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Saint Clair, MO Real Estate News

By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
When Santa was just a little guy, most St. Clair homes that put up Christmas lights used the incandescent type. The lights were very pretty, of course, but they put off a lot of heat which can cause a fire, plus they used quite a bit of electricity. Santa's now a bit older and lighting has grown up too. Nowadays, with the introduction of LED (Light Emitting Diode) Christmas lighting, energy consumption is down about 70% from what the old incandescent used, and the lights themselves are cooler and last about 10 times longer. You can even connect up to 87 strands to reach all the darkest corners of your home. But there's always something new under the sun, and that's where solar-powered Christmas lights come in. These are still LED but are now powered by solar energy rather than electrici...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
You may not realize that the Hickinbotham Real Estate Team not only offers homebuyers help in buying the home they're going to live in, but we also offer assistance to novice and experienced real estate investors who are looking for income-generating properties, but don't want the hassle of managing them. Whether you want to invest in residential, commercial or farm properties, we can help! According to the U.S. Census, due to the uncertain job market, the number of rental homes in this country is increasing. This combination of increased demand for rentals, low home prices, and good interest rates, is making income-generating rental properties one of the best investments available. Hickinbotham Real Estate can help investors find and purchase great income-producing properties in the St...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
    A little while back, we discussed here about how you can obtain a credit report to see why your credit is what it is before you go shopping for your St. Clair dream house. Another number you will need to know is your credit score. To find out what your credit score is go to CreditKarma, where you can obtain a free credit score at any time. This way you'll be able to monitor your score to see if it's going down (Bad News) or up (Good News). A score of 720 or above is considered "good" but anything above that is even better! If you're planning to buy a St. Clair house, the better your credit score the lower the interest rate you'll be able to get on your mortgage and the easier it will be to find a lender willing to lend to you. So before you attempt to obtain a mortgage at a great ra...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
  If you're lucky enough to live in the St. Clair area, or maybe you're thinking of moving here, this is a great time of year! Many folks these days love to have a traditional Christmas tree in their homes, and a great place to find one nearby is at the Heritage Valley Tree Farm at 1668 Four Mile Road near Washington.   The Heritage Valley Tree Farm is actually a tree farm and a bed and breakfast, although the farmhouse is closed to overnight visitors during December and is instead wearing its festive Christmas splendor while offering hot chocolate, apple cider and fresh-baked cookies to those visitors coming out and selecting Christmas trees. The tree farm offers Canaan Firs from 6 to 8 feet tall at $6.50 to $8 per foot or White Pines from 6 to 8 1/2 feet tall for $6 per foot. All tree...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
  Do you ever wonder what your credit is like? If you're thinking about going house hunting in the St.Clair area, this might be a good time to find out what your credit report has to say. State and Federal laws entitle you to receive this disclosure copy of your credit file. First, let's learn exactly what a credit report is. As a consumer, your credit file is maintained by different consumer reporting companies. By obtaining a credit file disclosure, or credit report, you will be able to see what information is being disclosed to certain parties, such as a lender if you're attempting to get a loan to buy a home, when they request a consumer report about you. You'll also be able to see what companies have gotten your consumer report from the consumer reporting company (also known as inq...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
Members of the National Realtors Association (NAR) from around the US, who were in California recently for their convention, also spent a day at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, framing new homes during the Habitat for Humanity of Orange County Volunteer Build Day. As an NAR member and a carpenter, I was thrilled to be able to join in this great event! The vision of Habitat for Humanity is a world where everyone has a decent, safe and affordable place to live. Towards this end, they build or repair simple houses for low-income families around the world in need of a home. Along with volunteers, the homeowners themselves help with the building or repair of their homes, and may also be eligible to obtain a no-profit, no-interest mortgage through Habitat for Humanity to...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
In the heart of Missouri wine country, another winery has opened its doors. From now until December 31st (except for Christmas Day), the St. Jordan Creek Winery at 2829 U.S. Hwy. 50 in Beaufort will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. From 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 3rd, come and enjoy free tasting and food pairings as the winery holds its Winter Wine Party. Their newest wine, "Snowy Knight", will be released at this gathering. Along with another new release, "Vineyard Ambrosia", "Snowy Knight" is made from the sweet vignoles grape and is perfect with light desserts or fresh fruit. A sweet Norton port called "1919" will also soon be released, just in time for the holidays. This wine is great with stews, beef and other hearty dishes. St. Jordan Creek Win...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
You're probably hearing how bad the real estate market is right now. It seems to be a big topic on all the news channels. Have you also been thinking that now might be a good time to purchase a home in the St. Clair area, but you just aren't sure? Here are six tips to give you some food for thought in deciding whether to buy a house in the current housing market. 1. As I mentioned, the housing market is not at its best but rather somewhat stagnant at this point in time. However, the price of renting a home is on the rise. Demand for rentals has increased, due to foreclosures and little new construction, making a nice low-priced rental harder to find. Experts are predicting that the price to rent a home will increase by 5 percent through 2012. But the good news for buyers is that home p...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
This Halloween, the old Busch Brewery in Washington is the site of the Butcher's Brewery, a real haunted house. Do you dare enter the Butcher's Brewery? If you think you're up to the task, come on out any or every night of Halloween weekend, Friday night through Monday night, October 28 through October 31, from 6 to 11 p.m. For a $2 donation, you can tour the lower level of the old Brewery. Different things will be happening each of the four nights, so you may want to plan to come to them all, if you dare! All donations will be going to the Relay for Life of Franklin County, so good things are afoot. Assistant Police Chief of New Haven, Dan Terry, a local ghost hunter aka Spookstalker, says there are several ghosts that call the old Brewery home, including Fred Gersie, who was one of th...
