When you obtain a mortgage to buy your new home, you will probably be required by your lender to open an escrow account. This means that a neutral third-party will take care of the money put into the escrow account and eventually use it to pay off certain pre-determined debts.

As already mentioned, the escrow account will often be used to pay for homeowners' insurance and/or property taxes. How does this work? Once the annual payment for insurance or taxes on your St. Clair home is determined, usually around the time of closing, the total will be divided up into 12 monthly payments, which will usually be paid to the lender along with the monthly mortgage payment. Then when the insurance premium or property tax bill comes due, the escrow agent will pay these bills using the funds you have paid into your escrow account.

The main benefit of an escrow account for the lender is to insure that they aren't stuck for taxes or insurance on a property that has been damaged by fire or is about to be sold because the taxes weren't paid. The homeowner benefits by being able to spread out the total annual amounts, which can be quite large, by breaking them down into more manageable monthly payments.

If you're planning on buying a home, a Realtor® is a great source to help you understand all the ins and outs of closing and home ownership, including escrow accounts. Give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call at 636-399-2296 or contact me online.  I can help you understand all you need to know to purchase your new home in the St. Clair area.

What is a Tankless Water Heater?                                               

A tankless water heater, also sometimes called an "instantaneous water heater" or "demand water heater", heats water only on demand. It does not store heated water like the older units do, thus avoiding multiple reheats of the same water so that hot water is ready when you are.

How Does a Tankless Water Heater Work?

When the homeowner turns on the hot water tap, cold water travels to the tankless water heater where it is then heated either by electricity or gas, depending on the unit. Depending on the temperature of hot water desired, or the beginning temperature of the cold water, a unit will generally produce from two to five gallons of hot water per minute.

Will One Unit Take Care of a Whole House?

One unit may not be enough for a whole house, especially if there are simultaneous requests for hot water. In these cases, it may be necessary to install a "whole house" hot water system or connect two or more units for simultaneous demands. Installing units for specific appliances or areas may be another way to go. For example, a unit for the dishwasher or one for a specific bathroom.

What Should I Look for When Purchasing a Tankless Water Heater?

Consider the fuel type which will either be gas or electric. Consider location, size and demand, which means determining where you may want the unit to physically be, the size of your house, and how much hot water will be used - for example, per day. Consider the application. Do you want hot water throughout the house, just for certain areas such as bathrooms, or for specific appliances.

The best thing you can do for yourself if you're considering buying a tankless water heater for your St. Clair home is to find a local dealer who can come to your home, analyze your setup and needs, and make recommendations on what would be best for your household. There are several manufacturers who offer different styles and sizes of tankless water heaters, so you need to know what you're trying to do before you'll be able to make the best decision on which one to purchase.

Just like getting a local dealer to evaluate your home for a tankless water heater is the right thing to do, getting a local Realtor® to help is also the best thing to do if you're in the market for a new home or want to put your current home on the market. Give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call at 636-629-3419 or contact me online. We're ready, willing, and able to help you with all your real estate needs.

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Keep your eyes on these FSBO signs and you'll soon come to realize, however, that as many as 80 percent of them will eventually opt to hire a real estate agent to sell the home for them. That kind of poor success rate may make you wonder what goes wrong.

Here are some of the pitfalls of trying to do an FSBO on your home:

Wrong Listing Price

Finding the perfect listing price isn't an easy task, even for an experienced Realtor®, so don't be surprised that it's an often impossible task for a homeowner. The right price is the most critical element of selling anything, so if you don't get it right there probably won't be a sale even though your home may be perfect in every other aspect.

Not Enough Exposure Online

If you've ever looked into selling your own home, you're probably aware of the FSBO websites that say they will expose your FSBO home to thousands of buyers. While your home may be posted on several FSBO websites, the problem is that these sites don't generate a lot of traffic. Sites that web-savvy realtors use have much higher traffic.

You can check this out yourself by Googling the name of your town and state along with typical keywords that homebuyers would use, such as "homes for sale" or "real estate", and see what shows up. I think you'll find it's predominantly the big real estate sites or even local agent's websites.

