The location you’ve been dreaming of is finally here! This contemporary home on wooded 1/2 acre lot is nestled in a quiet, rural subd. just 5 min to Oregon and 12 min to Madison. Main floor features a living room w/frplc, dining or family rm, eat-in kitchen & laundry. Finished LL rec rm provides even more space. Screened porch w/hot tub overlooks wooded backyard and is perfect for entertaining. Job transfer makes this home avail. for $60K under assess. and not a short sale! VRP $239,900-$249,900

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

Deforest Schools! Don’t miss the chance to own 1/2 duplex near the Cherokee Marsh Area. This 3 bdrm, 2 bath duplex features an open kitchen, sun filled living room and large deck. The finished lower level sports a 3rd bedroom, family room and attached 2 car garage. Well maintained condo assn with great neighbors and solid financials. VRP: $140,000 – $145,000

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

Beautiful, immaculately maintained, million dollar view executive home just waiting for you to make it yours! Relax in the living room with it’s 9+ foot ceilings, gas fireplace & southern exposure windows with Mahogony floors. Or, you can bask in the view from the three-season porch or one of the three outdoor seating areas and enjoy the spectacular view of the Lake Wisconsin Valley. Stainless appliances, six panel oak doors & a wet bar in the family room complete this incredible home! RP $325,000-$340,000.

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

You won’t find another home like this! Custom designed in 1940 by area dentist, this unique home has character and finishings that just aren’t found anymore. Set on over an acre lot with mature trees, perennials and a private fenced patio. In addition to the original home provides 2 living areas on the main level and is handicap accessible. Hardwood floors, crown molding, library, walk-in closet and 2 fireplaces. Basement is partially finished and offers even more room for expansion.

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

This beautiful home on over 4 acres is just waiting for it’s new owners! The unique home is reminiscent of a Frank Lloyd Wright style with exquisite windows offering a gorgeous view of the landscape! The incredible two-story sunroom features a fountain and fish pond and is accessible from each bedroom on the lower level. The home is built into the hillside which keeps the heating costs remarkably low. Rooftop solar panels aren’t currently hooked up but could lead to even more savings!

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

Welcome to Madison’s desirable Atwood neighborhood filled with great restaurants, parks, bike paths and home to the Barrymore Theatre.  This beautiful home has been very well cared by only one family in it’s lifetime and they’re now retiring and offering you a chance at this splendid home!  As you step inside you’ll fall in love with the beautiful wood floors and original woodwork.  The wood burning fireplace in the living room provides a wonderful gathering place on winter evenings and in the summers you can enjoy the screened in front porch.  The formal dining room makes entertaining a breeze, and the kitchen includes a large pantry for your convenience.   Downstairs you’ll find a dry basement with an exercise room, a workbench and a 1/2 bath.  And you’ll love the 2 car garage with plenty of storage space!  The seller has recently updated the electrical system, added insulation and is providing a home warranty for your convenience.  Call today to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

Close to everything, quiet neighborhood and a home all ready for you. What more could you ask for? How about cathedral ceilings, a large deck perfect for summer grilling and a walkout lower level! The private master suite has a large walk-in closet and a great view. Open floor plan results in a sun-filled living space you don’t want to miss. The seller’s job transfer provides you with the opportunity you’ve been waiting for at a price that can’t be beat.

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

Welcome to Lazy Lake, one of the top bass fishing lakes in the state!  This 3 bedroom, 2 and a half bath home was completely rebuilt in 2009 and is in excellent condition.  All utilities are new, including the furnace and central air conditioning.  As you enter your new home, you’ll find gorgeous hardwood floors throughout the main level and beautiful French and 6 panel doors.  The open concept allows family to gather and enjoy the view from the wall of windows overlooking the lake.  The kitchen is loaded with stainless steel appliances and has an abundance of cabinet and counter space.  You can walk out of the dining room onto a large deck just perfect for grilling or entertaining.  The master suite is also located on the main level and boasts a private master bath and walk-in closet.

In the lower level, you’ll find thick, luxurious carpeting throughout.  The family room opens to a 3 season porch and also walks out to your beautifully landscaped yard.  Here you’ll find a variety of mature trees and 90 feet of lake frontage with a private pier on over a half acre.  There is also a 2 car garage with additional storage for all of your toys.  This home has far too many features to list, call today for a private showing!

