New member from St. Louis

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New member from St. Louis

Lee L.
MO · Member since 2011 · 5 posts · 0 votes

Hi there. My name is Lee and I am a new member and new investor in the St. Louis area. I finally jumped in the market last fall and purchased my first rental property. It's had its ups and downs but overall it's been pretty good.

At this time my plan/goal is to build up a portfolio of rental properties that have good cash flow. I'm 33 years old, so hopefully in 20-25 years I'll have a nice portfolio built up to provide a substantial income stream to compliment retirement stock investments.

I work full time so real estate is something I do on the side for now. That is the main reason I am investing in rentals (buy and hold).

I have been reading all I can on BiggerPockets and the wealth of information has been outstanding!

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  • Jonathan Sher
    Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 168 posts · 40 votes
    15y

    Lee, Welcome!

    I'm in Saint Louis also. What part of town is your rental property in?

    0Reply
  • Lee L.
    OP
    MO · Member since 2011 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    The rental is in South City (state streets). The area is pretty good though, not a war zone.

    Do you have rentals in the St. Louis area?

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Sher
    Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 168 posts · 40 votes
    15y

    I'm currently in Acqusition mode, nothing under my belt yet.

    0Reply
  • Lee L.
    OP
    MO · Member since 2011 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Thanks Brian. The only problem with BP is that once I start searching/reading, it is never ending, and I can't stop. Then, at night, I wonder why my eyes are burning and my head is pouding! :D

    Learning the 50%/2% rules have really made evaluating deals much, much easier. Even though I bought my first property before I found BP, luckily it still exceeded the 2% rule and still cash flows well after the 50% rule

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  • Jonathan Sher
    Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 168 posts · 40 votes
    15y

    Lee, Do you mind sharing what street or intersection your property is located by? Just wanted to get a better picture of what area you are in. I've never realy considered south city before.

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  • Lee L.
    OP
    MO · Member since 2011 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Alabama, right near Hwy 55.

    What areas have you been considering?

    0Reply
  • Jackie Patterson
    Real Estate Investor · Kalamazoo, MI · Member since 2010 · 681 posts · 241 votes
    15y

    Welcome, Lee!

    How do you find your properties? Do you have a Realtor looking for you, or do you find them yourself? Do you run across any short sales? You can pick up some great buy and holds that way, and you're not competing with lots of others for them.

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  • Lee L.
    OP
    MO · Member since 2011 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Right now I have a friend of a good friend who does a lot of rentals (approx 60-70) and owns his own management company who has kind of shown me some of the ropes. He found the first house for me and handled all of the rehabbing, tenant screening, rent collection, etc. He even said that after 1 year if I didn't like the investment, that he would buy it from me for what I paid so there would be no loss.

    I don't have a lot of time that I can devote to this right now so our agreement/relationship is working. He makes money, as do I.

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  • Jonathan Sher
    Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 168 posts · 40 votes
    15y
    Originally posted by Lee L.:
    Alabama, right near Hwy 55.

    What areas have you been considering?

    Right now I am looking all over the place. I like specific parts of saint Ann, Maryland Heights, parts of Florrisant.

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  • Matt Midden
    St Louis, MO · Member since 2011 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    14y

    @Jonathon & Lee - I sell investment properties in the St Louis at way below market value prices. I have one in Florissant right that is in great shape at a low price. Let me know what it is you guys are looking for and I can go out and find it for you.

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  • Bob Hines
    Real Estate Investor · StL, MO · Member since 2008 · 296 posts · 152 votes
    14y

    Lee-I just got a rental under contract on the 5200 block of Alabama. The 'state streets' get a bad rap but there are quite a few good areas/blocks around there but it can be block by block.

    Jonathon-I moved from South City to St. Charles a year and a half ago so I was looking at moving my area of focus closer- Maryland Heights and St. Charles specifically. I decided to keep the drive because of the taxes. My city properties have taxes of about 1 to maybe 1.5 months rent. When I looked at Maryland Heights & St. Charles, it was looking like most would average around 3 months rent just for taxes. St. Louis City, County and St. Charles County all have their property tax info online so make sure you use those resources. Not trying to convince you either way but sharing my process.

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  • Bobby Gerry
    Lender · Houston, TX · Member since 2012 · 83 posts · 69 votes
    13y

    I have to head to St Louis this coming week and so I thought I might resurrect this post to see if any Bigger Pockets members are going to be around on Wednesday or Thursday. Would enjoy saying hi. I am going to fly up there dressed looking like the Michelin Man because as a southerner I do not function well in arctic weather. :) Looking forward to seeing St. Louis.

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