St Louis - A Great Place to Live • 05/06/2022

The St Louis Zoo

by Dale Weir

The St Louis Zoo – What a GREAT place for the whole family. It doesn’t matter what age you are, the zoo is fun. When I was a young girl, I remember taking a class at the zoo with my mother one summer on birds. I went to the zoo every day for a week with my mother to go to “our” special class. I recently went with a group of adult friends – we petted and fed the stingrays, visited the penguins and bears and had fun. We also joked about the zoo having the neatest fun socks in town (if you haven’t checked them out, do). When family come to town, its the fist place we head to, regardless of the season.

Some “must do’s at the Zoo include – riding the train – can’t say no to that. And of course you must stop by and see Phil the Gorilla, and the World’s Fair Bird House, but then everything is special and a must see and do at the St Louis Zoo. Admission to the St Louis Zoo is free – only a few attractions and exhibits such as the children’s zoo, the train and the special exhibits have a small charge and if you are going to be there all day and do everything, I’d suggest that you buy a Safari Pass for the day and if you plan to come a lot, consider joining the Zoo

While the Zoo is open year round (it only closes on New Years Day and on Christmas), in the summer, the zoo stays open later and has some really special events that beckon the adults to linger and have some more adult fun. That is especially true with their concert series which they call Jungle Boogie Nights. Where the Hippos Hop and the Lions Roar and The Bears Dance – Held on Friday nights from 5pm-8pm During the summer minths, the concerts are free and a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening. Another treat is the Zoo’s Annual Valentine’s Day Dinner. A fabulous gourmet meal and a great time after the zoo closes for the evening.

Cities in the Metro Area • 05/06/2022

What Makes Chesterfield, MO, special?

by Dale Weir

OK, so you are searching for a home and you are looking in the greater St Louis area and trying to make sense of where the different communities are located and what they are like and your friends keep saying, “Check out Chesterfield.” “You’ve got to see Chesterfield.” So what is the buzz about Chesterfield really about?

Chesterfield is located in West County, officially 22 miles from downtown St Louis. It was incorported in 1988 and covers about 32 square miles. The population of Chesterfield is just under 50,000 people. The median household income is $83,802.00 and the median home value is $238,300 (this is based on the 2000 US Census Data report and the numbers have increased since then). The school district’s servicing Chesterfield are Parkway and Rockwood, both of which typically receive very high ratings from the Missouri State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Over 80% of the adult population has some college education and 61% has at least a bachelor’s degree.

It is so easy to get to anywhere in St Louis from Chesterfield. The area was largely rural until the 1960’s when both housing and commercial development started to expand into the area from St Louis. It was when Highway 270 (the outer belt around St Louis) was built and more families started having cars instead of being tied to public transportation that the area really started to grow. US Highway 40/Interstate Highway 64, runs through the middle of Chesterfield, allowing commuters quick and easy access to get to any where in the greater St Louis are

Chesterfield was one of the earliest settled areas in West County, though the city was originally started as 6 different towns or communities, each with it’s own post office (you weren’t anybody unless you had a post office). The area originally known as Hilltown dates to 1837. It became Bellemonte (French for “Beautiful Mountain” in 1851, then Bellefontaine (French for Beautiful Spring) in 1869. This area is essentially at the intersection of Olive and Chesterfield Parkway now. To give you an idea of the age of the area, the Antioch Baptist Church was founded in 1841.

In 1850 the area known as “Hog Hollow” was initially started with a Post Office being established in the community in 1871. In 1872, the name was officially changed to “Lake”, however the locals continued to refer to it as “Hog Hollow”. This area can be found today at the intersection of Hog Hollow Road and Olive. (In the late 60’s, early 70’s this was a favorite area for local teenagers to hang out and drag race as it was fairly rural at that time and Hog Hollow Road led down to the farm fields and water treatment plants, so it wasn’t highly traveled (especially by parents or other adul

Part of Chesterfield was originally known as Gumbo and today is more noted for the old jail facility, then for the original Road House that was at the 25 mile marker from St Louis. The area got its name because when there were heavy rains the very rich soil would have a thick consistency, similar to a Louisiana Gumbo stew. During the 1904 World’s Fair, the walkways and streets at the fair were made from a gravel that came from the Gumbo area. This area still has many farms, and the Spirit of St Louis Airport but most locals recognize the Chesterfield Valley area at the intersection of Chesterfield Airport Road and Long Road, right off of US Highway 40/Interstate Highway 64 as an area full of high density box stores and restaurants (every time I drive that way there are more stores and restaurants to explore and spend my money at). But if someone asks you about “Gumbo” they are most likely referring to the old Jail.

