All Forum Posts by: Kyle Eckert

@Nikolas W.  When house hacking, calculate the numbers 2 ways, with you taking up a unit and without.  It usually wont cashflow with you taking up a unit, but it should cashflow with the whole thing rented out.

That 4-family is a good deal, and I'm going to look at it today or tomorrow.  I am guessing the other units arent as updated.  The neighborhood is also on my "up and coming" list, so it's not as shiny as some other neighborhoods yet.

As for loans, FHA and VA have extra hoops to jump through for underwriting and its a pain. The cash on cash numbers can be better, and you can save cash that way. However, the extra fees and PMI can be deterimental to cash flow. An FHA offer is weaker than a conventional or cash offer as well, so keep that in mind.

I'll PM you to follow up with more recommendations for STL.

@Sandeep Roy

In Saint Louis, window units are a cheap alternative to retrofitting a house with force air cooling.  The most expensive part of adding forced air to a house without it is the duct work, followed by the actual air handler and compressor.  If the ductwork is already in place, I would totally suggest getting central AC in the long run.

Reasons for it:

-It's a major investment and it will add value to your building which you will see in resale.

-Units without central air rent for less, especially in a A/B neighborhood.  I wouldnt be surprised by a 50-$100 increase in monthly rent for a house with central Air. 

-The quality of tenant you can attract with central air is higher, and you will keep them longer because nearly everyone in STL is looking for central air if they can afford it but dont have it.

Dont forget the AC cage to help deter theft of the copper in the condenser.  Nothing worse then getting the call that your condenser has been ransacked.

@Dan Stehr  The value here is the mapping of the addresses.  The amount of north city addresses usually on each list easily overwhelms the more desirable neighborhoods.  As of last time I checked, all options to map the properties were paid services.

@Stacey So

Saint Louis is historically a low-appreciation market, so I wouldn't bank on that covering any overpayment.  My guess is the turnkey provider missed their mark for the value of the home, and it's on them to bite the bullet and lower the price unless there is a line of offers out the door (might be in the market).

It's fairly easy for an out of state turnkey provider to miss the price mark, since our neighborhoods do weird things for appraisals. I assume the appraisers are local and are factoring that in.  As a realtor, I wouldn't ever advise an investor to pay over appraised value.

Get a good STL realtor to work with you, this city is wild for property values if you arent from around here.

Cheers.

Did you put this togehter? This is a great resource.  

A few years ago I went through and mapped everything, back when you could find free resources to do it.  They are all paid now, as far as I can tell.

Looking forward to using this.

I'd be interested in hearing what that opportunity would look like.

@Chasen Todd I love discussing STL real estate and this weird market we are in.  Feel free to reach out for whatever.  What type of investing are you looking to do?

I have a free day that day so I'd love to show you around. I could give thoughts on the different nieghborhoods, etc. 

ill pm to connect.

Cheap and licensed plumber are almost mutually exclusive.  I have heard good things about Maplewood Plumbing though.

P trap replacement may be able to be a handyman task, butI am unfamiliar with maplewood’s permit requirements.

@Michael Temple I don't want tenants moving large items in and out as a rule, so I provide kitchen appliances.  In our market, it seems most are okay with just having access to W/D hookups and that's good enough.  I know that I have one unit which does not have access to any W/D facilities, and it is a major deal breaker for a lot of people.  I had to cut rent by $100/month to place a tenant, so we are going to add a facility next time we turn it over.

Cheers.