All Forum Posts by: Ricky Conti

Congrats on your purchase @David Mo! I have been house hacking here since the summer of 2019 so welcome to the neighborhood.

What I learned right away is that it's really easy to underestimate the amount of time and dollars it takes to do various improvements. I have done painting, floors, a backsplash, and a paver patio over the past year. While rewarding, I underestimated the time needed and the total cost of all of these projects initially. Also, I was fortunate to not inherit any tenants when I purchased the property.

What I have observed living near Greenfield Ave over the past year is that West Allis is going through a transition period. The city continues to shed its old blue-collar image (Allis Chalmers building being razed this summer as an example) and more and more millennials seem to be buying/moving into the neighborhood. I believe this is tied to a successful marketing/branding campaign West Allis has been running, housing being at a lower price point than other neighborhoods such as Tosa, and a bunch of other new developments that attract a younger crowd such as a dog park, restaurants, and bars. It's been exciting to see all the recent changes.

Finally, one concern I had prior to moving to West Allis was crime as I was moving from a much more rural neighborhood. Fortunately though, this has not been an issue on my end since moving here. 

Best of luck to you and congrats on accomplishing your goal

Ricky

Thanks @Dave Spooner!

Thanks @JD Martin good to be aware of that. I suppose time will tell on the tree. We did have to remove a fair share of roots so there certainly could be an impact to the tree down the line. 

Thanks for all the thoughts! Took the majority advice here and went with patio idea.900 pavers later and this is getting close to being finished. After the pavers, sand, base, and drainage it came out to around $1500 which I think is worth the investment. The most difficult aspect of this was digging and leveling out the space...oh and removing quite a few roots.

Hello BP!

Seeking some suggestions on how to best update this backyard to improve the space and make it more functional. The elevation is lower than the house to the right which currently causes water to pool after rainfall. Additionally, the large tree prevents sunlight from reaching much of the backyard. This appears to have prevented grass from growing and is attributing to the mud pit we have. The property is a half rented/half live in duplex purchased last summer and is in a B/C ish neighborhood.  Thank you for your thoughts!