All Forum Posts by: Lynne Hart

@Scott Goulet, Hey there!  Yes the others are right.  There really isn't enough infomration here.  I"m a St. Louis investor and realtor to investors, our rental stock is diverse in price, location, and condition.  We'd need to know what type of property this is, number of units, location, etc to have an idea of this specifically was realistic.  that said, I have lots of clients from the coasts and other large metros that find amazing price points and investments in St. Louis because our price points are so affordable compared to other cities.  As well, our investment properties sell generally at higher rates of return than other areas.   If I can help in some way I would certainly do my best but I'd need more specifics, and specific questions about what you want to know!!  Cheers!

Slow but steady growth is the trend, but I guess you can choose to view it as you please!

Hi @Ramon Perez  House Springs is significantly outside what most of us would consider the St. Louis Metro, so Peter is smart to ask for Zip code.  House Springs would have a totally unique set of coverage and most property management companies covering St. Louis will not likely cover that far out.   @Peter MacKercher Might have some ideas, or may go that far out - but I unfortunately am not familiar with property managers in that particular area.  Another keyword you could use in a search could be Jefferson County, perhaps you can find PMs servicing broader Jefferson County?  Best wishes!

@Jonathan Thomas  Welcome and congratulations on already getting started.  You're taking the right steps and getting some great advice here!  I am an investor and realtor in St. Louis MO, and my client base as a realtor is 100% investors, primarily multifamily.   St. Louis is a fantastic place to invest, with a low barrier to entry and strong rental audience.  There's something for every type of investor!  I'd be happy to jump on a phone conversation this week and chat about anything you find helpful.  Just let me know when works for you!

If you don't find a conventional HELOC, you might look at local / small commercial banks. I have a commercial Line of Credit on a 4 family I own in St. Louis Missouri that I'm using to renovate another property. Once I'm finished with it (its a SFR splurge to become my own home and an STR) I will likely cashout refi that or HELOC that SFR to pay off this line of credit and then repeat to use it to buy and/or renovate other things. BTW if you have issues buying in DC, St. Louis has some lower price points and generally higher returns than the coasts. I'm an investor, but also have my license and my client base is nearly 100% investors. If I can help in any way, I'm here!

@Troy Palmer Your wife may not have a natural passion for real estate, but if you present her the option of what your future could look like, it could get her interested.  There are ALOT more women investors now than there were 10 years ago.  Speaking as an investor and a realtor to investors (St. Louis Missouri, my client base is 100% investors).   I personally began on my own doing flips to gain experience, build capital, saved from my executive job for years, and slowly but surely growing my portfolio.  I have lived in and renovated properties, buy, renovated and held properties, long term rentals, short term rentals and 8 years ago I achieved my first dream of leaving Corporate America.  Shortly after that I turned up the volume on renovate and sell, AND renovate and hold, and after getting a kick in the butt by a few of my clients who I was helping to expand their portfolios and learning to leverage debt (and reading Robert K's real estate book also on the same topic), I've purchased and renovated a home, turned 2 family Airbnb - and now live between Saint Louis and Puerto Rico as I please, working virtually with my clients and construction teams as needed.   I'm at that point where I could decide that I have enough, and pull back, or decide to go forward and achieve more or anything in between.  And, I started at your age exactly.   My birthday is in September, and my first multifamily investment was August 2012 (I was 32).  Interesting and useless facts. ;)   Best wishes on your journey and on getting your wife to join you in achieving financial freedom!!!

Hi @Antonio Coa - There are so many options for someone with this position!  You could buy something that needs work, improve its value and then rent it out long term, or buy in an area great for vacationing or corporate travellers / travelling nurses, and do a short term rental, location could be in lots of places.   Look around you if you think you'll be personally involved in renovations or management on your first property.  What are the things that draw people to an area?  Vacation, Hospitals, Schools, even Artists can be a great source for short term rentals, which depending on your market can be quite lucrative, but also can mean more activity on your part.  

If something passive is more your style, you could consider a multifamily building/apartment building, using your cash as a down payment and a commercial loan, or depending on your area, you might be able to buy in all cash.   If not, something out of state could work.  For example, St. Louis Missouri is my playground as an investor and as a realtor to investors.  $500,000 could go a long way, maybe 8 doors in cash.  More if you're willing to improve to bump up your return.  

The world is really your oyster!  The questions I would have for you would be, how do you envision your involvement in your investment.  Active or passive?  Will you use others or want to be personally involved?   

Hey there!  Could you use it all to buy a multifamily apartment building that you live in part of and rent out the other portion?  That's something alot of people do if it can work for them.   Other options are you could find some cheap single families 1-2 in the right market (C class neighborhood in St. Louis Missouri you might be able to do that) or use the remaining money on a 25% down for a multifamily unit up to 4 apartments.   Depending on where you buy these numbers could work.  I know they would work in my market (St. Louis)