One of the most common factors keeping people from buying a home is the belief that they need a huge down payment in order to make it happen. There are various loan programs and grants out there to help buyers in many types of financial situations; there are loan programs that require as little as 3% down and in some cases you may qualify for no down payment at all. Our team has served hundred of buyers over the years, and we'd love to serve you as well. Don't continue to rent or dream of home ownership because you are unaware of all the options and programs that are out there to support you. From conventional loans to VA, FHA, or USDA loans, there are so many opportunities available - sometimes we just need to get a little creative. Regardless of your financial situation, our team would love to help you with the purchase or sale of your home and we are here to help you problem solve, whatever challenge you believe is standing in your way. Let's connect soon.

Most people don't know that using a buyer's agent is free. It doesn't cost you anything to work with us because the seller typically pays broker fees. Keep in mind that the seller has an agent who is representing them and their best interest so you'll want to have someone in your corner as well. We're here to guide you through each phase of the transaction - helping you find the perfect home and making professional recommendations about what you should or should not do throughout each step.   We will guide you through making an offer and positioning yourself to get your offer accepted, even when there are competing offers. We will make suggestions on what you should, and should not be asking for, financing strategies, what inspections you should have, repairs, other contingencies and so much more. We are here to walk side by side throughout your journey and guide you through the entire process. If you have any questions about getting started, give us a call, we'd love to help.

Accepted Offer!! What's Next? Congratulations, your offer has been accepted! So now what do we do? Well, it's time to start that journey towards closing. It is a super exciting time once your offer gets accepted, but we can't just stop there. Our goal isn't an accepted offer; it's to cross that finish line, close and move you into that home. So we need to make sure that we're working through contingencies and not missing any contractual deadlines. On your end there are a number of things that need to get going right away. I call this the "blitz period" because a lot of things happen really, really quickly. This is the time to get inspections scheduled, pay your earnest money, get all the documentation moving forward for your mortgage and work through the appraisal. I recommend that you have a home inspection and if your house is on well and septic, you inspect those as well. Depending on the situation, we may also recommend that you test water quality, look for radon or possibly a chimney inspection, swimming pool inspection, or a variety of other tests and inspections depending on the property itself and your situation. Once all the inspections are finished, we'll get together to discuss what, if anything, needs to be repaired, or if we need to request any monetary contributions from the seller. At this time, we're looking for what are called defects. Defects affect the health or safety of the occupants, significantly shorten the lifespan of the property if they are not repaired or if they're not repaired will significantly devalue the property. We're not looking for items that we were aware of before we wrote the offer or items that may be cosmetic. If you are securing a loan on the property, it is super important that you stay in constant contact with your loan officer and are very timely in the delivery of the documentation that they need to move forward on your financing. My team will check in with them frequently as well to make sure that everything is moving along as expected. In regards to the appraisal, the goal is for the appraised value to come back at or above what the offer to purchase says is the purchase price. If it doesn't, depending on how we've negotiated the contract, we may need to renegotiate the purchase price after we get the results. We need to understand that what's happening in the market may affect how we strategize and go about negotiating the inspection or appraisal if necessary. Throughout this process you'll also line up movers, set up utilities and start packing for the big day. Be careful not to do things that could jeopardize your financing without speaking to your lender first. Items such as changing jobs or taking on additional debt could have catastrophic effects on the ability to get to the closing table. To get started on your home buying journey, get in touch with my team at theminterteam.com/contact, message us on socials, or give us a call. We would love to serve you on your home buying journey. Let's connect soon.

First Step in Purchasing a Home Are you thinking about buying a home in Dane County and don't know where to start? Before doing anything else, you need to know what you can afford. Getting approved for a loan is essential when looking to purchase a home. You'll want to understand the cost associated with becoming a new homeowner and qualifying for a loan. Your very first step when buying a home in Dane County is meeting with a mortgage lender to get pre-approved. This is not the same as filling out something online and getting a suggested number back - a full pre-approval will dig deeper with a local lender and help you compete in today's market. Don't make the same mistake many others do; they go house shopping prior to mortgage shopping. There are things that you have to consider before looking at homes such as: knowing how much down payment you'll need, what closing costs will be associated with getting the loan, the costs for inspections and any other expense that may arise with your loan. Our team is highly trained and would love to help you with the sale of your home. We'll refer you to one of our trusted mortgage professionals so that you can be on your way to becoming a new homeowner. If you're ready to start the home buying process, give us a call!

