IllumiNite is the place to be on September 11 from 5pm to 10pm at Frontier Park in St. Charles.   IllumiRum 5K begins at 7:30 pm.  There will be lots of family fun activities and live entertainment by Carrie and the Catapults.  Don’t fret about feeding the family, there will be plenty of food trucks and cold beverages to satisfy every appetite.    Registration for the 5K is online  at www.stcharlesparksfoundation.org.

 

While reading the Mid Rivers News Magazine (August 19, 2015 edition) I noticed something I thought I would share:

AWARDS AND HONORS

“Augusta Wine Company, comprised of Augusta and Montelle Wineries, recently was awarded 60 medals plus three Best of Class honors and a Best Varietal overall award between the Mid-American and Missouri Wine Competitions held in July.  The MAWC included wines from 12 Mid-western states; the 2015 Missouri Wine Competition comprised a total of 270 wines from wineries located statewide.”

 

 

If you are interested in a little Civil War history, and looking for a great adventure, put on  your walking shoes and hit the trail.  New trail maps can be picked up at any of the 9 Missouri Welcome Centers located across the state in.or by visiting the national website at www.civilwartraveler.com

Get out and enjoy the beauty of Missouri and look back into history as you relive the scenery, trails and paths that so many brave civil war soldiers walked so many years ago.

10 Things Buyers Should Know About Auctions

• There is often a fee charged directly to the buyer at the time the offer is submitted. (For example Homesearch.com charges $2,500 to the buyer at the time the bid is submitted.  That charge is reversed if they are not the winning bid.)

• Many auction sites require the buyers to do inspections PRIOR to submitting their bid.

• Most auction sites require the buyers to have a survey PRIOR to submitting their bid. If you do not get a survey, you will not have survey coverage on your title policy.  (In other words, you do not know where the boundaries of the property are located).

• Title Insurance is not automatically included with your sale. You MUST ask for, and pay for it, separately!  THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO PROTECT YOU FORM ADDITIONAL LIENS, ETC.

• Most auction sites such as Homesearch.com and Auctions.com DO NOT allow for any contingencies. No financing, inspection, survey or title search contingency. If you are the highest bidder, and there are any issues with the title, survey or physical condition of the property, you are still expected to close on the property.

• There are deadlines for when bids have to be placed, and or when final highest and best bids are due. The number of bids on a home can increase dramatically during the last few minutes of an auction period.

• There are sometimes deadlines for registering as an interested party to have the right to bid on a property.

• Title can be an issue with properties purchased at auctions. Buyers may receive a Quit Claim Deed or Special Warranty Deed.  Find out how title will be transferred, and what type of title you receive prior to bidding.

• The house may not be vacant at the time the buyer purchases it at auction. Whether the house is vacant or occupied can control the type of deed that is offered.  If the home is occupied, the buyer will be responsible for getting the occupant evicted.

• Purchasing a home at an auction may mean you have to pay your Buyer’s Agent yourself. Not all auction sites offer a commission to buyer’s agents.

Habitat for Humanity of St Charles County is seeking vendors for the first-ever ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL to be held on  Saturday April 18 at 208 Civic Park Drive in O’Fallon.  Contact Andrea Hughes at andrea@habitatstcharles.org for more details

Kids new to the skateboarding and scooter scene?  Skate School 101 is just for you!!!! Beginning Feb. 9 at the Youth Activity Park at 7801 Highway N in Dardenne Prairie, class meets for 45 minutes each week for five weeks.  You must pre-register and the cost is $55.  Call 949-7535 to register.

The real estate market has been as capricious as has the stock market, since the recession of 2008 leaving homeowners wondering when the best time to buy is.  Two main factors come into play with the cost of a home.  First is, of course, the price of the home, and second – the mortgage interest rate.  We want to have some idea where these prices and rates are going.  Unlike the stock market which changes daily, home values are are expected to increase by nearly 20 percent between now and 2018.  Freddie Mac has projected that mortgage rates will be up to one full point higher by this time next year.  With home values and mortgage rates moving upward, it would appear that right now is one of the best times to make that new home purchase.

According to the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri, St. Charles County is leading the area in single and multiple family housing permits issued for new construction through August 2014.  County officials are optimistic that the housing industry will continue its recovery from the recession.

Francis Howell School District has installed solar panels on the roofs of 5 district buildings, and are generating power for school operations.  Panels were installed on the rooftops of the administration building, Castilo Elementary, Fairmount Elementary, Henderson Elementary, and Hollenbeck Middle schools.

The schools were outfitted with one 25-kilowatt system each, while Fairmount has 2 25-kilowatt arrays.  Over the next 20 years the district predicts it will save $573,000 in electric costs while producing an average of 16,000 kilowatt hours per month.  Thus far the systems have generated 48,000 kilowatt hours.

If you are thinking about moving, and the area school district  is on your priority list, you will want to check this out.

Francis Howell High School has been recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the best high schools in the country for the 2nd year in a row.  Francis Howell High  School was one of only 5 Missouri High Schools selected by Newsweek, ranking 364th out of 500 schools nationwide.