Good morning! I am the Listing Specialist & Relocation Manager for The St. Louis Agent Team. As I prepare my first blog on this site, let me tell you about our team and what we are able to offer you as you consider your options in today's ever changing market.

We are able to offer assistance with rental properties, rehabbing, property management, mortgage lending, First time Buyers, Luxury Homes and new home construction in the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

Here's a little about me as I start this blog.

I have been in real estate for 11 years. I began as an investor/owner, rehabbing nearly 50 properties, from single families to multi unit buildings. I managed 80+ units of rental properties while starting up a mortgage company with my sister-in-law. After 4 years in lending and property development, my business model evolved. We went from light rehabbing to moving load baring walls, vaulting ceilings and home additions. In 2000, I began building new construction homes and condos with my partner/brother and his partner. We had a focus in the central corridor of St. Louis and did very well.

As our business grew, our need for experienced realtor partners grew concurrently. We seemed to be referred to the "top agents" in the market to assist with listing our properties, but never quite satisfied with the service, technology, marketing and overall drive to sell a property in lieu of marketing the home to pick up additional clients. I have a keen insight into what a client is looking for having worked with dozens of agents prior to becoming one myself.

By 2003, I became a licensed agent. A year later, I went out on my own and began growing my real estate team with 100% focus on real estate, foregoing development, management and lending. I moved my license to Prudential Alliance, REALTORS in Town & Country, MO in 2004. By 2006, my team was #2 in volume in our office and #10 in our company of 600+ agents. We have grown our business by utilizing high touch service, paperless transactions and communication that exceeds the local industry standard. We take great pride in keeping our partners in the loop and staying a step ahead so you never have to ask for an update. We provide updates routinely in attempt to make you look good to your higher ups and corporate clients.

In May 2007, I moved my real estate team to RE/MAX Properties West in Chesterfield, MO after 3 years with Prudential Alliance. It has allowed me the latitude to develop and grow our real estate in the manner we feel fits 2008 way of doing business and evolving in our industry.

Here is the makeup of my team.

Me - I handle all listings, relocation clients and manage the day-to-day activity of our business.

Darin "Sid" Cameron - He is my partner and a broker associate. He handles marketing and big picture growth of our team including web development, technology implementation and keeping to date with the market trends.

Randee Rimmel - She is a Buyers Specialist offering 19 years experience and handles buyers of all types for First home to the Luxury market and everything in between. No client is too big or too small. Randee is friendly, efficient and know the market and home buyer process that only 19 years experience can offer.

Cathryn Jones - She is our transaction manager. Cathryn comes from 10 years at Prudential Relocation (Corporate) and offers volumes of insight into the relocation process. She is an invaluable asset from contract to close.

Our growth has been consistent, even in an adjusting market keeping us in the top 1% of Realtors in the St. Louis market in sales and volume. We are thrilled to be very busy and growing considering the current market conditions. Our business doubled in 2005 and again in 2006. We were stable at a 3% decline in 2007, which is terrific considering we let go two buyers agents and changed real estate offices. Our 2008 business is pacing at our best year to date.

In 2008, we have taken a strategic approach to our growth by focusing on medical recruitment. We have dealt with many physicians and have begun building relationships with medical recruiters in our market. Sid spent 15 years in technology before becoming a licensed agent/broker in 2005. He brings extensive technology and web development that keeps our traffic and unique visitors to our web site around 2,000 visitors daily on our primary site of www.stlagent.com. We have other web sites, so stay tuned for details on them at a later date.

As a result, we deal extensively with clients relocating to St. Louis who find us through out main web site. Our Relocation Kit is terrific, truly a notch above the local competition. We are constantly seeking trends in other markets for ways to improve what we do well. If a client requests a kit, we have the ability to send it to them via FedEx Next Day Service. Often, we are so ahead of the other agents in response time and service that our clients have a Relo. Kit before they even receive a phone call or email back from other agents. All email comes to our phones, so we are quick on the draw with responding. Today's buyer (be they local or out of state) is looking for instant information. We strive to provide it along with a personal touch.

We also offer an advance system for clients to search for homes and get to know our housing market. Here is a link to my web site for additional information and a short video on the Home Buyers Scouting Report. http://www.stlagent.com/buy/search/scout_report.shtml We offered this service to Jeff Levitt when relocating to St. Louis from Long Island, NY to work for Panera Bread. It's a great tool and ideal for getting to know the market and tracking homes of interest along the way.

On a personal note: Here's a little about who I am beyond business. I love animals! We have two 9-month old Golden Retrievers named Abby and Fletch. We also have a 7 year old lab/mix names Gracie Lou along with have two cats, Bella and Grey. Yes, 5 animals...out of control! [LOL]

I'm a Team Liaison for the Susan B. Koman Race for the Cure in June 2008. It is the second largest race in the country (next to Denver) with 64,000 participants last year and  nearly 70,000 in 2008. We raised nearly $4 million dollars this year for research and funding local programs. I am also involved with Friends of Wings, an organization that benefits the only Children's Hospice program in the area through Barnes, Jewish, Childrens (BJC) Hospitals. Since I don't have a ton of free time, I'm particular about the organizations in which I lend my time and utilize my contacts for generating donations. Both have enriched my life far more than I could have imagined. When not working and volunteering, my husband and I love to take our dogs to the park and escape for short mini-vacations for an extended weekend.

I hope that offers a little insight into me and my team. When working with me, you have several others assisting the process in a true "team" approach, not just a group of agents that share space. We have 3 private offices and work with a very "corporate" approach to real estate. We know our numbers and track trends in the market to help our clients understand St. Louis real estate to work towards achieving their unique goals.

In May 2007, The St. Louis Agent Team moved to RE/MAX Properties West, the #1 RE/MAX office in the State of Missouri (15 consecutive years). We are thrilled to offer superior service, support and technology as a result.