Fix and Flip in St. Louis

The occupancy inspection queue, not the permit counter. The whole City of St. Louis sits inside a Housing Conservation District, so a rental unit anywhere in the city needs an occupancy inspection before it is re-rented, and rentals reinspect every three years or on any change of occupancy (owner-occupied properties are exempt). The city schedules that inspection 3 business days to 15 days out from application, and a failed inspection restarts the clock, so build two to three weeks of inspection lag into your rehab schedule on top of the construction itself. Permit fees and plan-review timelines for the city or St. Louis County were not published as of this research; do not budget a figure you have not confirmed with the city Building Division.

A 2026 rehab carries at the pre-rehab tax bill through the rest of that year. Missouri reassesses property every odd year, and the next general reassessment date is January 1, 2027, so improvements made in 2026 are not picked up until then. In the City of St. Louis, a residential parcel is taxed on 19% of value at a total rate of $8.1867 per $100 assessed, an effective 1.556% of market value, while a parcel that lands in the commercial subclass instead pays 32% of value at $9.7522 per $100, an effective 3.121% of market value, roughly double. Confirm your parcel's subclass with the city Assessor before you size the holding-period tax line.

The vacancy clause, not the tornado, is the everyday risk. Standard commercial property forms suspend theft, vandalism, water-damage and sprinkler-leakage coverage once a building has sat below about 31% occupied use for 60 days, and vacant buildings in St. Louis are a documented target for brick theft, enough that an alderman has floated a city 'brick bank' to slow it. Add the storm risk on top: an EF3 tornado crossed north St. Louis City on May 16, 2025, and Missouri's insurance regulator recorded nearly 9,000 claims with roughly $208 million paid on that single event by mid-2025. Carry a builder's-risk or vacant-structure policy for the hold period, not a standard landlord form.

More than it used to, and the old ceiling is gone. The city charges a $200 semiannual vacant-building registration fee on residential property vacant six months or more in violation of the building code, and any city-ordered demolition, securing or repair work becomes a special tax bill that is both a lien on the property and a personal debt against the owner. Proposition V, a November 2024 city charter amendment, removed the old $500 cap on fines and fees for ordinance violations tied to vacant and non-owner-occupied deteriorated buildings, and under state law the dangerous-building fine ceiling doubles where the owner does not also live in the property. Order a full tax and special-assessment search before you buy a vacant St. Louis building, not just a title commitment.

Twenty-four months to bring it to occupancy standard, under the Prop NS track. The city's Land Reutilization Authority holds roughly 9,000 properties, about 85% vacant lots and 15% vacant buildings, and its Prop NS program sells vacant residential buildings of six units or fewer to the highest bidder who can complete rehab to City of St. Louis occupancy standards within 24 months. Treat that covenant as a financing deadline, not fine print, when you size a flip's timeline and exit around land bank inventory.

Yes, and it applies to the sale, not just a new tenant. Florissant requires an occupancy inspection on any change of occupancy, including a sale or transfer of ownership, charges a $50 inspection fee, and requires every code violation found to be corrected even if the sale ultimately does not close. Build that inspection into your exit timeline the same way you would a buyer's own contingencies, because it is a municipal requirement that runs independent of your purchase contract.

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.