All Forum Posts by: Nathan Dehn

@Austin Cooke You'll love the Central West End! Cool area. Reach out if you need to figure out things to do in STL or about investing! 

@Austin Cooke Where is your girlfriend finishing her grad school? Just a thought, your two years in STL could be a great learning experience! You could buy a duplex/4plex in STL. Have a PM manage the property. And either sell it when you move or keep it as a long-distance investment. 

This could be good because it would lower your living cost's while in STL for 2 years. Expose you to RE and by the time you get to Detroit, you'll have a wealth of knowledge. Having a PM manage instead of yourself would set yourself up for when you move away and feel comfortable with the management side of things. Plus, you'd get to learn a lot of PM just from forced interaction. That'd be helpful if you decided to manage your own properties in the future.

IDK your financial situation, where you're looking to move to within STL, or anything. But if you are interested in something like that and need contacts and suggested areas hit me up. 

My fiance and I had been looking for a multifamily for many months without any luck. There were a few other investors interested which gave us more confidence that our evaluation of the property was accurate. We ended up only put in less than $6,000 total of our own money making it a low-risk investment for our first property. So, other investors interest, a strong ROI, and little money of our own made it seem like a great opportunity. Are you looking to purchase your first property?

We are very excited about the property. The area is a lot quieter than I was imagining. What areas have you invested in?

@Austin Andrews That is fantastic! my fiance and I are looking to invest heavily into south St. Louis over the next few years. I have not gone to a meetup yet, but I was planning on going to the one on November 29th and noticed you're planning on going as well.

One problem I am currently trying to overcome is finding below market value deals on places other than the MLS. Do you have any suggestions?

@Austin Andrews it is in Dutchtown next to St. Mary's High School. It is nestled in a nice quiet area. Do you work with a number of investors? I briefly looked at Apartment Advisors of America's website. What part of St. Louis do you focus your attention on?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $122,000
Cash invested: $3,500

Purchased a small duplex with an FHA loan where I live in one unit and renting the other out.

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

I became interested in investing in multifamily by house hacking.

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

I found this deal on the MLS and negotiated the price down with minor repair work that was needed.

How did you finance this deal?

I financed the deal with my personal savings for the 3.5% down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

We are doing slight reno with staining cabinets, painting, and improving minor fixtures.

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

I worked with my future mother-in-law Krista Hartmann and would obviously recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy or sell a property in the St. Louis area.

How do you research specific neighborhoods in a large city? 

How do you know whether the neighborhood is on the upswing or tending downward in property value?