All Forum Posts by: Mitch Jorgensen

@Spencer Krautkramer - Hey, Spencer! 

I'm a little late to this post (don't frequent on BiggerPockets forums as much as I should) so my apologies. I have had a duplex since 2018 in Wauwatosa that I house-hack. Picked up a SFH rental just north of Wauwatosa in 2021.

Send me a private message if you want to connect briefly, assuming you are still interested in Tosa! 

@Greg M./@Carl Mathis/@Marcus Auerbach - Thank you all very much for your feedback, it is appreciated.

I sent a slightly revised email and had a phone conversation with my tenant after I stopped over at the property on Sunday morning. The tenant agreed to fix the breaches (and I think they meant it), but I will be monitoring closely going forward. 

Good Morning BP Community!

I recently purchased my first SFH rental about 5 minutes from my primary residence (duplex). This is my first case of a difficult tenant. She has been in the property for 26 days and I went over to the property yesterday after receiving complaint about noise, trash, and other nasty accusations from a neighbor.

I plan to call her and verbally give her the below points before sending the email. Do you think I am taking the right approach? Should I do anything differently?

Email Message Draft (the bullet points didn't copy over well):

As discussed on the phone, below are a few lease violations/breaches I noticed when I was checking the furnace filter yesterday. Please fix the following breaches before Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. Due to these issues, I will also be scheduling weekly inspection of the property until further notice to ensure these lease breaches do not happen again.
I really do want to retain you as a tenant (I think you are a great person), but I need to enforce the rules on the lease that we signed to ensure protection of my property and prevent any issues with neighbors.

1. Trash and recycling disposal
   • There was trash and recycling (including a mattress) around the garage in the alleyway. I understand you are in the process of moving, but you are responsible to manage the garbage and recycling. Garbage is to be placed in the proper disposal bins, neither garbage nor recyclable materials can be kept on the grounds. If you wish to dispose of large items that the city will not collect, you must make special arrangements or do so yourself in accordance with local ordinances and laws.
   • I have also received complaint from a Neighbor about this issue
     • Please review your lease documents: Rules and Regulations - section 25-27, or, Addendum to Residential Rental Agreement Non Standard Provisions - Section 3-6
   • I will be stopping over on Sunday Morning around 9:30 AM. Please have the garbage picked up and disposed of by Sunday morning or or you will be issued a 5-day Notice to Correct Breach or Vacate.
2. Smoking on the property
   • There were 2 (maybe more) bongs on the basement bar. Besides the fact marijuana is illegal, I have a strict no smoking policy anywhere on the property. This is very clearly articulated in your lease.
     • I have also received a complaint from a Neighbor about this issue/smell
     • Please review your lease documents: Smoking Policy Addendum - Page 1, or, Residential Rental Agreement - Section 116-124, or, Rules and Regulations - Section 53-54, 57.
       
     • I will be stopping over on Sunday Morning around 9:30 AM. If I notice a smoke or marijana smell on Sunday morning, you will be issued a 5-day Notice to Correct Breach or Vacate.
       
3. Neighbor Complaint - Noise, Trash, Marijuana Smell
   • I recently received a complaint from a neighbor regarding the noise, trash and marijuana on the property. Since I have already covered the smoking and trash breaches above, l will just focus this one on the noise complaint.
   • Per the lease, you cannot produce noises that will disturb the right or comfort of other tenants and/or neighbors.
     • Please review your lease documents: Rules and Regulations - Section 57
4. Other Residents
   • We noticed signs of more than 3 residents (yourself and two children) living at the property. Tenants may not have any person who is not listed on the lease reside in the Premises for more than 14 days of the year (unconsecutive) or more than 3 days a month (consecutive).
     • Please review your lease documents: Residential Rental Agreement - Use of Premises and Guests - Section 103-110
     • I will be stopping over on Sunday Morning around 9:30 AM. If I notice signs of this on Sunday, you will be issued a 5-day Notice to Correct Breach or Vacate.

Hello All!

I am currently house-hacking a duplex and plan to purchase another in my area within the next 6 months. I would like to understand the steps behind setting up a LLC.

- What is needed to register an LLC in Wisconsin?

- What is the process behind transferring the ownership of a property (owned by me) to the LLC once it is created?

- If I plan to purchase other properties in the future, how should I structure my LLC? Should there be multiple LLCs for each property with one overarching 'Master' LLC?

Any feedback would be appreciated - I am just starting to research this topic. 

Thank you! 

@Daniel Callahan

Thanks for  the message. I am currently going with A&N as suggested above, but thank you very much for the offer! Good luck in the coming year.

Mitch

Hi All,

I recently closed on my first duplex and I am looking to add central air to my upper unit (the lower already has it). Has anyone had a good experience with a HVAC contractor in the Milwaukee/Wauwatosa area? I would appreciate any recommendations!

Thank you,

Mitch

Hi All,

I am starting to think about creating my first lease for my first duplex in the Milwaukee area. Where is the best place to start that process? 

Hi All -

I'll do my best to keep this as brief as possible, but I would like to give a bit of a brief background before getting to my big questions. 

I am currently a senior in college, expecting to graduate with a degree in finance in May. I have held an internship with a good company for almost a year, and they offered me a full-time position early last month - so my hunt to find a place to live (in the Milwaukee, WI area) begins. I know 'most' graduating college students just limit thinking to renting/leasing a place. But, maybe due to my degree, I HATE the idea of putting money into nothing. Especially in this area, where a single apartment might cost around $900 (might as well get a mortgage and a roommate). I have recently been in contact with my banker trying to get pre-approved for a loan and things are looking good. I guess working to pay off loans and building a good credit is paying off (expecting to only put down between $10-15k and deal with PMI, initially).

I have been looking at purchasing duplex homes in my area, renting out one side, and living with a roommate in the other (yes my roommate will also pay me rent). I obviously don't want to put myself at much risk, so I am looking for places with a good price range (something that I could handle by myself without tenants). But as I mentioned, the end-goal is to live for fee while establishing a good equity right away! 

Since you are all much more educated in the topic than me, I would love to hear any advice/input you guys might have on my current situation. Am I on the right track? Should I not be making such a big investment early on? What makes a good deal? Should I expect a mortgage payoff and extra cash flow each month? What should I be taking into consideration when looking for places? What would you be doing in my situation?

Thanks everyone!

Mitch