All Forum Posts by: Conrad Scoville

Hey @Miles Morrison, welcome to the Milwaukee BP community! The Brew City REI Facebook page is a great place to connect with other Milwaukee real estate investors. I think its awesome you have a good handle on your finances and where you want to be, that's a great start! Good on ya! My wife and I started on our investing journey because we wanted to get out of debt and be financially free too and recently were able to payoff a good chunk of our personal debt, car, credit card etc., because of some good real estate choices so the potential is there. It might not happen with your first property or two so be patient, but with those goals in sight you can make it happen.

I'm young in the game so I can't say too much, I am sure a few people that are bigger in the Milwaukee game will comment on here and give you some solid advice. It seems like house hacking is a good place to start and then looking to grow from there, because if you get a duplex and have someone else pay your Mortgage you can use your saved income to make payments on your highest interest loans first. Then when you decide to move up or out you can refi or do a HELOC to get your next property or payoff some more debt getting you closer to your freedom.

I'm always down to network and connect so if I can help you with anything let me know! Welcome again and Cheers!

Conrad

Hey Jon,

Its all about the options! It seems like people get stuck behind the typical stigmas of for-profit and non-profit businesses, but then you look at a company like Newman's Own = where all profits go to charity and you start to realize that a for profit company can be largely if not entirely philanthropic if you want it to be. I agree I think it gives more flexibility and options for the real estate, including cushions and providing upgrades for tenants. 

For the companies, Interspace primarily focus is commercial space build-outs. So that means if you have an empty shell, a warehouse or office space and you want to make it a retail space, doctors office or corporate office we will build it. Typically that means the tenants or owners will get architecture design drawings, send them to us and then we price it out, consult with clients, order materials and oversee the entire construction of the space. We do office space, common areas, medical offices, and retail space, however we are trying to expand right now and my father has a history in development, design/build, and residential construction, so we are open to taking on new projects. We aren't the guys to take a empty lot and build something, at least right now. We are overseeing the renovation and addition of one residential home currently, the one I mentioned. So although not typically residential, we have done it. I also am currently studying for my LEED certification. So I am perusing that so we have the option to provide LEED build-outs to clients. 

As for Nu Range Development, that is my real estate company, hopefully with my contractors license and LEED I will be able to provide more services, and I have thought about sustainable consulting, but probably not there yet. Nu Range's focus is renovating existing structures and homes to be sustainable and renting them out. The BRRR method but sustainably. In a similar fashion I did some of the work, tiling painting, flooring cabinets etc. but also contracted a lot of the specialized stuff out. So on my first home I contracted out the plumbing, drywall, floor refinishing, some electrical, and exterior painting. I focused on the design, upgrades and allocation of sustainable building materials. So for example, we don't do mold remediation, we would be the guys to facilitate it happening, run the budget, get bids for it, hire out the work, and ensure it gets done. So for both of these companies we do mostly project management rather than focus on specific tasks. Looking to scale rather than get stuck in the weeds of projects.

I'm not sure if I explained that great, but let me know if you have any more questions

@Tanya F. its awesome to connect with other people in the real estate sector that value sustainability, I think its going to be a trending heading into the future and will most likely be accelerated by the pandemic. I think its pretty cool you have take the initiative to start a green apartment Network. If I can ever get to that level that is something I would be interested in learning about or maybe trying to start here in Milwaukee. I will definitely keep you in mind! I am hoping to do solar panels, my current property will need a new roof soon and I would like to do something like the tesla solar roof to knock out two birds with one stone, Hopefully the new administration will create some more incentives for solar that we can take advantage of. 

@Jon Coleman I have been listening to several podcasts and just did a webinar on resilient cities where they talked about affordable housing being a huge factor coming out of the pandemic, not that it wasn't something before, but that it will be essential for cities looking to come out stronger. I will say that the reason I chose to start a business rather than a non-profit for a sustainable goal was that I think for-profit businesses can often produce more leverage and throw more weight around. So even though your looking at affordable housing and you are close to non-profits, I would echo Marcus's statements that you can produce more opportunity with more income, so although It can be discouraging to start out working towards profits, the long term is to turn those profits into more opportunity, aka you might be able to create more affordable housing with more leverage. I  think you have some great ideas and are gonna do some good stuff here, just some food for thought though! Keep fighting the good fight! 

