Unlocking the Potential of Newly Built Homes

In the current real estate landscape, purchasing a home in St. Louis or St. Charles County comes with its share of challenges. Higher mortgage rates may create affordability issues and there is a limited inventory of available homes compared to years past. However, what if there was a game-changing solution that could address both concerns?

Inventory Bright Spot: New Home Construction

Home seekers can opt for either existing homes or newly constructed properties. While the inventory of existing homes for sale has seen some growth this year, there are still fewer options compared to previous years like in 2018 or 2019.

Embracing newly built homes can expand your choices further. According to Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com explains,

“The shortage of existing homes For Sale has opened up the possibility of new-home construction to more buyers who may not have once considered it.”

At The Boehmer Team we know what recent data from the Census shows - new home construction is ramping up in two key areas: starts and completions. (See most recent spike on chart below in pink.)

Starts, or homes where builders just broke ground, have seen a big increase lately. And completions, homes that builders just finished, are also up significantly. So, if you want a new, move-in ready home or you want to get in early and customize your build along the way, you have more options right now.

See Our List of Preferred Builders

Affordability Incentives from Builders

Builders are currently providing incentives such as mortgage rate buy-downs to ease affordability challenges and help buyers achieve their dream home. Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, explains why you may find builders have more wiggle room to offer than the typical homeowner:

“Builders aren't rate locked-in. They would love to sell you the home because they're not living in it. It costs money not to sell the home. And many of the public home builders have said in their earnings calls that they are not going to be pulling back on incentives, especially the mortgage rate buydown, so that will help the new-home market continue to perform well in the spring home-buying season.”

Expert Guidance from New Construction REALTORs

Purchasing a newly built home involves a different process than buying from a homeowner. It is essential to work closely with local REALTORs like The Boehmer Team. We have many years of experience working with home builders as well as special training and certifications to help the new construction home buyer. We offer expert guidance through intricate builder contracts, the build process and more.

In Summary

If you're facing difficulties in finding a suitable home or navigating affordability issues, considering exploring the potential of newly built homes as a viable solution. Connect with The Boehmer Team to explore if this option aligns with your home-buying needs. Or visit New Home Central on our website to search for new construction homes, see preferred builders, learn about the process and more.

 

 

 

How To Support Local Businesses in St. Charles County Over the Holidays

The holiday gift-giving season is upon us. There’s nowhere better to find gifts and spend money this season than somewhere local to St. Charles County, Missouri. Buy shopping local, you support business owners in your area. Here are some ways you can support local over the holidays.

 

Shop there

One of the best ways to support a small business during the holidays is to shop there often, for items you use yourself or items you plan to give away as gifts.

 

Buy Gift Cards

Gift cards are a great thing for small businesses because they're a source of instant revenue. If you have picky people on your holiday shopping list, it pays to purchase gift cards from local businesses, provided your loved ones have access to those stores.

One of the many great shops in Old St. Charles.

Meet Friends There

Next time your friends ask to meet to dine at a well-known chain restaurant, suggest visiting a local option instead. You'll likely enjoy a more unique menu and comparable or even more competitive prices.
One of our favorite places to meet friends and shop is old St. Charles. There you’ll find shops like October Moon Trading Co. They always have fun and unique gifts at prices for all budgets

 

Host Events There

Need a place for your holiday event or large family gathering? Check your local options. Rather than cram people into your home, a small business may be open to holding your holiday event. Cork & Rind in St. Charles is a great local option to drink, eat, shop or host a gathering

Private event space at Cork & Rind

Tip a Little Extra

The hosts and servers at your local establishments need holiday spending money to spread around the community too.  I’m sure the staff at one of our favorites, O’Kanes Kitchen in Cottleville, would appreciate a bigger tip. Oh, they offer gift cards too.

 

Keep Them in Mind for the Future

Since it can be easy to forget local businesses that don’t have giant ad budgets, keep a list of local business you like to refer to in the future.

Show Some Social Media Love

Write rave reviews, share posts from your favorite local business, and/or tag friends in posts about local businesses. We’re doing our part by mentioning some our favorites here in this article.

 

Linda & Kelly with another Realtor and Broker, Deb at O'Kanes Kitchen

Sign Up for Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to keep tabs on your favorite local businesses. Sign up for their newsletter to hear about their latest sales, events and new products.

 

Refer Your Family and Friends

Spread the word and multiply your influence for a great local business by referring your friends and family.

 

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Smaller, local businesses are important to St. Charles County. These businesses create jobs locally, contributing to better property values. So it really does pay to do what you can to support local businesses in your area during the holidays and all year round. Speaking of local, did you know The Boehmer Team members are all local to the St. Charles County area? When you need an expert in the area for real estate, contact The Boehmer Team.

 

 

 

Map of the Home Buying Process

Purchasing a home in the St. Louis or St. Charles County area of Missouri, although exciting, can also be challenging. However with the right Realtor(s) and the right information, the process of buying a St. Louis or St. Charles County area home can be easier than you think. We help with everything from financing to home search to home procurement. Below we’ve mapped out the home buying process for you.