Potential Buyers Love to Share

Obviously, buyers will know you're not going to be paying a Realtor® a commission, so they feel that you should share this bit of new-found wealth with them. They may even take a percentage off the top of their offer to compensate for the money you're saving. When this happens, it really nullifies any gain you may have made by selling your St. Clair area home yourself.

Nobody's Home

Especially if you're a working home seller, it may be difficult to find a time available to show your home to prospective buyers. You also may wind up with people stopping at odd hours demanding to see your home, so be prepared!

Pre-Qualifying Buyers

Let's face it. It's really a waste of your time to show your home to buyers who aren't (and may never be) pre-qualified to purchase your home. A real estate agent will be sure that buyers who are looking at your home have the ability to purchase when they decide they want to make an offer on your house.

As you can see, selling a house on your own is not the quick and easy task that it may appear to be on the surface. In the long run, you'll be much better off putting your home in the hands of an experienced Realtor® such as myself. You're more likely to sell your home faster and for a higher price. So please, call me, Scott Hickinbotham, today at 636-629-3419 or contact me online. We'll find the perfect buyer for your home in no time.

homes that put up Christmas lights used the incandescent type. The lights were very pretty, of course, but they put off a lot of heat which can cause a fire, plus they used quite a bit of electricity.

Santa's now a bit older and lighting has grown up too. Nowadays, with the introduction of LED (Light Emitting Diode) Christmas lighting, energy consumption is down about 70% from what the old incandescent used, and the lights themselves are cooler and last about 10 times longer. You can even connect up to 87 strands to reach all the darkest corners of your home.

But there's always something new under the sun, and that's where solar-powered Christmas lights come in. These are still LED but are now powered by solar energy rather than electricity. A small solar panel about the size of a hockey puck holds rechargeable batteries that can run a 100-bulb string for 6 to 8 hours after the sun goes down. Of course, if the weather hits a cloudy spell, as December weather sometimes does in Missouri, your solar lights may have a problem glowing into the night.

So the question is, should you go solar with your Christmas lighting? Figure it out for yourself - here are some statistics to help you:

Purchase Price of a 100-Bulb String:

            Regular LED:  $ 8.00
            Solar LED:      $ 30.00

Operating Cost for a 100-Bulb String:

            Regular LED:  30 cents for 300 hours (that's 10 hours a night for the month of December)
            Solar LED:      0

At this rate, it would take about 45 years to save enough in electricity to pay for the added cost of purchasing the solar-powered lights. Of course, since solar-powered Christmas lights are new on the market, there's currently no track record to go on that they would be able to last 45 years.

On the other hand, your $8 strand of LED Christmas lights are said to be able to burn for up to 100,000 hours over their long lifetime. At 300 hours a year, that's over 333 years. You may even want special provisions in your Will to bequeath these light strings to future generations.

Deciding between electric or solar LED Christmas lighting doesn't seem to be a very hard decision to make. Finding the right home for you and your family in the St. Clair area may be a little harder, so when you want some help why not give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call at 636-629-3419 or contact me online. Your perfect St. Clair area home is waiting. Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Chamber of Commerce has hired 37-year-old Angela Crawford, who took over her duties as the new Executive Director on January 4. The new Director is from Cuba, MO and has much needed experience in economic development and small business operations.  

Crawford says of her new appointment, "My vision moving forward, once I have a solid feel for the community, is to partner with the existing business and professional network in St. Clair and the surrounding communities to help create an environment for growth."

As project manager for the City of Chesterfield's Community Services and Economic Development Strategic Plan, she has been instrumental in developing and maintaining relationships with community organizations. She also directed Chesterfield's 2010 Census campaign.

Along with her husband, Rick, Angela is co-owner of Rick Crawford Industries in Cuba. She also serves as the company's vice president of operations.

Mrs. Crawford's focus, as Executive Director of the St. Clair Area Chamber of Commerce, will include growing Chamber membership, while working with current members, city officials and other local groups in promoting St. Clair.

The St. Clair Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors includes Board President for 2012, Keith E. Domke, along with three newly elected members: Tim Davis, Stephanie Smith and Robert Triphahn   and current members Mike Murphy, Paula Dace, Debbie Mitchell, Charlie Butler and Bethany Perryman. The Chamber office is located in the St. Clair License Office (which the new Director also oversees) on Plaza Drive.