Jon,

Sorry I just caught that I wrote John on my first post. I downloaded Evicted on audible so I'm very interested to listen to that! Extreme Ownership is neat because they tell the military story, then the leadership theory, then the application to business and its that part I think that is super cool and valuable. 

and Totally I enjoy sharing experiences on here, even though I don't have very many yet! I think starting out its hard to be decisive, I listened to one of the BP podcasts today and there were talking about that, but ultimately I think we can provide value in a lot of different ways, so sure it might be smaller commissions, but if you get the ball rolling and make decisive decisions then you might be able to bring in more commissions, quicker even though they are less your still providing good value. Even if its only a couple places as long as your not making it super difficult on people and your respectful I think people respond well to that. 

So I am brand new to the commercial world, I left my job as a firefighter in Colorado to move home to help my dad who has been building and working on commercial buildings for along time! I know that my dad talks about getting out of residential because of the clientele and the difficulty they have making decisions. A relative asked us to help with an addition of theirs and just helping get that off the ground has been a large undertaking compared to the few commercial projects I have helped with. Even though they are family each little decision and chaining their minds seems to be compounded where I think commercial clients are more focused and decisive. essentially what we have been talking about, but I am sure I'm going to learn a lot more as I get into the business, Ill keep you posted on what I find!

I think sustainability is challenging right now because it feels like it should be easy, but I think its still early and I have found I need to temper my visions of grandeur. I would love to put solar panels and do storm water landscaping etc but those are big ticket items, flashy and expensive. On this first property I just did non-toxic paint, called ecos throughout, tried to pick low-voc adhesives etc. refinished existing floors, used some materials that my dad had left over from commercial projects, and went to a place called Community Warehouse downtown, which has a lot of excess building materials that have been donated. I also did LED lighting, and looked for efficient appliances, installed a nest thermostat and water sense fixtures, one of the bigger things I did to start was remove and update some of the lead piping in the home and install a whole house water filtration system since the supply lines from the city are still lead. So my residents have really clean water. Not flashy but its what I could do for now. I'm also looking into programs like waste management just started a food composting service so you can get a trash can just for food scraps and they come pick it up just like they do garbage and that's something I would like to cover free of charge for my residents, trying to increase the value of sustainable practices for them. I have some DIY ideas like installing water diversion gutters that have grasses and plants in them and I would like to create more green spaces like moss walls in my properties. These are all long term goals and ideas I would like to do if I can get some momentum. I also wrote my business plan so that I will donate a portion of my rent profit back into the community through local environmental non-profits. 

Ultimately my goal is to use as much reclaimed and environmentally conscious materials as possible and make older homes more carbon neutral. less carbon is used to update homes than it takes to build new, so if I can convert and make them more efficient then I can do good for the environment and the community, at least that's my idea. I think sustainability is for everyone and regardless of socioeconomic status we all are better if we have clean water and clean communities, affordable sustainable housing is the goal!

It sounds like you have a solid plan to start with, Keep me posted on what parts of the city you are starting to look in, as I'm trying to find that transition area. I have been keeping an eye on the area between 43 and Riverwest as a potential place to start. Are you planning on using property managers or are you planning on being the landlord? are you looking to BRRR your multifamily property is that why you are looking to refinance after the initial purchase?

@Demetrius Lindsey I think you have some experience with city owned properties? I have been looking at some of those, but I have no idea where to start with that. It seems like the city and the MMSD have a lot a grants available for improvement, I just haven't gotten the courage up to navigate them. 

Hi John, 

welcome to the BP community! I am am young in the REI journey myself, bought a single family property couple years ago and got it rented. Started in much the same way, reading a lot of books and BP webinars, and recently trying to shift into more networking. Milwaukee is a market with a lot of potential, but it also has its challenges. I admire that you are looking to target affordable housing, I think that is awesome and having people who want to balance service and profit, that is always important. Your post resonated with me because I am personally really trying to start sustainable development in the city, and one of my goals with that is to affordable clean housing while still having a profit, which I hope to use to invest more in sustainable-affordable goals. In my mind sustainability should be fore everyone, especially for those who feel they can't afford it. Milwaukee has been a very segregated city for along time, its a major challenge here, but I think there is a lot of opportunity to change that if people are motivated and have a mindset like yours. like I said I am young on this journey too, but Its something I would love to chat about more with you and others.

