The Urban Garden

I saw this across the street from a property I am selling. The whole backyard of this multi family has been turned into a garden. The structure you see has been made out of various pieces of scrap metal and supports a tarp for when there is too much sun or rain. The owner immigrated from Asia and grows hard to find veggies and such from her home land!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

4126 Flad, Saint Louis, MO | Powered by Postlets

4126 Flad, Saint Louis, MO Powered by Postlets

New Listings to Share...

SHAW

4044 Shenandoah, just 2 blocks from Tower Grove Park

Circa 1905 Attached Single family residence boasts 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths with large additional open loft like space upstairs is perfect for use as a home office. This smartly-updated home has it all: hardwood floors, elegant trim, pocket door, recessed lighting, modern kitchen, open floor plan, deck, upstairs laundry, large closets,jacuzzi tub, alarm system & 2 car garageport Newer electrical, plumbing & systems. Be a part of the Historic Shaw Neighborhood and enjoy being able to walk to Tower Grove Park, Botanical Gardens, Shaw Dog Park, Sasha's on Shaw & Sweet Art just to name a few.
Easy access to highways 40 & 44, Grand & Kingshighway. Won't last long. Make an appointment today! ***Tax Abated through Jan. 2015***


TOWER GROVE SOUTH

4124 Fairview, immaculate Gingerbread Bungalow

Circa 1937: Meticulous 3 bedroom, 1 bath 1.5 story brick arts & crafts bungalow sitting on a DOUBLE LOT in beautiful Tower Grove South! Features include 3 levels of living area, amazing patio and outdoor entertaining spaces, 2-car covered off street parking (garage & carport), privacy fencing, renovated kitchen, partially finished basement and so much more! The main level offers hardwood floors throughout, and amazing sunlight by not having another home crammed right nextdoor! Great flow and floor plan, good room sizes and closets, completely move-in ready and polished for a dinner party your first weekend here! 2 bedrooms on main level with fully finished 2nd story master with adjoining sitting room and office. Great rec / family room in lower level, complete with storage and a fitness room. The yard requires seeing for yourself = truly amazing. Homes like these do not present themselves often, especially with these updates, features, price tag AND extra lot offered here, so HURRY!


BEVO MILL

4119 Beethoven, tons of space for a little price

Circa: 1908 This Bevo Mill gem has everything you are looking for under 110K! It has 3 bedrooms,2 full baths and tall ceilings. Live large for a very small price. Bathed in natural light and recently rehabbed it has newer windows throughout,updated kitchen,updated bathrooms, newer plumbing, newer furnace,updated electrical,first floor laundry,modern paint palette & a 2 car parking pad. Be close to everything you want to do! Just a short distance from the happening Morganford Strip where you can eat at Three Monkeys, Tin Can, Local Harvest and shop at T.F.A! From there you can just stroll on over to Tower Grove Park or the S. Grand Business district. Quick access to highways 44,40 & .I55 Hurry!

WTF? Oh no, you didn't!

I mean, "What the Flip?" ;). What were these rehabbers thinking? Do you see it? The picture wasn't the best, but I am still pretty sure anyone that is capable of viewing this picture can see the flaw. The door frame is completely crooked. Not to mention, the lock that was installed to accommodate the giant that might buy the house. I am 5 feet 2 inches and I couldn't unlock that back door to get out if there was a fire. Maybe, it's a new child safety feature? I am not too much taller than many children. Just a thought.

Unfortunately, this type of work on rehabs is very common. This house has been redone and is now on the market. Old houses are never, I repeat, NEVER going to be completely square. That is just a fact. However, you can fix certain things to avoid this "fun house" effect. In my opinion, it is worth the extra money to fix things like this. Cheaply done rehabs=cheap housing prices and rapid deterioration, which affects everyone in the neighborhood.

You CAN do good rehabs AND still make them affordable for the first time homebuyer crowd. In my opinion, first timers who don't have a good surplus of extra cash should be extra careful with what they buy in order to avoid costly repairs in the future. It is worth a little more money up front to buy a better product (you can stretch that cost over the life of your mortgage). Tons of costly repairs the homeowner can't afford, CAN lead to foreclosure. In that case, we have another crappy house in need of tons of repairs back on the market. If a good rehabber doesn't pick it up, we wind up in a vicious circle. In my opinion, the City deserves better.

I am not saying that houses in need of a little extra love shouldn't be attempted by owner occupants. I show these types of houses ALL the time. However, I am very careful to be very realistic about the time, dedication and potential cost to the customer and make sure to communicate it. Education IS key, this is NOT "Flip this House". A rehab or even seemingly simple repair is not completed in an hour. Not every buyer client has the vision or stamina to take these types of projects on. Just my two cents :) Bottom line, get your inspections, make sure you have good "bones", get quotes on projects that you need to get done immediately BEFORE you buy and have fun!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Diary of a Rehabber: Let's do the Time Warp Again

The title of this blog is in honor of my good friend Lucia who does the Time Warp dance when feeling blue. Hey Lucia!


So, here is the Gingerbread I have been telling you about. This will be our subject project property for now. I may start blogging about other rehabs as they come along. I just hope it doesn't become too confusing.

All though the outside was cute as a button, the inside needed help, major help.There is "good" old, and "ugly" old. Not every trend is worth saving. There is a big difference between vintage and dated. A lot of what was in the Gingerbread was "dated" not historic. See what I mean?

That kitchen is SEXY, er quaint?

No Ladder? No Problem!

Put the refrigerator in the middle of the room under the hole for the attic. Climb on the kitchen counter and jump! Next, hang on for dear life and pull yourself up. Did you notice that there is not a picture of me doing this?
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile