Looks like market value homes in this neighborhood sell between 140-180K
I love the kitchen!
Archive for July, 2007
Foreclosure: University City
31 July 07Your Credit Score and Home Owner’s Insurance
30 July 07Lenders use your creditor score to help determine what kind of risk you are. But did you know that insurance companies look at your score to determine your home and auto premiums?
Check out this article in MONEY for the full story. Read the gist below.
Here’s how to qualify for the lowest rates on your home owner’s insurance.
- Pay your bills on time.
- Keep revolving balances low
- Keep your oldest credit cards open
- Don’t apply for lots of credit at once
- Get rid of miscellaneous cards you don’t use.
- Shop around.
Casey Serin’s 10 Flippin’ Mistakes
24 July 07Jaw-dropping. I am in shock. I know that this happens. I know that people go into foreclosure. I bought a property that was foreclosed on and I have countless people contact me to help them find foreclosures. But I always wonder/worry about the person who owned the property before. Casey Serin’s story gives a little insight.
Here are his 10 mistakes (Read the entire article here, please!)
Used Stated Income Loans
Over paid
Rented out a house for less than his monthly mortgage
Quit His Day Job
Hired and Unlicensed Contractor
Bought Properties Sight-Unseen
Bought in a Market He Didn’t Understand
Bought Too Many Too Fast
Underestimated Renovation Costs
Had No Exit Strategy
There are many different reasons that people go into foreclosure and most are lamentable. Loss of a job, sickness, death of the primary borrower, poor money management skills. But Casey is in foreclosure because he was trying to get rich quick. He is a self-proclaimed Would-Be Real Estate Mogul (read another article about Casey) and he committed some serious bank fraud.
Reading Casey’s blog is painful and frightening, but educational (so do it) and it makes me feel bad for him. But after almost every paragraph, I find myself asking out loud, “How did that happen?” Did no one check this kid’s credit. How does an umempleyed 24 year old graphic designer get 8 loans pushed through in less than a year? And how is he walking away from a closing with thousands in his pocket?
He found a Sacramento couple who’d twice cut the price on their home and were asking $360,000. Aware that the market was softening, Serin successfully bid $330,000, including his closing costs. But he also wanted to pay off his credit cards. So he took out a $360,000 mortgage and asked the sellers to give him $30,000 in cash once the deal closed.
Oh, yeah–He isn’t supposed to do that. It’s illegal! So I waiver. I feel bad for Casey, but he knew what he was doing and he knew it was wrong.
Mortgage Rates: 2nd Highest this Year, Still Historically Low
22 July 07
WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages were unchanged this week as a flood of new economic data did not change the general views of financial markets about inflation.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.73 percent this week, the same as last week. That left the rate close to its high-point of the year, which was 6.74 percent set the week of June 14.
Sounds scary, but check out the monthly averages of rates in 1983.
View the monthly averages of mortgage rates between 1983 and 2007 here.
Ameren UE’s Pure Power Program
18 July 07So, do you want to keep driving your SUV and not feel so guilty? Well here is an easy and inexpensive way to “prevent the annual release of more than 19,500 pounds, which is the equivalent of protecting about 7 acres of forest for a year or not driving a car for almost 2 years.”
Pure Power is Ameren’s voluntary renewable energy program. By signing up for Pure Power, you are requesting that Ameren purchase power from renewable energy sources equal to 100% of your energy bill.
Now this doesn’t actually mean that the power coming into your house is directly from the wind fields in the north. Power doesn’t work that way. Think of Ameren as an energy bank. All the power produced whether from coal, hydro, wind or solar funnels into one large pool. At that point it is mingled so when the power is dispersed to your home there is no guarantee that it came from renewable resources.
By signing up for Pure Power, you are deciding to pay 1.5 cents more per kilowatthour (kWh). This allows Ameren to purchase REC’s (Renewable Energy Certificates) from renewable energy sources helping to support the future development and growth in the renewable energy market.
The average home uses about 1000 (kWh) per month. So by signing up for Pure Power you will probably see a $15 increase on your bill which will show up as a line item. There is no contract required to participate and you can cancel your participation at any time without any penalty.
How to Marry A Billionaire
13 July 07This month’s MONEY magazine has an article on How to Marry a Billionaire. The article understands that it isn’t neccesarily “politically correct to go hunting for a marital meal ticket (or for that matter, to write about it).” Yet, it fearlessly trudges ahead with a step by step process.
Briefly:
Lower your sites…Shoot for Millionaire.
Marry the child of a billionaire.
Get an M.B.A. (most billionaires meet their spouses at work)
Make Consumption Your Career (Sell that Billionaire a Boat)
Move Closer to Where the $$$ lives.
On that note, check out these active listings in the STL area.
This listing on Cleveland is less than 1/4 mile from this one on Longfellow in the prestigious Compton Heights.
This listing on Waterman at just 129K is less than a 1/4 mile from this listing on Washington Terrace with a suggested listing value of 1.9 million.
At 1.2 million this mansion on the Mississippi is surrounded by many affordable properties. Check out this one on Wicklow for 119K.
In Kirkwood (though I had to extend to tradius search from 1/4 to 1/2 mile) I did find this very affordable home on Essex for 205K not far from this new construction shaker style home on Edwin, a bargain at 1.3 million.
According to the article, no matter what your budget you can move within 16 blocks of big $$$ and possibly run into that billionaire at the local coffee shop. So, if that’s your style, I hope this will be helpful.
When the housing rebound comes
5 July 07How you’ll know when home prices are finally recovering.
Interesting article from CNNMoney.
I always take these national articles about the state of real estate with a grain of salt. Typically the tone of these articles relates more to those markets that are on the extreme ends of fluctuation. Now as for St. Louis it definitely seems to be a strong buyer’s market, but to summarize the article here a few signs to look for when things start changing.
Inventory is declining
Houses are selling faster than they used to
Realtors are feeling better
Sellers are acting less desperate
Investment/Rehab Opportunity: Stripper Pole Included!
3 July 07The other day while touring a few places in the Skinker/Debaliviere neighborhood, I ran across this house on Waterman.
What’s intriguing about this property is the size, location and the projected value after rehab. It has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, split among the three stories. It’s located within walking distance of Forest Park, Metrolink and Delmar Loop/Washington University amenities. Move-in ready homes of similar size in the neighborhood are going for about 250K and well done renovations for about 350K.
Don’t get me wrong, this house needs A LOT of work. Nearly every room has a laundry list of things that need to be done. One room has a small stage built with a stripper pole built in, with mirrored closet doors for that extra ambiance. The floor joists probably need to be replaced as the whole first floor is warped and a complete systems update would be a good idea.
It’s a huge amount of work that will probably take someone a long time to complete, but if you’re interested I’d suggest making an appointment with your Realtor and forming your own conclusions about it.
Click here to view 5826 Waterman in the MLS.