Marathon For Sale House Tour
Written on 18 September 2007 by byrdbill“Marathon Open House” September 30th from 1-4p, starting at 2832 Arsenal, Five Star Senior Center.This For Sale Open House, hosted by Benton Park West, consists of a diverse mix of “ready to move into-nothing needed” to “livable, but needs some work”. Buyers can find a diversity of price from less than $ 99K to $ 300K+. A diversity of people exist who are alike, but also different by soci-economic standards, ethnicity, place in life (student, young professional, doctors, lawyers, policeman, artists, authors, etc.) to religious and political ideals along with a strong neighborhood association create a great place to live. Come and see why Mayor Francis Slay said “…Benton Park West would be one of the “next Soulards.””
How to enter an event
Written on 2 July 2007 by pennyHere we go….. I haven’t yet mastered WordPress, so if you have any problems and/or see things that need improvement, please let me know.
To enter an event, first you need to register. Be sure to use an email address that you can readily access because you’ll be emailed with your password. Then login (on the bottom right of the page.) From there, it’s fairly easy….
Choose ‘Write’ at the top of the screen. Enter a title and a description for your event. Then scroll down on the page to ‘Event Editor’ and enter the Date(s) and Time(s) of the event. There’s a choice for all day if it doesn’t have a specific start and end time. And now you can enter the same event multiple times or to cover a span of days - it’s much more flexible than before. Now the events have to be approved first (to eliminate the spam problem), but the site alerts me when you submit them, so it generally won’t take long.
As always, don’t hesitate to email if you have any questions.
Regards,
Welcome to the newly re-designed Talk St. Louis
Written on 27 June 2007 by pennyWelcome! I’m in the process of redesigning Talk St. Louis and expect to have it done in just a few days. There will be a calendar - even better than the old one. Please forgive the delay while I get things rolling. If you find something missing, feel free to let me know. However, I expect to have everything back in its rightful place shortly.
Thank you for visiting - and I’d love to hear your feedback about the new site!
VA Home Loan Limits Raised
Written on 10 December 2005 by pennyLegislation passed yesterday approving higher limits for VA Loans
The VA program guarantees lenders 25% of the loan amount. VA loans require no down payment and are backed by the government to encourage private lenders to offer good home loan terms to veterans.
The new guaranty limit of $83,425 lets eligible veterans borrow up to $333,700 for the purchase of a home.
It’s estimated that an additional 90,000 veterans will be eligible for benefits with these raised limits. If you’re a veteran and are considering a home purchase, please give us a call. (Did I mention Mark’s a Navy man?)
Penny Magas
We Sell St. Louis
314-772-4663
toll-free 1-866-971-4663
http://www.wesellstlouis.com
Water’s effect on your home
Written on 1 December 2005 by pennyAs innocuous as it seems, water has a major impact on our buildings. Think about the Grand Canyon and even just Meramec Caverns. While we don’t expect our homes to necessarily be around thousands of years, we have many homes well over a hundred years. My home is 115 years old and still has quite a bit of life left.
Sleet and hail have drastic effects, as can snow. Many of us don’t think about what rain can do, though. Gutters are critical as is proper drainage and the grading of your yard. Mark has written an article - Water, Water, Everywhere… wherein he tells you just what to look for in and around your house so that you can protect your home from the ravages of water..
Penny Magas
We Sell St. Louis
314-772-HOME (4663)
1-866-971-HOME toll-free
3424 Missouri Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63118
Welcome to St. Louis Real Estate News
Written on 27 November 2005 by pennyThis is the first entry to our new weblog. We hope to provide our customers and clients and new visitors with information about the current real estate market - in particular, the St. Louis real estate market.
Folks always want to know is it a buyers market or a sellers market? The Saint Louis Association of Realtors produces numbers but they are roughly 6 months out of date and therefore of no use to anyone in today’s market. Our database shows just over 10,000 residential listings. This number is high compared to the 9,000 that Saint Louis historically has available but lower than the 11,000|PLUS| that we had a month ago.
And this means? … For the market as a whole the summer was very weak. People had come to believe that low rates would last forever and they were unsure enough of the economy to want to avoid making decisions. Two raises in the interest rate and some positive job numbers have created a bump in demand but have still not lowered inventory to historic levels.
Is this a good time to buy? The market for homes under $200,000 will soon be weakening. Christmas is a heavy burden for folks in the low to moderate income bracket and home purchases are low on the agenda. Buyers who do shop are likely to find motivated sellers and BARGAINS. We Sell St. Louis can set up a search for you.
Unfortunately those buying homes over $200,000 do not see the same pressures on demand. Higher income earners do not spend appreciably more on the holidays so their buying patterns are not as heavily effected by the season. Traditionally demand is close to the lower supply available in the winter months. Still some of these homes were first placed on the market during the summer doldrums so those sellers are likely to be motivated. Careful shoppers may be able to find a few plums.
In the long run we know property will continue to appreciate. This year’s hurricanes along with the asian housing boom are putting tremendous pressure on the building supply industry. The supply of underutilized city housing is shrinking and this means that every existing home will appreciate as supply dwindles. Even the new housing industry that will one day open a new subdivision inside the Meramec Caverns will have to slow down as costs exceed the public’s ability to pay. So the best time to buy is now; the worst time is later. Search for homes online or have me set up a custom search for you. Call today.
Mark Magas, ePro, Broker-Realtor
We Sell St. Louis
314-772-HOME (772-4663)
3424 Missouri Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63118
Missouri & Illinois in top 25 business climates
Written on 15 November 2005 by pennyWell, the election’s over and it’s back to business. “Illinois ranks No.3 and Missouri tied for No. 24 in a ranking of state business climates by Site Selection magazine.“ source: St. Louis Business Journal
That’s good news for our local economy as well as our housing market. There was other good news this week:
Boeing’s St. Louis division was awarded a $20 million Air Force contract, 18 local woman-owned businesses were among the top 500 in the country and St. Louis University received a $5.8 million dollar grant. The outlook for the local economy is a good one - it portends more jobs, population growth in the area and a strong housing market.
Penny Magas
We Sell St. Louis
314-772-HOME (4663)
1-866-971-HOME toll-free
3424 Missouri Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63118
Controversy about the St. Louis City Charter Amendments
Written on 1 November 2005 by pennyI haven’t heard much on the news about this issue but many of our local representatives have quite a bit to say. Everything I’ve heard and read leads me to believe that we should vote against these amendments. The St. Louis Post Dispatch has a lengthy article - be sure to read to the end so that you get both points of view, though. The St. Louis American has an article regarding these amendments as well. I found another article on the St. Louis American. I have not been able to find the verbiage for the amendments. I’m hopeful that tomorrow’s St. Louis Post Dispatch (print copy) will have the verbiage, but I’m not sure it will. …read more
Among other things, there is a proposed drastic decrease in the number of our aldermen. Currently, our aldermen work very hard to keep the pulse of the neighborhoods and communities they represent and lead. It’s hard work - I’ve spoken to my alderman several times - he often comes home to find 20 or more phone messages at the end of a day. And he does his best to answer them the same day. If we reduce the number of alderman, it will make their jobs more difficult and they’ll have to represent much larger areas - I don’t believe they’ll be able to do as good a job.
Well, that’s my opinion. Please be sure to express your opinions at the polls Tuesday. 
See you at the polls! - Penny
