Welcome home to this stately 4 bedroom home with over 2,700 sq ft of living space in desirable Arlington Glen subdivision in Fenton. Greeted at the 2 story entry foyer with t-staircase, the wood entry foyer opens to formal living and dining rooms, and leads to the main floor family room with gas log fireplace and 6 bay window. The open floor plan continues into the kitchen and breakfast areas with oak cabinets, center island, planning desk and adjoining main floor laundry. Walk-out from the breakfast room leads to a deck overlooking the level backyard. The upper level boasts 4 spacious bedrooms with the master suite having a large walk-in closet and luxury bathroom with double vanities, along with separate tub and shower. Adding additional living space, the partially finished lower level offers an office/den area, rec/family room area and ample storage areas. Tucked away in a cul-de-sac, yet minutes from AAA Rockwood schools, Gravois Bluffs shopping and highways. TEN G Property.

Welcome home to this 3 Bedroom, 2 bath home with lots of living space on a quiet cul-de-sac setting. Vinyl siding, decorative brick veneer front along with additional parking in front of 2 car garage are among the features of this home. The living room is open to a breakfast area with walk-out to a deck overlooking the beautifully landscaped, level backyard. The lower level has a huge family room with a slider that walks out to a patio. Walk 1 block to Fenton City Park. AAA Lindbergh School District and great location near shopping and highways. Seller is providing a one-year Home Protection Plan at closing. 

Stylish and contemporary 1.5 story home in desirable Avalon Hills. Offers nearly 5,000 sq ft of living space including a finished lower level, 6 bedrooms (including bonus room), 4.5 baths & backs to trees in a cul-de-sac. Custom design & features include Brazilian teak wood floors in entry, dining & great rooms, 2 story great room with custom fireplace & wall of windows. Gourmet kitchen with 42 inch maple cabinets, stainless counters & appliances, granite island, breakfast room & hearth room w/slider to deck. Main floor master has bay window, his/her walk-in closets with organizers & luxury bath with 10 jet shower & quartz surfaces. A glass & teak staircase leads to upper level with vaulted bonus room (fifth bedroom), 3 more bedrooms a 2 full baths. Walk-out lower level with over 1,400 sq ft of additional living space with rec room, theater room, custom wet bar, exercise room, sixth bedroom, full bath & storage. 2 tier deck with spiral staircase leads to a beautiful terraced backyard.

MOVE-IN READY! Enjoy the gorgeous lake view in this stately 2 story w/over 2,650 sq. ft., tucked away on a quiet, level lot with extensive landscaping and fresh interior paint in several rooms. 2 story entry foyer opens to formal living and dining rooms and leads to a large family room with woodburning fireplace and 5 bay window, all w/new carpet. Spacious cook's delight kitchen has vaulted ceiling, skylight, plant shelves, planning desk, 2 pantries and center island with cooktop, along with adjoining main floor laundry. Upstairs you will find 4 generously sized bedrooms including vaulted master suite with luxury bath having separate tub and shower. The lower level is mostly finished with rec room, full bath, bonus room or kid's playroom and ample storage. Relax on the back patio with a view of the lake. Close to AAA Rockwood Schools and Shopping. 10G Listing.

Enjoy lake community living right in here town! This home is nicely updated, move-in ready and offers a beautiful view of the lake in Fond Du Lac subdivision. Lots and lots of new here - including insulated vinyl siding, insulated vinyl windows, roof w/architectural shingles in Dec. '10, newer interior and exterior doors, updated baths, closet organizers, finished lower level and much more! The living room is open to a formal dining area (could be converted back to 3rd bedroom). Hardwood floors are found in the master bedroom and 2nd bedroom. The kitchen offers extra cabinets and working surfaces and has a slider that leads to the back deck. An open stairwell leads to the finished lower level with family room, 3rd bedroom w/huge walk-in closet, full bathroom and storage areas. Convenient located minutes from Gravois Bluffs shopping, this home is a MUST SEE today and won't last long!

