Wow!  What a great past couple of days.  I wrote a contract on a two-family on Thursday and got it accepted on the same day.  Then on Friday, I showed a new buyer two houses, and she wrote on the second one.  That contract was accepted yesterday ( a ranch in Webster Groves).  Then, on Sunday, a friend called.  He had just been informed by his landlord that they were planning to sell the house he was renting.  He could either purchase it or move.  The house was not worth what they were wanting, so he decided it was time to buy for himself.  I showed him four houses that afternoon, and he wrote on the first one I had originally showed him.  That one was accepted yesterday, too.  So, the last two pretty well fell into my lap.  I'm definitely used to showing twenty+ homes before the buyer d... 03/06/2007

Woke up to thundershowers.  Partly cloudy the rest of the day.  By afternoon, the wind had picked up, and it's been really gusty since then - colder, too.  Tornados in Alabama and Southeast Missouri with deaths, injuries, and much damage.  What a terrible morning for some.  My heart goes out to them.Negotiating two building inspections.  This is the part of the process that I like the least.  I feel it's the most emotional part of the entire deal.  You have sellers who do not want to do anything and buyers that want everything.  How do you get them to come together?  Sometimes they don't.  On the one deal, that is what I fear will happen.  I represent the sellers, who ultimately accepted the buyer's lower offer.  I feel he's getting a real bargain.  Now he wants the sellers to make thou... 03/01/2007

Had a beautiful day today in St Louis, sunny and close to 60 degrees.  Maybe Spring is finally on the way.  I can't wait to get out and work in the yard.  I am a big gardener, and I love working in the dirt.  I guess I come by it naturally.  My grandfather was a farmer.  He and Grandma owned a small farm outside Uniontown, MO.  They raised pigs, cows, and crops.  They never did become rich; they barely made a living some years.  They never had indoor plumbing, and water was pumped from the cistern in the front yard.  A wood stove in the kitchen and one in the living/bedroom provided heat.  For air conditioning, they opened windows or turned on the box or window fans.  Some may think this was a hard way to live, but the happiest times of my childhood were spent at Grandma and Grandpa's. ... 02/28/2007

I scheduled a sewer scope inspection for the Chippewa property, and met Eric, with Drainco at the property today around noon.  The seller had provided a tape of a sewer scope inspection they had done last fall.  I picked it up Saturday from the listing agent's office.  I thought maybe I could save the buyers $150, and use the seller's tape.  When I viewed it on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't make heads or tails out of it.  First, the camera jumped around so bad, you couldn't see anything.  There was also no narration as to what I was seeing.  It was very poor quality, and I was not happy with the tape at all; so I called DrainCo to have them come out.  I've used them for several years, and I think Eric does a great job.  Most of all, I trust him.  I've stood over his shoulder as he ran ... 02/27/2007

02/26/2007

Our team leader shared this information with us, so I wanted to pass it along...The Seven Deadly Sins of Real Estate Prospecting Real estate prospecting is essential to success in real estate.  It's a key ingredient that will help you earn and get paid the amounts of money you want to make each year.  Yet, so many agents disregard, forget, ignore or flat out neglect prospecting.  These are simple mistakes that could take you away from success.  These mistakes are what I refer to as the 7 Deadly Sins of Real Estate Prospecting: 1.    Not Prospecting Enough:  Prospecting is THE PATH to finding the leads that will become your successfully closed transactions in the weeks and months ahead. If you don't search for and cultivate the best people to work with in your territory, your competitors... 02/26/2007

Wonderful all brick home. Located in St. Louis, Mo near Shaw's Garden and Tower Grove Park at 4337 Ellenwood near the world famous Bevo Mill. Square footage is 1,169 per seller. Original features are hardwood floors in living-room and dining-room, as well as the woodwork (all in excellent condition). Updated bath. Kitchen offers newer oak cabinets, counters, vinyl flooring. Nice appliances: Dishwasher, disposal, stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer (all stay). New carpet, ceiling fans and light fixtures, entry doors and storm doors. Windows are thermal tilt-in. Lots of closets and storage. New front porch and concrete walk in rear of home. Home has been freshly painted with neutral colors. Enclosed soffit and facia. New gutters and downspouts. Water line has been recently replaced unde... 02/26/2007

