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 driving around an interesting neighborhood and you wonder if there are any homes for sale.  You really don’t want to call a real estate agent because you’re not ready yet. Your spouse is getting bored (and cranky) while you  continue to drive from neighborhood to neighborhood checking out St. Louis real estate.

For crying out loud, you just want to check out some St. Louis homes for sale  without everyone knowing your business!

Here’s what you can do in less than a minute …

St. Louis Mobile Real Estate Application

Use Your Phone … to Find Your St. Louis Home!

Finding Homes for You was the first company to introduce “Smarter Agent” to the St. Louis area. It’s like having a real estate agent in your pocket.  All of the listings from the MLS are now delivered to your phone instantly!

It works like this:

Find: Locate St. Louis listings by GPS (your current location), address, city or zip code.  So, you pull up in front of a home that’s for sale and you get the info not only on that house, but in addition, all of the homes nearby will pop up for you to view.

Refine: Select price range and property type to find what you’re looking for.

View: See price, square footage, estimated mortgage, descriptions, pictures, interactive maps and more.

Connect: You can get more answers using the “Call to See” feature.

Price: FREE

Privacy: You can use the app with no obligations.  In fact we do not have access to your mobile phone number.  You don’t have to register or sign in and you will have complete anonymity.

We don’t call you, you call us if you want more information.

So Curious George, you can get the app right now sent to your phone!

Special Provisions Allow Military Home Buyers to Capture Tax Credits

Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit and Excemption from Tax Credit Recapture Rules Ease the Home Buying Purchase for Members of the Military

Military families seeking to buy a home can count on a little tax help.  The Homebuyers Tax Credit which provided eligible buyers with a tax credit fo up to  $8000 for first time buyers and  $6500 for repeat home buyers ended on April 30, 2010 for civilians.

However, active duty military or those on extended overseas duty now have until on or before April 30, 2011 to take advantage of this great benefit!  Get the details here …

“We honor those who serve our country and are glad that this bill acknowledges the unique circumstances they face,” said Benjamin Clark, 2010 President of NAEBA (http://www.naeba.org). “This bill ensures that members of the military have equal opportunity to participate in the homebuyer tax credit and offers relief to struggling military families by making the mortgage payment tax deductible.”

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 provides a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence and a tax credit of up to $6500 for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The tax credit is available for eligible purchasers who have a binding sales contract in place by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010. However, realizing that members of the military, the Foreign Service and Intelligence Community have unique circumstances the bill has special provisions for this group:

Tax credit extended for one year for military personnel serving outside the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning December 31, 2008 and ending May 1, 2010.
Eliminates the 36-month recapture requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign Service and intelligence community, forced to sell or move from a tax credit home as aresult of an official extended duty of service.
Visit www.irs.gov for more information on qualifying and claiming the tax credit. To learn more about NAEBA and the benefits of using an exclusive buyer agent, visit http://www.naeba.org.

Are you in the military?  Do you know of a military family who could benefit from this tax break?  Contact Finding Homes for You at 636-386-0659 for more information and immediate access to all St. Louis Homes for Sale.

Finding Homes for You is a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

St. Louis Crime Statistics

St. Louis gets a lot of bad press regarding our crime problems.  You can seperate fact from fiction by using this great feature offered by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department called “Safe City”.  This video shows how to use their site to find out by neighborhood, zip code, or street name where crimes take place.
http://safecity.slmpd.org/MapMain.htm

If you have been looking at homes in the city and have not been directed to this resource yet  … you might want to think about contacting an Exclusive Buyers Agent who only works for the Buyer and never for the Seller.
We’ve got your back!

Lafayette and Rockwood High Schools Ranked “Silver” by U.S. News and World Report

Good news for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County. For the third  consecutive year U.S. News and World Report has come out with its annual report on the top schools in the nation and Rockwood schools are looking great.

Even if you do not have children, this is good news for this area of the St. Louis Real Estate market and for homeowners and possible resale value. Find out how the Rockwood Schools (elementary included) performed in a recent report by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education … and view available homes in this area.

U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Marquette High School and Lafayette High School as a “Silver Medal” School.  This ranking is very prestigious as it is a national ranking.

