Woodland, CA · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
So I am looking into buying a few rentals in North County St. Louis, but I live out of state. Being that I don't live near St. Louis, I am not sure what areas are "good" or "bad" neighborhood wise. I was wondering if anyone on BP could give me some information on what the North County St. Louis area is like? Right now I've found a package offer of 3 rentals, currently occupied at $800 a month each, for $124,910.
Florissant, Hazelwood, and Bridgeton are all places I have been to or have family in. I flind the trulia crime heat map useful for finding this type of info. Also the STL Post Dispatch has a homicide map which is also good for getting a feel for how shooty a neighborhood is.
A demographic map would also come in handy but may be out of date as that data is usually compiled every decade and STL is changing fairly rapidly in places.
Florissant, Hazelwood, and Bridgeton are all places I have been to or have family in. I flind the trulia crime heat map useful for finding this type of info. Also the STL Post Dispatch has a homicide map which is also good for getting a feel for how shooty a neighborhood is.
A demographic map would also come in handy but may be out of date as that data is usually compiled every decade and STL is changing fairly rapidly in places.
I live in St. Louis and although i'm not too seasoned, I don't look in North County as a rule just because the areas vary so much. I'll probably get some crap for this for people saying there's money to be made there - which i'm sure there is - but as an out-of-state investor you're at a lot of risk investing in North County. Some out of state investors get taken advantage of with No. Co. properties (like they do in Detroit, for example). Here's a link to the homicide map for St. Louis:
The place you'd most be familiar with in North County is Ferguson, Missouri - which has gotten a lot of attention since the riot and some bigger chains stores have come in Don't get me wrong, there are good areas, but you might have to drive through some really rough areas to get there. What you also may not be seeing is the true condition of the properties and why someone is selling three houses that make 2% a month.
I would strongly echo Kyle's comments. Unless you're very familiar with the block-to-block nuances of north county, your best bet is probably to stick to Florissant, Hazelwood, or Bridgeton addresses and then dig deeper into your specific neighborhood from there as best you can.
As a more general rule of thumb, if you're looking inside the I-270 loop, I would stay west of I-170. Outside of the I-270 loop I would stick within the boundaries of Florissant, Hazelwood, and Bridgeton. Skip Black Jack, Spanish Lake, and unincorporated STL County.
I agree with @Max Householder that Florissant, Hazelwood, and Bridgeton are pretty safe bets. I bought a SFR in Florissant this summer and really like the neighborhood. Some of the neighborhoods north of 270 and east of New Halls Ferry can be sketchy. South of 270 and east of 170 are mostly No Go zones.