All Forum Posts by: Troy Owen

@Steven Story If you need help beyond your father-in-law, message me. I'm very active in the West Allis, Wauwatosa, and Northwest Milwaukee areas. Deals happen all the time that never make it to MLS, Loopnet, etc. Good luck to you either way!!

-Troy

@Eric La Pratt

If you are looking at the Milwaukee market you really need to work with someone who is active in that market.  Like every metro area there are many sub markets.  You need to understand what they are and what to expect in each of those neighborhoods.  You can make money in every neighborhood if you know what you are doing but that doesn't mean every neighborhood is a good fit for you personally.  Are you more concerned about cash flow or appreciation? 

I am an agent and investor. If you are serious about investing in Milwaukee and want help figuring out this market, message me.

-Troy

I would fix the fridge.  Make a habit of resolving problems as they pop up.  Water is likely flowing to the fridge and you don't want to end up with a larger problem. 

Going further, I would not recommend providing refrigerators with water dispensers because that is just one more thing that can break.  Its a nice feature but unnecessary.  I personally always provide nice appliances they just don't have the added features and therefore have lower repair costs.

-Troy

No, you need to verify what your PM is telling you.  They are not getting paid to interview five different people to get to the root of the problem.  They are going to call someone to make the problem go away and give you a price.  Foundation repair is one of those specialties where they can really take you for a ride!  Many of the foundation specialists like to automatically recommend an exterior fix, which is significantly more expensive.  In the Milwaukee area they charge about $50/linear foot for interior drain tile work and $250/linear foot for exterior repairs.  Be sure to step back and look at this problem from another angle.  What is the root cause of this issue? There are instances where the problem can be solved without touching the foundation: 1) gutters/downspouts - if the gutters are plugged and water is pouring over the gutters only inches away from the foundation or if the downspout isn't directing water away from the house and is dumping water right at the corner of the property you will have water in the building. 2) Concrete - Is there concrete pitching toward the house, all the water flows toward the house.  3) Landscaping - depending on how bad your problem is, a thick bed of mulch can help absorb water or if water is flowing toward the house, a drainage solution or diverting water away from the house might help. Good luck!

-Troy

Find another lender!  Do not base all of your decisions on an answer you received from one banker.  Like investors, or anything else for that matter, not all bankers are created equal! Just because they lend money for investment properties does not mean they understand real estate investing.  Quite the opposite is true in many cases. If you find a good deal, someone will finance you!

Regarding the lack of responses, I recommend completing your profile. There is no information about you, no picture, etc.   

There are risks buying at auctions, no question. You can also make a lot of money buying at auctions. Make sure you know your numbers. What is it worth "as-is" and what is the ARV? Since you don't have access to the property before bidding, assume higher repair costs and adjust your bid price accordingly. You need to leave yourself some room for any surprises. Call a different title company. There are several to choose from and one of them is likely to help you out. Just because there are liens on the property that doesn't mean you need to walk away. Lower your bid price by the amount of the lien(s). Make sure you know the terms at the auction. If the auction is not online does the 5% down payment need to be cash or cashiers checks? What is the deadline for closing after the auction? Do you have the funds to close on the property?

I'm not sure what you are hoping to accomplish with that price.  Pennies are not going to make or break a deal.  If I wrote an offer on a house with a price like that I would use whole numbers.

You need to get rid of your "partner" right away.  Do not give him the time of day, do not give him another chance!  There is no excuse for being unreachable over the span of several months.  It is your responsibility to get insurance on the property.  It is titled in your name so that is on you!  Have the house re-keyed and re-assess at that point.  Do you want to keep going and find another contractor or sell the house and chalk this deal up to education??

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience on your very first purchase but keep going!  You have already learned a lot of valuable lessons.  In the future put the agreements in writing.  You didn't know any better because you are new so there is no reason to beat yourself up about that.  It may not be funny right now but you will be able to laugh about it in the future.

If you want to use the MLS you have to submit more offers. It will require a bigger time commitment and there will be a lot of rejected offers but someone will say yes. You also need to do some marketing (direct mail or adwords, etc.) and make sure everyone you know is aware of the fact you are buying houses. Also you could can call other wholesalers and buy deals from them.

-Troy

@Andy Chu Milwaukee is very attractive compared to many markets.  Just be careful with the neighborhoods.  The numbers can be very seductive but you need to understand the area and use realistic numbers.  Typical management fees are 5 - 7% but at the end of the day you are going to pay 10% regardless. 

@JJ Bliss is right about multi's struggling to get over a 10 CAP but its not impossible. I bought a 4 family this year with a CAP rate north of 20 so it is possible but not something you find every day.