How Important is the Direction of Your Home?

While helping homebuyers with St. Louis and St. Charles County real estate, we’ve learned of many specific needs people have for their homes. Did you know that the direction of a home can be an important requirement? It might seem like an insignificant detail, but depending on one’s beliefs and lifestyle choices, the direction your home faces can bring a variety of benefits. Here, we’ll explore why it’s beneficial for your home to face a certain direction based on different religions, gardening, and other reasons.

When it comes to religion, many traditions believe that the direction of your home can bring you luck and protection. For example, in Hinduism, the entrance of your home should be facing east, as this is believed to bring prosperity. In Buddhism, many believe that the entrance of your home should be facing south, as this is the direction of the sun and is associated with light and warmth. Meanwhile, in Christianity, some believe that the entrance should be facing east, as this is the direction the sun rises and symbolizes new beginnings.

 

Gardening can also be a factor in determining the best direction for your home. If your home faces south, it will receive the most daylight and warmth. This is beneficial for growing plants, as it increases the amount of sunlight they receive. Additionally, if your home faces north, it will stop any cold winds from coming in, which can help protect your plants.

Other factors to consider when determining the best direction for your home include the direction of the prevailing winds and the direction of the prevailing rains. In areas with strong winds, the best direction for your home to face is usually south-east, as this will protect it from the strongest winds. Meanwhile, in areas with strong rains, the best direction for your home to face is usually north, as this will help protect it from the rain. Additionally, if you live in an area with extreme temperatures, the best direction for your home to face is usually east, as this will help it get the most sunlight and the least direct sunlight.

 

Some buyers consider the driveway and how quickly the ice and snow will melt. Homes with in ground pools may want to have sun in the pool area as long as possible and homes with patios and outdoor living areas may want to ensure they have afternoon and evening shade. The needs vary depending on the buyer.

As you can see, there are a variety of reasons why it can be beneficial to face your home in a certain direction. Whether it’s based on your religion, gardening, or the local climate, the direction your home faces can have a big effect on your well being and on the health of your plants. If you are looking for a home that faces a particular direction, contact The Boehmer Team. We are experts in working with specific home buying needs in the St. Charles County area.

Here’s a few links with more info and benefits of facing your home in a certain direction:

Feng Shui: https://feng-shui.lovetoknow.com/Feng_Shui_Basics/Feng_Shui_and_Home_Direction

Gardening: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/style/south-facing-garden-ideas/

Vastu: https://housing.com/news/how-to-determine-house-facing-direction-as-per-vastu/

 

Find a Home Faster with a Realtor

Homebuyers in the current real estate market, whether in St. Louis, St. Charles County or beyond, are facing more competition as low inventory of available homes for sale persists. Some are getting discouraged at the amount of time and number of tries it can take to find the right home for sale and get a contract accepted. But there is no need to give up on the search for a new home. Working with an experienced Realtor and/or real estate team can make the process easier and faster.  That being said, if you are competing with cash offers and buyers that are willing to waive all of their rights, your agent will help you understand the possible dangers of those decisions.

Learn of Homes For Sale Quicker

Working with a Realtor that provides information on new homes as they hit the market or that are coming soon to market will give you an edge. Realtors, particularly at larger brokerages, know of listings that have yet to hit the market. They also have access to local multiple listing service systems that can often provide updates of homes for sale before they hit the national websites. In a competitive market, this extra time may make the difference in getting your offer submitted and accepted before others find the listing.

A Resource for Community Information

When trying to find a new home in a competitive market, the local area around a home of interest may seem less of a concern than actually procuring the home. This is a good time to have a Realtor in your pocket. Realtors know communities and often have information about the local area like roads, other neighborhoods or commercial properties being built nearby that may be of concern to the home buyer.

Experienced Real Estate Negotiator

When you find the home that’s “the one” it can be easy to allow emotions to get involved in negotiations. Or, you may lack the experience needed to ensure you position your offer to secure the home. As a result, it may take longer to get a deal finalized. Using an experienced Realtor to handle all negotiations will more than likely get things done more efficiently and at a better price than you probably could have negotiated yourself.

Help with Paperwork and Closing

Real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork and legal forms. If you try to handle this on your own, mistakes could be made that prevent a transaction from being completed or throwing your purchase into chaos at closing. By letting your Realtor take charge of the paperwork and closing, a purchase can be done professionally and accurately. From making sure the title to the property is clear to ensuring the lender has met all deadlines on financing, a Realtor will help create a smoother, faster closing.

- - -

Don’t just trust any Realtor; be sure you have an experienced Buyer’s Agent like those on The Boehmer Team to represent you. If you walk into a home for sale unrepresented and use the Realtor listing the home, their first duty is to their home seller. So contact The Boehmer Team to talk to our dedicated Buyer’s Agents or to get listing updates from our local MLS to see the type of homes you want as they hit the market in real time.