 

The Home Buying Process Mapped Out

Pre-Approval
This required process will help determine the price range for your home search, and give you the best position for when you put an offer on a home.

Necessities
Your buyer specialist will discuss with you the features you are looking for including size, style, location, amenities, accessibility to schools and other personal preferences and must-have features.

Home Search
Your buyer specialist will provide you with homes that match your criteria, but you will also have full access to the MLS System through TheBoehmerTeam.com. Register for Property Watch to save your favorite homes, store notes and receive automatic emails of new homes that match your search. Set appointments with your buyer specialist to tour any home that interests you. A qualified buyer specialist will have a variety of resources that are only available to licensed agents and should have access to homes that may not yet be marketed to the public.  They should be actively searching and assisting you with your search for your new home.

Submit an Offer/Negotiations
Negotiations can involve everything from settling on a sales price to concessions and financing. The Boehmer Team agents are trained, expert negotiators whose job it is to represent your interests during the entire real estate transaction.

Purchase & Sale Agreement
Once an offer on a property has been made by a buyer and accepted by the seller, they enter into a legal contract known as a Purchase and Sale Agreement. This document outlines the specific terms and conditions of the transaction and is acknowledged by both parties.

Inspections
Once a buyer and seller reach a mutual agreement on a property, a home inspector is brought in to determine if the home needs any repairs. An inspector will check items, such as the roof, basement, heating system, water heater, air-conditioning system, windows, plumbing, and electrical. Afterwards, buyers may have the opportunity to negotiate with the sellers to cover the costs of certain repairs or to ask for concessions.

Title Insurance/Survey
You will receive a full report detailing the property history for you and your lender to ensure there are no legal discrepancies between a new owner and the property being purchased. If you choose to have a survey performed it would be done at this time.

Final Loan Approval
You should already be pre-approved, but now that you've entered a contract to purchase a home you will be working more in-depth with your lender on your final loan approval. To learn more about this process, pay a visit to our Mortgage Center page on TheBoehmerTeam.com.

Final Walk-Through
Your buyer specialist will accompany you on a walk-through of the property before closing to ensure the home is in as expected condition and any agreed upon repairs have been performed to your satisfaction. This is also the time to double check that all closing details are completed and utility information is prepared for switch over.

Closing
Prior to closing, you'll receive a settlement statement outlining any fees that may apply to you. At closing, all of the paperwork is signed by the buyer and seller - both parties pay any settlement fees and the documents are officially recorded.  After closing is finalized and recorded, the home is yours. Enjoy!

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For our homebuyers, The Boehmer Team has dedicated buyer specialists on our team to assist your every need in the home buying process. Even in a competitive market, we're helping homebuyers make their home ownership dreams a reality. Contact The Boehmer Team to assist you in the home buying process or to request a printable home buying process map.

 

 

Fans of Fandom

With the Super Bowl almost upon us we couldn’t help but discuss the joy of the fans. You see, we are BIG fans of football. Watching athletes who have trained to fight down that beautiful green field and score in the face of others trying to take them down is thrilling. The way you can feel the sound in your chest when the crowd roars after a touchdown is exhilarating. When you are enjoying football with friends, any of the day’s prior disagreements no longer matter, just the joy of the game.

We love the uniquely American game of football and the camaraderie we enjoy with other football fans – yes, even the ones from other teams. In fact, The Boehmer Team’s leaders, Linda and Kelly, each have different favorite football teams. Ultimately, we are just fans of the sport. Football fans share a common language of game rules, television habits and stories of events we’ve watched unfold together.

Fans are fans because they want to share their passion for something. They don’t care if it isn’t cool, or if they’ll look stupid doing it. They are fans because they can’t help not to be. Something about the experience is so good that they want to celebrate it, even if it means shouting it from the rooftops, while wearing face paint, in an oversized jersey, in front of people they work with.

While working in real estate, we’ve become fans of many people that help us provide the best client experiences.  We’d like to give a shout out to some of those people: Jeff Greige of Paramount Mortgage , homebuilders Bridgewater Communities, Fischer & Frichtel, Genesis Development, Renaissance Living, Wool Custom Homes, the home stagers at InHance It!, our brokers/owners Deb Colburn, Maryanne Vitale, Rick Colburn, and of course all our amazing team members. We’re big fans of these folks and want to say thank you for making us into fans.

After we assist our clients in real estate we ask for a review of our services to ensure we are providing the best experience. The feedback shows that we have made some fans of our own. We’d like to thank those who take the time to write us a testimonial.

See more testimonials.

If you’ve worked with The Boehmer Team and would like to leave a testimonial, click here.  Or if you’d just like to learn more about The Boehmer Team and how we can assist you with St. Louis or St. Charles County real estate click here. We’d love to turn you into a fan.

To all the fans out there… GO TEAM! We hope you have a great Super Bowl Sunday. 

