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The Basics:

Listing Price: $200,000 New Listing!!!

Address: 13024 Twin Meadows Court, St. Louis, MO 63146 (see map)

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 3

Property Type: Condo

Floor plan style: Ranch with finished basement

Age: 24 years old

Subdivision: Field Pointe Condominiums

School District: Parkway School District (more school info)

Parking: 2 car attached garage

Extras: End unit, open floor plan, community swimming pool & tennis courts

Featured Pictures:

See more pictures…

The Full Scoop:

Condo living offers all the space you need without the yard work in top ranked Parkway School District!

Over 1700 sq ft upstairs plus a walk-out finished lower level, deck, patio, attached 2 car garage and community pool/tennis courts.

Ranch floor plan with main floor master suite, 2nd bedroom, see-thru wood burning fireplace to enjoy in both the living room & hearth room/den.

Freshly painted kitchen & breakfast room with good layout & pantry. Plus you get a dining room that can hold your large dining room set.

Step downstairs to the large family room, wet bar, full bathroom plus lots of storage.

Extras include: main floor laundry, upgraded wood laminate flooring, whirlpool master tub, newer furnace (approx 5 yrs old), alarm system.

Excellent condition and neutral decor makes this condo move-in ready.

One of the few END UNITS that is a RANCH floor plan, this one is also on DEAD-END STREET with mature landscaping to enjoy from your deck or patio.

Home protection warranty too!

Like what you see? Email the property brochure flyer to a friend.

Schedule a Showing:

Contact us by email below or call Karen Goodman at 314-677-6538.

Condo for Sale ~ 13024 Twin Meadows Ct (Creve Coeur Area) is a post from: Arch City Homes

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The Basics:

Listing Price: $164,900 Price Reduced!!!

Address: 4710 Providence Woods Circle, Wentzville, MO 63385 (see map)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2

Property Type: Single family home

Floor plan style: Ranch

Age: 6 years old

Subdivision: Providence on Peine

School District: Wentzville School District (more school info)

Parking: 2 car attached garage

Extras: Open floor plan, neutral decor, flat backyard

Featured Pictures:

See more pictures…

Walking Tour:

The Full Scoop:

Almost new 6 yr old great room ranch in quiet location off Peine Road, while still only minutes to Hwy 61, shopping and a short walk to the elementary school.

Fabulous condition, this house has neutral decor and is move-in ready. Open floor plan offers entry foyer, great room, dining area,  spacious kitchen with light cabinets and pantry, main floor laundry, large master suite, 2 additional bedrooms and hall bath.

Extras include ceiling fans, bay window, storm doors with screens for springtime breezes and vaulted great room. Plus the master suite includes a bath with double sinks, tub & separate shower and a walk-in closet.

The huge unfinished basement with sump pit and bathroom rough-in has a great layout for a future finished lower level.

Wonderful subdivision, level backyard and patio.

Refrigerator included too!

Like what you see? Email the property brochure flyer to a friend.

Schedule a Showing:

Contact us by email below or call Karen Goodman at 314-677-6538.

Home for Sale ~ 4710 Providence Woods Circle (Wentzville) is a post from: Arch City Homes

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Living room, dining room and 3rd floor have new neutral paint since this video was shot!

The Basics:

Listing Price: $145,000 Plus $4000 in seller paid closing costs OR Special Financing (reduced interest rate) & $1000 in seller paid closing costs!!!

Address: 4158 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110 (see map)

Bedrooms: 3 (plus possible extra bedroom)

Bathrooms: 1

Property Type: Single family home

Floor plan style: 2.5 Story

Age: 117 years old

Subdivision: Tyler Place Addition – Shaw Neighborhood

School District: St Louis Public Schools (more school info)

Parking: 1 car parking pad inside gated, privacy fenced yard

Extras: Original woodwork, wood floors, exposed brick

Featured Pictures:

See more pictures…

Walking Tour:

Living room, dining room and 3rd floor have new neutral paint since this video was shot!

