All Forum Posts by: Kyle Eckert

Saint Louis has it's problem areas.  I saw a building that had squatters moving furniture into a condemned building.  I have had 3 AC units stolen on listings before close.  Its a real problem, and COVID made it worse, since our Police are already spread thin and quitting left and right. 

You can mitigate some of the risk by:

Using PEX tubing for the plumbing for anything you replace.  Really good for whole system overhauls.

Put a cage on the AC condenser or put it on the roof (if flat).

Put the lockbox in a non-obvious area.

Bar any side doors from entry until occupied.  Deadbolt and a kickstop work wonders.

Keep the lights on in the building.  Keep it clean, picked up, and looking lived in.  It helps a lot.

Talk to the neighbors.  They want the problem properties fixed, and can help keep an eye on the project.

Get an alarm.  BP yells about Simplisafe a lot, or something similar.  Low cost but loud if someone breaks in.

Ultimately, it can be a lost cause in the super shady parts of town. Once you start researching STL, you start to see these pockets where there are unimproved buildings next to finished projects. That's where the money is. When the finished projects set the ARV high, but the unimproved building hasn't caught up yet.

Cheers.

@Kelly Orth In St. Louis, we are seeing even the cheapest houses increasing in price. So, there are very few properties in desirable neighborhoods under $50k, let alone $30k. You can find $30k house all day, but the ARV isn't there since the area isn't desired. There are a few neighborhoods that have a good cross-section of dilapidated housing stock, next to recent rehabs, giving a good base for ARV. But, these neighborhoods have very little available under $50k, or they need such extensive rehab that the numbers don't work that way either.

Good luck!

@Jeffrey Hanson Check with Shelter Insurance.  They run their numbers a bit differently than most of the other carriers, and it is beneficial to investors.  

@Eric Castelli I know how difficult it can be finding good help.  I'll shoot you a PM with a recommendation who may be able to help.  I think the mods will get mad at me if I make recommendations on the boards. 

@Chris Wilson Some feedback:

You're probably looking for an off-market deal, most on-market deals arent looking to seller finance. They also don't want to pay commissions.

While the seller technically pays the commission, the buyer almost always pays the commission by raising the price of the purchase.  Then you have to pay income taxes on what you just paid yourself.  It's better to negotiate your own purchases with credits and price reductions than to pay yourself.

Not having any money to put towards the deal will make it hard to get financing, and it will also be a challenge to get past the proof of funds step.

For a 20 unit building, be prepared to set up a hefty maintenance fund to cover repairs.  Just making sure this was thought of since your trying to do all of this with someone else's money.

Good luck!

Hey James, house hacking is the way to go and STL is a great place to do it. I'd love to connect and give some recs for neighborhoods, etc. I'll shoot you a message

@Benjamin Mcintosh As-is sales do not mean you cant renegotiate the price.  It usually just means you cant ask them to fix anything, which is fine as an investor.  Now that they know about the mold and damage, they ethically have to disclose it to all future buyers.

I would get some quotes on remediation and repairs, then negotiate the price accordingly.  Basically, youre telling the seller you can solve the problem for him, for this amount.  Your agent should be able to attempt this at least.

i can give some recommendations for inspectors, let's connect

Anyone who wants to talk STL real estate is welcome to give me a call or shoot me an email.  I love discussing this city's real estate and the many ways to make money with it.

Cheers!

I love this idea! I just sold a duplex on Sutherland to a buyer who was house hacking. I'll try to see if I can swing by with all the Halloween stuff we have going.

@Michael M. 

As said above, you have to get the mortgage under a person or people, as opposed to an entity. Then, after 6-12 months you can move the title to the LLC, but not the mortgage. It could also trigger the "due on sale" clause, so look into that. It doesn't usually happen if you're in good standing.

Feel free to reach out.  I have helped a few people get started here in STL, and Im happy to help however I can.