As a member of the St. Clair Area Chamber of Commerce, I encourage all St. Clair business people to consider joining the Chamber if you're not already a member. Together, we can work to make St. Clair an even better place in which to live and work.

If you're looking for a home in St. Clair, please give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call today at 636-399-2296 or contact me online. With listings in Franklin County as well as St. Clair, I can help you find the perfect home for your family.

Changing How a Space is Used

If you're thinking of converting a small bedroom to a grand master bath, be aware that buyers may look at it as losing a bedroom rather than gaining a bathroom. The same thing can happen when converting a bedroom into an office. If prospective buyers don't use computers or work from home, they might prefer that the bedroom remain a bedroom. Converting a garage to a family room may seem like a brilliant move when you want to have large parties, but for people who would rather have their cars protected than entertain friends and family on a large-scale, a garage-turned-family-room may turn them off.

Adding Something Not Normally Found in Your Neighbors' Homes

Do all your St. Clair neighbors have decks? Yes? Then adding a deck to your home would probably be a good idea. Do all your neighbors have pools? No? Then a lonely pool is probably not going to attract buyers to the neighborhood. Do the neighbors have huge kitchens with granite counters, stainless steel appliances, and solid oak cabinetry with all sorts of specialty nooks and crannies? If not, chances are good that you won't recoup the cost if you try to sell your home using this upgrade to justify a higher price.

Creating a Space that Doesn't Conform to the Rest of Your House

Are you contemplating adding a new family room complete with wood-burning fireplace, natural hardwood floors, a wet bar, built-in entertainment center and book shelves, beamed ceilings, and a wall made of stone native to the area? Sounds like a great idea unless the rest of your house is a 1960's one-story ranch with small bedrooms and eight-foot ceilings. While your home may be quite nice, remodeling a section of it in a totally different style may not work and may in fact make the home harder to sell rather than easier.

If you still can't decide on whether to spend some remodeling money on your home to get a faster sale or a better price, asking your Realtor® for help in making your decision on this matter may be the most advantageous thing to do. Why not call me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or contact me online. I have years of experience in buying and selling homes in the St. Clair area and can help you make an informed decision on what your home needs to sell quickly and at the best price.

According to the U.S. Census, due to the uncertain job market, the number of rental homes in this country is increasing. This combination of increased demand for rentals, low home prices, and good interest rates, is making income-generating rental properties one of the best investments available.

Hickinbotham Real Estate can help investors find and purchase great income-producing properties in the St. Clair area. Once the investmentis made, our service doesn't end, however, as we can also find and thoroughly screen prospective tenants, and prepare the necessary legal documents to complete the rental process. Once tenants are in place, our Property Management Division can manage the property, while keeping the owner completely informed of how things are going with their investment.

Currently, our Property Management Division manages over 200 properties in the Franklin County area. Let us show you how we're helping other real estate investors buy, rent, and professionally manage residential, commercial and farm properties to create an ongoing monthly income.

We also offer a rent-to-own/lease option-to-purchase program. With this, the property's sales price is set and a monthly payment schedule for the tenant is put into place. Now the rent-to-own tenant is able to rebuild their credit while building equity in the property, which will eventually allow them to qualify for a conventional mortgage. And Hickinbotham Real Estate can manage every aspect of these transactions.

Let the Hickinbotham Real Estate Team and our Property Management Division help you become a real estate investor with a monthly income generated by your own rental properties. Call me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or contact me online today.

Another number you will need to know is your credit score.                                                                                                   

To find out what your credit score is go to CreditKarma, where you can obtain a free credit score at any time. This way you'll be able to monitor your score to see if it's going down (Bad News) or up (Good News). A score of 720 or above is considered "good" but anything above that is even better!

If you're planning to buy a St. Clair house, the better your credit score the lower the interest rate you'll be able to get on your mortgage and the easier it will be to find a lender willing to lend to you. So before you attempt to obtain a mortgage at a great rate, find out your credit score and, if need be, improve it.

