Ep. 5: How to Master your Market with Brie Schmidt

When evaluating deals some investors are data driven analysts, while others are instinctual entrepreneurs….or so it may seem. After starting on the north side of Chicago with a couple small apartments, Brie Schmidt expanded to Milwaukee and quickly grew her portfolio to 90+ units. She also helps other investors through her brokerage firm and her website Turnkey-Reviews.com. Brie may tell you the growth was driven by gut instincts, but the reality is her instincts are refined by constantly studying the market. Listen as she shares the daily habit that allows her to seize opportunities, take decisive action and master her market on this episode of Target Market Insights.

Key Market Insights

• Purchased initial properties in 2011 on the north side of Chicago
• What attracted her to the initial property: projected development pre-2008 crash; close to public transportation stops; close to hospitals, 2 universities, and large park; area’s infrastructure set up to be a high quality neighborhood
• Know your market to make a decision that allows you to sleep at night
• Advice to Clients: 1) Set up alerts on Redfin, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, 2) What properties move off the market quickly, 3) Which properties move more slowly?, 4) What are the rents in the area? 5) What units are renting out and in what condition?
• #1 Tip for new investors: Do the above research every day for 20 minutes. You’ll start to internalize the data.
• Her baseline for choosing properties in Milwaukee: Wanted to develop a cash flow portfolio for her out-of-state investments, Wanted high ROIs, Safe neighborhood, Area had her preferred tenant class
• Brie’s Milwaukee portfolio: initially Purchased 18 buildings (total of 50-units) within a 10-month period; Now has partners — including 30 buildings within a 5-mile radius
• Key reasons people sell in her Milwaukee market: trading up, live out-of-state, mid-level investor looking to divest themselves of properties and exit the market
• More about turnkey: bad experience led to launch of a turnkey reviews company with a partner
• Tips to inspect out of market property: use a site like BiggerPockets.com to pay another investor to go sit in on an inspection for, consider using a 3rd-party disinterested party to at least see the property for you
• How to stay on top of market changes: set up alerts for Aldermen/Councilmen, look through MLS listings daily, set up Google Alerts on the neighborhood
• Tips to help investors win in their target market: know your market, be quick, be confident in your decisions, have the right expectations of the process

Tweet This: “Historical data doesn’t help you look at future trends.” — @ChicagoBrie

Resources Mentioned:

TurnKey Reviews www.turnkey-reviews.com

Bigger Pockets www.biggerpockets.com

Places to grab a bite in Chicago:

Lou Malnati’s for Pizza https://www.loumalnatis.com/

Portillo’s for Italian Beef (dipped) and Chicago Hot Dogs http://www.portillos.com/our-story/ 

Connect with Brie:

Website: http://www.chicagobrie.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannaschmidt

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