1. How can this website help me?

This website is designed to help people find the best home for them in the St. Louis Metropolitan area to buy or rent. It can also help people find a qualified and experienced loan officer, realtor, and/or home improvement contractor.

The mobile version of this website provides all this information, plus it will help you locate homes for sale or for rent based upon your current location. (When we refer to the mobile version, we mean the mobile phone version. All other devices such as desktops, laptops, and notepads use the same PC version.)

2. How is the mobile version different than the PC version?

There are 3 main differences:

1). The mobile version has location based search, which the PC version does not have;

2). In the map for the PC version, there is polygon option for you to select any geographic shape, which the mobile version does not have;

3). On the PC version, a menu bar beginning with the "Home" button is always displayed horizontally at the top of the screen.

On the mobile version, the "Home" menu is displayed vertically by clicking on the three horizontal icon in the upper right of the screen. Clicking the "X" in the upper right of the screen will close the "Home" menu.

Also, the wallpaper or background is different between the two versions.

3. How can I start my search for houses for sale or rent?

First, go to https://www.blueworldrealty.com. On the home page, enter your desired address, city, or zip code and then click either "Buy" or "Rent". A list of houses that meet your criteria will then be displayed.

4. How can I see a map of houses for sale or rent?

Follow the steps in FAQ #3 to display a list of houses available to buy or rent that meet your criteria.

For the PC version, check the upper right hand box "Show map" (to the left of "More Filters") and click "Search".

For the mobile version, click the lower right button "Map".

Alternatively, in the PC version, you can click the button called "More Filters" on your main page. On the filter page, select the "Show Map" checkbox and click "Search".

Alternatively, in the mobile version, on your main page, you click the lower left button "Filter" and the "Show Map" checkbox, and then click "Search".

5. What options do I have for viewing houses for sale?

You can search on multiple areas, full address, MLS number, price reduction, open houses, special conditions, minimum price, maximum price, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, property type, minimum sqft, maximum sqft, lot size, age, and new listing.

You can also sort matches by "Relevance", "Newest", "Price", and "Price Sq Ft".

Checking "Show map" will display search matches on a map.

In the PC version only, you can also search for houses within a user specified shape.

In the mobile version only, you can also search for houses within a specified distance from your mobile phone.

6. What options do I have for viewing houses for rent?

You can search on multiple areas, full address, MLS number, pets allowed, open houses, minimum rent, maximum rent, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and property type.

You can also sort by "Relevance", "Newest", and "Rent".

Checking "Show map" will display search matches on a map.

In the PC version only, you can also search for houses within a user specified shape.

In the mobile version only, you can also search for houses within a specified distance from your mobile phone.

7. Can I search multiple cities, counties, and zip codes at the same time?

Yes, you can search multiple cities, counties and zip codes while using any of the other search criteria.

On the PC version, click the phrase "click to select multiple areas" in the upper left hand of the "More Filters" screen. Then click the desired cities, counties, and zip codes. Hold down the ctrl key to add a new city, county, or zip code. Hold down the shift key to add all the cities, counties, and zip codes between the current selection and the last selection. Click on the upper left hand phrase "click here to return". You should see "Multiple selections are made" in the upper left hand "City,State/Zip" field. Clicking the "Search" button will then search all selected cities, states, and zip codes at the same time.

On the mobile version, click the phrase "City, State/Zip". Pull-down menus allow the selection of multiple cities, counties, and zip codes. After making your selection, click the phrase "click here to return." Clicking the "Search" button will then search all selected cities, states, and zip codes at the same time.

8. How does search work when there are multiple selections?

When distance is selected, available only in the mobile version, the search is done using only distance and the other selections are ignored.

When distance hasn't been selected, then the search is done on the full address if it has been selected.

If neither distance nor full address are selected, then the search is done on the multiple cities, counties, and/or zip codes entered earlier.

9. I want to do a search on a certain area of the map. How do I do that?

This can only be done on your PC, not on your mobile phone.

First you must display a map (see FAQ 4 for instructions on how to do this.) Once you have a map, you must then click the upper left polygon icon located below the zoom in (+) and zoom out (-) controls. You can draw a polygon with as many as 30 vertices. (Every left click of the mouse creates a vertice. Complete the polygon with either a double left click on your last vertice or a single left click on your first vertice.) Clicking "Search" will then display all the houses for sale or rent within that polygon. A list of the houses inside the polygon is also shown on the right side of the screen. Before clicking "Search", you can further narrow your search by first clicking on "More Filters". "More Filters" will allow you to only display houses that meet a certain criteria, for example, houses below a certain maximum price. "More Filters" will also allow you to sort the list of houses by the "newest", "price", or "price per sq ft". You can do multiple searches on the houses within the polygon as long as the "Show map" box is checked.

10. Can I search for houses based upon the current location of my mobile phone?

Yes, you can. On the home page of your mobile phone, you first select a distance from 1000 ft to 20 miles and then click "Buy" or "Rent". A map will then be displayed of the homes for sale or rent within the selected distance with the "Me" icon at its center of the map.

