Time To Buy or Refinance

Did you know that we are currently at only 0.25% higher interest rate than the all time low set in 2002?

If interest rates were your concern it couldn't be a better time to buy.  Depending on downpayment and credit score, it's possible to buy a home around 5.5% for a 30 year fixed loan!  That means with home prices lower and interest rates at this level, the affordability of a new home could not be better!

There are many things to buy that you can put under a Christmas Tree this year, but especially if you are renting why not make the jump into owning the home you put the tree in?

There are 42 homes in St. Charles County you can buy right now for under $105,000

There are over 1800 listings in St. Louis County for under $105,000

The principal and interest payment on this would be just $596.18 / month !  If you're renting that's probably less than you are paying, and don't forget that for most individuals the interest portion of that payment is tax deductible.  Can't say that about your current rent payment can you?

Foreclosure and Short Sale List

Members of our foreclosure and short sale team at River City spent some time during the holiday preparing our own "Black Friday" Specials on real estate.  Many of these homes can be purchased 20-30% below market value.  Yes, many of the homes need extensive work, however, some of them need little to no work.

Below is a link to a PDF report of almost all Foreclosure and Short Sale homes in St. Charles and St. Louis Counties.

Short Sale List

Foreclosure List

Give us a call today and we'll be happy to get you more information on any of these homes and setup a showing.  

Giving Thanks For YOU

From everyone here at River City Real Estate, we want to take a few moments to thank you for reading our blog and hopefully using our site to find your next home.   We're very thankful for the hundreds of families that have put their trust in us over the past 4 years.  We look forward to serving you for years to come.

We hope you are able to spend Thanksgiving around the ones you love.

If you happen to be browsing the Internet and looking some information on Thanksgiving we do have a small staff available to answer your questions (Yes True 365 day a year service).

All Day Thanksgiving you can email us at info@RCREonline.com or you can call our Toll Free Line: (866) 456-1862 and we'll have someone standing by to assist you.

Our Short Sale and Foreclosure Assistance Marketing Campaign

In the wake of countless foreclosures and short sales, River City Real Estate today has launched a press campaign to get the word out to homeowners on how to prevent foreclosure.

We at River City feel we are part of the community and that we have a duty help people understand what their options are.  One of the most talked about options right now is the short sale.  River City's site includes a full description on what a short sale is and what consequences they have.  You can get more information here.

If you need help with either a short sale or a foreclosure, we have specialists ready to answer your questions, you can call us toll free at (866) 456-1862

Affton, MO a Bright Spot!

As you can see with the past few posts, we've been adding a lot of market data to the River City Real Estate website.  And we're going to continue that until we get every city and zip code in the St. Louis area posted.  In going through each of these charts, there are some points of interest worth noting.

One area of St. Louis that's been a consistent winner in terms of appreciation, even when most areas are down, is Affton, MO in zip code 63123.

Even the days on market which have dramatically increased in other areas is low for Affton.
Affton has been a booming area for growth these days due to investments from numerous banks and the upgrade of Grasso Plaza, which includes a St. Louis Bread Company, Walgreens, and the local branch of the post office.  Affton is a great community that offers affordable housing and great amenities.
Take a look at some of the better deals we've found:

3Bedroom / 1.5 Bath for just $134,900 : 7634 Delmont
or this
3 Bedroom / 1.5 Bath Condo for just $102,500 : 9148 Villaridge Ct.

If you're interested in getting a full report on Affton or any other city, fill out the form below to keep updated on the market.

New Cities Added to Housing Data List

Today, River City Real Estate added the following cities to it's growing data list:

• Affton
• Augusta
• Bel Ridge
• Bella Villa
• Bellefontaine Neighbors
• Berkeley
• Breckenridge Hills
• Brentwood
• Bridgeton
• Creve Coeur

This data set will continue to grow as we push to include every city and zip code in the St. Louis metro area.  If you want a full report you can fill out the form below and a report will isntantly be emailed to you.  If you choose our new system will email you ever Wednesday a new, updated report with fresh data.

Saint Charles, MO Housing Statistics

Through an agreement the premier real estate data firm in the United States, Altos Research, River City will be adding a few zip codes of housing data to our website each day.

The first data to be added to our site are the St. Charles, MO zip codes of 63301, 63303, and 63304.

For a look at the data click here 

One of the things you'll notice in the reports is that right now the graphs don't look so hot.  Unfortunately, with it being a slow year to begin with, many Sellers still unrealistic about the value of their home, and other factors, the St. Charles Market is a little slow at the present time.

