Why Did I Choose Milwaukee for My First Real Estate Investment?

In my introductory article on how I started the NRI brand, I mentioned how I bought my first two duplexes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, I didn’t decide to do that overnight. In this article, you will find out why I chose Milwaukee for my first real estate investment in the US.

It took me months of research and dozens of consultations with different professionals to invest there. 

Although I made several mistakes when buying my first property as a foreigner, the location I chose wasn’t one of them.

In this article, I will share why I chose Milwaukee for my first purchase as a nonresident investor. These reasons result from hundreds of hours of research I conducted before making my first investment. 

So if you’re considering investing in US real estate, here’s why Milwaukee would be a good choice.

7 Reasons I Chose Milwaukee for My First Real Estate Investment

First, let’s make one thing clear — the fact that I chose Milwaukee for my first real estate investment doesn’t mean you need to.

The US is massive, and many states offer fantastic conditions for nonresident investors. So don’t be afraid to do some research and look for other lucrative locations to invest in.

With that out of the way, here’s why I picked Milwaukee in the end.

1. Milwaukee Is Affordable (and Under the Radar)

One of the most apparent reasons Milwaukee is a great place for nonresident investors is that buying property there is not too expensive.

Of course, you can also find high-end houses there that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but that goes for any town in America.

However, when you’re just starting as a real estate investor, it’s best to start small.

If you already chose Milwaukee, you can easily find properties in the $50,000–$150,000 range. That makes it perfect for nonresident investors who are learning the ropes of the trade or have limited capital.

But why is Milwaukee so affordable? Because it’s not that popular among real estate investors.

I was surprised by how few foreign investors there were when I visited the place. That’s why I like to call Milwaukee the hidden gem of US real estate investing!

2. It Offers Accessible Real Estate With Great ROI Potential

Milwaukee is a mid-sized town with many great neighborhoods for tenants from various walks of life. This diversity gives investors plenty of choices when looking to rent their property.

On top of that, the rent-to-property-price ratio in Milwaukee is excellent, meaning that investing there comes with a good ROI.

The rent prices range from $800 to above $2,500 a month. Of course, it depends greatly on the property size and its state. However, if you spend, for instance, $80,000 to buy a two-bedroom house in Milwaukee and $15,000-25,000 to renovate it, you could easily rent it for $1,300–$1700 a month.

The larger the property you buy, though, the higher the ROI will be.

3. Life Works in Mysterious Ways

At first, I never even thought about getting into real estate investing in the US, as I only ever did it in my home country. My first contact with the idea was by pure chance.

When I was working on one of my other projects with a colleague and close friend of mine, Mark, he mentioned that he had bought a house in Milwaukee. At first, I didn’t think much of it. But when he mentioned the numbers, I was shocked. I never even imagined one could get such a great ROI in real estate.

That’s what got me interested.  had some spare capital to invest, so I decided to give it a go.

Since Mark lived in Milwaukee, he knew the city well. He took me to several local conferences and introduced me to the basic principles of real estate investing. Thanks to him, I familiarized myself with Milwaukee, its citizens, and other like-minded investors.

The most surprising thing was that so few foreign investors were buying in the town. And that made me realize that Milwaukee was a hidden gem for real estate investors. And the rest is history.

4. I Chose Milwaukee for my first Real Estate Investment Because It Is Open to Foreign Investors

The US has a huge housing problem, and around 50% of the country’s land is unpopulated. That’s why America is incredibly welcoming to nonresident investors to encourage expansion.

When it comes to Milwaukee, it’s an up-and-coming city with excellent living conditions and the potential for expansion. On top of that, the town has been gaining popularity among tourists, prospective residents, and investors over the last few years.

Milwaukee’s rent prices have been rising since 2020, making it the perfect choice for investors. However, the town is also accessible to people looking to emigrate to the US due to its affordable real estate.

So regardless of where you’re from or why you want to buy property in the States, Milwaukee is a great option. 

If you need help buying your first property in Milwaukee (or anywhere else in America, for that matter), I’d be glad to help. I’ve been through the entire process myself and have a team of professionals behind me that can help you with everything from finding the right deal to optimizing taxes and ROI. Why not hop on a short discovery call to see just how much money and time my team and I can save you?

5. Investing in Milwaukee Aligns With My Business Philosophy and That is Why I Chose it

If you’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I have, this point shouldn’t surprise you. Before buying my first two duplexes in Milwaukee, I built and grew three successful businesses. All three of these businesses followed the same pattern, i.e., they shared the same business philosophy.

My core belief as an entrepreneur is that you cannot compete with large corporations in an overly competitive market. They have the connections and the budgets you can only dream of. So regardless of how good you are, you must niche down to succeed.

And that’s why Milwaukee was the perfect fit — it’s not popular among large investors and corporations. And without those giants reigning on the market, the world is your oyster (or, in this case, town).

Another aspect of my business philosophy is that an ideal business is self-sustainable and can be led on autopilot. And investing in real estate is just that.

Once you close a deal and find a reliable property management agency to handle any short-notice issues that may eventually arise, all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let passive income trickle in.

6. Wisconsin Is a Landlord-Friendly State

Local real estate laws play a massive role in choosing the state you want to invest in. These regulations define the relationships between landlords and tenants (and their obligations) and are widely different from state to state.

One of the primary reasons I picked Milwaukee was that its local laws were quite landlord-friendly. The three most notable benefits of being a landlord in a state like Wisconsin are the following:

• Landlords can file an eviction notice if the tenant has skipped rent for three consecutive months (the number is six months or higher in many other states);
• There is no cap on how much you can rent your property for (some states put a rent cap on properties in specific size brackets);
• There is no limit to how much you can charge for a security deposit (some states put a hard cap on this).

These benefits give investors in Wisconsin some insurance. Every investor’s worst nightmare is to rent out a property and be unable to evict tenants who refuse to pay rent for long periods. Wisconsin’s laws help minimize your losses if the worst comes to worst.

Wisconsin isn’t the only state with landlord-friendly laws, though. So don’t be discouraged from exploring investment options elsewhere too. Just make sure to research these laws for each state you are considering investing in. 

7. Milwaukee Ticks All the Right Boxes for Most People

This reason might sound weird, but there’s a story behind it. 

When I visited Milwaukee to scout out some properties, I took the opportunity to go around town, visit popular the city’s most popular places, and talk with quite a few locals. That’s when I learned a few interesting facts straight from the horse’s mouth:

• Many locals moved to Milwaukee because it doesn’t have regular traffic jams;
• People prefer to live in Milwaukee because it’s a small and quiet town, but they still like to have a large metropolis nearby (Chicago);
• Many people move from Illinois and other states to Wisconsin due to its lower tax rates.

If your investment goals are to create positive cash flow through passive income, you must keep your customers’ needs in mind if you want to rent your property quickly. And tenants are precisely that — your customers.

Since these factors make Milwaukee attractive to potential tenants, it’s an excellent place to start your investment journey!