Hey @Abigail Ford - congratulations on getting started! I think @John Lyszczyk gave you what you needed to know about costs up front. I'd also pay close attention to @Rebecca Knox - she knows a ton about the Milwaukee market and is well connected.
When I started investing, my first two purchases were turnkey - meaning I didn't really have to do anything outside of finding a tenant. I knew I was paying a little more for the properties, but I wanted to learn one step at a time. This got me familiar with working with an agent (who taught us a ton about what to look for in a property), navigating the financing through a bank, going through the inspection, finding a tenant and everything else that goes along with landlording. It wasn't a requirement for us that the house be "newly renovated" but we did want to know we weren't going to have to replace any big ticket items like a furnace, roof, appliances, water heater, etc in the first couple years. Once we were comfortable with these things, we moved on to properties that might need a little rehab. Everyone is different, but for us this was a good way to wade into the water slowly and made balancing REI with a job and family easier.
The question about what neighborhoods to look at comes up a lot. Unfortunately, the only real answer is "it depends". It depends on your goals, the amount of money you have, the amount of work you're willing to do and what kind of work that is (landlording vs networking with private lenders vs marketing, etc), the amount of time you have, the list goes on. On top of that, there are often differences in areas/streets within the same neighborhood. There are others here way more qualified to advise on locations than I am, but I can tell you we've had good experiences in Kops Park and Nash Park and so far in Washington Heights. I also have a rental in Wauwatosa but that's getting into higher price points. I don't own anything in West Allis currently, but that's an area I also have my eye on.
Hope that helps a little and good luck!
