WHY Not Move TO St. Charles / THREE Top Reason’s
…If you are thinking of moving and not sure if you can afford to live in St Charles County. Well I’m going to go over 3 TOP Factors that will tell you about the area. I’m going to cover How much are the cost of homes / the school districts / The taxes and how the county has grown. My name is Cindy Clarice and I’m a Full time RE/MAX Realtor and I’m from this area.
Education – How They RATE?
Education is on top of mind for many people - just like it is for in St. Charles County. They have 6 Public School Districts – Francis Howell, Fort Zumwalt, Wentzville, St. Charles, Orchard Farm and Washington. Along with 29 private schools and 3 colleges and universities.
Building Strong Foundation at Early Age
They have a wonderful early childhood education Program. When I was raising my five kids we were in the program. They know how important it is to build the little ones up to have a strong learning foundation. I will have a link for you that you can find out a wealth of information of each individual school district in Missouri. Their stats show the graduation and drop out rate, their discipline policies and Gifted Programs. They have a strong mental health plan put in place. Because they know if ignored, mental health problems can interfere with children’s learning development, relationships, and physical health.
What is Cost of Homes in St.Charles County
Second how much does it cost to buy a house in St. Charles County. Well, the median sale price has skyrocket since 2018 at $225K to where we are now at $325K. So here is a breakdown with what your charges would be to buy a house for $325,000. With the different programs that they offer you can see what your down payment will be/ mortgage payment / your rate / APR / Taxes / Insurance-HOA Dues / and PMI if it is required.
28% Model
And here is a breakdown of what lenders look at to see if you can afford the home. An example Of the 28% rule states that you should spend 28% or less of your monthly gross income on your mortgage payment (includes principal, interest, taxes and insurance). To determine how much you can afford using this rule, multiply your monthly gross income by 28%. For example, if you make $10,000 every month, multiply $10,000 by 0.28 to get $2,800. Using these figures, your monthly mortgage payment should be no more than $2,800.
35% to 45% Model
And then there is the $35% -45% model with this model your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn’t be more than 35% of your pre-tax income, or 45% more than your after-tax income. To calculate how much you can afford with this model, determine your gross income before taxes and multiply it by 35%. Then, multiply your monthly gross income after you’ve deducted taxes by 45%. The amount you can afford is the range between these 2 figures. For example, let’s say your income is $10,000 before taxes and $8,000 after taxes. Multiply 10,000 by 0.35 to get $3,500. Then multiply 8,000 by 0.45 to get $3,600. Given this information, you can afford between $3,500 - $3,600 per month. The 35%/45% model gives you more money to spend on your monthly mortgage payments than other models.
25% Model
The 25% post-tax model states your total monthly debt should be 25% or less or your post-tax income. Let’s say you earn $5,000 after taxes. To calculate how much you can afford with the 25% post-tax model, multiply $5,000 by -.25. Using this model, you can spend up to $1,250 on your monthly mortgage payment. This model gives you less money to spend as opposed to other mortgage calculation models.
Your GOALS
Though these models and rules can help you gauge what you can afford, you also need to keep your financial needs and goals in mind.
How Much Are TAXES
Taxes are important they are never going to go away. So I am going to show you exactly where every tax dollar goes. This chart is from the St. Charles County Collector of Revenue details how they evaluated every $100. was assessed.
How They OUTLINE The Taxes
They outline the amount for the common tax and what entity it goes to. The amount that is charged by city for sewer/water fee.
The list of cities that have an additional city tax.
Each Fire District is broken down by the city and what you are taxed. And so are the school districts.
https://www.sccmo.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4750
HOW Did We Get Here?
Before I go into the Growth let me tell you a little bit of history on how we got here….
St. Charles was settled primarily by French-speaking colonist from Canada in its early days. In 1804 the Lewis and Clark Expedition considered this settlement from the last “civilized” stop before they headed upriver to explore the western territory that the United States acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
Where We Are NOW
According to the city’s 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report here are the list of the top employees in the city and the number of their employees. The list is grown over the years.
Refer to the chart in the video from the historical population of St. Charles goes back to 1850 when the population was 1,498. Where you can see how the population has grown over the decades and now the latest census in 2020 the population is 70,483 with a 7.1% growth.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles,_Missouri
And please feel free to reach out.
And stay safe.