Areas that no longer exist include the area known as Atherton which was settled along the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Rail Road Lines in the 1870’s. Later the name was changed to Eatherton, then to Monach. This area is at Eatherton and Centaur Roads. The area known as Bonhomme (French for “Good Man”) was a small community at the Western end of Olive, close to the Howell’s Ferry Landing, which was washed away in a flood in the late 1800’s. The name Bonhomme is frequently used in St Louis, but nothing remains of the original community.

Chesterfield was started in 1797 by 3 families who had settled on land they received in Spanish Land Grants. In 1815 a Col Justus Post came to the area from Vermont and in 1817 bought 400 acres from the original families for $1.25 an acre and named the community Chesterfield. Eventually, he acquired 21,204 acres of land in the area. He laid out the original community of Chesterfield which straddled Wild Horse Creek Road between Baxter and Wilson Roads and the initial roads in the area. The town plat that he built was recorded in 1838. Burkhardt’s Subdivision was started in 1877 (after the railroad opened up the area), where Olive crossed the railroad lines. The City of Chesterfield later officially relocated to this area, in order to be closer to the Railroad Depot.

But that probably isn’t what you really want to know. What you want to know is that Chesterfield is considered “upscale” and a prime location to live in. This makes the land in Chesterfield among the most valuable in the St Louis area, resulting in higher prices, but also greater amenities. Typical single home prices start in the $300,000 range and go up over a million, condo’s start slightly lower, but go just as high (that’s not to say that there aren’t less expensive homes, but the typical home is over $300,000). The area has excellent public and private schools. Chesterfield is a very sound area and is an excellent area to live in.

Chesterfield is a WONDERFUL, family oriented environment. It has great parks, family events and more. One highlight in the area is Faust Park with it’s 200 acres. This St Louis County Park features the historic home of one of Missouri’s first governors. It also has a historic village located in the park, where the community has gradually moved log cabins and other historic homes and businesses. During the summer re-enactments are held on the weekends where you can walk through as see a blacksmith at work, or talk to someone going about the daily life of a century ago. The Park also features a working historic carousel that you can ride and the Butterfly House. During the summer the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce sponsors concerts in the park on Tuesday nights. Families come out and sit on blankets on the grass (or bring their lawn chairs), children run and play, wonderful music is played and for those who are willing, a dance floor is set up.

The area also has lots of shopping opportunities at Chesterfield Mall (located at 270 and the Clarkson/Olive exchange) and at numerous strip malls and mega strip malls throughout the city. 2 outlet malls are also located in the Chesterfield Valley area. Fine Dining to fast food is readily available in the area. The local standard is that you can drive down Olive Blvd and find whatever services you need without ever leaving the Chesterfield area (including my office which is located at 141 and Olive).

If you need medical care, St Luke’s Hospital is located within the city’s boundaries, but you are only a few miles away from other major hospitals in the metro area.

Chesterfield is home to the Spirit of St Louis Airport, which is located in the Chesterfield Valley area. This small, personable airport is used by private planes, small transportation companies and company jets, relieving the burden on the main St Louis International/Lambert Field Airport. The Spirit of St Louis Airport is the host to an annual St Louis County Air Show and Fair on the Labor Day weekend every year. This event serves as the “county fair” for the area. The proceeds from the fair benefit Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

My office is in Chesterfield, at 141 and Olive, just minutes from 40/64 and 141 and from 40/64 and Olive or from 270 and Olive, so if you are out and about in Chesterfield, stop in and say “Hi” now that you know what all the buzz about Chesterfield is all about.

Tips from Dale • 05/06/2022

What did you do for someone today?

by Dale Weir

Did you do something for someone today?

