rehab

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,...

Construction at the long-vacant apartment complex at 3800 Shenandoah in the Shaw Neighborhood of St. Louis is now complete. Developer T & E Development, LLC utilized Federal and Missouri State historic tax credits on the rehab of this apartment complex at wrapped up primary construction in August 2011.  Originally 24-units, the building was converted to 18-units in the finished project due to the...

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...

Gut rehabs of LRA (Land Reutilization Authority) have been few and far between in the past eighteen months, with construction financing has been virtually nonexistent in this economic climate. So you can count me surprised when I got a call from a friend saying that this 4,932 sq ft monster in Marine Villa was going to be turned into a single family home. Originally a bakery on the first floor and a...

Whether you own rental properties, own a home or just rent an apartment, you need to prepare for the increasing colder temperatures coming this winter. If the property will be vacant for an extended periods of time you should be especially careful. Water left in pipes that hit the freezing point could cause the pipe to burst and create a horrendous situation....

The tuckpointing in your brick building is starting to decay. Cracks are forming and small chunks of mortar are beginning to fall out. Sounds like you're due to take on the "not too difficult" but time consuming task of tuckpointing. Time to head on down to the nearest Home Depot or Lowes at stock up on tuckpointing supplies and ready mix mortar. Right? If you are tuckpointng an older building like those...

The "big three" health hazards of the rehab and rental world are lead paint, asbestos and mold. Of the three, mold seems to get the least amount of attention. But the thing about lead paint and asbestos is you either have these problems in your building or you don't. There is no need to protect yourself against them if you they aren't on the premises at the time of purchase....

*NOTE - This article was originally written in May of 2007 for the newsletter. Working with investment real estate offers me an opportunity to talk shop with all kinds of landlords and view all types of apartments, across St. Louis. One thing that always astounds me, is the lack of quality rental units in town. There seems to be a perception that there is no market for quality apartments. In my...