First Weber Group REALTORS®: Wisconsin Real Estate

By now, everyone has probably HEARD of Home staging. It certainly helps to sell vacant homes, as well as spruce up homes for sale that are maybe just too cluttered, need a fresh look etc.   Staging, although an expense, is much less expensive than a price reduction in your home if your home does not sell right away. Why not present your home professioanlly staged to attract the most buyers right off the bat?

Finding a home stager is just one more thing to do!  You can click the links below or just contact us and we can get you set up. First Weber Group's Concierge desk has several stagers available to help get homes staged for sale.

You can contact them through clicking into a region of our Concierge desk here and visit their websites.

You may or may not believe in the art of Feng Shui, but if you are selling your home, you should try everything possible. The following article from RIS Media highlights 8 Feng Shui mistakes to avoid while selling a home.  Sounds interesting... My house could use some help, I'm sure.

2008 is a unique real estate market in Wisconsin. Wisconsin does not have the serious problem other states do, thank goodness. For first time home buyers with good credit, there are opportunities aplenty to buy real estate.   Read the full article about the do's and don't for first time buyers here, as reported in RIS Media. Here is a summary and some additional commentary on the article:

5 DO's

1. DO take time to know your credit score - it may get you a better mortgage rate. By learning your credit score, you can also see how you are doing in managing your finances.  Free credits reports are available all over the internet.

2. DO explore mortgage preapproval before you start looking for homes. You'll know what you can afford and not waste time looking at what you can't. A preapproval also shows you are a serious buyer

3. DO start off with profesional help.  Your Realtor can help you do number 1 and 2 above as well as make your home search easier by sending you new listings via email that match your criteria.  A good Realtor keeps their eyes peeled for what their customers are looking for. You don't have to do all the work yourself.  Consider signing a Buyer Agent agreement for the best representation.

4. DO anticipate your future needs.  How long do you plan to stay in the property? Will it work for you 5 years from now? People move often for lifestyle reasons so keep your changing lifestyle in mind.

5. DO set priorities on what you are looking for in a property - but separate them into the "Must-Have features" and the "Nice to Have, but not imperitive" features. It is possible that no house will have absolutely everything you need and want and you will need to decide what is most important.

6 DON'TS

1. Don't fall in love with the first home or neighborhood you see. It is best to look at several homes to make sure of your purchase. Buying a home is a big step and you should take your search seriously. You may go back to that first house, if it is still available, but you will be making a wiser decision because you are more familiar with your wants, needs and what is available.  When you ARE certain of a home, do move quickly.

2. Don't buy beyond your means. Just because on paper, you qualify for "X" amount of a mortgage payment doesn't mean you have to go that high. Are you comfortable with paying that amount? Borrow only what you feel comfortable taking on.

3. Don't treat your home like a bank.  Buy for your lifestyle and for long term investment. Quick profits do nto always happen and should not be the main goal of purchasing a property.

4. Don't try to time the market. By the time most people sense a turn in the market, the tables have already turned. Buy for long term and buy at a time that seems right to you. 

5. Don't get an exotic or confusing mortgage.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Use a reputable local lender and ask all the questions you want.  It is important for you to be able to understand the type of loan you choose.

Happy house hunting! Let us know if we can help in anyway.

Prices are right for first time home buyers or move up buyers, but financing, which in recent years was quite easy to get, is getting tougher.  Save your pennies for that downpayment because you are going to need it. While maybe harder for buyers to enter into homeownership, the article below points out some changes that just seem to make good sense. If you are going to borrow, have a down payment, have good credit. Borrow smart, lend smart. Home ownership is a responsibility and one well worth it.

From Real Trends email update #987:

"Falling prices in many parts of the country have improved affordability for those interested in becoming homeowners for the first time, but financing the purchase has become a bigger challenge. Lenders, in general, are requiring larger downpayments and higher credit scores, criteria that can trip up first-time buyers. It's typically first-time buyers who have the toughest time scraping together a downpayment.

