I saw this video on Yahoo and bookmarked it for Mother's Day. You must watch this video if you are a mom, have a mom, know a mom or have heard of moms. Listen carefully and turn up the volume. I don't know who she is but she certainly gets everything in her song in less than 3 minutes. I enjoyed this so much I wanted to share this with everyone.  This one is a winner!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/223/popup/index.php?cl=4274384


Happy Mother's Day to all!

Yesterday, we had past clients and neighbors over to visit with the Easter Bunny and hunt for Easter eggs.  There were plenty of eggs, activities, fun and treats for all - even the parents.  The Bunny entertained everyone and helped the kids find eggs.  The Bunny also showed off some unexpected prowess on the basketball court!  After the egg hunt, kids created sidewalk art on our driveway and cooled off with juice boxes and snacked on cookies.  A lot of fun was had by all.  It turned out to be a great way to connect to neighbors and reconnect with past clients.  We certainly plan another hunt next year!

It was a beautiful day for an Easter egg hunt.  Happy Easter to all!

I know that our blog is about St. Louis and real estate but couldn't resist sharing photos from our recent trip to Ft Myers and Sanibel Island Florida.  We have a second home there and my dad lives there.  We try to visit as often as we can which turns out to be four or five times per year.  What a hardship to have to visit such a beautiful place!  You do what you have to do :) 

I recently received the newest issue of the Chesterfield Citizen and was reviewing all of the activities that the city of Chesterfield has planned for the summer.  Wow! 

The activities include National Trails Day, the summer concert series, a 4^th of July fireworks celebration, and free movies on the Plaza.  The Family Aquatic Center has tons of activities of it's own including swim team, swim lessons, river walk club, pool parties and a K-9 Splash for the canine friends.  There are youth sports organizations for baseball, softball, soccer and football, adult softball leagues and track and field events.  Chesterfield Arts offers a full calendar of events including dance and art.  There are also parks that are scattered around the city many of which have play equipment for kids.  Overall, this city is maturing and growing by leaps and bounds.  The quality of the programs is outstanding.  Chesterfield residents should be proud of their city and take advantage of all that it has to offer!  For more information and details, check out http://www.chesterfield.mo.us/site/includes/main/citizen.jsp

We wanted to spread the word that Craig's List provides a new avenue for identity theft.  This is definitely worth reading!

Late last night, we returned from a trip out of town for spring break.  Actually, we went to Florida to visit my dad but got caught up in all the spring break madness at the airport, restaurants, the beach... everywhere!!  Anyway, our routine flight back to St. Louis was delayed 2 hours due to mechanical difficulty in St. Louis where the plane originated.  The only good thing about the delay was being able to get caught up on two contracts that we were working and getting to answer about 40 emails and voicemails.  Getting away for a week is wonderful which we all need for our sanity!  The problem is that when you get home, especially at this time of the year, tons of work is waiting.  The clients willing to wait until you get home to list are ready THIS MORNING.  The suitcases aren't even unpacked yet but off to the office we go.  Luckily, our office is in our home, but nevertheless, it is time to crank up the computers and get to work.  Thank goodness there are clients ready to list this morning!!

Winter has been harsh in Chesterfield this year. We are so happy to see warmer temperatures with the upcoming onset of spring. Everyone loves St. Louis in spring because we have such delineated seasons with spring being one of the most beautiful (every city says that don't they??) Already, the tree leaves are budding and a haze of green in forming in the woods alongside of roads in the area. Yesterday, the temperature was in the 60's - you gotta love that! We took the dogs out and they couldn't walk far enough. Welcome spring! We are ready!!! Gotta love those pansies...

I am so touched by some of the stories that NBC's Nightly News is presenting on it's evening newscasts.  They are focusing on those of us who are "Making a Difference" in the lives of others during these rough economic times.  This link leads to a video that describes what a local car dealer did to make a difference in St. Louis.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29744260#29744260  I would love to hear stories from everyone about people who are making a difference in your community.  Please share yours!

In doing some research, I identified data that shows foreclosure rates for each zip code in the Chesterfield, MO area.  Chesterfield has 2 different zip codes so the information is separate for each zip code. 

 For 63005:

The population is 18, 293.

The number of households is 6110

The median income is $172,424

The average home value is $559,626. 

Foreclosure rates have been on the increase.  In 2005, there was less than 1 foreclosure per 1000 households-only 4 for the whole year.  In 2006, there were 9 for the year. In 2007 there were 20 foreclosures.  In 2008, through the third quarter, there were 43.

 For 63017:

The population is 45,252.

The number of households is 16,572

The median income is $105,916

The average home value is $362,348. 

Foreclosure rates have been on the increase.  In 2005, there was less than 1 foreclosure per 1000 households-only 6 for the whole year.  In 2006, there were 28 for the year. In 2007 there were 35 foreclosures.  In 2008, through the third quarter, there were 58.

We are still not out of the woods yet.  Many of those who have been able to hold on to their homes have taken a hit financially in other arenas while continuing to try to pay the mortgage.  Some of these families will declare bankruptcy from this financial stress.  That may lead to more foreclosures.  The other factor continuing to haunt the economy is the number of subprime adjustable rate mortgages that are still due to reset in the year 2009.  Job losses across many segments of the economy continue to contribute to the problem.  Where will it all end???

Today is the first day that the St. Louis County assessor's office is taking calls to set up informal conferences about the property reassessment process.  Homeowners interested in challenging the assessed value of their property should call 314-615-4981 to request a conference time.  We did that today and talked with a very nice gentleman who identified himself as a licensed appraiser who has enough time in this market to help the county with the reassessment.  He took all of our information and then asked why we thought that our home value should be reassessed.  I told him that we had just purchased our current home in October of 2008 so we had a purchase contract to use as evidence of the need for a reevaluation of our assessed value.  He concurred and said that we would be contacted with an ASAP conference hearing date. 

 For homeowners interested in pursuing an appeal, the following link provides access to a homeowner's individual property record.  Link to St. Louis Co Dept of Revenue.  There are also additional helpful links about the property tax appeals process.    The following link is a brochure about the process also.  Appeals process brochure. 

 We will keep you posted about our experience in trying to appeal our property's assessed value.  Share your story if you are taking on the county as well!