The Full Scoop:

SPECIAL OFFER! $4000 in seller paid closing costs OR SPECIAL FINANCING with extra low interest rate & $1000 in closing costs!!!

Historic Shaw home blocks from Tower Grove Park, highways, Central West End and S. Grand cafes. Enjoy dinner at Sasha’s just 1/2 block away and walk to summertime Botanical Garden free concerts.

Inside you’ll find 3 floors of living space, wood floors, exposed brick walls, original wood work and period lighting. The dining room with box beam ceiling & bar makes it perfect for entertaining. The kitchen has marble counters, gas cooktop, stainless dishwasher, built-in double ovens and refrigerator included.

The 2nd floor huge bedroom could easily be converted back to 2 bedrooms, plus there is a another bedroom & a sitting rm with 2nd story deck access that would be perfect for an office or nursery. The 3rd floor bedroom with wall of cedar closets would also be a great family room. The yard includes parking pad, 2 decks & wood privacy fencing. Updated electric, hi efficiency HVAC (6/09).

Plus you get a 13 month home protection warranty to protect you against future repairs too!

Like what you see? Email the property brochure flyer to a friend.

Schedule a Showing:

Contact us by email below or call Karen Goodman at 314-677-6538.

Home for Sale ~ 4158 Shaw Blvd (St. Louis) is a post from: Arch City Homes

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The Basics:

Listing Price: $40,000 Price Reduced!!!

Address: 4109 Stafford Woods Ct, St. Charles, MO (see map)

Property Type: Lot

Lot Dimensions: 76 x 118 feet

Lot Size: 8,712 square feet

Subdivision: Stafford Place Subdivision

School District: Francis Howell (more school info)

Schools: Castilio Elementary, Bryon Middle, Francis Howell High School

Featured Pictures:

More info…

The Full Scoop:

Last available building lot in the popular established subdivision of Stafford Place.

Great location with quick access to St. Louis County via the Page Extension bridge. Current homes in the subdivision are a mix of 2 story and ranch floor plans.

Build a ranch, 1.5 story or 2 story home with our builder or buy the lot and choose your own builder.

The new construction homes in the adjacent subdivision are selling for over $300,000.

Like what you see? Email the property brochure flyer to a friend.

Schedule a Showing:

Feel free to drive by the lot. Or contact us by email below or call Karen Goodman at 314-677-6538.

Lot for Sale ~ 4109 Stafford Woods Ct (St. Charles) is a post from: Arch City Homes

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If you were moving to a new city and trying to decide where you wanted to live, you would have a lot of questions before you chose a neighborhood.

The most common questions are:

1. Where are the best (or good) schools?
2. Where are homes in my price range?
3. Where can I find a newer home?
4. Where are areas that are walkable or near vibrant urban areas?

These questions are easy to answer for an experienced buyer’s agent.

But real estate agents also get a lot of questions about two areas that we aren’t allowed to discuss: crime & racial, ethnic or religious background.

Why Can’t Real Estate Agents Answer Questions about Race and Crime?

For many years, non-white buyers were not allowed to buy homes in white neighborhoods. Real estate agents would “steer” people, only showing them homes in neighborhoods where the residents matched their racial, ethnic and religious background.

The Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed to eliminate steering and discrimination. According to the American Bar Association:

The law prohibits housing discrimination by real estate firms and homeowners. This means that homeowners may not refuse to lease or sell property based on race, religion, gender, color, or national origin. In some localities, special housing discrimination ordinances or laws also cover sexual orientation.

How does the Fair Housing Act impact real estate agents and buyers?

In order to fully comply with the Fair Housing Act, rules have been put in place by the real estate licensing authorities that prohibit agents from even talking about race, religion or ethnicity. Since buyers will often ask about crime as a way to find out the demographic background of the people living in an area, real estate agents are taught to avoid answering these questions too.

The result is that real estate agents can no longer legally steer people to communities that match their racial or ethnic background.

But the flip side is also true.