What did you do FOR someone? Did you help a little old lady across the street? Did you brighten someone’s day with a kind word? Did you volunteer at your place of worship, the local school, nursing home or community center? What did you do? Did you feed the birds or take things to a recycle location? Did you mentor someone? Did you just brighten the day of someone who was down and depressed?

If snowstorms are passing through, did you help shovel the driveway or sidewalk for an elderly neighbor or someone with health issues? If the grass is growing, did you mow the yard for someone who couldn’t mow their own? Did you volunteer to pick up something at the store for a friend or neighbor who can’t easily get out? Or perhaps put someone’s newspaper on their doorstep so they didn’t have to hobble to their mailbox? What did you do today?

If at the end of every day we have to account for just one thing that we have done to make life better for just one person other than ourselves, can we? If not, maybe we should reevaluate what we are doing. The world is a large and wonderful place and it really doesn’t take much to brighten one person’s day – sometimes we can do it simply by letting them ease into traffic at a congested corner. Sometimes it’s by a simple compliment or making them feel wanted rather than an outsider. Sometimes it’s by helping someone to carry a heavy item or get a chore done faster by helping out. Look around for opportunities to help others and surprise yourself at how much your own life will improve in the process.

Tips from Dale • 05/06/2022

A Realtor’s Day

by Dale Weir

Today, my son, who lives a continent away is coming to town. I haven’t seen him in person for several years because he has lived so far away. Now, if life acts like it normally does in the real estate world, the day will be quiet and no one will call me until he arrives, then I will get multiple calls from clients and potential clients, each thinking that they have a situation that has to be dealt with right then. Each will want my undivided attention. Then I will have to calm them over the phone and by email and assure them that everything will be OK and I will get it taken care of (just not right now). In the process, I may lose a potential client who insists that today is the only day that I can take care of them and I have to do it in person and they live an hour away (in which case they really need a newbie agent who has no other clients since an experienced agent will almost always have other clients that they are dealing with at the same time).

A realtor’s day is like a juggler – we have all these balls in the air that we are keeping up – the sellers who are out of the area and need their homes taken care of – the potential sellers who need comps and a listing presentation prepped and presented (a good 8 hours to prepare some of those when we do it right and sometimes they give us 1/2 an hour (and that includes driving time) when they call and say can you come talk to me now, we have everyone together now, and we won’t later on – the contract we’re negotiating for a client – the building inspection that has to be done at noon – the gas company needs to be let into a home and they won’t give you a time so you have to sit and wait for them – a contractor to fix something – working through a municipal predication – helping a buyer to get financing – the other agent needs a form and it’s at the office and you are at home – can I help you fight your tax assessment, of course I can – you’d like to set a time to look at 12 homes and you’re sending me the addresses and you’d like to see them this afternoon (and it’s Saturday morning and the offices are closed to schedule part of the homes they’d like to see) – sending feedback for the homes you’ve shown – getting feedback from the agents who have shown your listings and then sending it on to your sellers – letting your buyers and sellers know what’s going on in the market – Sending out marketing materials to your farm areas – choosing marketing materials – better prep for Sunday’s Open House – what about those continuing education requirements, better get those done early – what relocation department has a new client for you, coming from Bolivia and they need you to call them (on their time zone) and set up emails and have things set for when they arrive in town and, oh by the way, they are arriving in 2 days – Don’t forget you have 8 active listings and 10 buyers that you are handling this week alone and you don’t have an assistant, it’s just you so when the contract is written and negotiated, it’s you doing the paperwork and sending it along to the title company, the mortgage company and the main office! We get up in the morning with a phone call, spend our days juggling 2 phones and the keyboard and go to bed at night (actually in the early hours of the morning) having taken care of other people all day long and sometimes never gotten around to taking care of ourselves.

And through it all, we keep smiling, do our best to keep everything in perspective and help everyone find the best solution to their issue.

Seller Tips • 05/06/2022

Initial Step for Getting a Home Ready for Market

by Dale Weir

Are you or someone you know considering selling a home? Perhaps it’s the one you are living in, perhaps it’s one that is about to be vacated by another family member. Best advice I can give you, Talk to a Realtor who knows the local area FIRST, before you do anything.

Too often what we see as Realtors is people looking online to get ideas for fixing up their homes, then starting the work prior to calling a Realtor. Then we come in and try to tactfully say that they spent their money on the wrong things to get the home sold quickly. Or they over improved the home for the neighborhood, spending more money on it in the process then they will be able to recoup in the sale.

