St. Louis MO Real Estate

These days, most of the listed homes for sale in St. Louis, Webster Groves, or Kirkwood are all about building a family future. Savvy buyers know that the market is theirs, and they can bargain for things like better school districts, home improvements, and other amenities that make owning real estate in Missouri great. However, when the St. Louis real estate market boasts more homes than there are buyers, there’s another advantage: homes for investment opportunities are cheaper and have greater potential than ever before.

First-Time Homebuyers in St. Louis, Webster Groves, Kirkwood: If you’re in the market for the first time, buying a home as an investment is a wonderful opportunity. Not only are there federal funding options available for first-time buyers, but the low average cost of homes right now means that you can get more Missouri home for your dollar. This is especially true if you’re looking for a home to live in for a few years. By buying a house now, you can have a place to call home and the potential to sell it for profit five, ten, or even twenty years from now.

St. Louis Home Flipping: “Flipping” a home, or buying a house and fixing it up to increase the resale value, has been made popular by television shows and success stories that boast of tens of thousands of dollars virtually overnight. However, the process of fixing up a house is a much larger task than it at first appears. If you plan to flip a house as a way to earn a living, make sure you know exactly what the construction projects will entail and how you will finance your way through the process for the entire time it might take to resell your investment home.

When Buying MO Real Estate, Timing is Everything: As a financial decision, buying real estate is often best taken advantage of as a long-term investment. After all, it can be difficult even for professionals to predict the St. Louis real estate market. That’s why one of the best ways to turn a profit on a Missouri home is to plan on living in the home or renting it out for upwards of 10 years at a time. It’s one of the best ways to guarantee an increase in your investment, and to enjoy yourself – and your family – while doing it.

The most important thing to remember before delving into MO real estate as a way to make money is that there is no quick and easy road to riches. The recent housing bubble burst is perfect evidence of this, and many people learned the hard way that buying a home as an investment, like any financial decision, takes time, planning, and a little homework.

When you first purchase a house in St. Louis, Webster Groves or Kirkwood, you’re most likely thinking of ways to build a home for you and your family. A big yard means plenty of room for the children to play. A newly renovated kitchen means you can finally throw the types of dinner parties you’ve always wanted. A master suite, well, that’s just icing on the cake. However, when it comes to sell your Missouri home, it’s important to remember that all those little (and big) changes can also mean big little (and big) changes in your sale price.

While most homeowners should make changes to their houses that suit their lifestyle rather than the eventual sale price of their home five, ten, or even twenty years down the road, there are a few things to keep in mind. After all, if you will someday be selling your St. Louis house, you want to be sure you’re maximizing your profit.

• Repair all the little things – now. Most of the time, homeowners are willing to overlook the little idiosyncrasies like a broken step on the porch or chipping paint on the kitchen cabinets while they live in their house. These small repair needs are a bit like a knee that acts up in the rain or a car that always requires you to turn the key three times to the right before starting; they just become part of the everyday backdrop of your life. However, for someone buying a home in St. Louis, Webster Groves or considering real estate in Kirkwood, these things can become glaring problems. By fixing issues as they arise (rather than waiting until you’re ready to sell your MO home), you not only avoid making major repairs all at once, but you actually get to enjoy the repairs while you live there.
• Know your neighborhood. If you live in one of St. Louis’s family-friendly neighborhoods, chances are things like well-maintained yards, large family rooms, and spacious kitchens will be worth more in the long run. If you live in a Webster Groves condo, you might find that built-in bookshelves and jacuzzi bathtubs are more appropriate. While you don’t have to tailor every change to your eventual sales audience, you can choose to make the types of changes that will translate into the highest returns.
• Don’t ignore the less visible changes. Almost all of the houses for sale in St. Louis go through cosmetic changes before they hit the market. Fresh paint, new kitchen appliances, and good landscaping are fairly common. Less common are things like a new roof, updated plumbing, or even a newly-installed automatic sprinkler system. However, these things show up in a home inspection evaluation, and when you put your trust in a MO real estate agent like Sandie Hea, these types of changes will always get the focus and attention they deserve.

The most important thing you can do to your St. Louis home is enjoy the time you’re going to spend there. However, by keeping its eventual sale at the back of your mind, you’ll be able to get the most out of your life – and your investment.

Most real estate agents will tell you that the best time to sell a home in the St. Louis, Webster Groves, Kirkwood Missouri areas is during the late spring and early summer months. When the weather turns warm, the vibrant growing season commences, and children can be seen playing happily in the yard, potential homebuyers really begin to connect with a house – even before they set foot across the threshold.

In real estate lingo, this is known as curb appeal.

Most potential homebuyers make a decision about a house within the first 30 seconds. For example, simply driving by a well-kept single family home for sale in the St. Louis, Webster Groves, Kirkwood Missouri areas is often enough to cause people to pull over and make an immediate call to their realtor. That’s because an inviting exterior promises an inviting interior.

To get the kind of curb appeal that really gets noticed, you have to be able to detach yourself from your home. You may have lived there for months or years, and have probably learned to overlook the overgrown shrubbery next to the sidewalk or the mailbox in need of repair. However, these are the first things potential homebuyers will see. You have to view your home as objectively as possible in order to begin making the necessary repairs to get noticed.

Look out for:

• Visible mold or mildew on the house, roof, or sidewalks
• Outdated exteriors
• Yard clutter
• Dirty gutters, siding, or windows
• Chipped paint
• How your home appears at dusk or even at night
• Overgrowth in the yard or on the sidewalks
• Dead plants or leaf piles
• Overly personalized doormats

Of course, if you’re really motivated to sell your home in the St. Louis, Webster Groves, Kirkwood Missouri areas, you may also want to consider upgrading your landscaping. Like staging your home or making repairs, restorative landscaping can give your house just enough polish to entice a higher level of buyers. In fact, in a recent study, it was determined that good landscaping can actually add 6 to 11 percent to your home’s sale price.

We all know that selling a home can be hard work. Increase your chances of success by making sure your potential buyers are impressed before they even get out of the car.

Yesterday marked another gorgeous day in St. Louis, Missouri and the annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race featuring 45 balloonists in shapes as varied as The Energizer Bunny at 16 stories tall, Wherenberg Theatre’s box of popcorn, and of course the RE/MAX balloon piloted by our own Steve Mroz.  Sandie Hea, of RE/MAX Results and husband/partner Paul Richard, also of RE/MAX Results, were two of about 50,000 people who crowded around the balloon launching field.  We think every other couple had a stroller and a toddler with them!  Walgreens was set up to give free Health Care Screenings for cholesterol, bone density, body mass, glucose and heart, so Paul and I took advantage of that and “passed” with flying colors.  Many people did as we did and rode their bicycle into the park rather than fight the mile long traffic jams that accompany these events. 

Annual ART in the PARK  St. Louis Hills

Sunday September 28, 2008 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.  

Francis Park (bordered by Nottingham, Tamm, Donovan and Eichelberger 63109)

Come see more than 50 local artisans display woodworking, metal work, jewelry, handbags, watercolor and more in this family-friendly community of St. Louis Hills.  Live music all day, plus a variety of delicious food from 5 of our local restaurants like The Pitted Olive and LeGrand’s catering.

Francis Park is one square mile and the center of this 2000 home community with tennis courts, lily ponds, gardens, ball fields, playgrounds and free summer concerts.  Home prices range from $150,000 to over $1,000,000. 

Stop by our booth and say Hi to Sandie Hea and Paul Richard, Top Agents with RE/MAX Results, with offices in St. Louis Hills, Brentwood and South County.  Chat with us about the local real estate market and take home a thank you gift!