All Forum Posts by: Ryan Leonard

I'm looking to get added to some wholesaler lists in SE & Central Wisconsin and wondering if anyone has any suggestions of people/companies I should reach out to. I'm ultimately looking for 5+ unit deals but understand that 99.9% of the deals that come through are going to be SF and Duplexes, and that's okay. 

Other than networking and searching for "Wisconsin Real Estate Wholesalers" on Google, does anyone have suggestions on how to find wholesalers in my area? 

I think, in general, unless you're an extremely high W2 earner just looking to get into real estate for tax purposes, buying for cash flow gives you the durability to weather market fluctuations as you're never in a position where your back is against the wall and you need to sell... unless you have debt coming due.

Now, that being said, if the true cash flow, after allocating for all expenses, vacancy, maintenance, capex, etc. is in the black, then I think taking a 5% CoC return in an appreciating market isn't a bad move, especially if there is a component of value-add.

@Gino Barbaro Appreciate you clarifying that for me, thank you!

@Gino Barbaro

Appreciate the insight. Good to hear I'm on the right path with broker relationships. I've found a lot more success working with newer brokers as opposed to experienced brokers, who, rightly so, have a lot of preferred buyers that they're initially bringing all of these deals to. 

That's just the name of the game, right? And as we close more deals, gain experience, etc. we'll move up on the list for experienced brokers?

Do you find there to be value for us to still reach out to those brokers who have been around 30 years and are high-level operators? Or, are we more of a thorn in their side until we have a few more deals under our belt?

@Robert Rixer Appreciate you responding. We do a lot of investor meetups, networking events, as well as some outreach - primarily to brokers, bankers, wholesalers, etc. - more so trying to build relationships and following the rabbit hole that leads us down.

With regard to social media groups, is this primarily FB Groups? Or are there other social media groups I should be tapping into? 

@Greg Kasmer Thanks for your reply! Would love to hear about your experiences and talk more about off-market lead strategies. There are some ideas I've been toying with that work for 1-4 units, but not sure how it'll translate to larger stuff. I'll send you a message and we can go from there. 

For those in the small multifamily space and who are still closing deals in 2024, how many leads are you looking at/week? What's the breakdown between direct-to-seller, through a broker, or other source? Looking to reset my standards a bit. 

After a deal we've been working on fell through and deal flow being light the past two weeks, it's been a good point of reflection. We've primarily been focusing on building relationships with brokers, bankers, etc. but I feel like we need to take additional action and dive into the direct-to-seller realm. 

Would love to hear different approaches, thoughts, etc. on this. 

Hi Megan - great to hear you're taking the dive into real estate investing! The question I've asked myself when I find myself in situations like the one you're in, and one I also ask when analyzing a deal, is "What's my downside?". What's the worst that could happen with the decision you make? Many times, if your gut has already led you to a point where you're considering doing something, the downside is less than you might originally anticipate. 

As for networking, anything you can do in person works wonders. I committed to going to a few real estate events a few years back and made a point to have casual conversations with 1-2 people per event and from there, I could feel the metaphorical snowball begin to roll down the hill. I still have many miles to go in my business, but from a networking perspective, committing to a few events changed everything. 

Hi Craedon - if you're looking for more information on different avenues within real estate investing to do in your free time, I'd strongly recommend reading the Ultimate Beginner's Guide by Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner (It's a BiggerPockets Book). 

When I first started taking steps toward the real estate investing space, I used that book as a stepping stone to begin to explore other avenues deeper and see which ones I was the most interested in. 

If you've already read that or aren't satisfied with that answer, then another idea would be to go to local real estate investing meetups and find someone who is already doing what you're interested in doing and volunteer a day/week to help them out. In addition to learning by experience, you could be forming a rock-solid partnership that could offer resources and options you didn't otherwise have. 

Without knowing your exact interests, skills, etc. that's what I would recommend.

Hi - I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion for what software to use for my current situation. I recently partnered with a real estate investment company in Milwaukee, WI. They do rentals and property management. I'm looking to organize the business and build a solid foundation so we can eventually start syndicating deals. We currently own 14 units but are looking to purchase a few 8-32 unit buildings in the next year or two. I'm very familiar with Hubspot as I'm currently building out a custom system for an investment company in Madison, WI. I love the customizability of Hubspot as well as its interface and integration potential. The downside is it costs around $600-$900/month and I know it will likely take me 3-4 months working 20 hours/week to build out the fully integrated system I envision. I know it will 100% serve the purposes we need, but at the same time don't necessarily know if it is worth it to "re-invent the wheel". 

We plan to do the following all within one software:

- Analyze and manage new potential acquisitions

- Asset Management 

- Property Management

    - Rent collection

   - Manage Maintenance Requests

- Syndications

- Store all contacts (agents, bankers, investors, etc.) 

What software (other than one I would customize, like Hubspot), are out there that accomplishes everything we need in one fully integrated system? If there is software out there, would it be dumb of me to "re-invent the wheel" and create my own customized system within Hubspot? Curious to know people's thoughts on this.