 

Unusual Fall 2020 Real Estate Activity

St. Louis and St. Charles County area real estate in fall 2020 has been as unusual as, well most of 2020. Real estate this autumn has been unusually active. In fact some real estate agents are referring to this fall as second spring. Herein we’ll discuss some of the reasons why real estate this fall has been so unusual.

The Pandemic

The Covid-19 virus has kept many people closer to home for longer and more often than previously. Folks are now working from home, going to school at home and moving many in-person events online. This has created more time to look closely at one’s living situation and decide if it is the best fit. Also, some people are moving from more concentrated, populous cities to our area. 

 

Demand Versus Inventory

After a slow spring of quarantines, the busy summer market barely slowed down for fall. With so many buyers wanting to move to better home situations and some sellers unsure about making any changes at all, there has been a higher demand for homes for sale than there have been homeowners listing their homes. This is causing a lower inventory of homes for sale along with rising home values as multiple offers are being made on well-maintained, market-value homes. This doesn’t mean there aren’t homes for sale, it just means that homebuyers may have to look a little longer or at different options to buy a home.  It also means that buyers need to be prepared and ready to move quickly if the perfect home comes on the market.

 

Low Mortgage Rates

At time of writing this, the 30 year conventional mortgage rate sits around 2.5% and the 15 year conventional mortgage rate sits around 2%. These low rates mean that you can get a lot more home for you money than you could a few years ago. And for those who aren’t moving, it’s a great time to refinance.  These rates are historically low and when they are gone it is hard to imagine when they will return.  

 

Increased New Construction Activity is Helping

We help several quality local home builders market their homes and we know the new construction home market very well. We’ve been able to find solutions in the new construction market for many homebuyers. While builders have been doing a great job constructing quality new homes, they are feeling the pressure to keep up with the demand.  New construction should always be considered when searching for a new home.  It affords buyers to be the first owner, select finishes specific to their tastes, select options specific to their needs and to enjoy the benefits of an environmentally friendly and energy efficient home.

- Options for Buying New Construction -

Despite the unusual fall 2020 real estate market we continue to assist homebuyers and sellers to face, understand and prepare for these unusual times every single day.  Despite the challenges, business for The Boehmer Team is up 28% from 2019 and going strong.  If you are thinking of buying a home, building a home, or selling your current home, contact The Boehmer Team. Let us implement decades of combined experience to answer your questions, find solutions for your needs and provide full service as we do to all of our dedicated clients.

 

New Home Opportunities in a Competitive Market

If you’ve been home shopping recently for St. Louis or St. Charles County real estate, you’ve probably noticed something – things are rather competitive. Currently there aren’t as many homes available for sale as there are homebuyers trying to buy homes (known as a sellers market). Homebuyers are having more difficulty procuring a home they want against all the competition. Those who consider buying new give themselves another option. How about you? Have you considered buying new?

 

Builder Inventory Homes

Homebuyers can buy a new home often for a similar price as a pre-existing one. Check out homebuilders’ inventory of already-built or being-built homes that have yet to be sold.  Every month that a completed home doesn’t sell incurs costs for the homebuilder, so builders may be more motivated to sell homes in their inventory.

Often times inventory homes are priced including promotions and incentives that you would receive had you built the home from the ground up.  Builders also choose top-selling floor plans with the most popular features and finishes for their inventory homes so they appeal to today’s buyers.  Many buyers love the idea that they see exactly what they are getting when buying a home from inventory. Buying an inventory home is often a very smart move for today’s buyer for a number of reasons. 

We’ve put together a webpage specifically so you can see what builder inventory homes are currently available for sale in our area. Check out our New & Now page to see the many great new home opportunities available.

 

Historically Low Interest Rates

Interest rates are still historically low. This means you can get more house for your budget. If you need help finding a reputable mortgage lender, contact us to offer some suggestions of home lenders to check out. Also, don’t miss trying our mortgage calculator to find out what your monthly payments might be based on the price of a home, the interest rate and length of the loan. 

Using an Experienced Buyers Agent

Experienced buyers specialists, like the ones on The Boehmer Team, can help you with the home buying process at little to no cost. Our job is to help you find home buying opportunities that match your needs and help you through the process of purchasing a home, which is especially helpful in a competitive market. 

 

Our network provides us access to homes being prepared for the market that aren’t even listed yet. We also know of off-market listings to show our homebuyers. Using a Boehmer Team Buyer Specialist gives you an edge over trying to procure a home on your own.

- - -

If you are a homebuyer currently looking for a new or pre-existing home to buy, contact The Boehmer Team. We can help you procure your dream home and even help sell your current home. Reach out any time for a no obligation home buying or selling consultation and learn our strategies to help buyers and sellers. 

 

Options For Buying New Construction

If you are considering buying a newly constructed home in the St. Louis or St. Charles County area, you have several options. St. Louis area homebuilders offer home plans that you can tweak and build from scratch, homes that are currently being built that don’t yet have a buyer, and homes that are completed and waiting for a buyer. This means you can have a beautiful brand new home now, or you can participate in the process to build the perfect home for your family.

