Multifamily & Apartment Investing

Lead can not only be hazardous to your health, it can also be hazardous to your pocketbook. If you are a real estate investor or owner occupant of a historic building, chances are the building is full of lead paint. Depending on the severity, lead abatement can be expensive and time consuming. Assistance from Federal and State governments has been available for years, but the method of reimbursement has...

In addition to the Multi-Family Window Replacement Program, the City of St. Louis recently also has a  called the Multi-Family Lead Remediation Program. Where the window program only compensates landlords for the replacement of up to 10 wood windows per unit ($200 for normal windows and $400 for historic windows), this program has broader implications. Rather than compensating rehabbers just for windows,...

So your sewer line has backed up and a simple Roto-Rooter cleaning did not solve the problem? You might have a hefty bill on your hands if something significant is wrong with the sewer lateral. Or then again, with luck, maybe not If the issue with the sewer lateral turns out to be in a certain type of easement or the right-of-way such as an alley, sidewalk or tree-line, the City of St. Louis might cover...

Is there a street light out on your block? Is the grass at that vacant property across the street ridiculously tall? Or maybe the bricks falling off the building next door were the last draw. Never fear, there is an easy way to tackle the problem: Report it to the Citizens' Service Bureau (CSB). Any code violation in the City of St. Louis is usually best remedied by contacting them for an inspection or...

Own real estate in the City of St. Louis? If you do, you probably hate paying that annoying 1% earning tax on your income, but at least that helps to cover trash collection fees for you right? Sadly, not anymore. The St. Louis Board of Alderman recently passed a bill, which returns trash pickups to two times a week and adds single-stream recycling bins in alleys. This containers are just now showing up...

There is no denying that Mesothelioma and the asbestos that causes it are serious problems. Especially in areas such as St. Louis where an abundance of historic buildings are still filled with the stuff. When faced with friable (reduced to smaller pieces with little effort) asbestos insulation, siding and flooring materials, most property owners and contractors realize that professional remediation is the...

Over the past few years, the St. Louis Board of Alderman have debated the prospected of a vacant property registration system numerous times. One bill almost passed about a year ago. Not taking no for an answer, Alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett brought the issue back up recently. The new bill corrected many of the issues with the previous versions, but many in the real estate industry felt the bill still...

If you're new to landlording or could use a refresher, the University of Missouri St. Louis will be holding a 6-hour Landlord Training class this March. Here is the basics on the course: The University of Missouri–St. Louis Division of Continuing Education and its Center for Entrepreneurship & Economic Education announces the Landlord Training Program, a two-day, six-hour program leading to...

If you have ever rehabbed a house, rented out an apartment, or even simply lived in the City of St. Louis for any period of time, you are well aware of the ridiculous amount of red tape that the City throws up around just about every issue. A lot of it is necessary, but the implementation has always been wanting. The Post Dispatch featured a very interesting article on this topic in this morning's...

Being a landlord or rehabber can be a tough business. Juggling tenants and repairs are a struggle in their own right, but sometimes the most stressful things can less tangible. For instance: keeping up with occupancy codes. And as of late, the City of St. Louis has been rabid in their enforcement. In the past couple months I have personally experienced incorrect condemnation warnings and heard similar...

Landlords of Missouri, it is time to celebrate. Common-sense has finally won the day in terms of our eviction law. From now on, when an eviction occurs, there is actually a legal pathway to removing the tenants property thanks newly signed Senate Bill 231....

The poster-boy for real estate fraud in St. Louis has finally been sentenced. Doug Hartmann, of DHP fame, was found guilty in April of siphoning off $35 million from real estate investors over the years. You'd think this guy would get put away for a long time. Instead, he got two years in federal prison. Hopefully the civil courts are far less kind....

Let me go on the record as saying I love historic architecture. It humbles me to think that with all the technological advancements of the last 100 years, the buildings of 100 years ago display a level of craftsmanship that seems to be lost in the modern day. That being said, our current system of preserving these historic structures misses the point entirely...

Is the sidewalk in front of your property a little worse for wear? All the freezing and thawing of Missouri weather along with additional help from ice melt, tree roots and good old time have a way of doing that....

Don't let this man's phony smile fool you. He could be a thief. If someone comes knocking at your door, claiming to be a contractor, be careful of what you do. I just received this forward from a Circuit Attorney in the City of St. Louis. If you live or own any properties in the City you should really take this one to heart....