Time Magazine article by Dan Kadlac in full here.  An excerpt relevant to home buyers is shown below:

But let's say you are emotionally ready to be a homeowner. You have good credit, plan to stay put for five years and have been waiting for the perfect entry point. It's time to get serious--before an inevitable rise in interest rates wipes out your advantage. "The thing that will make home prices stop falling is the very same thing that will push mortgage rates higher," says Jim Svinth, chief economist at mortgage firm Lending Tree. So anything you gain by a further drop in prices might be offset by rising financing costs. 

Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900. You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today's rate of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31. Let's say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. If mortgage costs rise a point, to 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you'd have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate. And you have spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be.

It's more complicated if you must sell before you can buy. But that logjam won't persist forever--and if it appears you'll be trapped for a few years, try to refinance at today's lower rates. Risks always seem most acute when the headlines give you ulcers. But that's exactly when you should think long term--and get off your thumbs.

Luxury property varies widely by market. 

Wisconsin has our fair share...

But not too many like these.  The good news about the Luxury market is home prices are on the rise in the high end market and luxury home buyers typically do not need to rely on a mortgage loan - so they can bypass that mess.  Two articles that go into more detail can be found at the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and the original article by Newsweek is here.

Lord knows there are real estate sites out there on the web, some local, some national, some good and some really worthless. National web sites are going to aggregation where they include the most listings they can find. Have you ever used one of these national giants (Trulia, Zilow or realtor.com for example) to find local Wisconsin real estate? If so,  how was your experience?

Local brokers like First Weber work very hard at keeping individual websites on the cutting edge.  A good customer experience and returning customers is what we are after. How are we doing there? 

There are many options on most real estate web sites.  I think a lot of people are in a hurry when they look.  That's why I ask -did you know that for a few moments of your time you can set up a "My First Weber" account? When you do that, you have the ability to receive emails on properties that match YOUR criteria.  Whether they are new listings, open houses or even price changes, My First Weber can send you email updates, keeping you informed even if you are not seriously looking. It is a service, free. You can sign up here - and you can unsubscribe at any time. This is not hard sell - that doesn't work on a blog, or anywhere really, and it is not what we are about.  It is just a useful tip. If you are serious about buying or selling Wisconsin real estate, you should sign up. If you don't like it, unsubscribe easily.

We hope you stay around because We're here to help!

Go Packers!

If your home has a mold problem, or any other defect, do not hide this fact! It is unconscionable what this seller tried to hide. See the story of the Secret Room that I found over at the Sellsius blog

REALTORS are obligated to provide notice of defects that they are aware of through a visual inspection of the property, even in seller did not disclose the defect.  And, even if a mold inspection was requested in the offer it is not a guarantee that a Home Inspector would have even discovered such deception of the "secret room". Full disclosure is the best practice. For buyers, inspections are yours for the asking. But these must be requested in writing in the offer to purchase. 

Short sales have been in the news these days, and have been a topic of conversation in First Weber offices lately.  They are unfortunately becoming more common. Maybe you know what one is, maybe you don't. If you DO know what one is I bet you wish you didn't...

What is a short sale? (and may you never be in this predicament...)

A short sale is a term most commonly used to describe a situation where the proceeds of the sale of a home will not be enough to satisfy all liens on the peoprty, including mortgage payoff, closing expenses, and possibly including an agent commission.  The seller often has to BRING money to the closing.  THAT is just NOT what people have come to expect when selling real estate. 

Short sales may occur when the seller is in bancrputcy, or the mortgagee is foreclosing on the property or when the total of all liens on the property exceed what the property brings in today's market. 

If you absorb the news, you may have heard that if you are having trouble meeting your mortgage payment, it is best to contact your lender right away to work out a possible solution.  If you are currently selling, it is also imperative for your to provide your First Weber agent with as much information as possible about whatever liens and encumbrances may exist against your property.