All Forum Posts by: Eric V Laesch

So I have just recently started my investment journey and I am in STL as well. I know its not for everyone and things can be difficult at the start but if its something you want to commit to then I truly believe now is the time ti buy in stl. There are alot of major developments and growth that is occurring and it will only increase the value of the city and the housing market. I cant say 5 years from now you will fund the same opportunities at the same prices. With the level if growth that I am seeing it will for sure become a pretty desirable place especially among younger adults and professionals within the next 5-10 years. I would highly encourage taking the leap and getting started now.

If this is your primary residence I would recommend buying a home in the place you currently live as opposed to a place you might live in 5 years.

After that, I think this would be a great idea if you had some experience in real estate investing. Today, probably not, but with a few earnest weeks to months of researching and learning about how to buy, finance, and manage long term rental single family homes the vast majority of the population could do it given enough money for a down payment and good enough credit to get a mortgage. You could even be mostly hands off with  property management company if you wanted.

I have 2 concerns though. What if you don't want to live there in 5 years. This really isn't a big deal because you could either continue to manage it the same way you were for the last 5 years, sell it and take a tax hit, or 1031 it into another property. I just want to ensure you consider this. My big concern is where you buy. I'd want to buy in an area that has a super low chance of going way downhill in the next 5 years. You should do this with all investments, but I'm especially concerned if it's a densely populated city with rapid population shifts.