Beautiful single-story brick, ranch home is located in Webster Gardens

 

5 Heather Dr, St Louis, Missouri 63123

Open House: Saturday, March 6 from 10 am.- 2 pm. & Sunday, March 7 from 10 am.- 2 pm.

This beautiful single-story brick, ranch home is located in the township of Webster Gardens--in the city of Crestwood. Only two families have lived in (and loved) this house in the last 63 years. Some of the special features include: *a secluded backyard with deck and a 33X18 pool (pool is 8 years old; has new liner and pump in 2020) *walking distance to Whitecliff Park, Grant's Farm, and Grant's Trail *15 minutes from downtown St Louis or Clayton area; 5 minutes from major highways 44 and 270 *oak hardwood throughout the house *new carpet in the basement and sunroom *fresh paint throughout *heated and cooled sunroom with gas fireplace *wood-burning fireplace in living room * 8-foot ceilings *walk-in closet in master *custom bar in basement *pecky cypress, tongue and groove paneling in the basement *marble thresholds and window sills *roof and gutters approximately 4 years old Seller is selling the home because they are moving out of state.

$389,000

To view call 

314-608-7966 Laura Ludwig Lauralei Properties, llc 314-503-1186 www.lauralei.net List your home for One Flat Fee of $199

The 10 Most Beautiful Homes in St. Louis

The 10 Most Beautiful Homes in St. Louis:

Selecting a mere 10 houses in a city with an abundance of style is never an easy task, but it’s one that we’re more than happy—and prepared—to take on.

By Veronica Theodoro

August 18, 2016

 

6:00 AM

This year’s beautiful homes merit our appreciation both for their beauty and because of their artistic expression. How, you ask? Consider the meticulous attention to detail, the interesting use of materials, and the bold embrace of forward-thinking architectural styles and features.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Ladue Architect: Krejci Associates Architects, Hennessey Development Landscape Architect:Westchester Gardens Significant Stats: The property, which comprises 5 acres, was originally home to a 16-stall equestrian estate with a riding ring.

To passersby, the house could be part of a movie set. Closer inspection reveals that it’s home to a large, busy family. “I love my front porch,” says the wife. “There’s always a cool breeze. It relaxes me, and I forget about all the things I need to do.” Flanked by a formal garden to the west and an original stone structure to the east, the house sits on the highest natural vantage point in Ladue. “We spent a lot of time positioning the house so that we could get great views from the windows and doors,” says the husband. “We feel blessed that we found the land.” “The kids have had a great childhood here,” adds the wife. 

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Ladue Architect: George Hellmuth (The late Brooks Critchfield designed the front terrace and entry area.) Landscape Architect: Rand Rosenthal Design Group Significant Stats: Five bedrooms, nine bathrooms

The relationship between home and nature make this house worthy of its name and a place on our list. At one time a hunting property, “The Woodlands” has retained its natural surroundings: acres of mature native oak and walnut trees and plenty of wildlife, including red-tailed foxes and Canada geese. “Years ago, my kids and I raised a baby raccoon here,” says the owner. The only major change to the exterior of the house was made in 2006: the addition of a pea gravel drive and a front terrace, which opened up the house and made it more welcoming to visitors’ eyes. For years, the owner says, the house felt a bit too “off-limits,” but now it’s warmer and friendlier: “I thought about it a long time because you don’t want to make a lot of changes to the architecture, but the house was a very dark forest, and I wanted to bring more life to it.”

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Ladue Architect: Richard Cummings Landscape Architect: Harriet Bakewell, Moynihan & Associates Significant Stats: Four bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms 

Whatever you do, don’t say it’s pink. Use “salmon” instead (preferred by the husband) or, better yet, “blush” (which the wife likes). Despite the home’s origins as a one-room schoolhouse–turned–1950s ranch plagued by overgrowth, the work of none other than famed St. Louis architect Frederick Dunn inspired the current owners. “I’ve always loved what he did,” says the wife. Soon after purchasing the house, in 1985, the owners had the roof removed and added a second story. They found 33 sets of French doors and had them restored and built into the exterior and interior architectural spaces. The pea gravel in a terracotta shade was a deliberate choice, drawing a distinction between the home’s private drive and the main road, which lies  just beyond a row of hedges. They added six Autumn Blaze pear trees along the exterior brick walls to complete the look.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Creve Coeur Architect: Peter Schwartz at Vessel Architecture & Design Landscape Architect:Randy Mardis, Hoette Farms Significant Stats: Four bedrooms, five bathrooms

“The view is unbelievable,” says the owner. “There are no homes behind you. It’s all natural landscape.” Deer, coyotes, and geese are visible through the home’s windows, including those in the front, through which a visitor can see to the back of the house and out onto the rolling hills of a nearby golf course. Having previously owned a traditional-style home, the owners felt a strong inclination to live more connected to nature. The house is energy-efficient and complies with aging-in-place standards. It’s also low-maintenance, which the homeowners love. A metal roof, the Artisan by James Hardie cement siding, and natural stacked stone lend a uniform, Midcentury Modern presence.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Webster Groves Architect: Nolte & Nauman Landscape Architect: Jennifer SchoemehlSignificant Stats: Five bedrooms, four bathrooms 