What this means: it's a great time to buy.  If you sign up for our reports, they will give you specific indications that it's the perfect time if you're ready to go.  The key is to look for the homes that are underpriced or the correct priced homes that are excellent on the inside.  Affordability levels are the best they've been in years.  So if you've been sitting on the fence, it's worth getting out and see if you can't find the perfect home.  Don't forget about the $7,500 tax credit!

If you're looking in upper end price ranges (over $275,000) in St. Charles County it could not be a better time to buy.  There are many excellent homes with sellers that need to close on their home.  Take a look at this excellent deal in Whitmoor Subdivision:  http://www.rcreonline.com/80023355

If you'd like to sign up to receive one of our weekly reports for one or more zip codes, please fill out the form below.

Introduction: Eric Stegemann, Managing Broker

Pardon me for not introducing myself!  I haven't said this in any previous posts, but my name is Eric Stegemann, and I'm the Managing Broker at River City Real Estate.  I'm in charge of all three divisions of our company: Residential Real Estate (which covers primary residences, secondary homes and investment properties), Commercial Real Estate, and our Rent to Own program.  I am based out of our headquarters in St. Charles, MO.  

I will be writing the majority of the posts in this blog.  I envisioned this blog a few months ago due to the fact that few other Realtors, and very few real estate companies, in the St. Louis area offered such a resource.  At River City, we get the Web 2.0 concept and consider ourselves Realtors 2.0 .  We are here to be a resource for everything related to homeownership and real estate in general, even if that means you aren't looking to currently buy or sell.  For example our resource to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, it's not likely that someone going through foreclosure will be buying a home anytime soon.  However, as members of the community we want to help those in need.

You won't generally find our company advertising in the newspaper, so if that's something that's important to you, there are plenty of great companies out there that offer that service.  (We just don't see the value, when according to a 2008 National Association of Realtors Study states that a full 87% of homebuyers use the internet for their search.)  However, we focus on using social media tools: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn etc and Web 2.0 tools: Enhanced Property Tools on Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, and more than 20 other websites with which we interface.  We are the only company to offer Real Estate Trumpet , an online system for our agents that allows them to put their listings out to these sites, specifically Craigslist .   Take a look at how great one of our listings looks on Craigslist here , now look at an ad posted by our competition

That's why our listings get viewed online hundreds and sometimes even thousands more times than other brokers.

So if online marketing of your property is a priority to you, consider giving us a call toll free : (866) 456-1862 .  Although I'm based at our office in St. Charles, MO we have offices throughout St. Louis and can even help our Illinois friends too!  (Hey, if you're thinking about buying in Christmas, PA or Boring, OR or Happyland, OK  or just about anywhere else in the United States, we can help you find a great Realtor to work with through our nationwide agent network)

Additionally, we have a few really innovative tricks up our sleeves too that we'll be announcing soon.

Therefore, you can look to this blog and the resources (like how to get free money for your downpayment) on our website to grow and offer you a great place to get info on real estate in our area.  

We look forward to getting comments as to what information you'd like to see.  If you like to reach me directly, I'm available to answer any questions, you can call my direct line at (636) 757-9600

Free Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance

Did you know that St. Louis is one of the greatest areas in the United States for receiving free downpayment and closing cost assistance?  Numerous municipalities and counties in the area offer what most call the HOME Program.  

For Example both St. Charles and St. Louis Counties offer $10,000 of downpayment assistance to first time homebuyers.

Obviously, there are some criteria but they are suprisingly easy to meet.  

We've posted a new page :

Free Downpayment Assistance

Which lists what's available for each County and City in the St. Louis metro area.  

The State of Missouri also offers at various times throughout the year, the MHDC or Missouri Housing Development Commission program.  This offers additional downpayment assistance for first time homebuyers of up to 3% of the purchase price of a home.  This means it's possible to purchase a home utilizing MHDC and an FHA loan with no money down.

We've even posted some information on that page about a progarm that allows you to save for a downpayment slowly and have that savings matched for free.  In some cases they will match it even 2 to 1, meaning that for every $1 you save, you'll get $3 in return!

Call us today to get more information (636) 946-7273

Even more information can be found:
St. Charles County HOME Program

Beyond Housing

River City Launches Foreclosure Assistance Information

River City today has launched two new pages that give homeowners facing foreclosure or other tough situations information and free assistance.

By visiting the New "Avoid Foreclosure" section of the website, individuals can get free tips on what is in their best interest.

There is also a page on short sales which explains how the process works and some things to keep in mind when considering a short sale.

We look forward to any comments you might have!

