St. Louis MO, mgmt and advise sought

[Darwin Crawford]

Hey there BP!

First off, thank you all for being such a great forum - I've learned a ton, found a great job, and expanded my rental portfolio, all with the help of this site.  So, hats off to you all.  

This post is a combo of advise and guidance that I need.  So far, I've done all my investing locally, mostly due to self-managing, and "lifestyle choice".  

However, through my new job, I continue to come across some SMOKING deals on rentals, and lately, they have been in and around the St. Louis area.  The one in question now is $6K purchase, rented for $500/month, with a good stable tenant who pays on time and via money order.  

However, as a self-manager, I really, really need to find someone good that I can trust and talk to about the area.  I'm happy to pay above market rate for management that is on point, as I know firsthand how important it is.  Poorly managed rentals are about as fun as root canals.  

So - can anyone out there answer the following?

1) Great manager in St. Louis, ZIP codes right now are 63120 and 63112 where the cheap stuff is popping up.  Names?  PM me if they don't let us post contact info. 

2) Stories - good or bad, about LL'ing in St. Louis, and where to avoid/seek/etc.  

3) What are people paying for cap rates?  Here in AZ 10-caps and below are common, I know Wisconsin uses the 2% rule, but haven't heard any in STL.  Is this a decent deal in the area?  

4) Anything else you think I'm missing, just shout!

Cheers, and happy REI-ing! (if that's a word...?)

 - darwin