“You bought which house?” It’s hard to believe from the looks of it today, but this was the reaction among friends when John and Tammy Caruso notified them that they were moving down the street and into a home painted periwinkle. “It needed so much work,” says Tammy, recalling the carpeted walls and the tree roots creeping into the home’s foundation. “It was pretty bad,” adds Caroline, one of her daughters. But the Nantucket-style house was a knockout at Christmas time, decked out in wreaths and with a candle placed just so in each of the home’s many windows. “It was my favorite house,” says Tammy. After an extensive renovation that included testing at least 10 shades of gray for the exterior paint color, the Caruso family can’t imagine living elsewhere. “I love the oversize front door, the rounded glass room off the master bedroom, the original limestone fireplace mantel,” she says. “And I love this street—it’s like living in Mayberry.”

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Clayton Architect: Maritz & Young Landscape Architect: Quiet Village Landscaping Significant Stats: Six bedrooms, seven bathrooms (including a carriage house with apartment)

Kim and Gary Taylor weren’t looking for a Spanish-style home when they decided to bid on this one nine years ago. What they’d really hoped for was a Tudor in Clayton’s Claverach Park. But with none available at the time—and the opportunity to buy a home whose interior had been meticulously renovated—they decided to go for it. “Houses from the 1920s were typically compartmentalized, but this one feels so open to us,” says Gary. The stucco exterior, the dark beams and hand-painted ceilings, and the original stained-glass windows are a period home enthusiast’s dreams come true. “Gary loves to study design,” says Kim. “I just go along for the ride.”

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Clayton Architect: Study & Farrar Landscape Architect: Garden Heights Nursery, Horstmann Brothers, and homeowner Significant Stats: This year the house turns 100! 

It’s a picture-perfect family home situated a short distance from Forest Park and the DeMun business district. When the wife spotted the online listing six years ago, she knew that it was meant to be her family’s home. “You can’t buy a house online,” her husband said to her at the time. So on a dreary January weekend, the wife drove from Nashville—where the family was living at the time—to St. Louis to see it in person. “It was filled with light, and despite how big it is, it felt like a home,” she says. Today, the Georgian Revival–style house is known for its French blue shutters. Over time, many of the shutters, originally painted a forest green, had faded to blue. Preferring that hue, the homeowners elected to match the color and repaint all of the shutters, which help imbue the house with its elegant aesthetic.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Central West End Architect: Tom Barnett Landscape Architect: A Floral Gallery Significant Stats:Eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, 9,000 square feet

Not a week passes without someone stopping to marvel or capture a picture, says homeowner Sharilyn Franklin. “It’s affirming. I always thought the house was beautiful and magnificent, too.” And who wouldn’t agree? The exterior alone features an entryway with twin heads of Minerva, palm tree and angel motifs carved into the stone, granite steps leading up to the front door, and four marble columns, restored by the previous owner after having been stolen sometime in the 1980s. Built in 1909 in the Vienna Secessionist period, this house stands out on a historic street for its unique and unusual architectural and design features.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Kirkwood Architect: Unknown Landscape Architect: Homeowners, 3D Design Ltd. Significant Stats: Built in 1854, the home was without a kitchen and bathrooms until 1864, the year plumbing was added. 

It’s no surprise that stories about this house, the oldest home on our list, abound, beginning with the original owners George and Virginia Fishback. George was one of the early proprietors of The Globe, which later became the Globe-Democrat. Virginia, born and raised in Kentucky, longed for a reminder of home, hence the house’s antebellum style. The current owners, Jennifer and Scott Purvines, seemed destined to live there. “One day while we were house-hunting, my husband’s aunt pointed out the house to us and said we’d live in it,” recalls Jennifer. We love the 2-foot-wide columns, the crown molding on the outside of the house, the circle driveway, and an exterior built from rosewood, which won’t mildew or mold, so there’s never a need to power-wash it.

Expand

PHOTO BY ALISE O'BRIEN

Neighborhood: Central West End Architect: Henry E. Roach Landscape Architect: Homeowner Significant Stats: Seven bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms

The limestone exterior, fire-glazed Ludowici tile roof, and two stone Great Danes guarding a walkway leading into a marble-paneled entryway adorned with museum-grade Greco-Roman statues—and those are just a handful of the architectural details on display. The current owners, who have lived in the house for four years, personally removed each of the home’s 48 storm windows to carefully scrape, re-glaze, and repaint them. “It took a while. I needed a 46-foot-tall ladder, but I was in no hurry,” one of them says, satisfied.

See also: Ten Things We Learned From The Most Beautiful Homes Cover Story

St Louis Real Estates trends

According to Trulia - these are the current St. Louis stats.