Property Details

Property Photos

Property Map

The process begins with the “Offer to Purchase Contract”. This is a legal document which, if accepted by both you and the buyer, binds the sale and begins the closing process. Keep in mind that many times it’s dealing effectively with the myriad of details that help to ensure an a smooth transaction. The “give and take” aspects of the sale of a home must be skillfully negotiated before a transaction is successfully completed. Counteroffers are not unusual.

Home Inspection

Many homes have defects. Some are easy to spot – others are hidden. Most home inspections cover a home’s major mechanical systems: electrical, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning; as well as its construction from roof to foundation, inside & outside. The inspection may also provide the buyer with additional information such as suggested home repairs and maintenance. Home inspections generally take three to four hours to complete. The buyer typically attends the inspection along with the inspector. It is best if you are not present. We will inform you of any issues that the buyer may like to address.  It is very common for buyers to ask for several issues to be addressed.

The Appraisal

As part of a mortgage loan application, the buyer will pay for the lender to order an appraisal on your home. Lenders won’t approve or fund a loan until they establish that your home is of sufficient vale to secure the loan amount being requested by the buyer. That’s why it’s so important to establish the right price from the beginning. An appraisal is an objective, third-party estimate of the current market value of a property made by a licensed person with sufficient knowledge and experience to accurately estimate its value. Appraisers study comparable sales and take into consideration the location of the property, the neighborhood, and the economy to support their value estimate.

The Loan Commitment

Most buyers will have a financing contingency in their offer to purchase.  This specifies terms which their mortgage must meet in order for the buyer to accept it.  After the appraisal is completed, the lender will submit the loan for final approval.  If the buyer qualifies and the appraisal meets the necessary price the lender will issue a loan approval to the buyer.  The buyer then must sign the approval and the buyer’s agent will forward it to us.  This is usually the last contingency to be satisfied prior to closing.

The Closing

After all of the above items have been successfully completed your closing day will arrive.  Within three days prior to closing but most often the night before or the morning of, the buyers and their agent will walk through your home one last time to make sure that the home is still in the same condition as when they wrote the offer.

Then you will arrive at the title company at the scheduled time.  Usually I will be there as your agent, the buyers, the buyers’ agent, the buyers’ loan officer and the closing officer will all be in attendance.  You will need to bring your photo identification, all house keys and garage door openers.  The closing typically takes an hour, at the end of that time you receive your check for the proceeds and you hand the keys to the new buyers.

Disassociate Yourself from Your Home

One of the biggest challenges for every homeowner is to look at your home, which you have invested many years and wonderful times in, as a house to be sold, instead of your home. A house is a product, and should be marketed and sold like any other product which has competition in the marketplace. Make the mental decision to “let go” of your emotions and focus on the fact that the new buyers for your home will change most of it to fit their tastes and needs. So, let’s make it as easy as possible for the new buyer to envision themselves in their new home.

De-Personalize

Everyone wants to keep all those personal treasures and photographs in our home, but when it comes time to sell, this can keep the buyer from being able to envision their own treasures. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are there! In fact, when in doubt, less is always better when it comes to selling your home. So, pack up the family photos until you move.

Exterior Preparation

• Check foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and deterioration, and fix any problem areas.
• Remove and repaint any peeling paint on doors and windows.
• Clean and align gutters.
• Inspect and clean the chimney.
• Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
• Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking.
• Reseal old asphalt.
• Keep the garage door closed.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior of home.  Especially the front door and front porch area. The first impression is very important.
• Store RVs and old cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
• In spring and summer, add a couple of pots of showy annuals near your front entrance.

Interior Preparation

• Clean out cobwebs throughout home.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks if needed.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Bleach dingy grout.

Remove/Replace Favorite Items.

If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. Buyers don’t want what they don’t see, but once you tell a buyer that they can not have something they want, it can cost you the sale of the home. Pack those items or replace them, if necessary.

De-Clutter!

Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. We don’t want everything to fall out when they open the doors. Plus, for many buyers, they associate how organized you are with how well the home is maintained. So, organized closets say that you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well.

People collect an amazing quantity of unneeded items. Consider this: if you haven’t used it in over a year, you probably don’t need it. If you don’t need it, why not donate it or throw it away?