Experienced, local realtors know what sells homes in their areas. They know if a subdivision is a formica kitchen counter subdivision or is a granite countertop subdivision. They know where to send people to get reasonably priced materials and they have a list of good reasonably priced contractors who can help. They can tell you if something you are considering doing will get the home sold faster or for more money, and will tell you if it’s worth paying the money to do it or if there is a slightly different way to take care of the issue that would be cheaper.

They also know what the local municipal inspectors look for – from GFCI’s to firewalls and smoke detectors and can advise you if you should get the municipal inspection done before putting the home on the market, or after you have a contract from a buyer. They can give you a fairly good idea of what the buyers’ building inspector will write up and the buyer will want to negotiate your fixing before closing. It’s much better (and cheaper) to fix on your timeline before putting the home on the market, then to fix it when you are on a time crunch between contract acceptance and closing and Oh, Yeah, the buyer specified they wanted licensed electricians and plumbers to do the work that a handyman can handle just as well.

Need to clean stuff out of a home as well, they will have names of estate sale people and liquidators who can help you.

Talk to your Realtor up front. They are there to help YOU meet your goals on YOUR timeline.

Seller Tips • 05/06/2022

Pricing A Home For Sale

by Dale Weir

I periodically get asked: “Why I don’t give sellers an exact price to list their home for when I initially talk to them?”

To put this in perspective, I typically talk to a potential seller several months before he actually has the home ready to be put on the market and sold.

My answer is that I don’t give an “exact” number because:

A) I don’t know until sellers have finished the work and told me that they are ready to put the house on the market if they will do everything I suggested or nothing. That can make over a $50,000 difference in the value of a home in his subdivision. That is why I routinely provide sellers with the reports on the comps not just the raw numbers, so they can see (based on pictures and written descriptions) what homes have sold for based on the condition and updates that the homes had. I also encourage them to schedule a time with me to go visit the homes that are currently on the market that their home will be competing against.

This allows the sellers to better decide what money and time they want to invest in the home prior to putting it on the market. Do they want to sell “as is”; do enough work to bring the home up to current code requirements so the buyers can get an occupancy permit and move in right away; do cosmetic repairs and minor maintenance (like paint, staging and minor repairs); or do major updates.

B) The housing market is very sensitive to what is going on in the neighborhood. I can give an “exact number”, only to have an estate sell a very updated home well below its true value because the family needs a faster closure which decreases the housing market in their subdivision. Or there may be several very updated homes (often with additions) that sell that bring up the values in the subdivision. When those things happen it affects the value of all the homes in the subdivision as they becomes comps for the appraisers. Real Estate is local. Banks want realistic comps (same style of home, similar features, similar square footage, etc.) from the subdivision the home is in, when they are considering approving the buyers loan. In today’s fast changing housing market, the banks often look at the most recent 3-6 months worth of comps.

If it takes a seller several months to get the home ready to go on the market, then the comps I show him at our initial meeting will be out of date, before the home is ready to be shown.

C) While I may suggest an “exact” price for a home when the seller is finally ready to put the home on the market, I am very sensitive to the sellers’ wishes. Some sellers want to use a strategy of pricing on the lower side which often generates multiple offers and a bidding war for the home, while others prefer to price higher and hope that by the time the home sells (it typically takes a home that is priced at the high end of the comps longer to sell then a home priced at the lower end of the comps). the comps available to the appraiser will support their price point. Other sellers prefer to choose a price point between the two.

At the point the home is ready to go on the market, I will evaluate:

the changes that have been made to the home,

it’s current condition, features and amenities

the current comps in the subdivision (both those that have sold and the ones that are currently active and will be competing against the sellers home)

the supply of homes that are currently on the market vs current buyer demand (the law of supply and demand makes a huge difference in what the local housing market does)

At that point, I’ll work with the sellers to determine where they want to position the home in the market and what listing and negotiation strategies they are comfortable with.

Buyer Tips • Seller Tips • 05/06/2022

Who Answers Your Questions on Zillow

by Dale Weir

I have talked to a number of people recently who couldn’t understand why when they clicked on the links for more information on Zillow, Trulia and similar websites, they didn’t get the FSBO owner or the listing agent, so I thought I’d spend a few minutes explaining who is answering those questions.