Here are some proven ways to get your credit score to a higher level:

1. Monitor your credit score so you can see where it's at.

2. Pay down your debt so your debt-to-credit ratio is low.

3. Make your payments on time, every time.

4. If you sometimes accidentally miss payments, consider setting up automatic payment reminders to help stop missed payments.

5. Use the Credit Simulator at Credit Karma to simulate certain financial transactions, such as getting a new credit card, increasing the credit limit on a card, or even missing a payment, to see how these actions will affect your credit score.

6. If you use credit cards, choose one to use for regular purchases and pay the complete balance off each month. Save your other cards for emergencies.

Good financial behavior and time are the most important factors in improving your credit score.  Then, when you're ready to buy or sell a home in the St. Clair area, give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call at 636-629-3419 or contact me online. I'm ready to help make St. Clair a great place for you to live.

First, let's learn exactly what a credit report is. As a consumer, your credit file is maintained by different consumer reporting companies. By obtaining a credit file disclosure, or credit report, you will be able to see what information is being disclosed to certain parties, such as a lender if you're attempting to get a loan to buy a home, when they request a consumer report about you.

You'll also be able to see what companies have gotten your consumer report from the consumer reporting company (also known as inquiries) within a certain period of time. These may include pre-approved offers for credit cards or insurance. The credit report will also show you if there is any medical account information which is not shown to these third-party consumer report users.

Why is it important to see your credit report? One of the main reasons is to combat identity theft by keeping track of your credit report. If your credit report shows actions being taken that you did not authorize, an identity thief may be attempting to use your credit.

You can obtain one free credit report a year from these three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. To help you get your free credit reports, these companies have created a centralized service for you to go to and request your free credit reports.

This service is called AnnualCreditReport.com, and you can get your free credit report from each of the three companies mentioned above for free, once every 12 months, either online, by phone or by mail. You can order all three at once to make it easy to compare them, or spread it out over time to keep an eye on things all year long. For example, you might order a credit report from Equifax in January, from Experian in May, and from TransUnion in September -- in other words every four months, which lets you monitor your credit report all year long, at no cost to you.

For your own peace of mind, why not check out your credit report, especially if you're hoping to buy a home in the near future. If you want to move to the great St. Clair area, or if you're already here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online. Let's make St. Clair a great place to call home.

The Heritage Valley Tree Farm is actually a tree farm and a bed and breakfast, although the farmhouse is closed to overnight visitors during December and is instead wearing its festive Christmas splendor while offering hot chocolate, apple cider and fresh-baked cookies to those visitors coming out and selecting Christmas trees.

The tree farm offers Canaan Firs from 6 to 8 feet tall at $6.50 to $8 per foot or White Pines from 6 to 8 1/2 feet tall for $6 per foot. All trees that are ready to be a Christmas tree this season are tagged with their height and price to make it easier for tree hunters to visualize the tree in their own homes. They always seem to look a lot smaller out in the field than they do when you get them in your house!

Saws are provided so you can cut down your own tree and you get to ride out to the tree fields and back in farm wagons. Wreaths and greenery are also available for sale.

The 75-acre working Heritage Valley Tree Farm near St. Clair has been family-owned now for over 100 years. The first evergreens were planted in the spring of 1983. The farm also has an apple orchard and a pecan grove, both of which offer a supply of lovely fruit and nuts to fall visitors.

If you and your family would like to start a tradition of cutting your own Christmas tree, a trip to the Heritage Valley Tree Farm may be just what you're looking for! See their website for maps and driving directions. They can be reached by phone at 636-239-7479 or by email at hv@yhti.net if you have other questions. Christmas hours are every weekend in December through 12/18/11 from 10 am till 5 pm.

Even though the holidays are getting near, it's always a good time to buy or sell a home in St. Clair. If you're interested in moving to our great St. Clair area, or if you're already living here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online.     

The vision of Habitat for Humanity is a world where everyone has a decent, safe and affordable place to live. Towards this end, they build or repair simple houses for low-income families around the world in need of a home. Along with volunteers, the homeowners themselves help with the building or repair of their homes, and may also be eligible to obtain a no-profit, no-interest mortgage through Habitat for Humanity to help pay for the home they receive.

