All Forum Posts by: Kevin Gregg

Hi, I live close to Milwaukee and I own six multifamily properties there. I would recommend Smart Asset Management 262-232-8738. I am about to get my RE license and work there because I like the product they put out so much. They deal with a lot of out of state investors and have the network to help you.

I live in Waukesha and invest in Milwaukee for low cost to entry and high cash flow. I am about to get my RE license next week, but I work with a great property management team that has everything you need. They manage all of my properties and help me add to my portfolio. The name of the property management is Smart Asset management. Give them a call and tell them I sent you, they work with a lot of out of state investors. Any questions let me know. 

@Sean Byrd

I personally love Waukesha. My first two duplexes were there and I wish I still had them. Hopefully the water bill doesn't double or triple like they are talking about and you should be fine. What area is your 4 unit in? My duplexes were next to Carol College and rented for 900-1200 a unit all 2 bed one bath. The cost to entry is higher but the appreciation is also good in Waukesha. There are also better tennants than say a Milwaukee or West Allis but that will depend on how you screen them. Are you going to live there for a year and then use you secondary VA benefits to buy another and repeat? I used a VA on mine as well and it was great.

Robert, what did you decide to do? I am in a similar situation now and I am not sure about pulling the trigger and losing half my pension to invest in real estate. My riskier side says i can make way more money by buying properties than the pension will provide but my safe side says losing half right away is a bad move.

@Michael Sewall

Hi Michael what area are you looking to invest in? I am in the Milwaukee area.

Things are going well Zack. Trying to figure out how to buy the next property. 

I bought the first property in 2012 from a couple who were getting a divorced. They wanted $165,000 I offered $135,000 due to the assessment value and they countered with $138,500. I accepted that offer and bought the house with my VA loan so no money down and no PMI. My mortgage is locked in at $930.00 a month at 3.75%. I moved in the upper with a friend and we house hacked. Once I had built up enough equity I went to Landmark Credit Union and got a HELOC for $17,000. I then took advantage of a loan program Waukesha State Bank had for people with an LLC. They offered five year loans for 10% down amortized over 30 years at 5.5%. I bought the second house in 2017 for 177,500. My payments are $1,250 a month and it brings in $1,800 currently. The lower is only rented at $1,000 but I will bump that to $1,300 once the current lease is up.

I would encourage you to save as much as you can and build a good credit score. While you are doing this you should be going to as many meet ups as you can. You won't get great deals on the MLS and rubbing elbows with other investors is key. Just like every other profession in the world its all about who you know. Go to the meetups that smart asset realty holds. They are located on main street in Waukesha. Shake hands and learn from people who have done this awhile. Good place to find deals and get ideas. I recently signed up for their property management service because my time is limited and they find you tenants fast.

I would also advise you to get rid of any payments that you can. Car, Amazon prime, credit cards. I recently just began cutting back and its amazing the savings you can get from things you don't really need or miss. You can have the finer things in life after you have rental properties. There is nothing sweeter than someone else paying for your stuff. I think the hardest part for a lot of people is being scared to make a first move. Go out and buy something, once you have done this you will see its not as scary as some people say it is. Think of it as a freight train, its takes awhile to get going but once you are moving it keeps gaining momentum and its hard to stop. Once you have one more possibilities will open and that keeps going as you acquire more. 

Remember if you buy in Waukesha you will get good appreciation so finding a "killer" deal isn't everything. Make sure you are getting your 1%.  A mistake I made early on during my house hack was that I made minimum payments because my tenant  paid almost all of the mortgage. You need to put as much as you can into that mortgage or your accounts as fast as you can so you can scale faster. I was more concerned with other things and could be a lot farther ahead by now. 

Sorry for going on and on but I wish I had listened to people earlier on because they had been there and done that. Feel free to send me a private message. 

@Tramaine Robinson

I love it, I have two duplexes right by Caroll and downtown. The first one I paid $142,000 and it rents for $2,100 a month. The second I paid $177,000 and that rents for $1,800. Rent will go up on the second one but I inherited a tenant. Another thing about the area is the appreciation you get that you don't necessarily get in West Allis or Milwaukee depending on the area. Also taxes are around $2,500 each property. It's really easy to find tenants and the area keeps developing. Only problem I have now is saving for the next one. Also there are not alot of people selling because of the good income.

@Tramaine Robinson Are you planning on putting a ring in this girls finger? Unless you are I would not advise you to buy something together. Going down that road could be messy and expensive. What area are you trying to buy in? I currently own two duplexes in Waukesha. I love the area but the prices are high and it's hard to achieve the 2% that everyone talks about. I house hacked for the first six years after i bought my first and used a heloc to buy my second.

@Al Pat

Our quarterly numbers are typed up on am excel spread sheet that anyone could make. None if the addresses I have been given show any sign of being owned by our company or the individual in question. We have received one bank statement and it looked amateur at best. His responses to emails are usually delayed. The last quarterly meeting we were supposed to have got cancelled in December because this dad had fallen Ill and he needed to go to Florida to be with him. Then on Superbowl Sunday the rescheduled date came and that morning he got into an auto accident.

Every time we request important documents he either puts us off or just doesn produce them. If it were only a couple of wierd things I could believe him but not when you add it all up.