Foreclosure Information

River City Real Estate is getting ready to launch a new website devoted to individuals interested in purchasing or facing foreclosure.  We are going to be placing phone numbers to call to try to prevent a foreclosure, places to go for assistance, links to laws, and more.

But we'd like to know from you, what information would you like to see on this site?  You can leave a comment below or send an email to questions@RCREonline.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

River City Real Estate Lists Foreclosed Homes

Even though foreclosures aren't as big of a problem in the St. Louis metro area as they are in other states and cities, River City Real Estate has begun to accept listings from banks and asset management companies for foreclosed homes.  We listed our first property on November 12, a home in St. Peters, 34 Crescent Hills, St. Peters, MO 63376 for just $131,000!

Click Here for More Info On This Home

This particular home is priced as much as $30,000 under what other similar homes are selling for in the area.  It also features newer AC and furnace.  The interior is clean and ready to move into.

If you are interested in taking a look , please call our office today at (636) 946-7273 

Don't forget that two of our agents were the first in the area to offer a Foreclosure Bus Tour.  Lorrie Travers and Laura Ellis created House to Home Tours to help buyers get a taste of what purchasing a foreclosed home is all about.  Their next tour is this Sunday, November 16th from 1-4 pm.  Click Here to register for the FREE tour.

How Loans Are Being Priced Now

The problem currently is the fact that no one wants to invest in these mortgage pools called MBSs or CMOs.  So pricing is now based on how easily these packages are sold off and at what rate they are sold.  So instead of watching the three indexes listed before, now you can watch MBS pricing.

There is a great place you can watch it even hour by hour:

Click Here  - Try clicking the 1d next to range, that will show you intraday trading. 

The first thing you'll notice is that there is a difference between the trade amount and current rates for a 30 year fixed.  The reason for this is that the loan originator gets to keep a portion for profits, some goes to mortgage brokers, etc.  You'll notice that amount is about 1/2% right now.  But you can see how rates are trending.  That way you can decide whether to lock a rate in or not.  As of November 12, 2008 it looks like it's a great time to look with rates are at or slightly under 6%.

Keep an eye on this figure though, this tells you sentiment, the higher it trades, the more worried investors are, the lower, the better it gets.

If you have money and are on the fence without another home to sell...it's a great time to buy.

How Loans Were Priced

Prior to Mid-2007, loans were priced based upon what was called a index plus a margin.  Then points and loan origination fees etc were added to it so the lender could create a total yield.

The index was based upon one of three different commonly used figures: the 10 year treasury bond, the LIBOR - London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, or the COFI - Cost of Funds Index.

Those indexes are published in major newspapers each day.  Those are low to no risk borrowing rates.  

Obviously a person obtaining a mortgage has a higher risk than two banks lending to each other.  Therefore a margin is added to it that usually depends on the credit score of the borrower.  Sometimes it can be 1/2% sometimes it can be 3-4%.

The rates for these loans change usually 2x per day at approxmiately 10 am and 2pm.  Depending on what happens the lender then adds fees as they see fit and depending on their current ability to make more loans at that time.  The fees usually go directly to the lender for creating the loan and along with servicing became the bread and butter of the industry over the past few years.

These loans were then sold off to investors that would buy them based upon risk vs. reward after a lender packaged them into what's called an MBS or CDO or CMO.

If you'd like to learn more about these products I encourage you to listen to the show below entitled CMOs, MBSs, and Can I get a loan? (you'll have to scroll a little)

Our Alternative Financing Program (or Rent to Own)

River City Real Estate through it's partner, Omega Lending is able to offer a way to purchase a home regardless of what a borrower's credit score is. (In fact we've helped someone with a 412, yes a 412, buy a home.) Omega does not care about bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments, or any other items that affect someone's ability to get financing through normal lenders.

The only thing they look at is if the borrower has stable income. This income can be proven through any official source, it is not required to use a tax return, W2, or 1099. In many cases we can use a bank account statement.

Sure the interest rate is higher than 6%, but the downpayment in most instances is just 3% of the home purchase price. If you want more information or to apply now you can visit the Alternative Financing section of our website or by going to www.RCRTO.com

Currently we have many homes to choose from in St. Charles County, and a few in St. Louis County. Although you might not see what you're looking for right now, apply, and let us know what'd you'd like, we'll see if we can find it for you!

Welcome to the River City Real Estate Blog

River City Real Estate has decided to start a blog to inform, educate, and enlighten visitors. You'll find this blog updated frequently with usually short pieces of information we find relevant but sometimes we might go into extra detail. We hope you find this blog informatve and look forward to your comments and questions. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover please send us an email at questions@RCREonline.com