Hey fellow pocketers, so I’ve been pretty interested in buying my second investment property in my first year of investing, my first one has been quite successfully so far so I’m really feeling the pressure on property two.

Anyway I’ve been looking at Milwaukee and I see that although their unemployment is at record low, they are doing some major construction to their downtown and although their population has grown slowly since 2010 last two years they’ve actually been dropping a little. Would this cause worry to a savvy investor?

Originally posted by @Eric Calabrese :

Hey fellow pocketers, so I’ve been pretty interested in buying my second investment property in my first year of investing, my first one has been quite successfully so far so I’m really feeling the pressure on property two.

Anyway I’ve been looking at Milwaukee and I see that although their unemployment is at record low, they are doing some major construction to their downtown and although their population has grown slowly since 2010 last two years they’ve actually been dropping a little. Would this cause worry to a savvy investor?

 Milkwaukee is a great market that a lot of investors focus on. It doesn't really seem to be scaring people away but rather attracting people. My target market is Wilmington, Delaware which is another shrinking marking and I would argue doesn't have the same economic prospects that Milwaukee has. My goal though is to provide a better quality housing stock than what is currently available on the market because many of the house are old (late 1800's early 1900's) and have been neglected for decades. So by buying right and placing the right tenants I'm able to be more competitive, however I'm also taking 2 or 3 months to rent a place as a result of that decision. For more perspective though I'll pass the ball to @Dawn A. and @Brie Schmidt who are far more the experts on Milwaukee specifically than I am. 

Originally posted by @James Masotti :

Originally posted by @Eric Calabrese:

Hey fellow pocketers, so I’ve been pretty interested in buying my second investment property in my first year of investing, my first one has been quite successfully so far so I’m really feeling the pressure on property two.

Anyway I’ve been looking at Milwaukee and I see that although their unemployment is at record low, they are doing some major construction to their downtown and although their population has grown slowly since 2010 last two years they’ve actually been dropping a little. Would this cause worry to a savvy investor?

 Milkwaukee is a great market that a lot of investors focus on. It doesn't really seem to be scaring people away but rather attracting people. My target market is Wilmington, Delaware which is another shrinking marking and I would argue doesn't have the same economic prospects that Milwaukee has. My goal though is to provide a better quality housing stock than what is currently available on the market because many of the house are old (late 1800's early 1900's) and have been neglected for decades. So by buying right and placing the right tenants I'm able to be more competitive, however I'm also taking 2 or 3 months to rent a place as a result of that decision. For more perspective though I'll pass the ball to @Dawn A. and @Brie Schmidt who are far more the experts on Milwaukee specifically than I am. 

Thank you James, it wasn’t scaring me away too much but it did have me thinking, but I feel that since I’m so early in this game I’m still dealing with that nervousness and fear at times since that stuff isn’t easy to shake off.

Originally posted by @Eric Calabrese :

Originally posted by @James Masotti:

Originally posted by @Eric Calabrese:

Hey fellow pocketers, so I’ve been pretty interested in buying my second investment property in my first year of investing, my first one has been quite successfully so far so I’m really feeling the pressure on property two.

Anyway I’ve been looking at Milwaukee and I see that although their unemployment is at record low, they are doing some major construction to their downtown and although their population has grown slowly since 2010 last two years they’ve actually been dropping a little. Would this cause worry to a savvy investor?

 Milkwaukee is a great market that a lot of investors focus on. It doesn't really seem to be scaring people away but rather attracting people. My target market is Wilmington, Delaware which is another shrinking marking and I would argue doesn't have the same economic prospects that Milwaukee has. My goal though is to provide a better quality housing stock than what is currently available on the market because many of the house are old (late 1800's early 1900's) and have been neglected for decades. So by buying right and placing the right tenants I'm able to be more competitive, however I'm also taking 2 or 3 months to rent a place as a result of that decision. For more perspective though I'll pass the ball to @Dawn A. and @Brie Schmidt who are far more the experts on Milwaukee specifically than I am. 

Thank you James, it wasn’t scaring me away too much but it did have me thinking, but I feel that since I’m so early in this game I’m still dealing with that nervousness and fear at times since that stuff isn’t easy to shake off.

 There's always an argument to make that you could do a more perfect investment....but hey...not everyone can be Warren Buffet. Even if I only end up being a small fraction of that successful it's enough to give me what I want in my life. 

I'm about 30 miles south of Milwaukee, and I've been watching the changes that  the City is undergoing for the past three years. Like many other cities, you will want to stay away from certain sections until they are better stabilized (check out Trulia's crime maps for reference). Apart from those sections, other parts of the city are attracting significant amounts of attention. Walker's Point and Riverwest, for example, are both pretty hot right now. 

The city has a lot of mature housing stock that needs attention and updating. From what I can see, rents are generally stable. There's been a lot of attention recently on a few landlords who were gaming the system and the City's aldermen are cracking down on abuses, but I think that those landlords are more the exception than the rule. 

The City itself sometimes has a quirky feel to it - I've heard it called the Portland, Oregon of the Midwest. On the plus side, that quirkiness supports more locally-owned businesses that offer better service than national chains.  The weather might scare a few people away, but the locals keep themselves insulated and well-primed when the snow and wind come in.

The City is actively attempting to lure millennials from Chicago with an ad campaign that highlights the City's amenities and transportation benefits. There's a healthy flux of people moving north from Illinois, and the FoxConn development in Racine will likely continue to lure people from south of the border. All told, I would not be overly concerned with reports of Milwaukee's population issues.

Originally posted by @John Franczyk :

I'm about 30 miles south of Milwaukee, and I've been watching the changes that  the City is undergoing for the past three years. Like many other cities, you will want to stay away from certain sections until they are better stabilized (check out Trulia's crime maps for reference). Apart from those sections, other parts of the city are attracting significant amounts of attention. Walker's Point and Riverwest, for example, are both pretty hot right now. 

The city has a lot of mature housing stock that needs attention and updating. From what I can see, rents are generally stable. There's been a lot of attention recently on a few landlords who were gaming the system and the City's aldermen are cracking down on abuses, but I think that those landlords are more the exception than the rule. 

The City itself sometimes has a quirky feel to it - I've heard it called the Portland, Oregon of the Midwest. On the plus side, that quirkiness supports more locally-owned businesses that offer better service than national chains.  The weather might scare a few people away, but the locals keep themselves insulated and well-primed when the snow and wind come in.

The City is actively attempting to lure millennials from Chicago with an ad campaign that highlights the City's amenities and transportation benefits. There's a healthy flux of people moving north from Illinois, and the FoxConn development in Racine will likely continue to lure people from south of the border. All told, I would not be overly concerned with reports of Milwaukee's population issues.

Thanks John, I appreciate the in debth response. I see all that’s going on with their downtown and the money being poured into it, to me being in construction I know to follow construction,they have professionals with a lot of plans for the future.

@John Franczyk

I was there in Milwaukee the first week of April and you hit it right on. @Eric Calabrese I saw exactly what John was talking about. 

I am actively putting in offers in Milwaukee for duplexes but nothing yet. 

All the best to you guys,

Jorge

Originally posted by @Jorge Ruiz :

@John Franczyk

I was there in Milwaukee the first week of April and you hit it right on. @Eric Calabrese I saw exactly what John was talking about. 

I am actively putting in offers in Milwaukee for duplexes but nothing yet. 

All the best to you guys,

Jorge

Luckily it’s a buyers market, I’ll be there tommorow!