Gutting a house in St. Louis

[Tyler McGill]

I was born and raised in the suburbs of St. Louis.  It is an amazing city, with great food, sports, and culture.  Unfortunately, urban blight has set in on many areas within the city.

I don't live in St. Louis anymore (I am currently a student at the Naval Academy in Annapolis), but I do plan on moving back eventually.  When I think about moving back, I often look at the run down houses, particularly ones outside of the hood, and think about much it would cost to fix them up.

Today, I came across one on Realtor.com that was in a decent area.  A run down, brick house duplex with 2312 square feet, listed at $29,000.  The outside looks fine (based off of the pictures).  It has the usual broken windows, boarded up doors, etc.  However, the photography was very well done.  It has 46 pictures documenting things in the home that would need to be fixed.  Particularly, new floors.  I don't mean just hardwood or tile.  I mean joists.  The interior walls are plaster.  

Long story short, this house would need a total gut.  I'm assuming that electrical would need to be done, but there doesn't seem to be excessive water damage.

Since I'm currently a student at USNA, real-estate investing is almost impossible until I graduate, so I'm just trying to learn.  If anyone has experience in gutting houses, would you take a deal like this?  Also, when gutting a house, where do you start?  The floors? the roof? Exterior or interior things?

Thanks in advance for reading about the dreams of a guy that just wants to fix up a house someday.

[Patrick Hill]

@Tyler McGill

Hey Tyler, yes there are a ton of exceptionally priced homes in St Louis that would require some rework or a total gut, but dependent upon its location (neighborHOOD) and how the market is doing around that area it might not be the best play. The biggest issue you run into up in the city is the work you did that day may not be there the next :) Just make sure you research the area you're interested in and see how the home values are holding before you purchase. Its definitely a hot market for us at the moment.

Go Navy!!

Ex Scientia Tridens