All Forum Posts by: Will Westlund

@Martin Saenz and newbies like myself are dang grateful for your encouragement, keep it coming!

@Rebecca Knox that is excellent information, I never even thought to check Circuit Court records. That's an awesome tip!

@Joseph Korbel Welcome to BiggerPockets, and the beautiful state of Wisconsin! We're glad to have you here.

@Jeff Kehl that's a good point, I was thinking of what the monthly rent will be when full, but not considering the timeline for when those units will be ready to produce it.

@Kevin Sullivan that's great news, I'm encouraged by your success. Thanks for the update!

@Joel Owens, I can certainly appreciate the fact that where there's smoke, there's fire. My thinking is twofold: first, that the ARV would considerably exceed the current appraisal, so equity would be abundant (BRRRR scenario), and second, that this helps me fulfill two dreams at once (mine, entering the investment realm, and my wife's, opening a business.)

I am well aware, however, of the fact that this is a long term project, although I don't know exactly how long. I will be having an agent dig in to this, because more information can only help.

I have to "disagree" with your definition what investments are for. To me, investments are a vehicle to move you from where you are to where you want to be. For my wife, she wants that to be a business that she's running, so yeah, it's a job, but for her, not me. I would have a property manager taking care of the rest of it. Plenty of people buy investment properties and landlord themselves. That sounds like way more of a job than I'd like!

Thank you for your insight!

Apologies up front: this post is a bit lengthy. I truly appreciate your insight! *Cross posted in Commercial Property*

I would like to get some opinions on a Mixed Use Commercial/Residential property I'm looking at. There's several layers to this, so I'll try and be specific. First, about me. I'm new to REI, but I'm picking it up as fast as I can. I currently do not own any rental property, and have not made any deals YET! I'm also a Veteran, so keep that in mind for later.

About the property: It is a Class C Mixed Use building in the heart of downtown La Crosse, WI, which gets excellent vehicle/foot traffic. It has 2 above grade stories and a basement, all of which are 6,300 sq/ft. The 1st story has one tenant, a locally owned and operated clothing store under lease through 2019, that caters to the younger college aged crowd that attend the 2 local colleges. Aside from that tenant, the rest of the building is in bare shell condition. The 2nd story has already had renderings drawn up for residential units. I have no idea what I would do with the basement space. I envision two additional retail spaces on the 1st story, one of which would be a paper/scrapbooking store operated by my wife. 

The asking price is $700,000. The property was assessed at $249,600 in April of 2015, and was listed for sale on Loopnet in May of 2016. I'm imagining the seller had big plans but ran out of steam. I see the asking price as being based more on potential than on current value. There is also $51,398.68 owed in back taxes from 2009-2012.

Now, having not completed a deal to date, I sense that I am wading into the deep end here. I'm thinking that the combination of Veteran/Woman business owner would afford us the opportunity for some creative financing options. I also realize that we're technically talking about the funding of two different things (a multi use property and a retail small business), so even though we'd be 50/50 owners on both, I'm not sure the financing could cover both.

Thoughts?

Additional Info: The property was assessed at $249,600 in April of 2015, and was listed for sale on Loopnet in May of 2016. I'm imagining the seller had big plans but ran out of steam. I see the asking price as being based more on potential than on current value.

Aaaaand I just discovered there are $51,398.68 owed in back taxes from 2009-2012.

Apologies up front: this post is a bit lengthy. I truly appreciate your insight!

I would like to get some opinions on a Mixed Use Commercial/Residential property I'm looking at. There's several layers to this, so I'll try and be specific. First, about me. I'm new to REI, but I'm picking it up as fast as I can. I currently do not own any rental property, and have not made any deals YET! I'm also a Veteran, so keep that in mind for later.

About the property: It is a Class C Mixed Use building in the heart of downtown La Crosse, WI, which gets excellent vehicle/foot traffic. It has 2 above grade stories and a basement, all of which are 6,300 sq/ft. The 1st story has one tenant, a locally owned and operated clothing store under lease through 2019, that caters to the younger college aged crowd that attend the 2 local colleges. Aside from that tenant, the rest of the building is in bare shell condition. The 2nd story has already had renderings drawn up for residential units. I have no idea what I would do with the basement space. I envision two additional retail spaces on the 1st story, one of which would be a paper/scrapbooking store operated by my wife. The asking price is $700,000.

Now, having not completed a deal to date, I sense that I am wading into the deep end here. I'm thinking that the combination of Veteran/Woman business owner would afford us the opportunity for some creative financing options. I also realize that we're technically talking about the funding of two different things (a multi use property and a retail small business), so even though we'd be 50/50 owners on both, I'm not sure the financing could cover both.

Thoughts?

@Michael DeVowe absolutely, I started with the webinar last week, and downloaded an app over the weekend, along with 2 dozen or so podcasts, so I can listen on my 35 minute commute to and from work. I'm having a blast learning, while I focus on really fleshing out my plan and organizing my team.