Common Areas

• Rearrange or remove some of the furniture if necessary. As owners, many times we have too much furniture in a room. This is wonderful for our own personal enjoyment, but when it comes to selling we need to thin out as much as possible to make rooms appear larger.
• Remove extra books from bookcases. The bookcases should not be more than 1/2 full with books. You can add flowers or other items to the bookcase to make it look attractive.
• Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger.
• Pack everything that you will not have to use. About 50% of everything can be packed. 50% of linens, clothes, toys, extra stuff, extra kitchen stuff. Pack up those knickknacks.
• Minimize pictures and objects on walls.  Remove any family, religious or cultural photos and objects.
• Replace burnt out bulbs throughout home.  Add extra lamps if there are any dark areas.
• Purchase a new door mat for the front porch.
• Purchase a new wreath for the front door.
• Purchase new sofa pillows if needed. Use a contrasting color to make a bold statement.
• Purchase new rugs for all doors.
• Purchase new silk floral arrangements for the home.

Kitchen

• Spruce up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by installing new curtains and cabinet knobs, or applying a fresh coat of neutral paint.
• Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn’t been used for three months… put it away! Remove large appliances that are not used daily.
• Clean refrigerator and stove, as well as under them.
• Clean and clear refrigerator fronts of messages, pictures, magnets, etc.
• Neatly stack dishes in cabinets, and again, remove extra dishes that you do not use each day.
• Apply orange oil to cabinets that appear dry, which will renew their original luster.
• Put out a large bowl of fruit such as polished apples, bright oranges, luscious grapes. They are healthy for you but also add color to the room.
• Display a colorful and fun cookbook on the counter.

Bathrooms

• Remove any unnecessary items from countertops, tubs, shower stalls and commode tops. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes etc.
• Place the remaining items in a box or container which you can pull out at night and in the morning when you are getting ready.
• Buy showy new towels for the bathroom, and put them out only for showings. Coordinate towels to one or two colors only.
• Keep all toilet seats down.

Bedrooms

• Organize your clothes. Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction. Pants together, dresses, etc. Pack all clothes that you do not need for the current season to make the closet appear larger. Line up shoes.
• Splurge and buy a new bedspread or comforter and matching pillows and curtains in your master bedroom.  The master bedroom is the most important of the bedrooms with regard to looks.
• Make all beds everyday. Give children an incentive to keeps their rooms clean.

Outside

Go outside and look at the front of your home. Does it look appealing? Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you? This is the first thing that the buyer sees and it is very important to make the entry of your home warm and appealing. Go around the perimeter of the house and move all clutter, garbage, and items that are not being used.

• Check gutters. Make sure they are swept and cleaned.
• Clear patios or decks of all small items. such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys. etc. (Put them in the garage or a storage unit.)
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number, or buy some nice new house numbers and have them installed on your home or garage.
• Clean out the garage as well! Store everything neatly and on shelves or in cabinets.
• Look at all plants… prune bushes and trees. Weed and then mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized. Remove any dead plants or shrubs.
• Plant lots of annuals in warm weather, and put up bird feeders in the yard.
• Place a garden seat, bird bath, or arched trellis with clinging flowers in yard.

Prior To Showings

Buying a home is an emotional decision. If you engage all the senses, your home will sell faster!

• Leave on all lights and lamps during showings
• Run a fresh lemon through the garbage disposal.
• Put a drop of vanilla on a piece of tinfoil and turn the oven on warm, it will smell like freshly baked cookies.
• Put fresh flowers in a vase in the kitchen or keep fresh fruit in a bowl on the table.  Set up the dining room table with placemats, cloth napkins, nice china and crystal glasses.
• Invest in a classical music CD (or ask me for a copy). Put music on in the main rooms for showings. Keep it low, so the buyers and their Realtor can talk without shouting.

Keeping Your Sanity While Selling Your Home

• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use. This is an easy way to keep those items off of the vanity each day, but allows you to easy access the things that you need each morning and night.
• Have your carpets professionally cleaned before your home goes on the market.
• Have your home professionally cleaned once a month.
• Hire yard crew or neighborhood kids to clean up the yard.
• Hire professional window cleaners to clean all windows.
• Hire someone to cut and bag grass each week, as well as pull weeds and trim.
• Empower children to get involved in keeping the house clean. Get them excited about their new room, or the new yard. Perhaps let them buy items for their new room now, and decorate their room to be what they want in their new room. Children are like adults. When it is new and they like it, they are more likely to take care of it. Buy a new basketball hoop and tell them that it will go up at the new home.

These are the secrets of getting your home sold fast, and for a better price than other homes!