Take a look at this beautiful 2 Story home w/room for the growing family. Quiet Fenton subdivision in the sought-after AAA Lindbergh School Dist. The main floor boasts 9 ft. ceilings, newer hardwood floor, carpeting & fresh interior paint. Eastward-facing entry leads past formal dining and living rooms to family room w/wall of windows & woodburning fireplace. Large, custom kitchen & breakfast area have 42in oak cabinets, center island & walks out to a large deck overlooking the level yard backing to trees & spacious patio. Upstairs you'll find 4 large bedrooms. Luxury Master suite, walk-in closet, full bath w/sep. tub and shower w/dbl bowl vanity. 2 bedrooms share jack & Jill bath. 4th bedroom has it's own private full bath. There's still more space to enjoy in the finished walkout lower level w/a rec room, sitting room, wet bar, bath, built-in bookcases & bonus room along w/ample storage. 3 c. garage, sprinkler system, pet fence & extras not found in homes of this style.

Move-in ready!! This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home offers lots of living space along with some nice updates. Tucked away on a level, fenced lot and backing to trees, yet just minutes from I-55 in a convenient area. The main floor offers an open floor plan with living room/dining area. Adjoining kitchen has lots of oak cabinets and a slider leads to the deck overlooking the back yard with above-ground swimming pool. The main floor also has 3 generous sized bedrooms and a full bathroom. The lower level has an extra bedroom or living area with full bathroom w/shower, laundry area and storage. An oversized 2 car garage provides extra storage space, too. Vinyl tilt-in windows, neutral interior paint, clean as a whistle and priced right! Must see today!

Homeowners are ready to make 2012 a banner year for remodeling and the latest cost-for-value research suggests that getting the most bang for every buck is more important than ever.

The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) hit a five-year high at the end of 2011, indicating that residential remodeling should continue to grow in 2012, according to panelists at a press conference at NAHB’s International Builders’ Show. After a slow start, home improvement spending is expected to trend up later this year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. If this momentum continues to build during the second half of the year, remodeling activity is on course to end 2012 on a positive note.

However, consumers want to get the most for their money.

Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value report for 2011-2012 found that the trend right now is replacement over remodeling—swapping out the old for the new rather than doing a total gut job, which can be much more costly. Exterior replacement projects—such as new garage doors and a new entry door—offer some of the best returns at resale, allowing home owners to recoup close to 70 percent or more of the costs of the project at times of resale.

The following are the top, mid-range projects from this year’s report, based on what home owners stand to recoup at time of resale:

1. 1.    Replacing the entry door to steel
   Estimated cost: $1,238
   Cost recouped at resale: 73 percent

1. 2.    Attic bedroom (converting unfinished attic space into a bedroom with bathroom and shower)
   Estimated cost: $50,148
   Cost recouped at resale: 72.5 percent

1. 3.    Minor kitchen remodel (including new cabinets and drawers, countertops, hardware, and appliances)
   Estimated cost: $19,588
   Cost recouped at resale: 72.1 percent

1. 4.    Garage door replacement
   Estimated cost: $1,512
   Cost recouped at resale: 71.9 percent

1. 5.    Deck addition (wood)
   Estimated cost: $10,350
   Cost recouped at resale: 70.1 percent

1. 6.    Siding replacement (vinyl)
   Estimated cost: $11,729
   Cost recouped at resale: 69.5 percent

For more information, visit www.realestateeconomywatch.com

Source:  RIS Media

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Source:   HGTVcom

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama announced he will push for legislation that will significantly expand the newly revised HARP program that allows underwater homeowners to refinance at today’s historically low rates.

Obama’s expansion would allow all borrowers, not just those whose loans are held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to refinance. Fannie and Freddie hold about 60 percent of the nation’s mortgages. The New York Times quotes a “senior government official” who estimated that the program could benefit two million to three million homeowners who have loans that are not guaranteed by the government, and that the program’s cost would not exceed $10 billion. When announced last September, the revised Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0) was projected to help one million homeowners.

