All Forum Posts by: Joshua Malik

I have to pretty much agree with the consensus here.  Yesterday 2 Family Dollar stores were robbed in Milwaukee.  That hardly even warranted a mention on the local news because it's run-of-the-mill.  If you want to invest in these D areas, then more power to you... but the good landlords who actually care about their tenants, their properties, and their communities tend to simply stay away (as you can see from their comments - Dawn, James, etc...).  I suppose that just helps perpetuate the problem.  

Great post @Cody Barrett and quite right. I have my eye on several Racine and Kenosha Duplexes in this price range - all on MLS. That's plan B for me, though, as I'm looking for a 4-plex first. But there It sounds like the realtors that you have been talking to have a focus on owner occupied - which stands to reason since most buyers are not investors. Keep thinking like an investor and use the calculators to make sure the numbers make sense.

If you are just getting started, 123Landlord is free for the first two properties/tenants.  I like it so far, and intend to switch to a paid plan when I get my next property.  

For my single family house in Racine I went with white because it matched the kitchen.  Go with what looks good, but in Racine (by the way I was born and raised there) you do not need stainless unless you're in Wind Point or something.  Definitely go with used... just get good quality used appliances and you'll be fine.  Try APS Appliances on Douglas. 

Hi Joshua. I agree with Sam. Pretty much any listing you find for $250k in Milwaukee will be in at least a respectable area. I would also suggest using Trulia's crime map just to be sure. Frankly I'd be more concerned about cash flow - especially with a small FHA down payment. You have until October, though... that's a long way off. Should be plenty of time, and it's hard to go wrong when you're living in your investment property (house hacking).

If you can avoid using more than 30% of your credit limit on any individual card, then you won't see as big of an impact to your credit score.  

Welcome, Brett.

Milwaukee can get pretty dodgy.  You may want to Google "Red Arrow Park shooting" for an example.  Maybe as I get more experience I'll consider city of Milwaukee, but at this point I'm sticking to suburbs.  

I've used Lending Club on both the investment and borrower sides.  I started dabbling as an investor, and focused more on the better credit but lower rate notes - but not exclusively.  

Eventually, I needed to sell them all to raise cash for a real estate deal... and turned around and used Lending Club (as a borrower)... I guess you could say as an alternative to hard money.  I'm in the process of refinancing that into a conventional loan now. 

Throughout all of that, I never had a single problem with Lending Club.

 I also have no complaints with erentpayment.com... but I wouldn't say it clears quickly.  4 days to a week for me.