Nancy Milton REALTOR/GRI GoshenRealtyGroup.com

It can take weeks or even months to find out the closing price of a home in your Glen Carbon neighborhood by scouring the traditional media for sporadically published real estate sales items.

We humans are naturally curious, especially when closed comps will have an effect on the price we can set for our own property. So, from time to time, I'll cut out the waiting process for you and let you know what a few homes have sold for in the Glen Carbon, Illinois market.

In the meantime, if you have a question about a specific home sale, just send me an e-mail at Nancy@GoshenRealtyGroup.com and I'll get the details for you.

SELECTED SEPTEMBER 2009 CLOSINGS IN GLEN CARBON, ILLINOIS

107 Bayridge..........,.$168,000

134 Birger................$108,500

78 Depot..................$152,000

6 Ginger Woods Est....$592,500

182 Hillcrest..............$155,000

195 S. Main...............$101,000

17 Matterhorn............$185,000

157 Munzert..............$141,500

51 Red Bud...............$177,000

45 Wolfe Creek Ct......$290,000

If you'd like a professional opinion about what your Glen Carbon, Illinois home would sell for in the current market, contact me at Nancy@GoshenRealtyGroup.com or call or text 618-791-8007.

If you're a resident of Madison County, Illinois please pay close attention to this important information. It could save you thousands of dollars on the purchase of your next home.

Did you ever wish you could find a Fairy Godmother who would swoop in with her magic wand and make your family's home ownership dreams come true? She would provide you with enough money to cover some of the closing costs and other expenses that it takes to buy a home.

Sorry to say that there's no Fairy, but there is an amazing program here in Madison County that can give you a big boost toward owning your own home by granting a portion of your minimum downpayment and closing costs.

The grant is administered by Madison County Community Development and it provides $5,000 for households at or below 50% of median income, or $3,000 for households at or below 80% of median income in the form of a forgivable loan.

To be eligible for the grant, applicants must fall within the income guidelines, have one year of clean credit history, two years of steady income and a copy of their most recent pay stub.

The income guidelines are:

HOUSEHOLD SIZE/INCOME

1 -- $38,000

2 -- $43,450

3 -- $48,850

4 -- $54,300

5 -- $58,650

6 -- $63,000

7 -- $67,350

8 -- $71,700

The property being purchased can be an existing or new construction home. It can be a single-family home or a condo. The program will not help with rental property, manufactured homes or mobile homes.

The maximum value of the property being purchased cannot be higher than $161,500.

To get started with a lender who can help you with the grant application paperwork and pre-approve your mortgage loan, contact me at Send2Nancy@Charter.net or call 618-791-8007.

There are many different reasons to love the fall season here in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs, including crisp and cool days, brilliantly colored leaves and festivals every weekend.

This week marks the annual Edwardsville, Glen Carbon and SIUE Fallfest. It's the granddaddy of festivals -- a community-wide celebration that includes a classic car parade, a 10K run, a bike ride and an amazing variety of food and drink.

You can see the entire program of events at the Fallfest web site.

Highlights for Friday, October 9, 2009 include a chili cook-off at Korte Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a blues and barbecue bash from 6 to 10 p.m. in Edwardsville City Park.

On Saturday, October 10, the third annual Route 66 run and walk begins at 8 a.m. If you'd rather carb load than run, the Kiwanis host a pancake breakfast at Miner Square in Glen Carbon from 8 until 10 a.m. The Land of Goshen Community Farmers' Market brings the fresh fall harvest to downtown Edwardsville from 8 a.m. until noon.

Beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 3 p.m., hayrides and family activities will be held at the Village Farmhouse across from the Glen Carbon village hall on Glen Carbon Road. The Kiwanis will feed you again from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with their famous barbecue and brats at Miner Square. And, just down the road, internationally known storyteller Bobby Norfolk will entertain with family friendly ghost stories at the Glen Carbon Centennial Library from 10 a.m. until noon. And, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. the historic Yanda Log Cabin will be open for visitors on Main Street in old town Glen Carbon.

In Edwardsville, Rock-N-Wheels will bring unusual vehicles, food, music and family activities to City Park from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The Classic Car Cruise begins at noon at Lincoln Middle School and makes tracks to City Park. Jaycees Field hosts a Vintage Baseball game between the St. Louis Unions and the Murphysboro Clarkes at noon. (If you haven't seen Vintage Baseball -- go. It's a real treat with teams playing by original rules in authentic 19th century costume.)

