STL Home Buyer Journey
George Kindler
13 Years Of Real Estate Experience At Your Fingertips
Last updated October 20, 2026
Roy and Karen spent 44 years in their first house in South St. Louis. Their next one, a ranch on San Luis Drive on the Jefferson County side of Fenton, came with a Sunday-morning listing, an estate seller who pushed back on commission, a highest-and-best call and a Ring doorbell the night before closing. Step into my seat, make the calls, then read how each one played out.
To be close to their grandkids, in a house that fit the life they live now. Their kids had moved to Fenton, and after 44 years the house in South City no longer matched their routine.
Roy and Karen bought their home in the Carondelet area of South St. Louis before they had kids: a 100-plus-year-old two-story just north of Bates. They raised their kids there and stayed 44 years. Over time, the anchors changed. Their kids moved to Fenton, their longtime church closed, and their routine changed while their house didn’t.
So they weren’t downsizing. They were right-sizing. The list was short but important: be close to their grandkids, room for Karen’s music and crafts, a garage where Roy could work on his car, green space out back, and one-level living for the years ahead. I wrote about how they figured that out in Where Should I Move When Downsizing in St. Louis? This is how the purchase actually played out.
No. Their goal was the location and the house, so they didn’t need a particular school district or to be inside the City of Fenton. That opened up the Jefferson County side.
Before San Luis, Roy and Karen wrote offers on two other homes in Fenton: one on the Lindbergh side, which sold for about $40,000 over asking, and one on the Parkway side. Neither worked out.
A lot of this site is about school districts, because that’s how St. Louis sorts its housing data and how many buyers search. But my focus is always the client’s goals. For Roy and Karen, this was about the location and the house, not the school district, and they didn’t need to be inside the City of Fenton to hit their goal. So I encouraged them to focus on the home.
That opened up the Jefferson County side of Fenton, south of the Meramec. San Luis Drive is unincorporated Jefferson County in the Northwest R-I district, and it’s about 1.5 miles, roughly five minutes by car, from their grandson. On location, it didn’t just meet the goal. It beat it.
The same day. Roy and Karen had an offer ready to sign about an hour and a half after I sent them the house.
The house was listed on a Sunday morning. For a seller, that’s absolutely the worst time to list. By Sunday, most buyers have already locked into an offer or have their showing schedule set for the weekend.
We saw it as an opportunity. This is also the honest answer to “how fast can you be available?” I sent them the house. They said yes within five minutes, and I said, let’s meet there in 45.
Not automatically. Look at your net number first. Roy and Karen paid the commission themselves and were still all in at $323,000, $27,000 under their $350,000 budget, on the house that met their goals.
Here’s the bad news: it was an estate sale, and you can’t control all the variables. Only the ones you can.
While we were the only offer on the table, the sellers countered us on commission. They didn’t want to pay buyer-agent compensation. A lesson for sellers: that is terrible advice. My buyers were ready to walk. You had the only buyer in hand, on a Sunday listing, and you gave them a reason to leave.
They didn’t leave. We looked at the number that matters, the net. On Tuesday, they presented a modified offer: they would now pay the commission themselves. It’s certainly rare for my buyers to pay it. But the net still worked, on a house that beat their goals on location and the house itself.
No. Highest and best asks every buyer for their final offer; it doesn’t require you to go up. If you know where you stand, you can stand on your offer. Roy and Karen kept the same offer they made on Tuesday, and the sellers accepted it.
By Wednesday, once my clients had agreed to pay the commission, the sellers received other offers. Now it was a multiple-offer situation. Instead of negotiating with us directly, the sellers called for highest and best. Roy and Karen were still in the game with the same offer they’d presented on Tuesday.
Here’s what I want to point out: the most motivated buyer in that pile was my clients. They showed up the day the house was listed, on a Sunday, when most buyers had already locked into an offer or set their showing schedule. It’s not about the first offer; it’s about the motivated buyer. My buyers weren’t happy that the sellers called for highest and best instead of working with them, and I understand why. In the end, they were the highest and best.
We were always the best offer. Inexperienced agents and buyers could have walked away emotionally at this point, and I told my buyers they could walk if they wanted to. In my view, the sellers were making a mistake by not taking their offer. But based on my conversations with the listing agent, I knew we would have the highest offer in the multiple-offer situation. Building solid rapport with the other agent matters here. Either she didn’t tell the other agents that her sellers wouldn’t pay commission, or she told them and they didn’t raise their price.
Of course, we could have pushed back and put the commission back in. But there are two sides to this. On one hand, the sellers could have run my buyers off emotionally. On the other, my buyers had goals to meet. So I asked them: if we removed how the sellers responded to your offer, does that change the house?
