All Forum Posts by: Steve Sherman

@Colleen F. --- Thank you. The basements have locks, but I might have to change them. Like your idea of making the basements uncomfortable. 

@Ryan Murdock -- Thanks for the advice. I'm managing this property remotely from LA and it's hard to understand if the basement dwellers are the subject tenant's invitees or not. By hearsay, they are, but I don't have proof and the tenant seems to be denying it.  Weird situation. Considering consulting a St. Louis Evictions/Real Estate attorney on this one.

Hey BP! 

I recently purchased a 4-family in an okay area of St. Louis and with the building I've inherited 4 tenants. A month into ownership, a few neighbors started complaining about the neighbor from one of the units, that he makes loud noises at night, might be doing drugs and that most of the time, someone potentially known to him, stays in one of 2 basements of the building at night. I've sent him a lease violation warning letter, letting him know, to keep it quieter at night and letting him know that the basements are off limits. I've also posted a note on each of the 2 basement doors, that basements are not living quarters and you can't hang out and sleep in them at night. In addition, I'm hearing from one of the tenants, that some people might be selling drugs somewhere close to the building and then staying in my basement somehow. Please, advice on the M&Ps on this. I'm thinking the obvious thing is just to call the cops, any time a tenant tells me that there are non-renters in the basement, but maybe there is a better way. Please, advice!

@Peter MacKercher  @Chet Hileman  -- Thanks for your input, guys! Per parcel info in tax records online, it's showing as 5 units. Would not be able to do a residential loan on this one, I guess. Thanks again!

@Alan Pederson --sellers made a 1 bdrm house out of it.

Hey BP. I'm being offered a 4-family in St. Louis, that also has a carriage house on the land and they share a backyard. Was wondering if it's considered a 5-family for the home loan purposes. I know that anything over 4 units will belong to a commercial loan category, which changes amortization to less years, increases the mortgage payment and etc. I prefer to stay on the residential loan side. Please, advice.

@Edward Burke --IPX 1031 is a great intermediary. I had a good experience with them,when I did my partial 1031 exchange half a year ago. DM'd you the info.

@Edward Burke - who are you using as your lender and how was your experience with them so far? I've used Guaranteed Rate Affinity, but the process hasn't been super-smooth with the 2 of my STL loans.

@Edward Burke - My Carondelet property is 5-7 blocks away from Holly Hills. Love that area as well. Beautiful architecture and greenery.

@Edward Burke I have 2 four families at this point in STL. One is in North St. Louis, in a nice, safer pocket of a bad neighborhood, with good cashflow and luckily, pretty good tenants. My second 4-family is in South St. Louis neighborhood of Carondelet, definitely a much safer neighborhood. Btw, Clifton Heights, and Southwest Garden, great neighborhoods. Personally, I've visited over 20 STL neighborhoods in person, to really get a feel for them. Some deals looked great on paper, but then you park your car on the block and get a feel for the pocket and realize that it's not something that you are comfortable with.