I’m working with a buyer who is looking for a diverse neighborhood. My clients are a white couple who adopted two Hispanic children, and would like to raise their children in a diverse community.

The same rules that don’t allow discrimination against people due to their background, also don’t allow me to guide buyers who are looking for diversity.

Find Demographics for Every Address in the U.S:

Who decides what is a good area?

Different people are looking for different things. As buyers, you have the right to base your decision on any factor you want.

You need to decide for yourself what you are looking for in a community and what you consider a “good” or “bad” area.

Since the answer to these questions are totally subjective, real estate agents shouldn’t be answering these questions for you. Instead, they should be pointing you to factual information so you can get the information and decide for yourself which part of town you want to live in.

Though real estate agents shouldn’t (and legally can’t) discuss crime or racial demographics, we can point people to resources so they can research information for themselves.

When people ask about crime, agents are taught to refer them to the local police department. I’ve also posted crime maps for St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

How to find out the racial makeup of any community:

The U.S. census tracks a number of factors that may be important to buyers as they choose a community. Recently, I found a website that provides a snapshot of helpful information for every address.

Here are screen shots of the information for a home one of my buyers recently bought in the Shaw neighborhood near Tower Grove Park:

Map:

Demographics are based on census tracts. The site gives you a map so you can see the boundaries of the census tract.

Summary:

Overview of the income, racial background and housing for the area

Income:

Median income for the state, metro area & tract and % below the poverty line

Population:

Minority and non-Hispanic white population, total population & number of families

Housing:

Total housing units, average age of housing, owner-occupied vs rental units, vacant housing units

You can also find out the racial makeup of any Missouri public school by visiting the MO Dept of Education website and looking at the school report cards. If you would like comprehensive information for a specific address, be sure to check out the census bureau website.

How Can Home Buyers Find Demographic Information for an Area? is a post from: Arch City Homes

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1. St. Louis City & County Crime Maps ~ Finding a Safe Community
2. Buyer’s Guide: Crime Statistics for St. Louis County Municipalities
3. Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Safe Neighborhood in St. Louis City
4. Tips for Buyers on Choosing a Safe Neighborhood

Most real estate agents don’t like Zillow.

Initially, I think it was a reaction to losing control. For years, agents where the keepers of the housing data. Buyers and sellers had to call an agent when they were trying to determine the value of a home. Public tax records offered the sale price of properties, but they didn’t include much information to tell you how that house might compare to your house. And often the public tax records weren’t online, so getting the information meant a trip the the county records office.

Then came Zillow.

Zillow offers visitors a database of property information across the U.S. They aggregate information from multiple sources including tax records and home sale advertising. They even allow property owners to add additional information to a listing.

Zillow then crunches the information and spits out an estimated home value.

Margin of Error

The site clearly informs visitors that there is a margin of error on every home value, and they give a high and low range in addition to the estimated home value (Zillow calls their home value estimates “Zestimates”).

Depending on the city, the range might be narrow or quite large since the margin of error varies from city to city.

Since the information available to Zillow is incomplete, there is no way that their computer calculations can provide a definitive value. They even claim on their own site that the Zestimate is only designed to give you a starting point for evaluating the value of a home.

What’s a Zestimate?

A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home’s value.

They don’t have information on if the home is updated or not. They don’t know if the house backs to a busy street or to power lines. They don’t factor in that the owners painted the shutters pink and the front yard doesn’t have any landscaping.

How accurate are Zillow’s estimates for St. Louis homes?

According to Zillow, they have 99% of St. Louis area properties on their site, and 94% of the properties have an estimated value.

Zillow reports on their accuracy by comparing their latest Zestimate with actual sale price of sold homes.

St. Louis Homes:

• 23% of Zestimates are within 5% of the sale price
• 42% of Zestimates are within 10% of the sale price
• 66% of Zestimates are within 20% of the sale price

To put that into real numbers:

• $200,000 sale price
• only 1 in 4 would have been estimated from $190,000 – $210,000
• less than half (4 in 10) would have been estimated from $180,000 – $220,000
• 2 in 3 would have been estimated from $160,000 – $240,000

It seems to me that these numbers aren’t very helpful when pinpointing the real value of a particular home. If you did a home search on any local real estate site, you could come up with this range on your own.