The Watershed Nature Center will help you explore nature in the dark with programs from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. Just bring your flashlight for naturist-guided hikes.

A roving party will rock main street in downtown Edwardsville and our friends at Visions by Carol Photography will craft a free headshot for you at 6:30 p.m. during their Girls Night Out. In Glen Carbon, the fun continues at Miner Square with music, food and wine and microbrews in the garden.

Sunday is the day for history buffs. The annual 50/50 auction is held on the grounds of the 1820 Col. Benjamin Stephenson House in Edwardsville and the Madison County Archival Library will hold a special program on Abraham Lincoln and his days as a surveyor in the village of New Salem as part of the celebration of the president's 200th birthday in 2009.

Fallfest is produced by the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce.

See you there!

If you're planning to put your house on the market soon, you probably have some cleaning to do.

Most people hang on to things like old paint cans, cleaning products, insecticides and weed killers long after they're needed. But what is a homeowner supposed to do with the stuff that you just can't throw into the trash?

Madison County has the once-a-year answer this Saturday, September 26, 2009.

From 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., the county's recycling program is sponsoring a free collection of household hazardous waste. Just take your items to the Madison County Wood River Facility (the building that used to house the old Wood River Hospital) at 101 East Edwardsville Rd. in Wood River.

You will need to show proof of residency in Madison County when you drop off the hazardous waste. Items turned in will be incinerated or recycled by a hazardous waste contractor.

These items will be accepted during the annual recycling event: batteries, drain cleaners, solvents, lawn chemicals, hobby chemicals, antifreeze, thermostats, pool chemicals, arsenic, cooking oils, electronics, fluorescent tubes, mercury thermometers, spray paint, oil/latex paint, lead acid batteries, gasoline, cleaning products, motor oil, herbicides, insecticides and pesticides.

So, round up the RoundUp and clear out your home's garage, shed and storage areas. Prospective buyers will thank you for it and so will the environment.

For more information, just call the Madison County recycling hotline at 618-296-6647 or click on their web site at www.madisoncountyrecycles.com.

Shooting approximately 630 feet into the air several times each day, the stunning Gateway Geyser has the power to reach for the sky and to lure drivers from the interstate highways of Southwestern Illinois for a closer look.

If you've ever wondered about that massive fountain of water that can be seen from vantage points in both Missouri and Illinois, here's your answer.

Located in the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis, Illinois, the fountain was designed as a counterpart to the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch which rises over the Missouri side of the Mississippi River as a tribute to President Thomas Jefferson and his hope for a continental United States.

Eero Saarinen, the Arch's architect, originally envisioned a park surrounding his stainless-steel sculpture that visually linked both sides of the great river.

Saarinen died before the Arch was completed and his vision remained just that until 2009 when the Illinois park and geyser opened thanks to the determination of the late Malcolm W. Martin.

A St. Louis attorney, philanthropist and civil rights champion, Martin purchased the land for the park and provided the leadership necessary to establish an organization to guide the project through to its completion. Martin modeled the geyser -- which is the world's largest man-made fresh water fountain -- after one he had seen in Geneva, Switzerland.

The main geyser sits in a six-acre, million-gallon lake (inhabited by a number of happy -- and brave -- ducks during our visit) and is surrounded by four smaller fountains that represent rivers that converge at St. Louis.

Visitors are often surprised at the noise produced by the three 800-horsepower pumps that operate the geyser. They can process 7,500 gallons of water at 250 feet per second. Just as the Gateway Arch sports an aircraft warning beacon at its summit, so does the geyser. A light on the pump shed alerts pilots that the fountain will be operating so they can avoid the area.

Erupting like Old Faithful, the Gateway Geyser operates on a set schedule at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. from April through October.

The spray from the main geyser and its four smaller companions often produces brilliant rainbows such as the one to the right which I snapped this summer.

In addition to the geyser, the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park contains a newly constructed Mississippi River Overlook which rises 40 feet high and allows visitors to see over the Mississippi River flood wall for a magnificent view of the St. Louis skyline. If you're visiting St. Louis, this is the primo location from which to take a postcard-worthy skyline image.

To reach the park and fountain, take the Fourth Street exit from I-55/70. You can follow the signs for the Casino Queen or look for the smaller fountain icon signs that are now in place. Pass the casino parking lot entrance and make a left on the road that runs parallel to the flood wall. You'll see the park, observation tower and fountain on your left.

Here's a map that will help guide you to the park.