The President’s announcement comes after the HARP 2.0 program has been in effect only seven weeks. Initial reports suggested that key lenders—including certain megabanks—have been slow to implement changes to service borrowers applying for the program and they are also facing capacity constraints due to the ongoing mini-refinancing boom. Final rules were not announced until Novembers and reportedly many consumers and servicers were confused about whether they qualified and how to apply.

Concerns have been growing that the program would fall short of its million loan goal. The program is due to expire at the end of this year. Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke has suggested that the program be changed to mandate lenders to write down principal as well as interest. Others are recommending additional changes to reduce refinancing fees and “put-back” risk on the loans. Meanwhile, California Democrats in Congress are calling on President Obama to replace Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco, who has opposed writing down the principal of mortgages held by Fannie and Freddie.

However, recent reports suggest that interest is picking up. One source reports that 70 percent of the new loan applications at a major bank are HARP 2.0 loans. The HARP 1.0 program allowed borrowers to refinance up to 125 percent of the current value of the home but the HARP 2.0 will do away with that 125 percent limit.

“I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape,” said President Obama. The program would be paid for by a new fee on banks, but details have yet to be announced and until they are, the outlook in Congress is difficult to forecast.

For more information, visit www.realestateeconomywatch.com ^[1].

Source:  RISMedia.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

If being connected 24/7 was supposed to make our lives easier, the business world didn’t get the memo. Most American professionals just can’t shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn’t get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves responding to work e-mail on their smartphones right up until their head hits the pillow. Sound familiar? There is good news, says Jason Womack: By implementing a few small changes, you can get more done in less time—which not only staves off burnout, but leaves more time for doing what you love.

“When the pressure is on to do more and more with less and less, you want what you do to really count,” says Womack, a workplace performance expert, executive coach, and author of the new book Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More (Wiley, February 2012, ISBN: 978-1-118-12198-6, $24.95). “Burning through your to-do list more efficiently lets you go after bigger and better opportunities, sure, but the real reason you want to do it is so you’ll have time for what brings you joy.

“You do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do,” he adds.

While Womack’s book zeroes in on strategies, tactics, tools, and processes to help readers consistently and incrementally improve their performance at work, he insists he is not some kind of “productivity nut job.” He’s just gung-ho about teaching us how to get more done, on time, with fewer resources and less stress—so that we can spend our evenings walking the dog, having a beer with friends, or reading a good book.

“It’s not about how hard you’re working,” adds Womack. “There are plenty of very hardworking people who aren’t as productive as they could be because of the way they manage their day.”

Read on for four essential good habits, excerpted from Your Best Just Got Better, you can develop to become more productive and less stressed at work:

Keep your BlackBerry out of bed. Womack writes about a client who listed “Check e-mail on BlackBerry (in bed)” as part of his daily morning routine. Note that he didn’t do anything about those e-mails while still in bed. He waited until he was commuting to work (he had a 40-minute train ride to the office each day) to start taking action. Then, he said, he rushed through his morning worrying about the e-mails he had read in bed.

“Together, he and I designed a five-day experiment during which period he would leave his mobile device in another room and use an alarm clock to wake up instead of his phone,” says Womack. “He would shower, dress, eat breakfast, and then check e-mail on his train ride to work. Initially, he expressed concern that he might miss the ‘thinking about what I have to think about’ time he had built in to the early part of the day, but he was willing to give the experiment a try.

“When I called him the following week, he had good news,” Womack continues. “The experiment had worked. He was less stressed and was using his morning more productively. This change in his routine gave him a higher quality of life with less stress and increased productivity—one he didn’t know was possible without falling behind in his work.”