From 8am to 3pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, we came together to work on framing several homes for Habitat for Humanity. Framing can be compared to building a home's skeleton, since the rest of the home's parts are built around the frame. We built many frameworks on Volunteer Build Day in the gym in the Convention Center, and they will eventually be moved to various new-home sites, where they will be used as the beginning construction for homes being put up in Orange County by Habitat for Humanity.

Take a look at the video of the Volunteer Build Day in California to see some of what NAR accomplished. As you can see, we're not only selling homes, but helping build them as well!

As both a carpenter and a Realtor®, I am so happy I was able to be in Anaheim framing with this great group of NAR members! Now I'm back here in the St. Clair, MO, area ready to help you buy or sell your home. Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online so I can help you find the perfect home.

From 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 3rd, come and enjoy free tasting and food pairings as the winery holds its Winter Wine Party. Their newest wine, "Snowy Knight", will be released at this gathering.

Along with another new release, "Vineyard Ambrosia", "Snowy Knight" is made from the sweet vignoles grape and is perfect with light desserts or fresh fruit. A sweet Norton port called "1919" will also soon be released, just in time for the holidays. This wine is great with stews, beef and other hearty dishes.

St. Jordan Creek Winery has a wine shop where you can purchase any or all of their signature wines including the new releases, bottled water, soft drinks and beer, and munchies such as cheese and crackers. For those desiring to take home a souvenir of their visit to the winery, there are shirts and glasses featuring the winery logo.

If the weather stays nice or you come back in the warmer months, the winery also has a wine garden, where visitors can bring their own picnic lunch and enjoy it with wines purchased in the wine shop.

The St. Jordan Creek Winery is owned and operated by a 6th generation family of Bavarian agriculturalists, calling Franklin County home since 1845. They are also the ones who named the local creek after St. Jordan, who was born in Saxony (now Germany) in 1190 and converted many to Christianity.

If you're looking for a fun escape for a few hours this weekend, take a ride out to the St. Jordan Creek Winery and have a taste of what they have to offer. If you're desiring to move to this great area, or if you're already here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online. Let's make St. Clair a great place to call home.

You're probably hearing how bad the real estate market is right now. It seems to be a big topic on all the news channels. Have you also been thinking that now might be a good time to purchase a home in the St. Clair area, but you just aren't sure?

Here are six tips to give you some food for thought in deciding whether to buy a house in the current housing market.

1.  As I mentioned, the housing market is not at its best but rather somewhat stagnant at this point in time. However, the price of renting a home is on the rise. Demand for rentals has increased, due to foreclosures and little new construction, making a nice low-priced rental harder to find. Experts are predicting that the price to rent a home will increase by 5 percent through 2012. But the good news for buyers is that home prices are not increasing right now.

2.  Mortgage rates are at all-time lows. Current rates in the St. Clair area are running at 4.25 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage and 3.57 percent for 15-year fixed mortgages. Interest rates are expected to rise slightly during 2012 and beyond.

3.  Home prices are now moving from the steeply falling prices we've seen recently to a more stable level. This means that if you buy a St. Clair home at today's prices, you shouldn't see a big drop in the home's value.

4.  Tougher lending standards will probably make qualifying for a mortgage more difficult in the coming years as the mortgage market moves out of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's hands.

5.  Yes, foreclosures are rampant in Nevada, California and Arizona, but not so much in St. Clair, so there are more homes available as regular sales, which means no agonizing over when or if your bid on a foreclosure will be accepted.

6.  There are fewer serious buyers as your competition at this time, so it's unlikely you'll get into a bidding war trying to get an acceptance from the seller of your dream home.

Overall, it seems to me that now is a very good time to buy a home, especially for first-time homebuyers who don't already have a home they must sell. The market has great homes to offer at great prices, and mortgage rates are low, home values are not falling as they were, and your competition is more limited.

So have you made up your mind that now is a great time to buy? Do you need some help in finding that perfect home? Give me, Scott Hickinbotham, a call at 636-629-3419 or contact me online.

For a $2 donation, you can tour the lower level of the old Brewery. Different things will be happening each of the four nights, so you may want to plan to come to them all, if you dare! All donations will be going to the Relay for Life of Franklin County, so good things are afoot.