$216,800

Average Listing Price

View Homes for sale

3,677

Homes For Sale

View Homes for sale

$900

Median Rent Per Month

View Homes for rent

Real Estate recap this week

The rate of distressed home sales fell to 2008 levels in February and should return to a historically normal level in mid-2017 if the annual decrease seen that month holds steady, according to data aggregator CoreLogic.

Here’s what happened this week in the real estate market:

The number of seriously underwater homeowners inched up slightly during the first quarter due to slow home price appreciation, according to housing data provider RealtyTrac.

Home prices continued to rise in February, posting higher annual gains than in January, according to the latest Case-Shiller 20-city Composite.

The number of homes that went under contract rose for the third straight month in March, the National Association of Realtors reported.

Although most analysts have shown optimism for a strong spring homebuying season, online mortgage marketplace provider Zillow reported that its 30-year fixed mortgage rates have been flat for the past month.

New research from emerging markets portal Lamudi shows that Pakistan has the most eco-friendly homes for sale and for rent among the 30-plus countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America the site examined — for the second year in a row.

Better inventories and softer prices in the mid and upper tiers, improved levels of equity, strengthening income levels, and forecasts of rising rates coupled with pent-up demand and faster rising prices for entry-level homes could make this the perfect year for move-up sellers and buyers to move on up.

Mortgage rates inched up this week amid mixed economic reports.

Purchase mortgage loan activity is gaining momentum as the housing market enters the peak spring buying season, according to Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report.

The big news of the week: The U.S. economy stalled in the first quarter, GDP rising 0.2 percent. And long-term rates, which go down on weak economic news, instead went up.

provided by Inman 

St Louis has 3 of the wealthiest areas

Great article in the Riverfront times about St. Louis, stating 3 of the wealthiest areas in the nation are here.  They are Town & Country, Ladue and Frontenac.

In order to build its list of the wealthiest suburbs, Business Insider ranked the suburbs by median household income per the 2008-2012 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey Estimates.

Only St. Louis and Dallas landed three suburbs in the list of the 25 wealthiest. 

Click here to go to the article

New Home Sales Soar by 18%

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged in August and hit their highest level in more than six years, offering confirmation that the housing recovery remains on course. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales jumped 18.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units. That was the highest level since May 2008 and marked the second straight month of gains. While the new home sales segment accounts for only 9.1 percent of the housing market, the increase last month should allay fears of renewed housing weakness after a surprise decline in home resales last month. A survey last week showed homebuilder sentiment hit its highest level in nearly nine years in September, with builders reporting a sharp pick-up in buyer traffic. In August, new home sales soared 50 percent in the West to their highest level since January 2008. Sales in the populous South increased 7.8 percent to their highest level in 10 months. In the Northeast, sales rose 29.2 percent, but were flat in the Midwest. Dave Budzinski  Phone: 314-647-4747

Common Documents Required For A Mortgage Pre-Approval for Home Buyers

Even though many lenders are still quoting quick 10 minute pre-qualifications over the phone or online, a true mortgage approval that holds any weight is one that has been issued by an underwriter who has had an opportunity to review all of the necessary documents.

With a constant stream of new lending guidelines, volatile mortgage rates and tightening regulation from Washington, very few real estate agents will show new homes to a First-Time Home Buyer without at least a pre-qualification letter.

A Pre-Approval Letter will help you in three ways:

• It lets you know how much mortgage you can qualify for
• It gives you an estimate of what your total housing payment would be
• Submitting a strong “Pre-Approval” letter with a purchase offer will give the seller more confidence about your ability to complete your end of the agreement

It’s obviously a good idea to get your paperwork prepared ahead of time so that the pre-approval process is as thorough as possible.

In order to get a pre-approval letter, you’ll start by filling out a loan application and submitting a few documents for the loan officer and / or underwriter to review.

Common Loan Pre-Approval Documents:

Income / Assets for Wage Earner:

• Last 2 year W2s and Tax Returns
• 2 most recent Pay Stubs
• 2 most recent Bank Statements, 401(K), Liquid Assets, Investment Accounts

Income / Assets for Self-Employed:

• Last 2 year Tax Returns – Business and Personal
• Last Quarter P&L Statement

Letter of Explanation For:

• Employment Gap or New Line of Work
• Late Payments / Judgments / Bankruptcy on Credit Report

Other:

• Bankruptcy Discharge
• Child Support Documentation
• Lease Agreements (If own other Rental Properties)
• Mortgage Payment Coupons (If own other Real Estate)

…..

Most borrowers also want an opportunity to learn more about the loan officer before digging up all of these personal documents. Spend 15 minutes on the phone asking the loan officer to explain how mortgage rates work, quizzing them on some basic industry vocab or just to see if they know what to prepare your agent for ahead of time. The Q&A session can be more than just a lender qualifying you, as long as you’re prepared to ask the right questions.

Either way, you’ll definitely want to have the above list of approval documents ready once you’ve decided on the right loan officer that you trust will meet your expectations.

David Sharp

NMLS#280482

123 Mortgage Team

314-260-4360