Always be prepared for “bonus time.” This is a great strategy for increasing productivity. Bring small chunks of work with you wherever you go. Then, while waiting for a meeting to start or for a delayed flight to depart—Womack calls these unexpected blocks of free time “bonus time”—you’ll be able to reply to an e-mail or make a phone call. In other instances, you might have enough time to review materials for another meeting or project you are working on. If you’re prepared, you can also confirm appointments, draft responses, or map out a project outline.

“I can promise you that sometime during the next month, someone is going to arrive late for a meeting with you, cancel a meeting, or otherwise keep you waiting,” says Womack. “When that inevitably happens, you can look over your to-do list and pick something—anything—to work on.”

Change how you manage e-mail. The moment you click on your inbox, your focus goes and your stress grows, as you proceed to delete, respond, forward, and file the messages you find there. You see names and subject lines and suddenly your mind starts racing; all you can think of are the latest projects, the “loudest” issues, and the high-priority work that shows up. If you’re not careful, all you’ll do all day is manage your e-mail.

Rather than simply flag e-mails that require action, use the subject lines to catalog and organize them, suggests Womack. For example, you might put “Follow-up Call” in the subject line of an e-mail about a meeting you just had with a client. Also, don’t look at your e-mail unless you have a block of time to devote to prioritizing them and responding to them. When you are going through your e-mail, use subject lines to catalog them and organize them so that you’ll easily be able to go back to less urgent e-mails later on.

Identify the VERBS that need attention. (And here’s a hint: Smaller is better.) Organize your to-do list by verbs in order to manage your productivity in terms of action, delegation, and progress. Actions such as call, draft, review, and invite are things that you can do, generally in one sitting, that have the potential to move the project forward one step at a time.

“If your to-do list has ‘big’ verbs—by which I mean verbs that are mentally demanding or longer term in nature such as plan, discuss, create, or implement—replace them with action steps to just get started,” says Womack. “That is, pick ‘smaller’ verbs, by which I mean verbs describing tasks that are easier to start and faster to finish. This will save you time and reduce the sense of overload you’re feeling.”

“We all want to enjoy what we do every day,” says Womack. “We want to get better and better, both on the job and off, and yet, many people are too overwhelmed to make the key changes that will help them do so. There is no reason to remain mired in frustration and struggling to catch up. With just a few key changes, you can work in a way that feels really good—and spend your after-work life doing things that feel even better.”

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA, provides practical methods to maximize tools, systems, and processes to achieve quality work/life balance.

For more information, visit www.womackcompany.com.

Source:  RISMedia

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Source:  RIS Media

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Source:  HGTV.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Small Bath, Big Storage

It can be a challenge to make a 7' x 8' bathroom feel open and inviting and find space for all those primping and pampering essentials. But choosing a clean design that incorporates savvy storage solutions will get the job done. Here, the walls were covered with white tiles to make the bathroom appear larger. Adding a mosaic tile inset adds interest and draws the eye up, which makes the bathroom appear taller. Two sets of built-in wall niches, a vanity with drawers, and a storage-packed closet add style and function.

Decluttered Wonder

This bathroom closet was a mishmash of toiletries, hair accessories, makeup, and jewelry. The deep shelves were great for storing lots of items, but things frequently got lost in the back. Adding bins, baskets, and trays transforms this closet into the bathroom’s command center. A door organizer holds small toiletries, a pullout drawer puts essentials within reach, and a pullout hamper keeps towels and clothes off the floor.

Use Unexpected Spaces

Maximize a small space by using every available surface. A door organizer (#141988) -- originally intended as a spice rack for the kitchen -- is perfect for smaller toiletries in bottles and jars and makes use of otherwise wasted space.

Keep Cleaning Supplies High

Place cleaning supplies on the top shelf. Why? Here they are easily accessible but out of reach for children and animals. Storing cleaning supplies in plastic bins (#41941) protects other items in the closet from potential spills. This bin features a solid bottom and decorative cutouts on the sides.