Building a New Home From Scratch

Building a new home that is created specifically for you can be the experience of a lifetime. Picking out the design plans, lot, exterior and interior finishes enable you to create a home that will perfectly fit your life. We’ll admit there can be a lot of steps in creating the perfect home from scratch, but that is why we are here. With the right help, the steps in the home building process make for a great experience. And the results are second to none when you get a home that is created uniquely for you.

Buying a New Home During Construction

Another way to buy a brand new home is to purchase the home while it is being built. Homebuilders are building homes all the time, regardless if a buyer is procured. Purchasing a home that is currently under construction will cut out some of the steps a buyer must do in the regular new home building process while still allowing buyers to choose some of the interior and exterior finishes for the home (depending on the stage of the build).  The Boehmer Team has dedicated a page to such homes called New & Almost Ready For You. This page features homes throughout the St. Louis area that are currently under construction and waiting for a buyer.

Buying a Newly Completed Home

Homebuyers that want to purchase a new home now, without the wait of the building process, can look to builder inventory homes. An inventory home may have been part of a neighborhood development project, had a buyer that could not complete the sale (at no fault of the builder), or was simply built for inventory purposes. Many fine brand new homes are available throughout the St. Louis area and are just waiting for a buyer. You can find new homes that are completed and available for sale at our New & Now page BuyNewAndNow.com. We update this page weekly with new home inventory that is currently for sale in the St. Louis area.

- - -

Whether buying a home you build from scratch, customizing an upcoming build or purchasing a newly completed home, The Boehmer Team can help. We can recommend great local builders like Bridgewater Communities, Wool Custom Homes, Genesis Development Company, Renaissance Living, and Fischer and Frichtel. We represent buyers purchasing new homes to help with the purchasing and building process and to protect the interests of new home buyers throughout the transaction. Thinking of buying new? Contact The Boehmer Team for expert assistance.

6 Ways a Buyer’s Agent Helps Your Home Search

In today’s competitive home buying market, a dedicated buyer’s agent is more important than ever in finding and securing the home you want. Most real estate agents in the St. Louis and St. Charles County areas of Missouri perform dozens of tasks for both buyers and sellers. But a dedicated buyer’s agent is focused on helping homebuyers. This provides a better experience for homebuyers. Here are some ways a buyer’s agent helps in your home search.

Stephanie Puszkar

1. A buyer’s agent takes the time to discover your needs and what matters most to you.
Stephanie Puszkar, buyer’s agent for The Boehmer Team, says “by establishing a communicative relationship we assist homebuyers by providing knowledge through the process and they help us determine exactly what they need, want and will accept for a new home.”

2. A buyer’s agent gets access to data in real time.
Did you know that most national consumer home search engines do not provide real time data and information on homes for sale? This is why the best homes are often gone before you even have a chance to look at them.

“The Boehmer Team uses the newest data available from our local multiple listing service, a large company network, social media groups and additional industry related resources,” says Linda Boehmer.

www.TheBoehmerTeam.com has advanced home search technology that lets you create a home search and sign up to receive immediate email notifications of new homes that match your search within minutes of hitting the market. Create a saved search yourself or contact The Boehmer Team to let us know your criteria and we’ll set it up for you.

3. A dedicated buyer’s agent has an inside advantage.

Linda and Kelly Boehmer

“We have several resources for coming soon listings via our connections and company network,” says Kelly Boehmer. “We also know of MLS-exempt homes the public is not aware of. Being a top producing team, we have our pulse on the market and recognize good opportunities when they are presented.”

4. A buyer’s agent knows new construction opportunities.
When looking at brand new homes, a buyer’s agent works to protect your interests and makes sure you are represented in the transaction. If you decide that a pre-owned home is not for you, The Boehmer Team can help. They have over 50 years combined experience in new construction sales. Sometimes the perfect home for you may be brand new.

5. An experienced buyer’s agent has contract negotiating expertise.
When it comes to reviewing and negotiating lengthy home contracts, experienced buyer’s agents like those on The Boehmer Team help achieve the best results for you. They know top techniques and options for the buyer when negotiating offers, including competitive offer situations.  Savvy buyer’s agents will think aggressively, within the buyers abilities, to present the buyers with options that may assist them in procuring a home.

6. A buyer’s agent sees the entire process through.

Shannon Lautenschlaeger

A full-time dedicated buyer’s agent can quickly show you property, promptly secure appointments, and obtain answers to your questions in a timely manner from the beginning to the end of the transaction.
“We attend inspections and walk-throughs, explain the inspection reports, and write repair requests,” says Shannon Lautenschlaeger, buyer’s agent for The Boehmer Team. “We make sure contractual deadlines are met, request invoices and warranties, schedule closing, and review the closing statement for accuracy.”

The best part? The sellers pay for buyer representation. So it is affordable to have an expert with you throughout the home buying process. If moving is on your mind, let the number one team in St. Charles County, Missouri go to work for you. The Boehmer Team has buyer’s agents that are ready to focus on your needs and results. Meet The Boehmer Team at TheBoehmerTeam.com and try the advanced online home search while you’re there.