Alternatively, on the home page, you can click the three horizontal lines icon in the top right corner, then click "Buy" or "Rent". On the "Buy" or "Rent" page, select a distance, check the "Show Map" checkbox, and then click "Search" at the bottom of the page. A map of homes for sale or rent within the selected distance will then be displayed.

For the "distance" feature to work, the phone must allow the browser permission to track the phone. If you haven't already given this permission, after trying to search you may be prompted to turn on the phone location. If this fails, you may need to enable your phone's geolocation service. (FAQ #11 tells you how to do this).

If you move, the houses around the "Me" icon will not change and thus won't reflect your new location. To update your map for your new location, after you come to a complete stop, click the green "Recenter" button in the upper right corner. ("Recentering is accurate only when the phone is not moving.)

Switching from map mode to list mode will display a list of the houses in ascending distance from your mobile phone.

11. When I try to use the "Distance" feature, my phone denies my request. What can I do?

You might need to enable your phone's geolocation service.

If you have an Android phone, Go to "Settings" > "Security & location" > "Privacy" and turn on the "Location"

The iPhone's geolocation service is enabled in a similar manner.

12. What information is available when I'm looking at a map of houses and I click the "List" button?

First, you'll see a summary of each of the houses that are within your search criteria. (The search criteria for the mobile phone may include the distance from the phone.) This summary will include address, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and square footage.

Clicking on a house address will display more detailed information about the house, including additional pictures, lot size, and age. Even more information is available by clicking "Property Details", "General Information", "Details", "Remarks", "Neighborhood Information", "School Information", "Demographic Data", "Sales and Tax History" (available only for houses in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County), "Affordability", "Real Estate Trend", "Similar Properties for Sale", "Financial Information", "Office Information", and "Contact Us". If you are interested in one of these listings, you can email or call us for more information.

13. How do I do learn about real estate trends in a specific zip code?

Click the "List" command and then click on a house address?

"Real Estate Trend" shows 6 different graphs, each showing a different view of how the house market in the same zip code as the subject house has changed over the last year.

For example, click "Real Estate Trend" for a house with zip code 63021. The first graph, "Original Price Trend", shows how the average original listing price of homes in the 63021 zip code has changed over the last year. (The average used is median average, which means that half the houses have a higher listing price and half have a lower listing price.) Touching a graph will display the exact value of one or two of the points on the graph.

Similarly, the second through sixth graphs show:

"Selling Price Trend", or the average selling price of houses in the subject house zip code month to month over the last year.

"Original Price per SQFT Trend", where "SQFT" is square footage.

"Selling Price per SQFT Trend"

"Days on Market Trend", which shows the average number of days between the last time a house is listed and the time the listing ended through a sale, expiration, or otherwise.

"Cumulative Days on Market", which shows the average number of days between the first time a house is listed and the last time the listing ended.

14. How can I find a mortgage company?

In your PC, click "Find Loan". In your mobile, click "Find a Loan Officer."

If you want to use a specific mortgage company, enter the name, e.g. "Bank of America" and click "Search".

If you want to use a credit union, enter "credit union" and click "Search".

If you want to use a mortgage company near you, enter your zip code or city name and click "Search".

15. How do I find a good Realtor?

Larry Christensen, Broker of Blue World Realty, would be happy to talk to you and then personally recommend a realtor who Larry thinks is best suited for your needs. If for some reason you aren't happy with the recommended realtor, Larry will let the first realtor know that things aren't working out and you will be free to find another realtor.

Or you can click "Find Realtor" and search the real estate company database by company name, city, or zip code.

16. How do I find real estate contractors to work on my house?

Click "Home Improvement". Then choose one of eight categories of contractors:

Architects
Carpentry
Electrical
General Contracting
Interior Design
Landscaping
Painting
Plumbing

You can then narrow the search by company name, city, or zip code.

17. What is virtual staging? How does it differ from traditional house staging? Does it work?

"Staging a house helps buyers envision how fabulous a living room looks with a little classy furniture and tasteful decor." (1)

"On average a staged property sells 88% faster and for 20% more than a nonstaged one." (1)

Traditionally, houses have been staged with real (and expensive), physical furniture and decor.

"As a general rule of thumb, the average cost for most physical stagers is $300 to $600 for an intial design consulation, and $500 to $600 per month per staged room." (1)

Virtual staging on the other hand is done with computer generated furniture and decor and is a much more budget-friendly and convenient alternative to traditional physical staging, while still allowing prospective buyers and renters to see how a house would look with updated furniture and decor.

Click "Virtual Staging" on the main menu and see how virtual staging can make cold, bare, empty rooms much more attractive and inviting.

1. https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/stage-your-home-like-a-star/

18. Can real estate agents and other vendors advertise on BlueWorldRealty.com?

Yes, we can promote both people and businesses through advertising and special placement. Contact us to learn more.

19. When I click on search, nothing happens. What can I do?

Try clearing your internet browser cache. For Chrome, open a new window and click on the upper right "Update". Then click on "More tools". Click on "Clear browsing data" and check "Browsing history". Then click on "Clear data".

20. How can I contact you?

You can contact us by either submitting the form at the end of each house listing or by clicking "Contact Us" and submitting that form.

We will endeavor to reply to all submissions as quickly as possible.