I know we’re in a people business. But a month from now, the sellers’ response to your offer won’t matter. What will matter is hitting your goals and being happy in your home. Roy and Karen stood on their offer, and the sellers accepted it. The house sold at its $315,000 list price after four days on the market.
And for anyone wondering whether standing on that offer meant overpaying: the house appraised above the contract price.
Ask for the repair before closing, and a home warranty for what comes later. That’s what we asked for here, and we got both.
The inspection turned up several minor issues, and then we found a furnace that was failing. A minor item is something you can live with. A failing furnace going into a St. Louis fall isn’t. I recommended we ask the sellers to repair the furnace and provide a home warranty. We got both.
No. The two asks do different jobs. A home warranty doesn’t cover a known pre-existing condition, and once the inspector found the furnace failing, it was known. So the furnace had to be fixed by the sellers before closing. The warranty covers what nobody could see yet.
What happens at a St. Louis home inspection →
Usually, yes. Anything affixed to the house that isn’t excluded in the contract goes with the house, and a mounted video doorbell or spotlight is affixed. A seller who wants to keep one should exclude it up front.
We thought the drama was done. Then, the evening before closing, the listing agent texted me: the sellers were taking the Ring doorbell and the spotlight.
Buyers and sellers both need to know this one. Anything affixed to the house that isn’t specifically excluded in the contract goes with the house. I told her they’re fixtures. We’d had a month to talk about a replacement, or they could have been excluded in the agent remarks, something I’ve done many times on my own listings. That didn’t happen, so they were now part of my buyers’ real property.
Removing them would also be a material change in the condition of the house, and that can trigger the walk-through notice. My buyers would have been well within their rights to have the sellers cure it before closing.
I believe the agent had a productive conversation with her sellers. The Ring doorbell and the spotlight stayed, and we had a smooth closing.
What to check at the final walk-through →
That the advice made the difference. In her five-star Google review, Karen wrote that it “was the difference between being accepted or rejected in this crazy market and ultimately buying this house.” Here’s the full review:
George, from day one, made us feel comfortable and confident that he would help us find the right house for us within our desired price range. George was very patient with us as we navigated buying this house. We had been in our first house 44 years and this move was intimidating but George helped make it a positive life changing transition. We had a small but important checklist that George really tried to meet when suggesting houses. The house we ended up with checked the most important boxes. One thing that impressed me most is that when there could have been much drama from the sellers, George either intervened on our behalf or gave us sound advice on how to respond in a positive way. His sound advice was the difference between being accepted or rejected in this crazy market and ultimately buying this house. Thank you, George!Karen, Google review
Buyers: keep your goals ahead of the sellers’ behavior. Sellers: don’t give a ready buyer a reason to leave.
Usually not. Roy and Karen could have walked twice, once over the commission counter and once over highest and best, and both times they’d have walked away from the house that met their goals. A seller’s negotiating style is temporary. The house, the location and the payment are what you live with. Ask the same question I asked them: does how they responded change the house?
With your goals. Their goal was to be close to their grandkids in a house that fit their next chapter. That pointed them past the city limits and into unincorporated Jefferson County, and it kept them $27,000 under budget, commission included. Know what your search is really about before you let a boundary decide it for you.
No. The sellers here got a list-price offer from a buyer who could move the same day, then made them work for it twice. It nearly cost them their best offer, and calling for highest and best instead of negotiating with the buyer who showed up first didn’t get them a better one. Look at your net, and don’t give a ready buyer a reason to leave. I don’t recommend introducing emotional roadblocks any more than physical ones in the property.
Before you list. If you want to keep a fixture, exclude it up front. Waiting until the night before closing turns a doorbell into a closing risk.
See how the Jefferson County side of Fenton compares: Fenton (Jefferson County side) home buying questions, answered with 2026 sales →
What happens if a seller removes a fixture before closing?
It’s a material change in the condition of the house, and that can trigger the walk-through notice. The buyer would be within their rights to have the seller put it back, or otherwise cure it, before closing.
Is Sunday morning a bad time to list a house?
In my experience, it’s the worst time to list. By Sunday, most buyers have already locked into an offer or have their showing schedule set. For a buyer who can move the same day, it’s an opportunity: Roy and Karen toured within the hour and had an offer ready to sign about an hour and a half after I sent them the house.
More in this series: Lessons From a Sale · Pricing a split-level in Lindbergh · The septic that changed who could buy · Their right-size story: Where should I move when downsizing? · Related: How I work with buyers · Who pays the buyer’s agent commission · How much to offer · Fenton (Jefferson County side) · Jefferson County area guide
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You’ll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.