Assistant Police Chief of New Haven, Dan Terry, a local ghost hunter aka Spookstalker, says there are several ghosts that call the old Brewery home, including Fred Gersie, who was one of the Brewery's three original owners, and Fritz, the hapless homeless man who, in the early 1900s, suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away in the kitchen area of the Brewery. Other unnamed ghosts also hang out here--a Confederate soldier, a young girl, and even someone who is apparently hiding from the police.

Dan says he has communicated with the Brewery's inhabitants using such tools as the KII electromagnetic field detector and dowsing rods, which many of you may know as something used to locate water underground. In Terry's fourth book, "River Shadows, Ghosts and Legends of America's River Towns", he tells us, "There seems to be a high percentage of hauntings around rivers. That makes sense. Everything started near rivers. Or it could be the limestone...heavy quartz seems to magnify these energies that come up. Or it could be the moving water."

Whatever the reason, the Busch Brewery ghosts, according to Spookstalker, have a lot of fun! He's never felt any danger in his ghostly encounters at the Brewery, although one of the spirits did grab his hand. Terry described it as not cold like death, not warm like a human touch, but rather just the pressure of another's hand gripping his.

Whether any of these ghostly inhabitants of the Brewery will decide to have some fun and make an appearance at this year's Butcher's Brewery is yet to be seen. Of course, if you're not there, you certainly won't be having any fun with the ghosts. So enter the Butcher's Brewery this weekend...If You Dare!!! For more info on the Butcher's Brewery, contact Karla at 636-667-0088.

These friendly spirits know that living in the St. Clair area can be fun. For anyone else wanting to move to this great area, or if you're already here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online. Let's make St. Clair a great place to call home.

As most residents of

Most St. Clair residents seem to agree that the airport is a drain on city funds, as well as a waste of prime land where retail shops could be built, saving them from the 12 - 20 mile drive to shop in nearby cities. Residents are tired of spending their tax dollars on upkeep of the airport that seems to benefit only a few, many of whom are not St. Clair residents, while city parks, streets, sidewalks and even the city pool need those funds.

If the airport closes, the city would have to pay back the approximately $450,000 in Federal government grant money that has already been received and used for airport improvements. However, that money, along with other Federal funds amounting to a total of about $2.5 million, would possibly become available for redistribution to other nearby airports.

Towards this end, St. Clair officials recently met with officials from three of the four nearby airports, the Washington Regional Airport, the Sullivan Regional Airport, and the Cuba Municipal Airport (the Washington County Airport was invited but did not attend). In an effort to convince the FAA that the funds should continue to be used locally, these airports were encouraged to submit proposals as to what they would like to do or build, the time frames for such projects, design and engineering fees and other costs that might be incurred.

Overall, it looks like closing the St. Clair Regional Airport would be a good thing for not only St. Clair but surrounding airports as well. Our residents would benefit by getting new retail shops closer to home and freed-up tax dollars to go for important city upkeep and growth, while other nearby areas could receive additional funding for their airports. Looks like a win-win situation to me!

For anyone wanting to move to this great area, or if you're already here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online. St. Clair--a great place to call home.

If you've never been to Pin Oak Farms U Pick Pumpkin Patch, this may be the year you'll want to go!

At Pin Oak Farms you'll find free parking, free admission and even a free ride in the hay wagon to get to the U-Pick pumpkin patch, where your family can pick pumpkins of their choice, right off the vine. Kids 12 and under can get their very own FREE mini-pumpkin just by coloring one of the Halloween pictures you'll find here (print them off yourself) and taking it to Pin Oak Farms, where it will be put on display for other visitors to admire.

A 5-acre corn maze awaits those adventurous enough to tackle it. For younger adventurers, there's a straw-bale maze as well. Don't forget to let the kids pet the goats, rabbits, chickens and ducks that live at Pin Oak Farms. These guys are super friendly and love welcoming new folks to their home.

What kid doesn't love playing in a sandbox? Well, there's something better than that here - a "Tub O' Corn". Yup, just like a sandbox, only cleaner (Mom and Dad, you'll appreciate the "cleaner" part when it's time for the kids to get back in the car!)

