Fix and Flip in Arnold

It is the city inspection that has to be passed before your flip can legally be sold. Arnold's Code of Ordinances Section 500.090 makes it unlawful for the owner of any structure to sell, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of it until a Certificate of Compliance has been secured. The certificate is issued after a Property Maintenance Inspection by the Arnold Building Department covering the exterior, plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, fire and life safety, light and ventilation, and general sanitation. That means a rehab budget here has to target inspection-passing condition, not merely a rentable finish, before a resale can close. Arnold rewrote the ordinance effective 2026-01-15 to require a certificate at any change of ownership or upon completion of construction activity, so confirm the current wording with the city before you scope the work.

$50 for a residential structure, and the certificate is valid until the sooner of six months or a change of occupancy. The fee is paid with the application to set the inspection appointment, and it covers the initial inspection plus one re-inspection; a re-inspection beyond that draws an additional fee. If a flip runs past six months before it closes, plan on a re-inspection before the sale can proceed. On a duplex or small multifamily, compliance is checked unit by unit as well as on the shared exterior, so budget the inspection timeline per unit, not per building.

No. Missouri taxes any home used for residential living at the same 19% assessment ratio whether it is owner-occupied or investor-held. Running the 2025 Jefferson County Clerk's levy sheet for an Arnold parcel in the Fox C-6 school district and the Rock Community fire district comes to 7.0854 per $100 of assessed value, which at the 19% ratio works out to roughly 1.35% of market value, about $3,735 a year on a $277,441 Arnold home (7.0854 x 0.19 = 1.3462; 277,441 x 0.013462 = 3,735, our arithmetic on the clerk's rates). Arnold itself splits between two fire districts, Rock Community and Saline Valley, at different rates, so we underwrite the actual parcel's stack rather than a city average. A 2026 rehab is generally picked up at the next odd-year reassessment date, not immediately.

Generally not. Jefferson County, Missouri assesses on a biennial odd-year reassessment cycle, and 2027 is the next general reassessment date. A rehab completed in 2026 is picked up at that 2027 valuation, so most of a shorter hold runs against the pre-rehab assessed value. Confirm the timing with the county assessor if your project runs past that date.

Flood is the local peril to budget for, and it is priced. Jefferson County, Missouri NFIP policies effective on or after January 1, 2025 carried a median annual premium of $961 and a median policy cost of $1,237, and seven in ten of the county's rated policies (706 of 997) sit in flood zone AE. Arnold sits at the confluence where the Meramec meets the Mississippi and is one of the country's original repetitive-loss buyout communities after the 1993 flood damaged more than 225 properties there. Work inside Arnold's mapped floodplain also needs a separate Floodplain Development Permit before the building permit is pulled, so build that into your schedule alongside the property maintenance inspection. Get a bound quote on the specific parcel before we size the rehab budget.

Yes, if the property is on a private well. EPA's Region 7 fact sheet states plainly that the Southwest Jefferson County Mining NPL Superfund site 'covers all of Jefferson County, Missouri,' with lead as the contaminant of concern, and Operable Unit 5 covers private drinking-water wells specifically. EPA offers free testing of private wells and residential yard soil under that operable unit. This does not mean any specific parcel is contaminated, and we do not underwrite it that way, but a private well anywhere in the county is worth testing before the loan funds, and the test costs nothing.

We fund up to 90% of the purchase price and up to 100% of your rehab budget, with the total capped against the after-repair value (ARV). Rehab money is released in draws as the work is completed.

Our fix and flip pricing starts around 9.99%, interest-only, with origination typically 1 to 3 points depending on your experience, leverage, and the deal, and every quote is subject to underwriting. Across the market most flip loans run roughly 9% to 12%. On most flip loans, including ours, interest is charged on the full loan amount, rehab budget included. Paying interest only on rehab funds as you draw them exists in the market, but it is the exception, not the rule.

No. We work with first-time flippers as well as full-time operators. Experience mainly affects your leverage and rate, since a longer track record earns higher loan-to-cost and better pricing. A newer investor can still get funded with a sound deal, a realistic budget, and a clear exit.

We can get you a term sheet the same day on a complete application, and we typically fund within 48 hours of clear title. The main variable is how fast title and insurance come together, which is why a full close usually runs 5 to 7 days. Because we are the lender and underwrite in house, there is no second layer of approval to wait on.

No. Our fix and flip loans have no prepayment penalty, so paying off early when the property sells costs you nothing extra. Terms run 6 months, and because there is no penalty, selling sooner never costs you extra.

We run credit, but this is an asset-based loan, so the property, your budget, and the ARV matter most. We do not ask for W-2s or tax returns to qualify a flip. We will want to confirm you have reserves to carry the project to its exit.