to be able to hold many properties under a company (with my name on it) and attain the true definition of "wealthy" - that passive income exceeds my living expenses in the lifestyle I want.  Sell it all and move to a private island where I can die. 

I do not think I have any questions right now.  I am happy to answer anything people want to ask, but I may be somewhat limited with personal information.  I am also happy to take any comments, observations, suggestions, etc.   This is now long and I feel I am rambling, so until next time. 

- Mike