In addition, The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has released its list of the highest performing schools in the state, and Rockwood schools are at the top of the list.

Rockwood ranks first among the state’s 524 public school districts in terms of number of schools listed on the Top 10 Highest Performing Schools based on students’ scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), according to results the state education department recently released.

Rockwood finished with 49 placements in the elite Top 10 category. Top 10 Rockwood achievers included:

Elementary Communication Arts – third grade: Blevins, Ellisville, Fairway, Kehrs Mill, Ridge Meadows and Woerther.
Elementary Mathematics – third grade: Bowles, Kehrs Mill, Ridge Meadows, Wild Horse and Woerther.
Elementary Communication Arts – fourth grade: Chesterfield, Fairway, Kehrs Mill, Ridge Meadows, Uthoff Valley and Woerther.
Elementary Communication Arts – fifth grade: Ellisville, Geggie, Kehrs Mill, Pond and Wild Horse.
Elementary Mathematics – fifth grade: Chesterfield, Pond and Wild Horse.
Elementary Science – fifth grade: Babler, Chesterfield, Fairway, Kehrs Mill, Pond, Wild Horse and Woerther.
Elementary Communication Arts – sixth grade: Crestview and Wildwood.
Middle School Communication Arts – seventh grade: Crestview, LaSalle Springs, Rockwood Valley and Wildwood.
Middle School Communication Arts – eighth grade: Rockwood Valley and Wildwood.
Middle School Mathematics – eighth grade: Rockwood Valley.
Middle School Science – eighth grade: Rockwood Valley.
High School Mathematics – 10th grade: Eureka and Lafayette.
High School Communication Arts – 11th grade: Eureka, Lafayette and Marquette.
High School Science – 11th grade: Lafayette and Marquette.

Pretty impressive!  If you would like to see available St. Louis Real estate in this higly rated district, follow the links below.  Finding Homes for You is an St. Louis Exclusive Buyer Agent Company working  for you the Buyer only. Contact us at 636-386-0659 for more information.

Homes for Sale In Lafayette High School Area $150-$250K

$250-$300K

$300-$400K

$400K-Up

Homes for Sale in the Marquette High School Area $150-$250K

$250-$300K

$300-$400K

$400K-Up

If you currently live in this area please leave us a comment and let us know how you like your school and the impact it has had on your child. Thanks!

Great Christmas light displays submitted by St. Louis Post Dispatch readers. The recommended locations are displayed on an interactive map of St. Louis.
Drop by and see them if you are in the neighborhood!

Get the full map with exact locations

Have you seen any displays you would like to share?  Please leave us a comment!

 We know that it isn’t real estate related but … it sure is interesting!

Click here for the winners!

 Did You Know that Finding Homes for You Has a You Tube Channel?

Posted via email from St. Louis Real Estate News Blog

On November 6, 2009 President Obama signed into law new legislation that extends the first-time home buyer tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline and expands it to a wider group of home buyers. This video explains the facts and answers many home buyer questions regarding the tax credit. You can also get even more information by visiting www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

Posted via email from St. Louis Real Estate News Blog

Here is the theory: the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do.

After the Thanksgiving Holidays we could use more of these stairs!

Posted via email from St. Louis Real Estate News Blog

It’s amazing to think that there’s an app devoted to a specific shopping day — November 27, the Friday after Thanksgiving. In fact, there are a number of them. TGI Black Friday is a free app that gives you access to over 8,000 Black Friday deals from all the major retailers — before they come out in newspapers. You can browse the deals, search for specific items, create a shopping list within the app of those that you want to focus on, compare prices to confirm you’re getting the best deals, and more. You can view deals by store or category, and also view the most popular deals. The app is powered by TGIblackfriday.com and DealCatcher.com.

TGI Black Friday — free app helps you find the best deals. Happy Shopping!

Get the application here

Posted via email from St. Louis Real Estate News Blog

http://www.blackfriday.fm/2009.html

That iconic, special shopping day is coming soon. Here is a great buying guide with links to coupons, store locator and store hours to help you navigate on Black Friday. Happy shopping!

Posted via email from St. Louis Real Estate News Blog