New to Real Estate · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 3 votes
Hello everyone!
Thank you for reading my post and giving any advice. I am looking for my first home to purchase and see how house-hacking is a great option. I am looking to move out around November or December but am looking to potentially luxury or traditional house hack. My concern lies with the location of these properties as most of them are in zip codes with over 3.5x the national crime average. I am looking for purchasing a move-in ready place in a class-A or B neighborhood. Should I consider purchasing a single-family home, save up, and move on to another home using my first home as a rental property? Should I consider building a duplex, tri-, or quad in a safe neighborhood? Or, should I wait and see what opens up these next months potentially paying for a premium on renovated older multifamily units?
Rental Property Investor · Greenwich, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@Todd Pieper, first off, don't move to a neighborhood where you don't feel safe. It's one thing to compromise by being a few blocks further from your favorite coffee shop, it's another to not feel safe in your home.
I would use a list service or the public property records to target 3- and 4-unit properties in neighborhoods you like. Send the owner a handwritten note telling them that you're young guy looking to buy his first place. You know what a good financial decision MFR is. You are looking to buy as your personal property. Would they consider selling?
@Todd Pieper I'd be patient. You don't know what might open up in the next few months. While you're waiting start targeting properties as @Jaysen Medhurst suggested. Good luck!
New to Real Estate · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 3 votes
6y
@Jaysen Medhurst, I think believe you give the best and aggressive approach. "Plan B" could be to look for good deals with cheaper move-in ready single families, rehab (maybe), and leave in a year with a net profit of 400-500 above expenses (not including saving for CapEx expenses). In the mean time, I will try and send letters out and see if anyone bites. Do you know how long the usual turnaround time is for potential sellers to contact back?
New to Real Estate · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 3 votes
6y
@Craig Sloan, thank you for your input. A traditional multifamily is the dream and maybe creativity is the only way. St. Louis has over 3-4x the national crime rate. I love the city but cannot feel safe living there. I cannot believe I lived in the Central West End area for 6 years while attending pharmacy school!
Rental Property Investor · Greenwich, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@Todd Pieper, how long? Could be 1 day or 5 years! It's really a numbers game, you only need one.
As far as SFR, must make darn sure the numbers work after you move out. If the FMV is above $130k or so, the rent-to-price ratio starts to compress and it can be difficult to cash flow, especially if you're highly leveraged through a low-down payment mortgage. $400-500 cash flow is incredibly aggressive, even when not accounting for CapEx. Most investors shoot for $100-200/unit/month cash flow after all expenses.
Realtor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2017 · 228 posts · 174 votes
6y
@Todd Pieper if you are staying in STL city, there are neighborhoods which still feel safe if you explore. Dogtown, The Hill, North Hampton are all full of multifamilies and well below the crime stats of the problem areas of STL. We live in Dogtown and I have never felt unsafe, so I would explore these neighborhoods before writing the City off.
That said, in the county I have noticed St Charles and Fenton have a bunch of multifamilies compared to some other areas, so they might be worth exploring.