As for bringing value, that is something that I am trying to learn as well. A good book I came across is "long-Distance Real Estate Investing", by David Greene and he talked about creating value, although its title is long distance all the concepts still apply. Basically the way I have been trying to look at it is, who is important to me and why are they important aka how are they bringing value to me. I think if you can determine that then you can start to apply that to people you want to bring value to.

I recently started a new job as a project manager for a contractor so I'm starting to gain a fresh perspective, but I think people value their time, money, and ideas. yet recognizing that isn't something that comes easy overnight. For example I have a friend who is a realtor and when I was starting to look for properties I was looking all over the city and coming up with different ideas or properties all the time. I eventually did buy a property and he helped me, but I realized that I may not have valued his time as much as I should have. Even though he was a friend and enjoys looking at properties, was my value worth his time? I suppose only he could answer that, however when I look back on it I think if I was more concise and decisive I would have saved him more time and effort, making my value higher when I finally purchased a property. 

I've noticed this with contracting as well. people want you to bring them business but they don't want you to waste their time with being indecisive, wasting time wastes money and effort. So I believe one way you can bring value to someone is by valuing their time through your decisions and what you are asking. 

not sure if that makes any sense, thinking and typing. Another great book if you haven't read it is Extreme Ownership by Jacko Willink. Its not a real estate book, its leadership, but if you want people to want to work with you its a phenomenal read. look forward to talking with you more!

Cheers,

Conrad

@Brandon Roberts

Welcome to MKE! I recently moved back here too, after being away for a while. I own one property in the city. Hoping to grow my portfolio and looking to network too. The Brew City REI group on Facebook is a good place to connect with people here as well! I would definitely take you up on a coffee after the pandemic! I hope you enjoy it here, Milwaukee is a cool city with a lot of possibilities!

Cheers,

Conrad

@Rebecca Knox I purchased my property in the Cambridge Woods neighborhood. I would be interested in an 8 - unit property and would like to get some more information. I looked up the Brew City REI club, but it didn't come up, but I did see the REI Training Cafe, any chance you could invite me to the Brew City REI group? I would love to be a part of the group, sounds like a great place to intact with other Milwaukee investors.

@Tanya F. Thanks for your message, Its awesome to hear that other people are doing the same thing in the same area!

@Marcus Auerbach Thanks for your reply, I will check out the Brew City FB Group, does it have a specific name? and look up Ryan Patee sounds like he does some cool projects. 

@Matt Maurice Thanks for your message, I'm glad I picked MKE too, excited to build a portfolio there! What is the best way to get in touch with a local REI community? I have family in MKE and now a property so I'm back and forth fairly often, but probably not enough to hit one of their meetings.

@Brett Kash Thanks for your feed back, I am hoping its the market of the future, it seems like more people are interested in sustainable options so its nice to hear someone else echo that. That's awesome that your neighbor put solar panels on his house, I put them on my current home, its a big financial commitment! I am hoping I can offer that kind of option to people such as renters without them having to make that big commitment themselves. 

Hey BP Community,

I recently purchased my first property in Milwaukee, and I am currently performing sustainable upgrades on the home with the hopes of renting it soon. I am originally from the city, but currently live in Colorado, so doing most of this remotely.

I'm interested in both increasing my portfolio in Milwaukee and trying to make a bigger impact on the community. I would love to connect and interact with people in the area and beyond that may share my same interests and goals.

Looking to grow and scale so I would be open to collaborating, partnering, or simply making friends.

Thanks,

Conrad

Chattel appraisals or cost segregation are not only recognized by the IRS but if you file this way you have to fill out a form stating you are changing from incorrect filing to correct filing. The IRS expects cost segregation, if you are not doing this you are technically filing your taxes incorrectly. Often times because your CPA is lazy or not fully knowledgable. As I understand it you can have an engineer and/or tax professional do the chattel appraisal. Either way you should do it because you are losing out on large deductions and it is technically what the IRS expects!!

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/cost-segregation-audit-techniques-guide-chapter-1-introduction