Zillow (and Trulia which is owned by Zillow) along with similar sites, are FOR PROFIT sites. How do they make their profit? They sell the information consumers give them to Realtors and Brokers. If you are on Zillow, and fill out their form for more information about a home, they will typically give you 3 or 4 names to chose from to answer your question or schedule a showing for you. 3 of the names will be Realtors who have PAID Zillow to be listed (typically a Realtor or Broker buys leads by zip code and it’s not cheap). The more expensive the homes in that zip code area are, the more the Realtor will pay for the leads. While Zillow use to have a program that allowed the listing agent to be the only Realtor listed if they (and their company) had paid for that privilege, they ended that program a couple years ago (they can make more money with the current program). How many people does Zillow sell a zip code to? If you look at the same home multiple times, using a different browser window each time, you’ll see a different list of names each time you open the page.

While there is no charge for a Realtor to enhance their profile on Zillow (and Zillow actively “encourages” Realtors to do that (they will come up higher in a consumer search if they are), Zillow is not doing that for the agents benefit, but to gather more information. In order to enhance their standing, a Realtor needs to claim the properties that they have sold and in the process give Zillow the sales price so Zillow can build their database in areas where they can’t get complete information from tax records and MLS data. Zillow can then use that data in their “Zestimates”. Currently Zillow is offering a million dollar price in a contest to make their Zestimates more accurate because of the many issues with it.

One of the names given will be the listing agent or the owner, if a FSBO posted the home on the site. Which one is it? To the far right of each of the names, in a very very light gray color that is difficult to see, it will say “Listing Agent”, “Premier Agent”, or “Home Owner”. When it’s a listing agent, their name will be given along with a link to find out a bit more about them. When it’s a home owner, it will just have a line that says Property Owner. Sometimes both an email and phone number will be provided (or a link) but often you will have one or the other.

If you click on the name of a Premier Agent, that doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to get an excellent Realtor to work with, but it does mean, that you aren’t getting the listing agent or owner, so they aren’t going to have the answers to your questions until they research the home.

Now the Premier Agent is PAYING Zillow for your information. In order to make that worthwhile, they need to be able to convert as many consumers who contact them via Zillow into clients who actually buy and / or sell a home through them as possible, so they get paid. While a consumers goal initially is to rule out homes that aren’t a good option for them, the Realtors goal is to rule in all potential buyers. If they can quickly ascertain that you really are working with another Realtor, they will quickly drop you, since they aren’t allowed to come between another Realtor and their clients, but if they can’t tell (for example, you never respond when they contact you with information about the home), they will typically continue to follow up with you for awhile, hoping that you aren’t working with another Realtor and might become their client when you are ready to do something. Sometimes this means several years of following up and trying to get a response out of the consumer before they finally relegate that lead to the dustbin or sell them a home.

Seller Tips • 05/06/2022

Your Home as an Investment – RealVitalize to the Rescue

by Dale Weir

Chinese Dragon at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Your Home as an Investment

For many of us, our homes are one of the largest financial investments we have. Like all investments, they need periodic “feeding”, with regular preventive maintenance and proactive repairs when little things go wrong, before they become major things. In addition, when it gets time to sell, if they come across as “dated”, “grandmotherly”, or just not as “crisp and clean” as they could be, it can truly affect their resale value. But, as much as we want to take care of our homes, there are times when other priorities take precedent over our homes or where we reach a point where we may have “assets” but not readily available cash for taking care of things. Coldwell Banker Realty -Gundaker (CBG) has recognized that as a concern that many of our clients have, and has come up with a remarkable new program called “RealVitalize” to help our clients out. With this program, we will put you in touch with a specially trained home advisor who can help you determine projects that need to be done to your home in order to maximize the price you receive for it when you sell it. The home advisor functions as a project manager to arrange contractors to do the work and schedule them based on YOUR schedule and timeline. Once the work is done, Coldwell Banker Realty-Gundaker will actually PAY THE BILL for you. When your home sells, you will reimburse CBG for their upfront costs on your behalf. THERE ARE NO FEES OR INTEREST CHARGED FOR THIS SERVICE!! Some of our clients are using this program to do work on their home prior to putting them on the market, others are using it to deal with home inspection issues that are found during the buyer or municipal inspections. If you’d like to know more about this innovative program, give me a call and lets talk!