December Has Best Deals on Homes

Updated December 11, 2020

Homebuyers are always searching for the best deal on their new home. The busy holiday season in December not only delivers great deals on Christmas shopping, it delivers great deals on homes. And after all, a home could even be a Christmas gift. (To learn more about the best way to do that, click here.) 

According to a study by Attom Data Solutions, December is the best month and December 26th is the best day to get the biggest discount on a home.

The study by Attom Data Solutions found that overall, December is the best month for deals if you are buying a home. Homebuyers and investors searching during the holidays will face less competition in the marketplace. Also, they will have more motivated sellers, which could give an upper hand during price negotiations.

The analysis, based on closing date, found that only ten days of the year offer discounts below estimated market value (no months do overall). Seven of the best days to buy are in December, when savings can average as much as $2,500 or more. Also one day in October, November and February each offer extra discounts for homebuyers with saving of $500 to $1,000.

Attom’s study covers the last five years of sales. Previous years have had more days of good deals but a particularly hot seller’s market in the last few years drove the number of days for deals down. As the market cools down the number of days for deals will go up again.

Using the same data from the study one can also see days that homebuyers are least likely to get a good deal. The days where homebuyers can expect to pay up to 9 percent over the estimated home value are May 28th, 29th, and 30th.

The days that are linked to the best deals are related to holidays and down times when it comes to buyers making offers. With many people busy over the holidays, sellers become more motivated to offer deals. Keep in mind that the study is based on closing dates, so the days are related to down times when buyers are making offers.

For example, the deal day in October is the 12th, when buyers can get a $1,000 discount, are from offers that were most likely accepted over the Labor Day weekend holiday. And on February 12th, when buyers can get a $500 discount, offers were probably accepted around the New Year.

Looking at the study overall by month, buyers pay just 0.5 percent over the estimated home value in December. While June shows buyers can pay 7.3 percent above the estimated home value.

Meanwhile region can affect the best month to buy a home too. Cold seasons tend to offer the best discounts. While Hawaii isn’t as affected by seasonal sales, every other state shows the best discounts from October to February.

Something we have experience with that is not mentioned in the study are year-end deals offered by homebuilders. Homebuilders offer some of the best deals of the year at the end of the year. The greatest year-end type savings are often times tied to homes that can close by the year’s end.  Most homebuilders have a preferred lender that is able to close a home very quickly to secure year-end driven promotions. Check out our New & Now and New & Almost Ready For You pages to see new homes available where these deals might apply.

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The Boehmer Team is available for you almost any day of the year. That’s one of the great reasons to work with a team; we have the availability to match your schedule and needs. And you don’t have to go to a national website to find a good deal on St. Louis or St. Charles County area real estate. Our local website gets updated with new listing information multiple times a day while the national sites only get updated every few days. Click on over to TheBoehmerTeam.com or contact The Boehmer Team to assist you in finding a great deal on a new home that is perfect for you.

*See the full Attom Data Solutions report at: https://www.attomdata.com/news/home-prices-and-values/top-10-best-days-of-the-year-to-buy-a-home/

Radon in Missouri Homes

What is radon and how does it affect my home? 

Radon is a chemical element (Rn). It is produced via the natural breakdown of thorium and uranium, their decay product radium, which creates its decay product radon. It is a colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas that is considered a health hazard due to its radioactivity. 

 

Studies have shown a clear link between breathing high concentrations of radon and incidence of lung cancer. Thus, radon is considered a significant contaminant that affects indoor home air quality worldwide. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.

How do you find out if you have radon in your home?

For Missourians there is a FREE RADON TESTING KIT you can order. Click the following link and fill out the quick form to receive your testing kit in 8-10 business days: http://health.mo.gov/living/environment/radon/testkit.php

What if you find radon in your home?

If you have performed only a single test, the US EPA recommends a follow-up test before fixing your home. Radon levels fluctuate naturally and it is important to know if the initial test was an accurate assessment of your home's average radon level or whether the high levels could have been caused by unusual weather.

What if you discover radon and plan on selling your home?

If you are involved in a real estate transaction, the EPA recommends fixing the house prior to sale if the average of your original and follow-up tests are 4.0 pCi/L or higher.

How to mitigate radon in your home:

1. Hire a qualified licensed residential radon mitigation contractor.
   You can find a list of qualified licensed residential radon mitigation contractors for Missouri at: http://www.radongas.org/mitigation_template/MO.shtml
2. Do it yourself:
   To install a DIY radon system requires a variety of skills and some very special knowledge. Yes a radon mitigation system is really quite simple by design, but a poorly installed system could actually make your level worse. Here are a list of books to help you install a home radon mitigation system correctly: http://www.radonattahoe.com/doityourself.htm    

Find more information on radon in Missouri at http://mo-radon.info. This site contains county levels, inspectors, mitigators and more. Or talk to The Boehmer Team about their preferred radon inspectors for your area.