Pricing My New Listing

I have a new listing that will be coming on the market in the next few weeks. It’s a great house in Ballwin with a popular floor plan and is in excellent condition. The homes in this subdivision typically sell pretty easily. In fact, all 4 of the homes which have sold and closed in the last year had an accepted contract in less than 30 days.

Based on a thorough pricing analysis, the owners and I agreed to price the home at $279,900. It’s a fair price – not pushing for an unrealistic price or pricing it so low that it will be guaranteed to sell fast.

Fortunately, my clients understand that Zillow’s estimate is JUST an estimate (Zillow valued the house at $292,500).

If we tried to list it at Zillow’s price, we would still be looking for a buyer 6 months from now. Of course, the range of $257,000 – $316,000 is pretty wide. Seems to me that you could throw a dart at a wall and hit something between those values.

On the other hand, maybe it will help us sell when buyers take a look at Zillow’s estimate and think that they are getting the house for a steal.

Once this house is listed for sale, the Zillow listing will include the advertising remarks and pictures, along with the current listing price.

Do you see how Zillow’s value for this home jumps up & down within just a few months? If you are going to use Zillow to get an estimate on the value of your home, you need to focus on this graph more than on the Zestimate on any given day.

What do I think of Zillow?

I think Zillow can be very helpful in aggregating information from various sources so consumers have one place to look for information including the listed price of a home for sale plus tax and pricing history. I think it is helpful to see the overall trends for pricing in an area too.

I also like the tool that allows you to modify the estimate…plugging in projects that have been done or you plan to do (such as a bathroom remodel) to see how home improvements affect the value of a home.

My only complaint is not with Zillow, but with home buyers and sellers who use the Zillow Zestimate as an absolute value rather than a starting point when trying to determine value.

Are Zillow Price Estimates Accurate for St. Louis Homes? is a post from: Arch City Homes

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2. New Arch City Homes Feature: Zoom-able Home Pictures
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4. Marketing Homes for Sale in the Internet Era

Today I want to tell you about a service that a buyer’s agent can offer for clients who are searching for a house.

Video Property Tours for Buyers:

I know it’s a long video, but you’ll get the idea if you watch at least the first couple of minutes. This home is located in Lafayette Square and is currently for sale for $175,000. If you have interest in this property, let me know and I can get you more information including a longer video which includes the basement. The property is listed by Ryan Shaughnessy with PREA Signature Realty.

Screening Homes for Buyers:

Buyers spend a lot of time screening through properties on the internet. They use pictures and video to decide which properties are worth the time for an actual visit.

But sometimes getting out to see all of the homes a buyer might be interested in is a problem.

Relocating Buyers:

Relocating buyers may have to wait weeks or months between visits. I spent 5 years working with buyers relocating to St. Louis.

Between scheduled trips, many of my clients were willing to jump on a plane and get to St. Louis quickly to see a home rather than having it sell before their next visit.

I would often take dozens of pictures of a home to help these out of town buyers decide if they should schedule an extra trip to see a house. I even had one couple who bought a home without seeing it. I met one of their relatives at the house and we videotaped it. After watching a VCR tape that was overnighted to them, they made an offer based solely on the video.

Now that I have a Flip Video Camera, I can provide even more comprehensive information for my buyer clients.

Busy Local Buyers:

At times, local buyers have such a busy schedule that they don’t have time to get out to a house quickly.

I ran into that problem this week.

I’m working with a couple and we went and looked at homes on Monday. One of the homes was everything my clients wanted in a new home. Even though it is a foreclosure, this house is in remarkably good condition. Priced under value for the neighborhood, we are concerned that it might sell very fast since time is running out for the home buyer tax credit.

But we had one problem. There was another home that my clients wanted to see before making a decision. Since their schedule didn’t allow them to get to this other house for a few days, I went over to the house and videotaped it for them.

