Investing in Spanish Lake (St Louis, MO)?

Question

I am looking at a property that makes sense with numbers although I am running into some folks that say it is a bad area. Does anyone else have experience investing in that area and how did it go?

Aaron J Latal · Answer

Thanks for the discussion everyone!

Update: I ended up purchasing the property in Spanish Lake that I was looking at.  I decided to buy and sell it although I considered renting it out and also had a few lease option offers.  It was my first flip (more of a wholetail really) but I'm set to close later this month.  It went for a little less than I expected and many buyers stated "nice house, don't love the area" so all in all. My experience in Spanish Lake has been alright and if I stumbled upon another opportunity there I would take it if it made sense, I won't go searching for more properties up there though.

Todd Kozak · Answer

@Duane Alexander, you are correct it is not a war zone, nothing like parts of north city or some other parts of north county.  I just think it's important the OP make sure to understand the area before just analyzing the numbers, as I don't know his familiarity of north county.  As you pointed out with Castle Point...it is not a good area at all, and it borders Bissel Hills, which is a much more investment-friendly area.  If you are investing in either Spanish Lake or Bellefontaine you would just want to make sure you understand the specific blocks.  I hope I did not insult where you are from, it is also my hometown and I have fond memories of my childhood and young adulthood there.

Jennifer Donley · Answer

@Aaron J Latal, I’m jumping in too as I just saw this post.

I have a portfolio of strictly Section 8 properties and have 7 in Spanish Lake.  I bought them all in a package.  I sold a 2/1 earlier in the year there bc 2 bedrooms don’t fit my model very well.

My Section 8 rents (all 3 bedroom houses) range from $925 to $1045 in SL. They all have 1 bath except for one which is a 1.5 bath. My 2/1 got $800.

The tenants that I vetted are all very good and all current- I am owed $0 in past due rent.

That being said, I did have a local police officer tell me earlier in the year that he thinks Spanish Lake is one of the worst neighborhoods in St Louis county.

I was talking to him after a drive by shooting happened at one of my properties.  The tenant was inherited through the sale and it is my understanding that the tenants 15 yo son was involved in gang related activity.  The tenant is gone now.. I haven’t had any issues at my other properties.  No break ins or stolen ACs.

I don’t buy there anymore for the reasons above but I’m not selling the 7 I still have there either, if that tells you anything.

If I was going to buy there again I’d only take Section 8.  But I’m biased because it’s all I take anywhere. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat more.

Lee Carrell · Answer

Spanish Lake is not for the faint at heart! For some time there was gang activity between Larimore, Bellefontaine, and Trampe streets. Hopefully, it has been cleared up by now, but you better do your due diligence. If you look hard enough, you just might find a diamond in the rough!

Jack Luzecky · Answer

Spanish Lake can be a rough area as Lee mentioned. But, I know plenty of investors who are okay with buying in similar areas. You just have to be a bit more conservative on your numbers. Prepare for at least 1 eviction every 2-3 turnovers. Depending on the house I would stay below $850/month. The more affordable the home is listed at will widen your tenant pool. This will help procure the most qualified tenant. If you're due dilligence is counting on $900+ per month then I would forget areas like Spanish Lake.

Duane Alexander · Answer

Spanish Lake is considered a bad area now? I grew up in Black Jack which is basically down the street. I don't remember much gang activity there at all. A little crime, but gang activity?

Todd Kozak · Answer

This post is a few months old so @Aaron J Latal, you probably already decided if you are purchasing the property you were looking at.  While I have been in real estate investing for about a year and don't look in north county, I grew up my first 25 years of age (1979-2005) in Spanish Lake and Bellefontaine Neighbors.  @Duane Alexander, Blackjack is a pretty good distance from Spanish Lake, at least 4 miles from the closest edges, so for investment analysis, I don't know that you'd want to compare the two.  Spanish Lake had a lot of  Section 8 apartment complexes when I lived there, that hasn't changed.  If you are interested in investing in Section 8 housing, it's there.  If you are not, I would be very careful about this area.  It's not north city, but it does have a lot of rough spots.  There are some pockets in which a few blocks aren't bad.  School district is Hazelwood East which isn't very good.  I briefly lived on the other side (south side) of 270 in Bellefontaine Neighbors.  It doesn't have the Section 8 apartment complexes (maybe it has section 8 houses) so it's a slightly safer area, but still you have to know the specific blocks.  Bissel Hills isn't too bad.  Glascow Village is terrible.   Both are Riverview Gardens School district which is not very good.  If you want to invest in this area, don't just analyze the numbers, make sure you do a lot of research on the particular blocks.  If you are ever looking at a specific house in either Bellefontaine or Spanish Lake, feel free to message me and I'd be happy to let you know what I know about that block.

Duane Alexander · Answer

@Todd Kozak even though Black Jack is 4 miles away, I spent A LOT of time over there in Spanish Lake as I have family over there that I would visit at least weekly so I know the area and community very well. Spanish Lake is not a war zone, no where near it, and I would be perfectly ok investing over there. I think people’s view of North County being some kind of hell hole in its entirety is completely unwarranted outside of a few areas like Castle Point (which I also grew up in).

Donald Allen · Answer

Hey guys I’m just wanting to respond I know I’m a little late but like previous post have stated North County is a big area they consider Baden to actually be the north county and in my opinion The farther you get away from the city the better( no brainer) so I would consider rents, tenants, and just general prices for homes based on that. With Spanish Lake it’s definitely some hit or miss neighborhoods anybody investing in that area should definitely do their due diligence. Average salaries  25,000-35,000 per year for tenants (opinion)

Scale of bad to good, for schools close to that area 1 Riverview Gardens 2 Hazelwood east (Spanish Lake)  3 McCluer 4 McCluer North 5 Hazelwood Central

Investing in Spanish Lake (St Louis, MO)?

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