Hey everyone! I'm excited to start engaging on these forums after hearing so much value from the Bigger Pockets podcasts (I'm something of an archivist, so I've listened to 1 through 62 so far). 

I'm looking to get into some buy and hold investing, starting with a househack duplex in Madison or surrounding areas and moving on to some BRRRRs in the area or Milwaukee. 

Family health/circumstances has me moving to Madison somewhat unexpectedly, so we'll likely be renting until we find a place to buy.

I've been excited about real estate since I read (you guessed it) Rich Dad in about 2006. I just never felt I had enough to invest. The info from Bigger Pockets has been so actionable and I finally feel ready(ish). 

I'm looking forward to connecting, especially with folks in Madison!

Thanks for reading,

Colin Wyatt

Welcome to Madison, WI!  Madison is a great rental market with rents seeming to always be strong with low vacancy.

Originally posted by @John K. :

Welcome to Madison, WI!  Madison is a great rental market with rents seeming to always be strong with low vacancy.

 Thanks! I was noticing the same. I'm getting a little sticker shock at property taxes, though I'm coming from Colorado, so not really a fair comparison in that regard. 

Do you find a lot of turn over, given the large university population, or does it really depend on the area? 

@Colin Wyatt totally depends on area for turnover. Property taxes are a little high, I actually just hired an attorney this year to fight a few places, one 4 unit jumped 23% and a house we purchased 8 months ago for 126k jumped to $230k

Originally posted by @John K. :

@Colin Wyatt totally depends on area for turnover. Property taxes are a little high, I actually just hired an attorney this year to fight a few places, one 4 unit jumped 23% and a house we purchased 8 months ago for 126k jumped to $230k

 Curious how this panned out for you. I am experiencing something similar. Huge tax hike on a duplex I own and we've been informed that taxes are increasing, but not certain how much. What has the lawyer done to help? Can the tax increase be overturned?

@Colin Wyatt Welcome to Madison and the BP forums. As John mentioned, turnover and vacancy really depends on the area. I've had several duplexes and single family rentals in the suburbs of Madison and may vacancy rate has been under 3% with the average tenant stay 3.5 years. Downtown in the student housing areas vacancy rates are still low, but you'll likely have more turnover. Madison has been a great market for long term slow and steady appreciation, but finding  a deal can be a challenge. There is a lot of competition among buyers right now, and a lot of investors seem to be overpaying (at least in my opinion). So, finding great cashflow is tricky without a significant down payment. Great deals can be found, just not abundant. 

@Keith Schultz Thanks for the info and stats, it feels pretty similar to the market I'm moving from with prices a bit lower. It seems like the price:rent ratio is more favorable (I can't buy a duplex in a 50 miles radius for less than 500k and it rents for 3k total)

Which lender has been your favorite to work with? Thank you if you take the time to answer

@Colin Wyatt I sent you a few lender options via the colleague request PM. 

Hi @Colin Wyatt , it's great to have you here! I'm sorry have to move for undesirable circumstances but I love that you have a plan and despite what's going on you aren't getting deterred. Madison does have higher property taxes, if it makes sense try to get out from under the property taxes by going outside of Dane County if possible.  (I would also take a few moments to familiarize yourself with local codes for rentals in Dane County/Madison including their Fair Housing protected classes. You'll likely find those different than what you may be used to.)

 @Corina Eufinger :

Thanks for the warm welcome and the tips to get me started. I appreciate your property management perspective, I'm hopeful the advice I've read and heard in Bigger pockets mostly applies to Madison landlording as well. I look forward to connecting more fully with the areas REI groups, which it looks like you're very active in! 

@Colin Wyatt

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You came to the right place to learn more about real estate and connect with other motivated investors. BP is full of great content, so I strongly recommend you to have a look at the following resources:

1. Start by reading the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides/ultimate-real-estate-investing-guide/introduction

2. Then check out other online guides available here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

3. Have a look at BP's blog where new articles are published every day: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog

4. If you wish to network or ask specific questions about your local market, you can go to your local real estate forum and discuss with investors from your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/86-local-real-estate-networking

5. Or you can directly meet them by registering to real estate events around you: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-and-happenings

6. BP has various tools available to help you analyze your deals (rental, flips, wholesale, etc), feel free to use them: https://www.biggerpockets.com/investment-calculators

@Nick Peters thanks for the detailed post, really an awesome way to start. I'll also check out your investment spreadsheets, I've always been partial to excel.