Based on a longer version of the video above, they decided that they didn’t need to see the house. Erin even commented that she felt like she was standing there with me as I walked through the home.

Today, we made an offer on the foreclosure.

There were already two offers on the house and we expect to hear from the bank tomorrow. Had we waited until tomorrow to go see the 2nd house, we would have lost the chance to bid on the one they really want!

Video Tip ~ Property Previews for Buyers is a post from: Arch City Homes

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Possibly Related Posts:

1. How Can Home Buyers Find Demographic Information for an Area?
2. Buyer Tips ~ Shop for Homes on Rainy Days
3. Missouri Property Tax Credit for Buyers
4. Smart Buyers know that Selecting a Home to Purchase Involves more than Simply Deciding which you Like Better

Living in a condo community means the condo board gets to make decisions that affect every owner.

Last week I learned that the condo board in a nice Kirkwood community has decided not to apply to have the community approved for FHA financing. They are probably holding onto the long ago idea that only the young or cash-strapped buyers need FHA financing.

This board, in trying to control who joins their community, has made a very foolish decision. Today, the fee structure of FHA loans often make them a better deal for even buyers who can put down a 5-15% down payment.

Just 3 years ago, only 2% of new loans were FHA loans. In 2009, FHA’s market share grew to 30% of loans for new purchases and 20% of refinancing loans.

Eliminating FHA buyers from your buyer pool might mean that 1 in 3 potential buyers can’t buy your home.

FHA Policy Changes Raises Fees to Buyers:

Buyers who are planning on getting an FHA loan have 1 week left to make a purchase before policy changes will affect their loan.

On April 6, FHA policy changes go into effect.

• Seller paid closing cost maximum is reduced from 6% of the sale price to 3% of the sale price
• Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) on loans with less than 20% down payments will increase from 1.75% of the sale price to 2.25% of the sale price
• Minimum down payment for buyers with lower credit scores will increase

In order to take advantage of the old rules, FHA loan case numbers need to be assigned to a transaction by April 5, 2010.

Since April 5 is a Monday, and it can take 1 business day to get a case number assigned, buyers should have an accepted contract submitted to their lender by Friday April 2 if they are using an FHA loan and want to avoid the new policy changes.

FHA Financing ~ Market Share Growth and Countdown to Stricter Rules and Higher Fees is a post from: Arch City Homes

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2. Mortgage Down Payment Minimums are Going Up
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4. Choose your Lender Wisely – Part 1

Missouri home buyers who purchase a home in 2010 can get $1,750 from the state of Missouri after closing in addition to the federal tax credit offered for eligible 1st time buyers and current homeowners.

MHDC’s HOPE Program:

The Missouri Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) is offering an incentive to help Missouri home buyers purchase a home this year.

How much money can buyers get?

Eligible home buyers can receive a check after closing equal to the amount of the 2009 property tax bill of the purchased property, up to a maximum of $1250.

In addition, an additional $500 is available for buyers who purchase a qualified new construction energy-efficient home or buy an existing home and then remodel or purchase items to make the home more energy-efficient.

If a buyer purchases a home with 2009 taxes which were less than $1250, then the buyer can receive a larger energy efficiency HOPE incentive so that the total of both incentives equals $1750.

Who is eligible for the HOPE program?

In order to qualify for the tax credit, buyers must:

• purchase a single family residence or a 2-4 family building (new construction, resale or mobile homes on a foundation)
• occupy the purchased property as a primary residence
• be at least 18 years old
• purchase the home from a non-relative
• the purchase contract must be dated on or after January 1, 2010
• meet income eligibility requirements (see chart below, targeted areas include areas in which 70% or more of the area’s families have an income that is 80% below the median state income)

*Gross Household Income is defined as the gross amount of a household’s income at the time they purchased the property before all deductions, except that which is specifically excluded by the Internal Revenue Code.

How do you get the energy efficiency HOPE incentive?

