This is a pretty sobering article:



Hurting at home: One in 26 homes in St. Charles County face foreclosure

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/ar ... _1.ii1.txt



One in 26 seems like a LOT....statistically that would mean that nearly 8 properties in an average-sized ~200 home subdivision are close to foreclosure.



(Apologies in advance if I posted the link incorrectly.)

As the elderly move into more accessible quarters as they age or depart, their older suburban ranch houses are a great buy. The one car garage or car-port is not all that bad considering other cars can be parked on the driveway or street. Many school districts in these areas: Lindbergh, Melville, Kirkwood, Oakville, Parkway, Pattonville, Hazelwood, Ferguson-Florissant, St. Charles are still great schools. One can more easily fix up these homes and expand them gradually instead of loading up with debt on a newer home with three-car garage and 3,000 + square feet. Back yards are not so different in size.



What are the West Coast ratios?