All Forum Posts by: Jack Medford

I'm confused by your post. Why does the linked report show a purchase price of $173,500? I'm also confused about what you're trying to do. Are you just wholesaling this or keeping it?

I've used US Bank as well as Wisconsin River Bank, lowest property value I got a loan for was $65k. US Bank had the better terms at 5.5% interest amortized over 25 years on a 5 year term. WRB had the same, except amortized over 20 years. 

I'm pretty sure both banks would be willing to provide a combination loan that includes both properties, which should help if they have issue providing a loan on the $45k property. 

The BRRRR strategy is so heavily talked about and promoted here on BP and the podcast that everyone now knows about it. From my experience, this has led to a lot of newbies coming into real estate and introducing themselves as such, "Hey, yeah, um... I'm new to real estate and just learning things. I'm looking for a BRRRR property for my first deal..." In fact, I was one of these newbies about 1.5 years ago. Problem is everyone is looking for a BRRRR, newbies and experienced alike. These newbies find out that it isn't as easy as it sounds on the podcast (What? I have to work and stay consistent over many months and years to get deals?) Most get discouraged, and a small few stick it out and keep going.

In addition, we are at (or very near) the top of the current cycle. At least according to all the experts. The top of the cycle in real estate always brings a bunch of newbies looking to make money without much effort. Then they disappear when things get hard. I think our current place in the cycle has more to due with the quality you are noticing here on BP rather than BP becoming a real estate version of Facebook. I guess time will tell though.  

Hi Adam.  I know I'm a bit late to reply to your inquiry, but thought I should respond in case you're still looking into using Scott/Synergy. I worked for a very short time with Scott, but also know a number of people who have bought homes through him and relied on him for management. The short answer.... I've yet to speak with a single person who has a positive thing to say about their experience with Scott. 

The general consensus is to just stay away. The areas and houses he advertises are worth looking into for the right investors, but using Synergy is not advisable. 

@Robert Tinker I signed up for an account for connected investors maybe a month ago. At best, it seems like a decent investor marketplace. At worst, it seems like the CEO is attempting to sell snake oil to other investors. Not to mention he keeps saying things like "I'm the CEO of the largest Real Estate Investor website in the world." Um, sorry... NO! That is Josh Dorkin!

The marketplace works. Investors can post about deals they have, but most of what I have seen are mediocre deals at best. To be fair, I haven't spent a great amount of time there. 

As far as anything the CEO is trying to sell... I'd stay far away. I tried to sit through one of his webinars, but only got through about 15 minutes. He spent the entire time selling a story. (Selling not telling.) I didn't get a single bit of helpful info. At the beginning of every podcast, Biggerpockets asks, "Are you looking to learn about real estate investing without all the hype?" Connected Investors is the exact opposite. They get you hyped, and then sell you products. 

***To be fair, I have never bought a product. My opinion is based on the fact that the CEO sounds like every other salesperson/guru trying to capitalize on hopeful real estate investors, whereas all BP promoters sound like real people just giving the best advice they can.***

@Alex Price Some areas of Milwaukee are similar to Madison. However, that is few and far between in Milwaukee proper. Most of those opportunities will be found along the lake, neighborhoods such as Bayview, Lower East Side, Murray Hill, etc.  From what I've seen, the majority of growth and appreciation is actually happening outside of the city in the surrounding suburbs. 

To answer you question about MFH vs SFH... MFH's typically provide more bang for you buck, if you will. SFH's still cash flow, but CoC return and monthly rent to cost ratio are almost always better with MFH. (At least in the neighborhoods I focus.)

Lots of great investor circles in both Madison and Milwaukee. We have a free meetup that happens every other Wednesday in Madison. @Rebecca Knox runs a group out of Milwaukee. There are also local REIAs of course. Madison investors are less active online from what I've seen. You'll have no trouble finding Milwaukee investors to reach out to and speak with. 

If you are interested in Rock County (where Beloit is located) I'd suggest reaching out to @Kole Kingslien as he is a pretty active investor in that region. 

@Alex Price I'm originally from Long Beach but moved to Wisconsin about 2 years ago. I can confirm that Wisconsin has nice numbers. I personally invest in Milwaukee due to the great rent to price ratio, plus the huge stock of multi-family properties. It can be a great place to invest, but you have to be very careful where you buy. 

Beloit has some nice inventory as well, but it is much more of a  small town situation that Milwaukee. Not a lot of options for property management, for instance. Be very careful of anyone selling you returns that seem a little too good to be true. Returns can be very good here in Wisconsin, but the same principles still apply. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. 

Lastly I'll mention Madison. Not a great city for cash flow, but the best option in Wisconsin for appreciation. The surrounding areas are growing a lot, and many are being pushed out into the towns surrounding Madison, such a Verona, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Mount Horeb, etc. Madison is probably the best option for long term wealth building, but worst for short term cash flow. 

I'm in a similar situation to Rachelle in that I invest in state, but my properties are all over an hour from where I live. This has led me to treat them more like out of state investments. 

I invest primarily in Eastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee and Racine) because the rent to price ratio is pretty good. I've also been looking at Rock County (southern Wisconsin - Janesville & Beloit) but have yet to jump into that market. 

I found my team through networking here on BP. I searched and made posts about my local markets to find investors to connect with and get recommendations. I love my team in Milwaukee but am disappointed with my team in Racine. 

Overall, PM will make or break your success. Focus on finding the right PM for you, and if you can't find one in the market you're looking, then maybe that market isn't right for you. I found a great PM in Milwaukee (two actually) while my Racine PM leaves a lot to be desired. I will be either selling that property this summer, or finding a new PM. 

@Frank Wong I was just pointing out that saying "Bitcoin will never outperform Real Estate" is a false statement. Don't like blocking out periods of time? Ok, that's fine. How has Bitcoin performed since inception? Outperformed Real Estate (and every other major investment option). 

Please keep in mind, I am not at all suggesting everyone should drop their other investments and throw everything into Bitcoin/crypto. However, I do think it should have a small place in the portfolio of those willing to take the time to learn the industry. It is a high risk high reward play to be sure. 

Bitcoin will never outperform real estate? It already has! If you bought in 2015 and held through 2017 then you got better returns than any real estate investor could ever dream. Same can be said for the period from December 2011 through 2013.

I'm not going to suggest that cryptocurrencies are the best investment for everyone. To be real, the market is in a state similar to gold, in that people purchase hoping the value will rise to sell it to someone later at a higher price. That said, Bitcoin (and crypto in general) has outperformed real estate numerous times, even through the amazing Real Estate bull run we've seen. It has, of course, also seen devastating drops that are never seen in real estate. 

In addition, there are a number of currencies working on concepts that provide passive income (such as master nodes). There are a lot of interesting things happening in this space, and to write off the entire market is foolish. It appears similar to when when dot com companies were all the rage. Yes, most failed. However, incredible innovations came from that space, and if you were one of the lucky that paid enough attention to separate the wheat from the chaff then you made a lot of money. Same opportunity is presenting itself in crypto. 

And no, killing crypto is not as easy as the Fed creating their own coin. That may kill some coins in the space, but it certainly will not kill all. Many people seem to think that every cryptocurrency is just a copy of Bitcoin, or that they are all trying to accomplish the same goal. This couldn't be farther from the truth. If the Fed came out with a "Bitcoin Killer" they would be squashing only one section of the ever growing crypto marketplace.