Buyers who are meet the eligibility above can also get reimbursed for energy efficient purchases they make, up to a maximum combined credit of $1750, if they:

• purchase either an energy efficient new home or purchase an existing home, and then remodel or purchase energy efficiency upgrades within 60 days following closing
• apply for the energy efficiency incentive no later than 90 days after closing
• submit required documentation including proof of date of purchase & receipts for the eligible items including receipts for any professional installation that was needed

Items which are eligible for the additional incentive money:

• energy efficient windows
• energy efficient doors
• house wraps
• programmable thermostat controls
• water efficient toilets and faucets
• energy efficient water heaters
• energy efficient lighting and appliances
• sealing heating and air conditioning ductwork
• professional caulking
• insulating water heater pipes
• increasing the R-value of insulation in crawl spaces and attics
• conducting on-site energy inspections and tests, including a blower door test, which tests the overall energy-efficiency of the house, and a duct blaster test, which tests how much the air ductwork leaks
• Energy Star Qualified appliances

What else do you need to know?

$15 million has been allocated to the MHDC Hope program. All eligible participants will receive funding until the money runs out. Applicants are paid in order of when the application is received by the HOPE program, so buyers should submit their application as soon as possible following closing.

The HOPE funds are provided to buyers in the form of an interest free loan which is forgiven if the buyer occupies the residence for at least one year following closing as a primary residence. If the buyer fails to occupy the home for a year, or does not continue to own the property for at least one year, the money will have to be paid back.

For additional information about the program and to see what documentation you need to submit with your application, see MHDC’s FAQ page.

Missouri Home Buyers ~ Get $1750 after Closing from the State of MO is a post from: Arch City Homes

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2. Housing Tax Credit for 1st Time Buyers & Current Homeowners
3. MHDC Program Gives Down Payment Money to Foreclosure Buyers
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The Basics:

Listing Price: $265,000 (base price) PLUS $3,000 buyer allowance credit & $5,000 agent bonus Price Reduced!!!

Address: 4109 Stafford Woods Ct, St. Charles, MO 63304 (see map)

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Property Type: Single family home

Floor plan style: Ranch, 1.5 or 2 story (listed price is for 2 story floor plan shown below)

Age: New construction “To Be Built”

Subdivision: Stafford Place Subdivision

School District: Francis Howell (more school info)

Schools: Castilio Elementary, Bryon Middle, Francis Howell High School

Garage: 2 car attached

Extras: Custom home by Hibbs Homes – use our floor plan, design your own or buy the lot & build yourself

Floor Plan:

Build the proposed home we have pictured here, customize the floor plan or call us to discuss your custom dream home.

The Full Scoop:

CUSTOM new construction home available by luxury builder Hibbs Homes at a great price.

This is your ONLY opportunity to build a CUSTOM new construction home by a luxury builder at a great price only minutes into St. Charles County!

Great location in popular Francis Howell schools with quick access the Page Extension & Hwy 40 bridges.

Wonderful level lot, backs to mature trees, one block from elementary school.

This is a true custom build – customize the floor plan advertised here or build something completely different. Ranch and 1 1/2 story floor plans available too.

Bonus features INCLUDED in the proposed 2 story floor plan - $3000 buyer appliance allowance, huge laundry room, walk-in kitchen pantry, some wood floors, double sinks in both full bathrooms, 1st floor 9′ ceilings, canned lights.

ENERGY STAR Rating upgrade package also available from this certified green builder. See video below to learn more about quality Hibbs Homes.

More information…

Interview with Kim Hibbs about Energy Star Homes:

Video shot using a Flip Video Camera

*** Note: At the reduced price, the Energy Star Rating package is an optional upgrade and not included in the base price.

Why Build with Hibbs Homes?

Like what you see? Email the property brochure flyer to a friend.

Schedule a Showing:

Contact us by email below or call Karen Goodman at 314-677-6538.

New Home for Sale ~ 4109 Stafford Woods Ct (St. Charles) is a post from: Arch City Homes

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