The Giftinator is the Gift Guide to Find the Best Tech Gift for Mom Don’t know what to give Mom for the Holidays?  Is she high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech? Here’s the perfect interactive guide that will lead you to the perfect gift for your Mom based on her skill level. Remember, if it wasn’t for her…

Save Time and Money with These 4 Top Shopping Apps If you’ve seen any of the  “Black Friday” videos of people trampling each other to save a couple of bucks … you know there’s got to be a better way to shop. As a public service, we’d like to share 4 great apps for shopping in St….

HUD  added a revision to its latest version of “Shopping for Your Home Loan – HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet.”  On page 6, it discusses the role of a real estate broker or agent and now includes a bolded reference to exclusive buyer’s agents.  Here’s what it says: IV. Shopping for a House Role of the Real Estate Agent or…

Why You Need a Property History Report The other day we got a call from a first time homebuyer interested in a home that just came on the market.  As Exclusive Buyer Agents who only work for buyers, we began our investigation. Was that home really “just on the market”, or perhaps something else ……

Parkway West High School Among the Nation’s Best Congratulations to Parkway West High School in St. Louis for being selected by Newsweek Magazine’s annual ranking of High Schools. There were only 13 high schools in Missouri selected for the list. Less than 6% of the country’s public high schools qualify for this prestigious group. Find…

Has a house gone up for sale in your neighborhood recently?  Wondering what the price is but you don’t want to appear nosey? Curious about what it looks like on the inside  but you don’t want to disturb the owners? Or maybe you don’t want anyone to know you’re even looking! How about when you’re…

St. Louis Crime Mapping and Statistics-Location and Types of Crime (Please click the lower right hand corner of the video for full screen viewing) The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has been upgrading their web site and have made real improvements with their crime mapping feature. In St. Louis Real Estate the keyword is: Location,…

Using Lifestyle Preferences In Your St. Louis Home Search Every so often innovation bursts upon the scene and changes the way we do things. Lifestyle Searching is about to do that for St. Louis home buyers. For the last couple of months we have had the privilege of testing this intuitive real estate search engine…

Tips for Home Buyers-Finding the Right Schools in St. Louis How do you find the right school for your child? When it comes time to buy a home, your decision will probably be based on dozens of criteria. If you are like many of the home buyers that we have assisted over the years, good schools will…

Which parts of the St. Louis Real Estate Market Have Hit a Low Price Point? Two questions we are always asked:  1. “How’s the Market?” 2. “Have We Reached the Bottom?”  No easy answer for those questions these days.  Neighborhoods and towns are sort of like Mutual funds … some outperform others! You need to look at the…

Tricks Realtors Use to Get You to Visit Their Listings Getting ready for work this morning we overheard this playing on the Today Show. Having worked exclusively with many home buyers throughout the years and literally seeing hundreds of homes with them, we could relate. Sorry for the commercial you have to sit through first…

St Louis Homes for Sale with a Swimming Pool As temperatures rise, St. Louis home buyers wonder if their next home should have a pool. Here’s a quick and easy way to view St. Louis homes for sale with an inground pool. Have fun looking … and don’t forget your sun screen! St. Louis County Homes for Sale…

Monthly Survey Reports Opinions on Home Ownership, Renting, and Household Finances Fannie Mae has a new monthly consumer attitude report offering a peek into the sentiments of Americans across the country. What are people feeling about owning a home, whether it’s a good time to buy or sell, and people’s outlook on home prices and…

Why You Should Order a Survey I love you neighbor … but is your fence on my property?  When buying real estate what you see is not always what you are buying.  Recently, one of our home buyers asked us “Should We Order a Survey?”  We discussed why it is wise to have a survey,the…

Chesterfield Eberwein Dog Park Opening Schedule Chesterfield will introduce it’s newest park, the Eberwein Dog Park located at 1627 Old Baxter Road, right behind Dierbergs,  on September 1st & 2nd. Last year the city purchased the 18.5 acre setting which will feature a fenced-in, key-pad locked dog run.  There is a separate area for small…

Ballwin Missouri Ranks #80 in Money’s Top 100 Places to Live 2011 Edition Ballwin once again places in the “100 Top Places to Live” list that was just published by Money Magazine.  Ballwin won this prestigious title back in 2005 and the community continues to deliver the qualities of life that most of us desire…

First-Time Home Buyer Grants Up to $5000 for Down Payment for  Active and Veteran Military Members Do you know someone who has served their country in our military?  There is a new grant being offered for up to $5000 which can be applied to a mortgage at any financial institutions made possible through the Dream Makers…

Parkway School District Gets a Perfect Score On Its Annual Performance Report The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education scores school districts on a performance standard each year.  The report is based upon several measures of achievement such as ACT exam scores, MAP scores and the percentage of students who graduate and continue on…

St. Louis Cardinals’ Rally Squirrel Relocates to Ballwin Missouri After a nation-wide flirtation with fame,the St. Louis Cardinals’ Rally Squirrel has taken up residence in the Ballwin area. According to sources, the instant notoriety was too much for the little critter to handle. Speculation Abounds Regarding His Exact Whereabouts in Ballwin It was reported that he…

St. Louis-Soulard Restaurants with Free Shuttle Service to Busch Stadium Rumor has it Rally Squirrel has been spotted in the Soulard Market area taking advantage of free shuttle services from  popular restaurants. Why hassle with all of the parking and traffic, when you can grab a bite to eat before the game and get free…

Warner’s Warm-Up Annual Coat Drive November 1-14th Winter Coat Collection Helps Needy Do you have an extra winter coat or jacket hanging around in your closet you no longer wear?  The Kurt Warner annual Warm-Up winter coat collection has started and runs through November 14th. Over 100,000 people have received clothing to help them through the…