A Kiddie Corral is also available at a charge of $7.50 for kids over 2. They'll be able to get in and out of the Corral all day, if you can talk them into leaving it, that is! Here they'll enjoy bounce houses in a variety of shapes, pedal tractors, and even mini pumpkin golf.

Getting hungry just thinking about all these fun activities? Well, local groups will be on hand with BBQ, local honey and apple butter and even kettle corn that you can take home and enjoy another day. There are also lots of fall decorations available to help you celebrate fall in your own home.

If you have a group that would enjoy a hayride tour lasting 30 to 45 minutes and a big bonfire where you can cook hot dogs, marshmallows and the like, or just sit around and enjoy each other's company and the beautiful flames, this is the place. These gatherings occur after dark and are $7.50 per person with a $75 minimum. You can learn more, including how to reserve one of these for your group at the Pin Oak Farms website.

Fall fun is never far away when you live in beautiful St. Clair, Missouri. Contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, online or by phone at 636-399-2296 to help you buy or sell in our area.

Hickinbotham Real Estate has been providing residential, commercial and acreage real estate services, as well as property management and investment property real estate services in Franklin County since 1976.

Monday, September 19th, 2011, 2:52 pm

by Jon Prior

The reviews federal regulators required of the 14 largest mortgage servicers to determine how many borrowers were harmed by faulty procedures will span nearly 4.5 million loan files, according to Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh.

In the coming weeks, homeowners who faced a foreclosure will be able to request a review of their case if they believed they suffered financially as a result of a servicer's error. Direct mailings and an advertising campaign will target borrowers who received a foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010.

In April, the 14 servicers, which include Bank of America (BAC: 6.03 -2.58%), JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 31.04 -2.67%), Wells Fargo (WFC: 24.42 -8.44%) and others, signed consent orders with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its now absorbed Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve.

The orders settled an investigation into faulty servicing practices including robo-signing, dual-track foreclosures and a shortage of qualified staff to work with delinquent borrowers.

As part of their investigation, the regulators along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. spent three months studying 2,800 loan files, roughly 200 per servicer, but required third parties to handle the look-back reviews of any pending or completed foreclosure in the allotted time.

Walsh, during an American Banker symposium Monday, said the initial review was "not nearly enough to answer all questions."

The consent order, signed by each member of the board of directors at the banks, required new oversight, a single point of contact for the borrowers, and the end of proceeding with a foreclosure while a modification is being considered.

"All of the steps I've described thus far are aimed at ensuring the process works going forward — the 'fixing what’s broken' piece. But for homeowners who ended up in foreclosure, the critical issue is whether they were financially harmed due to servicer deficiencies, errors or misrepresentation and, if they were, what kind of restitution should be provided," Walsh said.

He added these reviews are the "most ambitious and complex aspect" of the consent orders.

Walsh admitted many borrowers have become jaded by the inefficiencies and confusion of the process.

The files are currently being divided into targeted segments to identify which cases have the highest potential of financial injury.

Walsh said regulators are setting up a system for individual third-party consultants to examine the cases for any injury caused by the errors. The servicers will be required to draft a remediation plan subject for approval by the OCC and the Fed.

The reviews, he said, will take months.

Because Walsh said the regulators are working with the Justice Department and the other state attorneys general to "harmonize" the requirements from their separate investigation, the full impact from the servicing issues may not be realized for some time.

"While I wish that there was a faster way to address the problems, provide relief, and restore the smooth functioning of the housing market, the fact is that this process will take some time to complete," Walsh said.

Write to Jon Prior.

Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior

Meramec Lakes Golf Course will hold a Missouri Children's Burn Camp Fundraiser on October 15th, and with the price of a day of fun on the course, St. Clair golfers get to help surviving burn victims attend a very special summer camp.

The Burns Recovered Support Group, Inc. was formed in 1983 by the St. John's Mercy Medical Center Burn Care Team along with a group of young burn survivors. The goal of this wonderful support group is threefold: to assist young burn survivors, to give support to medical facilities that treat burn victims, and to educate the public in preventing injuries through burn awareness.

