All Forum Posts by: Mathuw Chandler

Robert austermann is my buyers agent and an excellent one at that.  i would use him every time i purchase a property in st louis.  Contact me if you still need an agent

I am assuming you are investing in a college town, which will typically always have a good renter market, especially through out college as you meet more and more people all needing a place to stay unless they are townies.  Take advantage of the situation while you have it.  However, maybe the better way to take advantage of this is to save as much as you possibly can and hold off until after you graduate and you will have a good down payment since you have all expenses and tuition paid for.  I was in the same boat, just graduated a semester ago and through out college i wanted to invest in property, however i waited, saved and then once i had a career paying a steady income I purchased my first property.  I'm 24 so you can be in the same situation in a few years if you wanna take that path, perhaps even sooner if you are ambitious, but saving first before buying a home is a good idea.  While your in college with free tuition take the time to enroll in a real estate course or urban planning/city planning if your college offers that.  It will pay off and maybe a better small/short term investment than jumping in to a home.  Or say eff it all and just do what u wanna do, its up to you, its your life your future. keep it real homie

I guess it depends on the work, many times a GC will sub out the work to their set of preferred subcontractors, however they will do all of the work for you.  i say get as many bids as you possibly can from all services and from GCs and if a GC gives you a better price with doing it all than all the subs combined go for it.  Keep a sub list of all phone numbers names and contact.  

Is the crack vertical or horizontal?  are you talking a single crack or how bad?  id say that is a question worth answering to better assist.  The direction of the crack can make a difference though, as one is an easier fix.

For plaster work.  I have some plaster work which needs to be done on my property, however it is brick then plaster and brick lath plaster in most areas.  I am about to purchase try using a product bought from lowes called descolite i believe its called.  Use that to fill the gouges almost level with the existing plaster surface, then fill in the rest with a nice even skim coat.  I have 0 experience in this but this is what i plan to do, maybe someone can offer details with more experience.

Does anyone have any experience/insight on purchasing properties owned by the city?  I assume after searching my cities LRA-owned property database that most are in pretty shanty conditions, however do they usually end up being very cheap?  I feel this could be an easy way to one pick up a cheaper property, and two help revitalize a community in need. some are listed in my neighborhood so that would be a plus to help out my community.

Saint louis was once one of the greatest cities in America, at one time it had the 3rd highest population. Then after the Automobile Invasion, White Flight, and beginning of the Suburbs all around the time of post WWII there has been mass amounts of population loss and vacant properties. There are many neighborhoods which contain very nice homes which have fallen in to disrepair, Some of these neighborhoods/ areas have came back, some never went down, and some are on the rise.

Places like Lafayette Square, Never really went down because the residents cared for their neighborhoods. Places like soulard turned to blight and was then gentrified and now boasts high property values.

St. Louis has many neighborhoods which i believe to be up and coming and great areas to invest in for StLousians. Neighborhoods all along Cherokee St. In general are great. They are very old homes and the Cherokee street itself has a strong regional draw, there are many stores and businesses opening up along Cherokee street, including lots of entertainment. Neighborhoods such as Gravois Park, Marina Villa, Benton Park, and Benton Park West are ones which i believe to be good for investing in. If you drive around these neighborhoods you will see lots of activity and progress. Driving around benton park this week i saw at least 9 dumpsters in front of homes. That means at least 9 properties are being cleaned out and renovated.

Another great area in St Louis which i see as to be up and coming is Old North St Louis (ONSTL), this is the neighborhood title not the general area. Yes north stl itself is seen as crime ridden and may or may not have a large influence on outsiders thought of stl as being a dangerous place. But the neighborhood ONSTL is located on the north side, but is also up and coming, compared to other neighborhoods surrounding it has lower crime index and has a lot of investing going on. A new shopping center/pedestrian mall is going up, lots of investing in property is happening, and a new food co op has gone in. Most of the action in ONSTL is grass roots, from the ground up approach with effort mainly from the residents.

Over all these areas are on the move, and progressing. Big things are happening for STL. Please if you have any input reply and tell me what you thin.

why tear down the houses. That is not a smart idea, yes some areas are in blight but doesn't mean mass amount of homes need to be torn down. Salvageable homes should be rehabbed to keep the history and culture alive with in a city. This is preserving a culture, history, and identity within a city. this is what happened in the 60's in american cities called Urban Renewal, Mass areas of cities were destroyed and along with it neighborhoods and and culture. Only to be replaces with suburban type developments. What tends to follow this act are developments and homes built to suburban standards and little architectural details. This re development will stick out like a sore thumb surrounded by historical homes built in a dense pattern. Some investors only think about money, how about the community? I also understand the flip side saying these properties lead to low property values and high crime, implementing a community improvement district and other incentives such as tax breaks can draw investors to this area. Put the money spent tearing these homes down into more police or increased safety measures. How about use the money to help and preserve the neighborhood

mixed land use development tends to lead to more walkable communitites with increased densities. Studies have shown that with increased walkability there tends to be increased property values.

If you are Salary that is a plus, i was financed after a few months of employment becuase i was on salary.

Credit scores are also important.