Seller Tips • 02/26/2022

PRESENTING Your HOME!!

by Dale Weir

As children we have no pretensions about how we present ourselves, until the message finally gets through from our mothers that we need to brush our hair, tie our shoelaces and behave ourselves.

As young adults, associating with others, we learn that people’s impressions of us are often based more on what we look like then on what we do or say or how we contribute to the world around us. Most of us want to ensure that we give a good impression to others and we pay attention to our clothes and how our hair is fixed. At the same time, though, we start to realize that taking care of our health and well being can make a big impact on how we look and our attitude as we present ourselves to others.

Then as we age, we reach the point of realizing that looks are not only time sensitive, but what’s truly important is how people act and how they relate to others. We also reach a point where we’re more “comfortable in our own skins, so while we want to look nice for ourselves and for our own self respect, looking great for others isn’t as primary a focus as it once was.

Our homes are somewhat like that also. When we first buy a home, we set out to make it look fabulous. We invest in curtains, furniture, art work, paint and all the things that “dress” our home and “cosmetically” make them look great.

As we live in our new home, we recognize that even a brand new home needs preventive maintenance and periodic repairs – from basic cleaning to keep the dirt and bugs out, to changing the furnace filter on a regular basis, to calling a repairman when something starts to leak.

Then we get older, as does our home. In our eyes, our home is still as beautiful as the day we hung those curtains when we moved in 20+ years ago. The décor items that so fit our younger lives, still resonate with memories of raising our families and entertaining our friends. At this point in our lives, we would be uncomfortable with a home that looked “trendy”, as it wouldn’t fit our personality.

Then when we go to sell our home, we feel that others should appreciate it for what it is. We shouldn’t need to change something just because. Besides, if we do that, the buyers will probably not like what we chose and will want to do it over so it’s a waste of money.

The problem is, that buyers can’t see themselves living in the home, because it’s YOUR home, not theirs and your memories of wonderful times in the past aren’t their memories. Those wonderful things you did to personalize your home and make it lovely when you first bought it, in a buyer’s eye, just make it dated.

Think of it in terms of going to your Grandchild’s wedding. You want to look great, not just for yourself and the family pictures, but to show respect for the grandchild and the occasion. Your home is like that also, it needs to dress itself up to show respect for buyers walking in the door. When it looks tired and like it’s just run a very long marathon, that’s what the buyers see.

I had a young couple once, who saw a home they LOVED. It was in the neighborhood area they wanted, it had the features and floorplan they wanted, but they didn’t buy it. WHY? Because the furniture, décor items, and everything in the home, reminded the young bride of her grandmother’s home, and she just couldn’t see herself living in her grandmother’s home, rather than in HER first home as a young wife and future mother. She loved her Grandmother and her Grandmother’s home, but at 20, she couldn’t see herself living the lifestyle of her 75 year old Grandmother.

When an investor buys a home that has been well taken care of but is “dated”, often the only things he does to make it more current before he sells or rents it, is to ensure it meets current municipal codes, then he will take down any wallpaper, paint it a fresh current color and have a stager put furniture and décor items in the home that reflect current trends, and allows the buyer to see themselves in the home.

The difference in price to the family selling the home? Perhaps a couple thousand for having the home painted, bringing it up to code and “staging it” vs $30-60 thousand less in the sales price. We’re not talking about a “facelift” and plastic surgery to renovate a home, we’re talking about the preventive maintenance and repairs to ensure it meets code, decluttering (you will have to pack and get rid of things before you move anyway), removing wallpaper (and while HGTV may say wallpaper is coming back, it will be years before that reaches us in St Louis), painting the walls a neutral color (stop by a paint store and ask what colors are purchased most often) – paint is one of the only things that you can do to a home where you get close to 100% return on your investment, updating flooring is the other, cleaning the house till it shines then “updating the home’s décor” to match current trends,

Need help? That’s what I’m here for. Give me a call and I’ll be happy to go through your home with you and help you determine what needs to be done.