Rained off and on all day yesterday, sometimes heavy.  Today just dreary, windy, cold and a few snow flurries.Took a new buyer out for the first time yesterday evening.  Started at 4:00 pm and were finished a little after 7;00 pm.  Viewed eight properties.  We did great on time.  Just about got drenched, though.  We are going out again tonight, starting at 4:00pm (he works until 3:00).  Tonight it's two-family flats.  He's pretty motivated, and I think he will write pretty fast. Today's Quote:  "It is by acts and not by ideas that people live."    Anatole France 02/25/2007

Applied second coat of poly on the floors on the Miami property. They took longer to dry than expected. I did not have the heat on because I thought it would be too dangerous (fumes/explosion), but the directions said that as long as there was no open flames it should be alright. The fumes aren't that bad on this new poly. I left the heat on and cracked windows. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow, and I may put a third coat on.Going to the annual Home and Garden Show tonight at the America's Center and Edward Jones Dome. Kim & Gary are going with us. I always come away from the show with some great ideas. Figures for this weeks closed/sold single properties in area two (South City) of St. Louis from the MLS listings:3950 Schiller - 659767 - 47,000 4324 Connecticut - 681138 - 70,000  4707... 02/23/2007

  Saint Louis AttractionsReasons to live in this area of the Midwest:Friendly FolksEmployment OpportunitiesGreat Weather (always changing!)Nearby rivers and lakes for boating,sailing and recreation activitiesSt. Louis Blues Music, Sports, & kid friendly city/county 01/01/2007

Hi Everyone! A new year is fast approaching. Are you ready? We've managed to get by the holidays with out too much fuss. Everyone is doing well here, no sickness around. My husband of course, is still getting radiation treatments for his prostate cancer, but he's really been doing wonderfully well with it. Our THANKS to the folks at St. Luke's Hospital and the Radiation Dept. too, for their patience, kindness and general support. We've fast become fond of Dr's Butler and DeGuerre and would highly recommend their services to anyone going through this. They are so knowledgeable and just all around decent men. Hat's off to them and their team in their offices. Great people, all!Business here had slowed down for the holidays, but we're beginning to see some movement now. We still have great... 12/29/2006

the Market for single family and condo property in St. Louis city has slowed down as we enter into the winter months...here is how the market compares to this time last year in the 3rd quarter... SINGLE FAMILY STATS1. Number of active listings...17642. Number of sold listings...9573. Average days on market...834. Average sale price...$131,475Same time last year...1. Number of active listings...11322. Number of sold listings...11033. Average days on market...674. Average sale price...$137,793CONDO STATS1. Number of active listings...5722. Number of sold listings...2843. Average days on market...964. Average sale price...$211,504Same time last year1. Number of active listings...2752. Number of sold listings...1883. Average days on market...2054. Average sale price...$219,228 To take a loo... 11/29/2006

We had an incredible opportunity the other day to inspect the most interesting house I have ever seen. The previous owner of this 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom house was nuns. The owner before that, who had put on two additions, was a bricklayer. He could apparently get brick and steel cheap, because the additions were made of solid brick walls on steel joists! This was essentially a commercial building. The house had a courtyard in the center of it with sliding glass doors on three sides. Very cool layout. The main problem with a courtyard in the middle of the home is getting rid of the water. There was a gutter-like system in place that ran to the storm drain, but those are only effective if they are kept clean. These looked like they were not cleaned out very often. As a result, the steel jo... 11/07/2006

Recently I was doing an inspection for a familiar client. He told me this was an important deal, and we should try not to scare the buyer. This was a pretty scary house. Not only was the foundation in question and the front porch about to cave in, but the roof needed to be replaced ASAP. The kicker was when we found out we could not test the water. Why? Another real estate agent had shown the house, but forgot to lock the door. Someone had stolen all the copper! They of course did not shut off the water, so the basement was still wet when we inspected it.As any real estate professional can tell you, its not what you say, but how you say it. I managed to inform the buyer of all the significant issues, while keeping everything in its proper perspective. I was able to keep the buyer from g... 08/31/2006