Fix and Flip in St. Charles

No, not under the county's regular cycle. St. Charles County reassesses property in odd years with a levy rollback, so a rehab you complete during an even year is not reflected on the tax roll until the next odd-year valuation date, which is 2027. That means carry costs stay flat for the life of most flip timelines instead of stepping up mid-project the way they can in a jurisdiction that reassesses on transfer or on a completed permit. Confirm the parcel's own assessment history with the St. Charles County Assessor before you finalize a hold-cost projection.

No. Missouri bars a real estate transfer tax by constitutional provision, so neither the buy nor the sell side of a flip carries one, and recording starts at five dollars for the first page plus the county's own surcharge. That keeps the round-trip closing cost stack in St. Charles County structurally light compared to states that tax every transfer. It does not offset ordinary title, escrow, and recording fees, which still apply on both closings.

A historic review board that meets once a month, if your rehab touches the exterior. The city of St. Charles has designated 26 individual landmarks and 6 historic districts covering more than 3,000 properties, including South Main and Frenchtown, and any exterior construction, alteration, or removal on a landmark or a district property needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Landmarks Preservation and Architectural Review Board. That board generally meets the third Monday of the month, so missing a submittal window adds roughly four weeks of hold before a permit is even issued. Budget the calendar for a South Main or Frenchtown flip, not just the rehab cost.

Check the CRS discount before you assume a rate. Roughly 43% of St. Charles County sits within the floodplain, and the interior creeks (Dardenne, Femme Osage, Peruque, Belleau) can put a parcel in an SFHA even miles from the Missouri or Mississippi rivers. FEMA's Community Rating System sets unincorporated St. Charles County at class 6, a 20% flood-insurance discount, while the city of O'Fallon sits at class 9, only a 5% discount, and St. Charles city, St. Peters, Wentzville, Lake Saint Louis, Cottleville, Dardenne Prairie, and Weldon Spring carry no CRS discount at all. Confirm which jurisdiction the parcel sits in and check the county's flood maps before you price a policy into the rehab budget.

Schools and fire, not a county levy. St. Charles County charges no general-revenue property tax; the county-wide common block totals only 0.8222 per $100 assessed value, and the real cost driver is the school district (3.96 to 4.75 per $100 across the eight cities) plus the fire district, which is its own large taxing body (0.15 to 1.07 per $100). The effective rate on market value runs from about 1.13% in Weldon Spring to about 1.37% in St. Charles city, a 21% spread on identical value depending on which school and fire district the parcel sits in. Pull the parcel's own tax account rather than assuming a single county rate.

Yes, if any of your deal flow comes through an assignment. RSMo 407.3600, effective 2026-08-28, requires a wholesaler assigning a contract on a one-to-four-unit residential property to give the record owner a separate, boldface written disclosure at least fourteen calendar days before the purchase contract is signed. If that disclosure was skipped, the owner can cancel before closing with earnest money returned. This is a new cooling window between first contact and a signed contract on that kind of deal, so a flip sourced through an assignment now runs on a longer clock than it did before late August 2026. Confirm with Missouri counsel on any deal that touches an assignment.

There is no minimum score on this program. We do run credit, but on an asset-based flip loan it carries far less weight than at a bank. We underwrite the purchase price, the rehab budget, and the ARV. Weaker credit is usually handled with lower leverage rather than a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to start. Subject to underwriting.

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.