All Forum Posts by: Frankie Woods

@Max Householder I am loving this market. There are so many potential deals. My property is located on Louisiana Ave, across from Gravois Park. I worked with a realtor from OWNSTL and found the deal on the MLS. I'm using Frontier Property Management, who was recommended to me by another BP member (Gunnar Teltow). I just started using them, but so far it's been great. They are a little expensive as they charge 10% plus the first month's rent, but for a C property in a C neighborhood, I think it will be worth it.

@Elizabeth Colegrove I was struggling with what to do with the cash flow (i.e., paying off the mortgage early or investing in more properties).  I'm not quite sure yet, but I like the idea of being free and clear!

@Antonio Tyler 

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. My initial thought process was simply to purchase a nice home at market value whenever I moved while taking advantage of the VA loan. I discovered that you can actually have multiple VAs (as long as the property is your primary residence for at least one year) up to a certain threshold (~400k). That, in and of itself, is a huge help to people in the military. It essentially makes your return (if it's positive) infinite because you do not have to bring any money to the table).

I think my biggest mistakes were that I 1) purchased a condo, and the condo/association fees really kill the deal and 2) purchased my previous properties at market value.  At the end of the day, I still enjoyed living the properties, but I could have increased my return substantially.

If I were to do it all over again, I would use the VA to purchase a multi-family, live in one unit and rent out the others. Also, I would find distressed properties that are well below market value (i.e., using the 70%, 50%, and 2% rules). I'd also start marketing to absentee owners as soon as I found out that I am PCSing. That would give you at least six months to find a property.

Other than that, I would say just make a move and continue to learn.  Concentrate on learning your market in order to understand where/what a deal looks like.  Finally, because we move, you need to find a trustworthy property management company. 

This is a great community and there is a wealth of information!  I wish you luck and don't hesitate to hit me up in the future!

I just closed on my first true investment property here in St Louis, MO. This will be my 4th property, but the first that I will not actually occupy for the first couple of years (active military). I hope to acquire at least one MFR/Year going forward. Here are the particulars:

Purchase Price: $62,000

Gross Monthly Rent: $1640

Monthly PITI (25% down at 4.89% on a 30 yr fixed): $480

Monthly Expenses: $853

Estimated COC: 16%

Estimated Cash Flow Per Door: $135

This is a C property in a C neighborhood.  Hence, the returns might not actually be worth the future headache (vacancies, maintenance, etc.).  Although, I have an amazing, albeit expensive, property management team and a have accounted for the higher expenses in my due diligence so hopefully that will reduce some of the strain.  I'm still excited about the deal, but I'm realizing that I have to do better!  The weekly podcasts are amazing, but every single time I listen to one, I learn about another mistake that I've made... 

I'm definitely interested. Frankie Woods, [email protected], 6616748374

You give me hope though!

2 of 3 of my deals have fallen thru in S.County @Gunnar Teltow . Inspections ruin my life :/. Actually, they've probably saved me a lot of pain haha.

@Tanner Trokey

I'm currently finding my deals thru the MLS with OWNSTL group. They have been phenomenal. I plan on starting a marketing campaign (yellow letters) very soon. I am a long term, buy and hold investor focusing on multi-families. If I find deals that I can get financed, then I'll either wholesale or do some type of subject-to or lease option. Haha, 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to answer that question...

Biggerpockets has been amazing for me over the last year. I'm currently closing on 3 properties in STL. If you guys have any specific questions let me know. This area is currently perfect for finding deals that aline with the methods outlined here.

Welcome @Ryan Billingsley ! STL is an excellent market to get started in. I'm trying to get my feet wet as well. I've made a couple of offers on some multi-families so far, but none accepted yet :/