All Forum Posts by: Kimberly Sutor

@Jimmy Woodard - I have already discovered AirDNA. Will also check out Rabbu. Thx for pointing those out.I have also been doing some research on the city's STR regulations, so on that, too. *thumbs up*

I've been doing a lot of online comparisons on reraltor.com and have a handful of properties I'm interested in....and my husband & I are actually driving down to St Louis tomorrow to look at neighborhoods and properties in-person so I can get a better lay of the land. 

I've already used the BP Rental Property Calculator to run the numbers on a few properties. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at yet, but I'm figuring it out. ***LOL*** I appreciate your pointing out the >15% Gross Yield and COCR, tho. I'll have to go back and check the reports I've already run and see where they fall.

@Zeona McIntyre - I found you (by flipping thru the pages; there's not listing by name). You're on p. 158-9 in the How To Invest In Real Estate book. :) 

@Eudith Vacio - I try not to get too far ahead of myself, but it's so exciting to finally be starting this! (My husband is the more reserved, let's think this out type who keeps m in check. **LOL**) I've been looking at some studio & 1BRs up near Wrigleyville, too. I lived in the Western Burbs for over 15 years, and LOVE weekending downtown CHI....so that seems like a natural place for us to invest, too. What area do you primarily work in?

@Zeona McIntyre - I'm reading How To Invest In Real Estate...the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started (Dorkin & Turner). There are only 9 chapters...so now you have to tell me which book you're feature in so I can read it, too! :) I hadn't even thought of traveling nurses. That will be good to keep in mind when decorating; want to create a relaxing environment and provide nice little amenities for our guests. I lived just outside ATL, so I'm not really surprised to hear you had more problems in that market. My daughter & SIL and grand babies are down in that area now, so we could potentially invest in the southern Burbs to help them start creating their own RE portfolio, too.

I would greatly appreciate any referrals you may have in STL. I see that as a market where we have multiple properties, so I will need to establish a good network there. Thank you! 

@Nathan Murith - Thx for the encouragement. It's hard to know where to start, but we enjoy going to STL, and know a LOT of people in IL who travel there frequently for Cardinal games, etc....so it seems a logical place for us to begin investing. 

@Gita Faust - Thx for the well wishes. I'm super excited to dig into this new chapter of my/our life!

@Justin Windham - I set up my PRO account & alerts this morning. Thx for the reminder! 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

This is the oldest standing building in town. It was built before Iowa became a state, served as a boarding house for riverboat passengers, and numerous retail stores over the years. Electricity & indoor plumbing weren't brought into this property until the early 1950's.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We needed a second home close to my husband's office....and we love antiques & historic homes with character. This property checked all those boxes & more! It's in a prime downtown/riverfront location, so also an excellent investment.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We originally had purchased a small (400 sq ft) SFH in Burlington, but kept our eyes open for something downtown. This property came up for sale about 1.5 yrs later. I knew immediately upon being shown the inside it would be ours!

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional residential mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

The Seller was motivated to sell. Accepted our first offer and didn't even come to the closing. We were shocked, but thrilled.

What was the outcome?

We've owned this home for almost 10 yrs now, and love filling it with antiques, and upgrading both inside and out. We've refinished both back balconies (overlooking the Mississippi River), exposed brick walls in the 3rd floor (only) bathroom and in the 3rd floor MBR, and last Fall we began work on landscaping the back courtyard. This Summer we are scheduled to have the facade repaired & painted (black trim). I will probably begin listing this property as a STR after that work is complete.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I know most purchases won't be as easy as this one was. The biggest challenges are the age of the property (the floor is bowing on the main/street level, and will need major engineering work to correct, but we believe these historic properties are worth any headaches to maintain.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

We purchased both our SFHs in Burlington from Phyllis Roxlau of Ruhl & Ruhl (Burlington IA). She is wonderful!

Hey, y’all! 👋🏼 I’m Kimberly. My husband & I live between 2 homes: a family farm outside Galesburg IL (45 mins south of the QC), and a historic home (c. 1841) in Burlington IA…right on the Mississippi River (5 mins away from my husband’s office). 

I am stepping-into RE investing because I’ve been very spoiled having my husband work from home for most of the last 2 years…so I’m going to build our portfolio and get him retired in the next 5 years! 😉 (Then he can work for me. 🤣 AND we can be more free to visit our grandbabies, and just travel…finding new places we may want to invest in.)

I'm looking at starting with 1) Making our IA home into an AirBnB property, since we don't live there full-time, and our downtown/river location is prime! 2) I'm initially interested in purchasing STR's in St Louis MO and/or Chicago IL. I lived in the CHi Burbs for over 15 years, and we LOVE to weekend in The City. I WILL own a lake-front property one of these days! 3) We are also thinking of purchasing multi-family properties where a few of our grown kids live (the QC, Portland OR, and Atlanta GA areas), so they can live in one unit under a rent-to-take-over-ownership kind of agreement….hopefully encouraging them to begin investing in RE earlier than we did.

I've just started reading How To Invest In Real Estate, and am listening to the BP Podcast. But I'm a firm believer in jumping-in while I'm learning….as long as I have a good team in my corner. (No Analysis Paralysis happening here! 🤣) I already have a LLC established, I'm working on getting pre-approved financing in place, I am looking for an attorney, we meet with our accountant next week , and I'm working remotely with a realtor in STL and have my eye on a couple SFHs that could be a good STR. My goal is to have a contract in STL in the next few weeks! (Do I sound crazy? Is that too fast? 🤣)

Fun fact about me? I moved 23 times in just over 20 years. I’ve now lived in our IL home for 12 years….which still seems unbelievable to me. If I could convince my husband, I’d build a tiny house and just travel in it all the time. (Another fun fact: I was a flight attendant AND a big truck driver. Travel is just in my blood, I guess. ☺️)

I’m super-stoked to start this new endeavor….and am so glad I came across Bigger Pockets! I look forward to learning from all y’all….and contributing where I can. 

✌🏼💕🏡

-Kimberly

I'm just starting to look at St Louis for STR, but am finding downtown properties (I was especially interested in a loft unit) are not STR-friendly…unless you own the entire building. We live about 3 hrs NE in IL, and know STL to be a very popular destination for families, Cardinal fans, etc. I personally prefer Chicago, as I lived in the Burbs up there for over 15 years, but I'm learning to like St Louis, too….plus it's a great spot for us to meet up with friends who recently moved 4 hrs south of us. I figure I might as well begin investing in an area I want to spend time in myself, right?