Saint Louis Blog

First Time Homebuyers can take a Federal $7500 tax credit (dollar for dollar offset against tax) for homes purchased between 4/8/08 and 7/1/09. If a married couple makes more than $150K, there is a phase out of the amount they will be eligible for. In addition, you can make a special election for a home bought in 2009, to take this credit in 2008.

There are some stipulations: you have to “pay back” the credit over 15 years on your Federal tax return beginning 2 years after your home purchase, and if you sell the home, you have to “pay back” the credit in the year you sell your home.

Please call Lisa Bushur, CPA, if you would like to discuss this credit in more detail. 636-386-1040.

MODOT says: Dial 5-1-1 on your mobile phone!
If 5-1-1 isn’t available from your carrier, please dial 877-478-5511 (877-4STL-511).
What a great service they are providing, giving you a heads up to choose another route!
Try it, you’ll like it!

In a recent attempt to recover some administration costs, the City of Manchester has approved ordinance #08-1860, allowing for the increase of the rates. The board has approved the charge of $150.00 for single family inspections and $125.00 for apartments.

St. Louis County does the inspections for Manchester, but the administration of the inspections is Manchester’s responsibility. St. Louis County receives $75.00 of the $125.00 for single family. At the April 7, 2008 meeting there was a discussion of the recent changes. Manchester is actually only recouping 50-60% of the cost to administer, per Franz Krantz, Director of Planning, Zoning and Economic Development. He said other townships have their own inspectors and apparently that allows them to administer their fees more economically. Hmmm, makes me think that some dollars could be saved by just letting Manchester residents deal directly with St. Louis County. What do you think? 

You still have time to pick up and file your St. Louis County property tax assessment appeal form. Don’t delay though, as the deadline to file is Monday, June 16, 2008.

You can pick up the form at 41 S. Central Avenue in Clayton; by phone at 314-615-7194; online at the St. Louis County Web site or at the Chesterfield satellite office located at 74 Clarkson Wilson Centre. 

Here’s some news you can use if you are buying or selling in Grantwood Village municipality! The Board of Trustees adopted the revised Unincorporated St. Louis County Property Maintenance Code. What’s it to you?

The Code requires that the County must inspect all homes in that municipality before any re-occupancy can happen. The owner of any home to be sold, leased , rented in that area must contact the County and apply for the inspection. The inspection includes mechanical, electrical and plumbing inside the house.

You can get the forms to request the inspection by calling: 314.615.4142, pick it up at 4556 Lemay Ferry Rd.,63129 or call the Village City Hall, 314.842.4409 to request the form.

You’ll need to send in a check for $95.35 along with the completed application, payable to: St. Louis County Treasurer. The inspector will call you within 48 hours to schedule the appointment. 

Any unincorporated property will be charged $80.00 for the inspection.

What an exciting time is in store for the Jefferson City, Washington,  St. Charles, St. Louis, Kansas City areas in Missouri!

One hundred twenty professional cyclists will be trekking through the area on September 15th & 16th. This is the Tour of Missouri race and the hope is that it will draw attention to our wonderful views and attractions in Missouri.

There will be some small inconveniences for those that drive certain areas so be sure to check out the MODOT site. MODOT will be closing portions of the roadways for 20- 30 minute intervals to ensure safe cycling. Signs will be posted too. Save time by planning ahead to avoid delays by calling 1-888-ASK-MODOT or visit their web site: http://www.modot.org/

Be COOL and Help folks that need to BE COOL too!

Be a good neighbor and check on the older folks and anyone that is ill to be sure they are O.K.!

If you know of anyone that can’t pay their utility bills please have them call their utility company and let them know! They aren’t mind readers, you know! Make the call and let them know that help is needed.

 HELP is available to you or your neighbor if you can’t afford to pay! It’s COOL to BE COOL enough to help your neighbor or those in need. How Cool are YOU? Volunteer to help or donate money (100% going to the needy!) You can mail in a check to: UMB Bank, P.O. Box 868, St. Louis, MO 63188 or CHARGE IT on their secure site.  They make it E-Z to HELP!

Thought you might like to see what fun you can have when you attend one of the many local parades in the St. Louis area! For your enjoyment (Who knows? you just may see someone here you know!) and pleasure, I present, The Clarkson Woods 4th of July Annual Parade!  Enjoy!

Have you heard? MoDOT, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Society on Aging, is encouraging older drivers to use alternative transportation when they must limit or stop driving.  Sounds good to me, and they are looking for ways to help seniors drive longer with some training and learning techniques. With that in mind, they are instituting 5 core programs in 5 cities in Missouri, one of which is the St. Louis area. Other Missouri cities include: Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, and Springfield.

They (MoDOT) say that older drivers were involved in 15 percent of the fatal traffic crashes and 12 percent of the crashes involving a serious injury in the last 3 years.  As people age, vision can change, limited mobility, slower reflexes, delayed reaction time, drowsiness, and trouble judging distances and speed all can become issues.  Growing older doesn’t HAVE to mean giving up driving but we all need to be sensitive to these changes. Physicians need to be pro-active in their observances of problems stated above.

MoDot will work with NHTSA, ASA and community coordinators in each of the cities to stage training and outreach efforts on the programs. For a description of the programs click HERE.  Time to take a refresher class?

Uh-oh! Here they come!

We’ve got Trouble, with a capital T! Right here in River City! Yep, they’ve found mosquitos that tested positive for the West Nile Virus right her in Chesterfield and some areas of unincorporated Creve Coeur.

Ok, so there are no reported human cases of the West Nile Virus in St. Louis County this year (as yet!), but you need to know what you can do to do to help prevent that from happening. The St. Louis County Health Department Director Dolores J. Gunn reminds us that we need to minimize our exposure to the critters. Do it by elimination of standing pools of water, cleaning out the gutters of leaves and using repellants (see below). 

Here’s  a list of things you can do to help:

1) At least once a week, empty all standing water from gabage cans, wading pools, pet dishes, buckets, and any other areas that may collect water.

2) Use a product with the active ingredient methoprene or Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israclensis) to place in birdbaths or ponds, to prevent mosiquitos from developing.

3) Repair screens on doors/windows

4) Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and light colored colors outdoors.

5) Spray clothing with repellents containing DEET

To find out when the county will be spraying, call 615-4-BUG for the nightly spray schedule. For more information on mosquito prevention contact the County Vector Control office at 314-727-3097 or click here.