Henry F. Owens IV · St. Louis Real Estate Investor

Henry with his wife and son in front of one of his rentals — With my wife and son at one of our rentals. They're the reason I build for the long term.

About

My first rental cost $8,000.

I'd been working in St. Louis real estate since 2014. In 2016 I bought that house, fixed it up and put a family in it. That one house taught me most of what I know: buy right, don't cut corners on the rehab, treat tenants like people, and watch every dollar.

Today it's 60+ units: single-family homes, townhomes and a mixed-use building in Ferguson. The approach is the same as it was with the first house.

It's just the two of us, my wife and me. I handle the property side: buying, overseeing the rehabs and keeping the houses in good shape. My wife runs the management side: leasing, tenants and collections. If something breaks, you're talking to one of us, not a call center.

I'm a long-term buy-and-hold investor. Everything I do is about buying quality houses I want to keep for life. I'll flip one now and then, but only to raise cash for the next rental.

Henry F. Owens IV

How we operate

Simple, disciplined, hands-on.

The same four steps on every house.

01 · Buy

Buy right

I run the numbers before I fall in love with a house. If it won't cashflow once the rehab is done, I walk away.

02 · Renovate

Fix it right

Real repairs, not paint over problems. I'd rather spend more once than patch it every year.

03 · Manage

Run it ourselves

We're owner-operators. No management company, no middleman. My wife and I handle leasing, rent, maintenance and tenants, and we decide together what to buy next.

04 · Hold

Keep it

We hold what we buy: good houses on good streets in good neighborhoods. Well-kept homes and good tenants make the blocks we invest in better.

On site

Every renovation starts somewhere.

Some houses need paint and carpet. Some need a new roof frame after a fire. I'm not afraid to take on a bigger project when it's worth it, and I'm on site overseeing every one, because the details decide whether a house lasts five years or fifty.

The work

Before and after.

A sample of homes I've bought and brought back to life across North St. Louis County.

Billings before: fire-damaged brick wall — **Fire rebuild · Bellefontaine Neighbors**Bought as a fire-damaged shell in 2021, rebuilt into a 3-bed family homeSee the full rebuild →

Billings after: rebuilt brick ranch — **Fire rebuild · Bellefontaine Neighbors**Bought as a fire-damaged shell in 2021, rebuilt into a 3-bed family homeSee the full rebuild →

Cutler before: dated kitchen — **Single-family rehab · Bellefontaine Neighbors**A neglected 1954 brick ranch bought in 2025, rebuilt inside with new floors, paint and kitchenSee the before and after →

Cutler after: new white kitchen — **Single-family rehab · Bellefontaine Neighbors**A neglected 1954 brick ranch bought in 2025, rebuilt inside with new floors, paint and kitchenSee the before and after →

Mixed-use building in Ferguson — **Mixed-use · Ferguson**A 1949 block with 5 storefronts and 6 apartments, home to local businesses since I bought it in 2019See the property →

Olian before: dated bathroom — **Two 4-family buildings · Hazelwood**Two brick fourplexes, eight 2-bedroom townhome-style units in all, renovated unit by unit since 2021See the renovations →

Olian after: renovated bathroom — **Two 4-family buildings · Hazelwood**Two brick fourplexes, eight 2-bedroom townhome-style units in all, renovated unit by unit since 2021See the renovations →

Burning Tree before: dated wood kitchen — **Single-family rehab · Florissant**A 1968 brick ranch bought in 2021: new kitchen with butcher-block counters, new floors and paint throughout, refreshed bathsSee the before and after →

Burning Tree after: new white kitchen with butcher-block counters — **Single-family rehab · Florissant**A 1968 brick ranch bought in 2021: new kitchen with butcher-block counters, new floors and paint throughout, refreshed bathsSee the before and after →

Where we invest FlorissantFergusonHazelwoodBellefontaine NeighborsBlack JackCity of St. Louis

Let's connect

Always happy to talk real estate.

Selling a house, have a deal as an agent, or just want to talk about the St. Louis market? Reach out.