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As most residents of St. Clair are aware, the city is attempting to convince the FAA in Kansas City that closing the St. Clair Regional Airport located off Hwy. 47 in the Interstate 44 corridor north of town would be in the best interests of the city of St. Clair. Most St. Clair residents seem to agree that the airport is a drain on city funds, as well as a waste of prime land where retail shops could be built, saving them from the 12 - 20 mile drive to shop in nearby cities. Residents are tired of spending their tax dollars on upkeep of the airport that seems to benefit only a few, many of whom are not St. Clair residents, while city parks, streets, sidewalks and even the city pool need those funds. If the airport closes, the city would have to pay back the approximately $450,000 in Fe...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
If you've never been to Pin Oak Farms U Pick Pumpkin Patch, this may be the year you'll want to go! Pin Oak Farms is located at 2431 Highway E in New Haven, which is about 30 miles north of St. Clair. The farm is open from 10 am to 5:30 pm every Saturday and Sunday in October, so pack the kids in the car and make a day of it. The pumpkin patch awaits!  At Pin Oak Farms you'll find free parking, free admission and even a free ride in the hay wagon to get to the U-Pick pumpkin patch, where your family can pick pumpkins of their choice, right off the vine. Kids 12 and under can get their very own FREE mini-pumpkin just by coloring one of the Halloween pictures you'll find here (print them off yourself) and taking it to Pin Oak Farms, where it will be put on display for other visitors to ad...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
According to a recent article  in HousingWire on bank processing of foreclosures, 14 largest mortgage servicers will examine 4.5 million files to make sure that foreclosures were processed fairly. The article appears below in its entirety.   Monday, September 19th, 2011, 2:52 pm by Jon Prior The reviews federal regulators required of the 14 largest mortgage servicers to determine how many borrowers were harmed by faulty procedures will span nearly 4.5 million loan files, according to Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh. In the coming weeks, homeowners who faced a foreclosure will be able to request a review of their case if they believed they suffered financially as a result of a servicer's error. Direct mailings and an advertising campaign will target borrowers who received a...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
Meramec Lakes Golf Course will hold a Missouri Children's Burn Camp Fundraiser on October 15th, and with the price of a day of fun on the course, St. Clair golfers get to help surviving burn victims attend a very special summer camp. The Burns Recovered Support Group, Inc. was formed in 1983 by the St. John's Mercy Medical Center Burn Care Team along with a group of young burn survivors. The goal of this wonderful support group is threefold: to assist young burn survivors, to give support to medical facilities that treat burn victims, and to educate the public in preventing injuries through burn awareness. In 1997 the Support Group founded the Missouri Children's Burn Camp, which is a typical week-long summer camp where children and teens can go to have fun while making friends and memo...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
What better way to spend a crisp fall Saturday morning in Saint Clair than by browsing the Route 66 Farmers' Market—the best place to find local produce in Saint Clair. Open every Saturday morning this year from April 30th thru October 29th, you'd better hurry because the season is quickly winding down as winter approaches. Saint Clair's Farmers' Market is located at 855 N. Commercial in the lot in front of the Health Mart Pharmacy, and, weather permitting, is open from 7am until noon. This time of the year, you'll be able to find pumpkins for fall decorating, as well as other seasonal favorites such as turnips and winter squash. Throughout the season, fresh eggs are always available as are baked goods, created by our own fantastic local cooks. For those wanting something a little out o...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
If you're lucky enough to remember the TV show, Route 66, you may be impressed by the fact that Historic Route 66 runs through our fair city of St. Clair!    Route 66 was officially established on November 11, 1926, and this date is celebrated every year at various sites along what's affectionately called “the mother road”. It was decommissioned on June 27, 1985, and although a somewhat sad date, it too is remembered every year. Cyrus Avery, known as the “father of Route 66”, was responsible for first mapping the route that would become Route 66. Beginning at Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the road runs through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, finally ending up in Santa Monica, California. It covers a total of 2400 miles, and was originally the “...
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By Scott Hickinbotham
(Hickinbotham Real Estate, Inc.)
Saint Clair Real Estate Established in 1843 as a railroad community, Saint Clair City has a population of almost 4500, and is located in Franklin County´s real estate market, and is part of the Saint Louis metropolitan area. St. Clair´s proximity to St. Louis has made it a Route 66 getaway for the St. Louis elite in the past, and today it serves as home to many St. Louis commuters who enjoy the peaceful and friendly lifestyle of St. Clair. Being conveniently located on the I44 Interstate has contributed to St. Clair´s recent growth as a commuter neighborhood and a commercial center. St. Clair City was originally known as "Travelers Repose". The breathtaking landscape around St. Clair is comprised of thick forests, pastures and farmland, with the steep hills and deep valleys many associa...
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