Create Easy Access

Frequently used items are easy to reach in the middle section of the closet. Hooks on the sides of the lower shelf hold jewelry and other accessories. Interlocking trays (#105922) keep tiny items from getting lost. A woven basket (#337503) offers a tidy place to hold larger items.

Add a Pullout Drawer

Deep shelves are great for storing lots of items, but make it hard to find items stashed in the back. A pullout drawer (#75050) makes it easy to reach everything on the shelf. This small wood drawer was originally intended for the kitchen, but installing it in the bathroom is both clever and cost-effective. Add jars or bins to hold small items within the drawer.

Toss Items in a Hamper

Keep dirty towels and clothes off the floor with a two-basket pullout hamper on the lower shelf. Designed for the kitchen, this double wastebasket (#278250) makes a perfect laundry hamper. The unit pulls out from the cabinet, making it easy to load and unload on laundry day.

Raise the Bar

A bathroom can never have too much towel storage. A towel rod (#163088) attached to the wall behind the door offers more hanging space.

Source:  Lowes.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Source:  HGTV.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Everyone knows that the housing market has been a little daunting for the last several years. Ups and downs, talk of good news and bad news, and a confusing amount of information about rising and falling mortgage rates has rendered the market all but inaccessible for a lot of prospective buyers.

Good news! Times are changing.

Whether you want to buy a home as your long-term residence or as an income property, things are looking up. Remarkably low mortgage rates are making houses more affordable than they have been in decades. Of course, lately, one of the greatest concerns facing you as a prospective homebuyer is whether you can secure that low rate mortgage in the first place. Lenders have tightened standards, requiring steeper down payments and stricter scrutiny of credit scores. But some economists think that might be changing as well. Do you have good credit? A down payment? A steady job? These are all factors that might play in favor of your ability to secure an attractive mortgage rate.

Conventional wisdom has long suggested that owning is better than renting. Renters have been viewed as “throwing money away” because they aren’t accruing equity in a property. However, with shifting interest rates and high property costs, in recent years, renting hasn’t necessarily been a bad option. As a result of the recent housing downturn, many prospective owners have been renting rather than buying.

There is a shift going on right now as the market is trending in favor of buyers. House payments are becoming more affordable than any time in recent history. Homeowners can get more for their money: bigger houses for some—or smaller payments for those willing to buy more moderately.

Whether you’re in a position to buy a home you are going to settle into for the long term, or whether you’re looking for a profitable investment, due diligence is key. For investors, the recently popular practice of “flipping” a property should be approached with the greatest amount of caution, knowledge, and savvy. Now might not be the time to try to make money on a quick turnaround.

Investing in real estate has long been a profitable and rewarding endeavor. Just don’t forget to do your homework! You should also take the opportunity to call on an expert. Buying a home can be one of the most valuable investments of your lifetime, so, as you would with any other important decision, gather as much knowledge as possible and lean on the people with the knowledge to help. A local REALTOR® with experience in your target market will be able to show you comparables. Most will have the inside scoop on the communities in addition to being able to point out any nuances that you might not easily find on your own, or through internet research. When interest rates are low and home prices are also low, it is a great time to buy!

Peggy Patenaude is a leader in real estate sales in the Andovers, an affluent suburb of Boston.

Source:  RISMedia.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com

Source:  HGTV.com

Sue Martin is the #1 Realtor in the Fenton area and longtime resident.  She is committed to providing the Fenton community with first-class real estate services. With over $300 Million SOLD in career sales, consistently ranked in St. Louis' Top 10 Realtors, and a Top Realtor for St. Louis' largest real estate company, Coldwell Banker Gundaker, Sue and her team have the experience and market knowledge to help you accomplish your real estate goals in any market.  Whether you are considering buying a home, selling a home or both, we know the Fenton area inside and out.  For more information and lots of resources about buying and selling a home visit www.SueMartinTeam.com