Hilliker Corporation celebrates
40 years in business
AND ready to take on 40 more

Reflections on the early days - by Ben Hilliker

Hilliker Corporation was established in March,1985. It was a very different era. Real estate agents couldn’t communicate with their clients, or with other agents, by e-mail, or texts, or even by fax. There were no cell phones. To my recollection, there were only three commercial agents who had “mobile” phones, which were permanently, hardwired and anchored to the car, in which they were installed. Mobile phone users were charged by the seconds of use. I had one of the rare mobile phones and after substantial installation charges, my bill usually ran a little over $2,500 per month ($7,000+ in 2025 Dollars). Communication was basically limited to: 1. In person meetings; 2. Land phone lines; 3. Letters. However: phone calls to a business were always answered by a receptionist, with whom you could talk, not by a recording.

Real estate agents learned of other agents’ new listings by word of mouth or, by mail delivery of “Spahn Sheets”. A Spahn Sheet was a small, paper sheet, printed in black and white, on one side, by Spahn Studios, located on Ivanhoe Ave. in South St. Louis. The Sheets had brief information and a black and white photo, taken by a Spahn Studio employee. There was seldom, any other printed material. There was no internet information.

Except for one, recently opened, three agent office, there were no national, commercial real estate brokerage firms in St. Louis. All other commercial, real estate brokerage firms were owned by St. Louisans who were on site. There was one national developer, Trammel Crow. All banks in St. Louis, regardless of size, were owned by St. Louisans, with one exception that had an owner in mid-Missouri. Nearly all businesses in St. Louis, including major corporations, such as McDonnell Aircraft, Monsanto, Ralston Purina, Anheuser-Busch, Pet Milk, were owned by St. Louisans who were on site. All utilities were owned by St. Louisans or by the local communities, such as the City of St. Louis, they served. A commercial real estate agent could, with a little effort, meet directly, the the top executive or owner of almost any business, bank, utility, or institution, that owned or leased real estate in St. Louis.

In 1985, virtually all commercial-industrial real estate activity was within the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and the near, “East Side”. In the far west, Linclay Corporation, owned by St. Louisan, Dale Perkinson was in the process of developing Earth City. I leased and sold much property in Earth City to firms which would go no farther west, lest by going to St Charles County, they’d be perceived to have left town. Westport, being developed by Linclay and by White Development Co., owned by St. Louisan, Tom White, was just filling up. Meanwhile, in Fenton, I listed for sale, many acres of land, along I-44, some of the land being owned by Alberici Construction Co. and some by the Von Weise family of St. Louis. Most of the recorded, level lots, with all utilities in place, had an asking price of $.75 per Sq. Ft. I got the listings after other agents couldn’t find buyers, for the “out of town”, land. I found strong resistance from possible buyers, as soon as I mentioned Fenton. Several prospective buyers said almost exactly, the same thing, “I don’t want to be way out, in that bait shop, town”. I learned to not mention Fenton, but to ask, “Would you like to be at the Interchange of I-270 and I-44?” That helped.

Environmental issues were in the near future. It was a year after opening Hilliker Corporation, that I first had environmental compliance, affect a sale. When I sold property in South St. Louis for Kirberg Roofing, two underground gas tanks had to be removed and the soil around them tested for possible leakage. Until that time, the only concern with empty tanks was, the possibility of the empty tanks floating up through the soil, to the surface. (Which at times happened. For example, at the gas station, still on Brentwood Blvd., a half mile south of Hwy. 40, an empty tank broke through the asphalt and rose about six feet out of the ground.) If an underground tank ceased to be used, you simply pumped out any remaining gas and filled the tank with sand, so the tank wouldn’t float, and everyone was happy. Within a few years, new environmental laws were quite a shock for many property owners, who were suddenly financially responsible for any hazardous substances on the surface or in the ground of their property. (Many woeful tales can be told about that.)

City and County real estate records weren’t on-line. There was no, “on-line”. Commercial real estate agents were constantly visiting City Hall and the County Government Center to get information from plat books. No security personnel was in sight in either building and no one dreamed, there was any reason for security measures. Both Recorder of Deeds’ offices had a spacious room, with shelves of the large and heavy, original, plat books, which anyone could, unattended by any government employee, get out, carry around and go through. The plat books showed, any property’s size, dimensioned property lines, parcel number, ownership, including all prior ownerships and in many cases, drawings of improvements. Tax and zoning information was available in nearby offices. City Hall and the County Government Center were great places to run into and visit with other people you knew.

Earnest deposits for sale contracts, were held by the listing broker’s office, not by a title company. At closing, the listing agent would bring a check, drawn from the listing broker’s escrow account, to be used as part of the purchase price.

Sale contract forms were usually picked up at a stationary store named S. G. Adams, located at 10th and Olive Streets, or at Forsyth and Bemiston (in the space now occupied by Café Napoli). The forms were just two and a half pages long. Agents would write any special conditions, on the bottom half of the third page. Contracts longer than three pages were rare. About ninety percent of contracted sales closed, within thirty days of the contract’s execution. At closing, almost invariably, both the seller and buyer sat together, in the title company’s closing room, as they signed the closing documents and checks were delivered. The real estate agents would be there, with the title company’s closer and sometimes, a banker. On rare occasion, a lawyer.

Charles Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives, but the most responsive to change.” Hilliker Corporation has not only responded to change, but in some cases led the way. However, we’ve tenaciously also, clung to old time service. For example, anyone calling our office will usually be greeted by a receptionist, not a recording.

Hilliker only grows when our clients succeed.
Over 10,000 successful transactions since 1985.