Buying in St. Peters/ St.Charles (St. Louis, St. Charles: sales, crime, houses)

[Outlander1]

My wife and I are getting ready to purchase a home. We work in Westport and have lived in West County for several years. We like
many areas of St.Peters 63367 (towards the page ext/364), and some
areas in St. Charles such as 63303, 63304 and anything else close
to page ext. We are 30 with no kids, maybe soon. There seems
to be some iffy neighborhoods in some of these zips, but some that
are very nice and promising.

Do any current or recent residents of these areas have any advice
on what is the nicest up and coming areas of the ones I mentioned.
Arguments on what is the best School district, of the Zumwalts and
Howells etc? Other things I need to know are tax trends, sales trends
(good or bad). Our Price range is $160-$180k. Believe it or not there
are alot of very nice looking houses 1100 sq ft to 1700 sq good first
homes out there right now.

I would like to be in a nice subdivision that shows that everyone cares
about their property. The fewer teens and under the better, but that is
going to be hard to find out there I think. Can anyone share advice or good/bad experiences with St.Peters and St. Charles especially if you
came from St.Louis county prior to that.

Thanks in advance. I realize this is a very specific thread,
just hoping to find hot tips, or new info.

[aragx6]

This is specific, but right up my alley as I'm very familiar with the area, so i hope I can help you.

I think you meant 63376 not 67 -- 67 is Lake St. Louis.

Without knowing more about you and your specific tastes, I have to say there are simply no iffy areas if you mean crime. If you mean the housing stock, then there are some older homes along the main drags that have been there longer than the subdivisions that surround them and there is a trailer subdivision just off Old Highway 94 near the White Castle -- I suspect property values are hurt in areas directly adjacent to it, but it's one of the nicest trailer parks I've ever seen, and crime really isn't an issue at all.

In your price range you're probably looking at a small-ish 70s - 90s era home that's been at least partially updated. I know 3 homes have sold in my mom's neighborhood (County Lake Estates at Harvester and McClay) in the last year in the mid to high 100s.

Children are a way of life out that way, and in the starter homes you're looking at, kids will pretty much be everywhere. My mom's subdivision (built in the late mid and late 70s) is a pretty even mix of original or 2nd owners who have children all grown up (like my mom) and younger families (usually first-time homeowners) who've moved in in the last couple of years. The newer start-home subdivisions tend to skew considerably younger.

On to the schools -- Francis Howell is the most respected of the three big St. Charles county districts and has been for a long time, though realistically their test scores aren't usually significantly different than Fort Zumwalt's.

When I was a kid in St. Peters in the 90s, the area was exploding and new schools were going up left and right -- I actually was transferred twice during my time as a student, once in elementary school and once in middle school, because of boundary changes due to expansion. With every new school also came higher property taxes.

More recently, Francis Howell's growth has slowed as construction heated up west in the Fort Zumwalt area. They've been going through that crazy expansion period for the last several years. I don't know specifically that their property taxes are in the midst of increasing, but it's definitely worth looking into.

Anyway, I hope that helps at least a bit. My parents were both Parkway Central grads who moved out west in 1984 right before they had me -- everything was still pretty rural back then, but not now. My mom got a teaching position out that way and my parents knew they couldn't afford to buy near their parents in West County, so they took a leap and headed west. With the recent addition of 364, St. Charles residents have that easy connection to West County they've been so desirous of for years.

If there's anything others questions you have, feel free to ask and we'll do our best to help!

[Outlander1]

Yeah I did mean 63376..I grew up in LSL so that is going to confuse
me to no end. When I do move out there I probably won't get my mail
until I figure that out.

Thanks for your help though. I will start looking at houses at the end
of June, as long as interest rates don't go too high. We are pre approved,
and we have our eyes on some houses around McClay. We want to
be close to the Page ext. like you said. I will remember you if I have
any other questions. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[brianlb]

Try looking around the Francis Howell North area, that give you a good selection of older and newer home w/the close access to page. I've lived in St. Charles or St. Peters my hole life, and the crime here is almost non existant, sure every once in a while you get the "OMG I can't believe that" type scenario but in general there isn't much to worry about.

[Outlander1]

As far as re-sale on a house goes, would anyone buy a house with no
back yard? The house in question is great, and has a neighbor on one
side. It is in a court in the back of a nice subdivision. The other side
and the back are very pretty woods. there is a deck on the back of
the house, then stairs to another deck where there is an above ground
pool in the middle. Literally no yard. Very nice deck/pool area. Very private and serene in a sought after suburb. On the plus side, little to
no yard work. What percentage of potential buyers would that turn off?
All opinions welcome.

[reako]

Originally Posted by Outlander1

As far as re-sale on a house goes, would anyone buy a house with no
back yard? The house in question is great, and has a neighbor on one
side. It is in a court in the back of a nice subdivision. The other side
and the back are very pretty woods. there is a deck on the back of
the house, then stairs to another deck where there is an above ground
pool in the middle. Literally no yard. Very nice deck/pool area. Very private and serene in a sought after suburb. On the plus side, little to
no yard work. What percentage of potential buyers would that turn off?
All opinions welcome.

No backyard + pool is going to be a huge turn-off for the majority of buyers. People want green space....pool is a maintenance headache and safety concern for those with young children.

[Outlander1]

Does anyone on here know about 63304 unincorperated St.Charles county? It's east of 94..good schools very nice neighborhoods. Any
negatives about that area I should consider. Seems like a high value
neighborhood I am looking in Cambridge Estates.

Also anyone know the time frame on when the Page extension will
actually extend beyond Harvester/Caulks hill. I figure that area will
become nicer and newer near the highway once that is complete.
Any locals near there have scoop? Thanks for any info!