All Forum Posts by: Susan Antani

Assume that was for an owner occupied property and not an investment property?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Shorewood.

Purchase price: $240,000
Cash invested: $15,000

Duplex in Shorewood. Purchased with a partner who is living in the property and AirBNBing one of the units. Thus qualified for 3.5% owner occupied down payment. Both units are 2 bed 1 bath with upper kitchen having been recently remodeled. Also fairly turkey but a lot of elbow grease required to get ready for AirBNB'ing. Refinished hardwood floors, landscaping, chimney repair, some window repair, painting.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Great location with likelihood of increased appreciation or at least prices holding steady. Purchased specifically to rent as an AirBNB given high purchase price and property taxes. Wanted to have an AirBNB option so I had a place to stay when coming to town.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Sat on the MLS throughout the winter and dropped multiple times while it sat. Was still able to negotiate multiple repairs needed.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing. Owner occupied 3.5% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Refinished hardwood floors, landscaping, painting. Basement has some small foundation issues/water leaks that will be repaired in Spring. Will re-do kitchen floors in one unit. Replacing defunct air conditioner in another unit. Will add sink/cabinet to lower unit.

What was the outcome?

Renting fabulously well via Airbnb! Very happy and a beautiful place to stay when I come to town.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't fall in love with a property so that it affects your ability to negotiate properly! Many new learnings with this property. A tad less turnkey than the last and so allowed for learning about a lot of little things. Including damp basements and leaks in foundation (though nothing major!)

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Tom Kerr - Mortgage Lender at Guaranteed Rate: www.rate.com/tomkerr

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Saint Francis.

Purchase price: $165,000
Cash invested: $40,000

Fairly turnkey duplex in the St. Francis, WI area. 3 bed 1 bath upper, 2 bed 1 bath lower with extra finished room in basement. 2 car garage, fenced yard. Upstairs needed painting but that was pretty much it. Bathrooms were in great shape with upper having been remodeled within lasts 10 years. Over time will eventually redo kitchen cabinets, counter tops, floors in both units but for now, put tenants in both units right away.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Was a very easy way to jump into long distance investing. After looking at many properties via our in-state realtor (I'm from the area, visit frequently and know the neighborhoods very well) this was the most turn-key property we'd come across. Was a lot of cash to part with upfront for a down payment but invested with a partner.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS listings via our local realtor.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing. 25% down payment on a small multi-family for investors.

How did you add value to the deal?

Was fairly turnkey and ready to rent after a quick paint job.

What was the outcome?

Holding steady at $600 month cash flow after setting aside a year's worth of money for vacancies and expenses.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned that I don't like putting that much of my own cash into a deal. Looking at BRRRR method going forward to get back some of the cash we put in.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Realtor - Samuel Erickson

Sent you a PM on connecting & our inspector contact info.  

Best,

Susan

We used Wisconsin Property Inspections for our place in the BayView area. Super fast, efficient, detailed and informative throughout the whole process.  Links below...

https://www.yelp.com/biz/wisconsin-property-inspec...

https://www.facebook.com/InspectWI/

Flights booked, hotel booked, conference booked!  First time attending and really looking forward to it. We'll be at the Meridian on Thursday night and up for meeting/networking ahead of time.  @melindawarren @robbeardsley

Thanks for the replies all. I've followed up with a few people already.  Much appreciated.  I was hoping to close something sooner but... bring on the winter months I guess!

  @Rob Brautigam I've got the keywords flowing for Milwaukee and Madison. Are you looking at properties in Milwaukee as well as Connecticut? 

Hi all,

Looking for an investor friendly real estate broker in the Milwaukee area. Am looking to buy a duplex or SFR this year and an SFR that needs work next Spring.

From a few forum posts I've seen about Milwaukee, it sounds like its been harder to find deals the past few months and that you need to find off market opportunities?  Does everyone feel that's accurate?  

Would love any recommendations on agents, and/or feedback on what I can expect as I try to wade through what's out there.  

Thanks!

Susan

Great to read your story Paul.  I'm just starting to investigate Madison and Milwaukee as areas to invest in.  We currently live in the LA area and plan to invest in a few properties over the next year.  We may end up moving closer to manage them if all goes as planned.  But for now we're back there at least twice a year.

I've been doing some research on population and business growth areas in and around the city.  Doesn't look like Middleton or Sun Prairie offer much in the way of multi-family properties. Would you agree? What about Monona area or Cottage Grove? Looks like a ton of development in Sun Prairie these days. I'm also amazed at how high home prices are in the Verona area, though I know why. I'm only checking a few real estate websites but need to start getting actual property listings to review.

Have you consider Milwaukee at all since the numbers aren't good in Madison? Are you finding the cash flow just isn't high enough on each property? Are rents not keeping up with property value increases? 

 Would love any insight as to why Madison a difficult area.  There are a lot of posts lately that seem bullish on Milwaukee. Thanks in advance!