In 1997 the Support Group founded the Missouri Children's Burn Camp, which is a typical week-long summer camp where children and teens can go to have fun while making friends and memories to last a lifetime. They swim, do crafts, go boating and do other fun-filled summer activities. What's not typical about this summer camp is that these campers are all survivors of severe burn injuries, which means they've spent at least four days in a Burn Center or have burns that affect the face, head, hands or feet.

Survivors of severe burn injuries must be residents of Missouri or Kansas and be between the ages of 6 and 17 to attend the camp. Through the generosity of golfers and others who participate throughout the year in Missouri Children's Burn Camp Fundraisers, no child is charged to attend the Burn Camp.

If you'd like to participate in this very worthwhile event, here are the details for this fundraiser:

• Date:  Saturday, October 15, 2011
• Time:  10 am Shotgun Start
• Place:  Meramec Lakes Golf Course
• Cost:  $100/player, which includes 18 holes of golf, use of a cart, BBQ lunch and prizes
• Format:  4-person Scramble
• Sponsors:  Boles Firefighters Association, Wayside, Inc., Villa Ridge Foods and USA Truck & Trailer Repair

For more info you can contact Sheila at 314-413-4431, or if you're ready to register, you can easily do so online, where you'll see other ways you can donate to this worthy cause.

If you live in St. Clair or the surrounding areas, you already know what a caring community it is, and the Missouri Children's Burn Camp is just another way that we show our love for our neighbors. For anyone wanting to move to this great area, or if you're already here and need help buying or selling a home, I can help! Please contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, at 636-629-3419 or online.

And thanks for helping the Missouri Children's Burn Camp by participating in the Meramec Lakes Golf fundraiser!

What better way to spend a crisp fall Saturday morning in

Saint Clair's Farmers' Market is located at 855 N. Commercial in the lot in front of the Health Mart Pharmacy, and, weather permitting, is open from 7am until noon. This time of the year, you'll be able to find pumpkins for fall decorating, as well as other seasonal favorites such as turnips and winter squash.

Throughout the season, fresh eggs are always available as are baked goods, created by our own fantastic local cooks. For those wanting something a little out of the ordinary or possibly to buy as a gift, there is also pottery, local original art, honey produced by Saint Clair bees and goat milk soap created by, you guessed it, local artisans using local goat's milk! Homemade arts and crafts are also in the mix, so why not start your Christmas shopping now!

If you've never been to the Farmers' Market, you're in for quite a treat. It's always fun to see what local artists and farmers have to offer, and the food produced locally always seems fresher and tastier than anything you can get in a grocery store. It's also a good feeling when you can support your own neighbors by buying fruits and vegetables they've grown locally.

Wouldn't you like to be able to pick up fresh local produce and eat it at your very own home in Saint Clair? If you're looking for a home in our area, contact me, Scott Hickinbotham, today. I can help you find the perfect “locally grown” home for you and your family.

If you're lucky enough to remember the TV show, Route 66, you may be impressed by the fact that Historic Route 66 runs through our fair city of St. Clair!

Route 66 was officially established on November 11, 1926, and this date is celebrated every year at various sites along what's affectionately called “the mother road”. It was decommissioned on June 27, 1985, and although a somewhat sad date, it too is remembered every year.

Cyrus Avery, known as the “father of Route 66”, was responsible for first mapping the route that would become Route 66. Beginning at Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the road runs through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, finally ending up in Santa Monica, California. It covers a total of 2400 miles, and was originally the “National Old Trails Highway”.

Route 66 is more than just a road, however, since it has become a symbol of our country's 20^th century trek west. It embodies all the dreams, tears and trials that motivated Americans as they made the long trip west throughout the years of the road's heyday.

While old Route 66 no longer shows up on maps, anyone interested in taking a tour of Historic Route 66 may want to purchase a map or guide on the Historic 66 site. There are also great books, DVD's, and lots of other info on this site, as well as links to various photos that might be of interest to history buffs.

For those traveling Route 66 or coming to St. Clair by any other road, if you've decided this is the place you want to call home, the Hickinbotham Real Estate Team is ready to help you find the perfect spot in this beautiful countryside. Contact us online or give me, Scott Hickinbotham or Cathy Wilson, a call today at 636-399-2296/636-399-4285.