All Forum Posts by: Marcus Auerbach

I know Knight Barry has in house counsel, but Stewart Title and Land Title are also great choices for investors

Land Title or Stewart Title. Also, Knight Barry.

I have built as the GC and the amount of management, red tape and paperwork really shocked me. A full rehab is so much easier! But I would say it is still an interesting idea. And an asset worth owning.

Nope. The Milwaukee metro has about 67% of all listings sell over asking currently. 

We have no inventory and according to Refin we were the #1 hottest market in the US in February with a 20% median sold price increase. But I have to note that February was an outlier; I would say half of that number is realistic.

I am sorry Nathan, that is devastating to hear. I hope she is going to be the exception!

My point is you have correlation, but not causality.

You have to look at the total tax burden - not only income tax. All States provide more or less the same services for a very similar cost, so what they are not raising in income tax they have to bring in with other taxes.

Texas for example is famous for no income tax, but they are one of the highest in both sales tax and property tax, so all things considered Texas is pretty average.

Florida's total tax burden is one of the lowest in the country, but the cost of living is not. And it's about to go up quickly because of property insurance. 

Here is a cost of living index, FL is on the higher end.

But that is not the whole story either. 

You also have to consider income. If you make more money you can afford more. Not to pick on FL, but they make a really good example, because while their cost of living is on the high end the average income is one of the lowest.

BTW, I am in Milwaukee. And one of the reasons why Wisconsin is quietly and slowly gaining popularity in every moving statistic is because you have a moderate cost of living, but good income, a moderate climate without extreme weather patterns, heat or stroms and plenty of fresh water from the Great Lakes. And a high quality of living, that's why our number one migration is from Chicago and Illinois. 

Is that impacting real estate prices? Looks like it does, Redfin says Milwaukee was the #1 hottest real estate market in the US in February with a 20% increase in median price. I have to add: February was an outlier, we are realistically at about half of that.

It's hard work to buy a good deal these days. No free lunch in real estate. Where is the cutoff? 

Most new investors are looking at cash on cash return and then compare that with the historic returns of the S&P500 (which are not guaranteed in the future). But that is shortsighted. 

Even a property with zero cash flow pays down the financing at about 2-3% per year and if you are leveraged 4:1 that's about 8-12% right there only for making mortgage payments. Then you have tax benefits. And you have appreciation which at the very least will keep up with inflation. And over time cash flow will increase, as rents go up at least with the rate of inflation. The whole game is rigged in favor of long term property owners. 

You can plant arbs, but a 6' dog ear cedar fence goes up a lot faster. The pre-made panels are not expensive. And in this case I would put the nice side on the inside. 

It's tough to deal with a crazy neighbor, ask me how I know. Useless to engage. Fences help.

There is also a strong correlation between ice cream sales and shark attacks. As soon as people consume less ice cream, the shark attacks go down!

You can invest money, time or energy. And you can substitute one for another.

One of the young guys who does some work for me has a midterm rental. He is 24, single and super motivated. He maked a MTR work and the extra effort did not bother him. 

He got the furniture mostly of FB marketplace for very little money. He wanted to buy in a very good area and otherwise he could not have made the numbers work. 

He did a great job and the property became a launch pad for him. But I can't see anyone managing a portfolio of MTRs.. drive yourself nuts.