Why it's so Important to be Preapproved in this Market If you're buying a home this year, a strong pre-approval from a respected local lender is a non-negotiable. I've seen weird things happen with finances over the last decade, and in today's competitive market, it is not the time for you to play games with who handles your mortgage. Some buyers think that they've covered all their bases with the preapproval when really all they have is a pre-qualification, and usually from a less reputable bank. The difference is that a pre-qualification is often based upon loose, undocumented information usually provided verbally or typed into a computer directly from the home buyer. Meanwhile, a pre-approval includes documentation with things like credit checks and tax returns, bank statements and other verifiable pieces of information. The strongest buyers go a step further with a fully verified preapproval. This means the only thing left for the financing is lender approval of the appraisal, title and a few other small items. When I'm working with a seller, this is the next best thing to a full cash offer. Fully verified preapproval gives the confidence that the file's been heavily scrubbed, and we are all limiting our risk involved with the financing contingency. I've seen buyers write offers on our listed properties and lose thousands of dollars because they verbally lied about the information they used to get a prequalification. If these buyers had been fully pre-approved, their lies would've been caught up front, and they would not have lost the earnest money that they put down on the property they wrote an offer on. That brings me to my next point, which is: who you choose to get your mortgage with matters. Everyone wants a deal, but using discounts in the mortgage world is going to hurt your chances of actually getting a house. Since sellers in today's market usually have a number of offers on the table, you don't want to hurt your chances by using a mortgage lender that doesn't provide value. Even if a bank has a lower interest rate, it doesn't do you any good if their name is keeping you from getting a house in the first place. My team will get you connected with a loan officer that will not only fully pre-approve you, but that other agents will be excited to see on your preapproval when we submit your offer. It's a simple way to make your offer stand out without adding any extra costs or taking on any other risk. To get started on your home buying journey, reach out to us at theminterteam.com/contact or message us on socials. I will make sure that we get you moving on the right track. Let's connect soon.

Four Tips to Help Get Your Offer Accepted Are you wondering how to compete well with other buyers? Our team has served hundreds of buyers over the years, and we'd love to help you too. We have four buyer tips to help ensure that you land your dream home.  1. Make sure you know what the list price is compared to the current selling prices in the area that you are looking. Right now, it's a competitive market due to low inventory and homes are being sold significantly above list price. As an example, homes in Dane County with competing offers are averaging about 6.3% over asking price. In other words, if you are looking for a home at about 300,000, you can expect it to sell closer to 319,320. 2. Once you've offered a competitive price, you'll want to take a look at the contingencies and see if you can remove any of them; but be sure you understand the risks in eliminating things such as the inspection or the appraisal or financing contingency. 3. Put down a large earnest money deposit. This shows your seriousness on the property and also shows that the finances are there. 4. Let the seller know that you are committed to making the process as smooth as possible. If you're not removing contingencies, you can include high allowances in areas such as the inspection or the appraisal within your offer. These are just four of the tips we have to offer our clients; we can always pull more from our toolbox depending on each individual's situation and goals. Give us a call if you're looking to get started, we'd love to serve you along the way. Let's connect soon.

What Can You Expect When Purchasing a Home? Purchasing a home is most likely going to be one of the largest investments in your life and for a lot of people that can be a little scary. Our team has served hundreds of buyers over the years, and we'd love to help you too. First, we will make sure that you are connected with a great lender that will help get the job done. You'll find out what types of loans you can qualify for and what the full payment will be which includes the payment, interest, taxes and insurance. Once you're fully approved, the fun starts - we get to go house hunting! With a buyer's agency agreement in place, we can use our expertise to offer you advice or our opinion on anything that could possibly be problematic with the area or home that could affect the value later on. Once you've fallen in love with a home, we will work with you to negotiate an offer that you are excited about. In today's market that can be a challenge, but don't worry, we've got lots of ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd. After you get an accepted offer, the job's not done yet. We will work together to get earnest money paid, inspections scheduled and negotiated and communicate frequently with your lender to make sure all things related to financing stay on track. We are diligent about making sure we don't miss any contractual deadlines so that we keep things moving as smoothly as possible. There are so many parts to a transaction; we could be here for hours covering all the bases. Instead, just give us a call; we'll walk you through the process step by step to ensure we're making the best decisions each step of the way until we hand you the keys to your new home. And don't forget, the seller typically pays the broker fees, so it doesn't cost you anything to utilize our services!   

Oregon, WI Housing Market Update - March 2022 Hey there, Oregon. Spring is here so what does that mean for our local market? I drive around town and I don't see any for sale signs out there. Prices are rising on everything from gas to food to definitely houses, and who knows where global events are going to be taking us. It can be so confusing with the constant changes in the market and world events to know what's right for you and your family. So let's take a look at the numbers and see where we've been and where we're going in this Oregon, Wisconsin market update. First of all, anytime we have inventory levels that are at six months or below, we are in a seller's market and anytime that number is above six months, we're sitting in a buyer's market. I promise you, right now we are definitely sitting in a seller's market. In fact, right now in Oregon, we're hovering around one month of inventory for all houses at all price points. Now, what that means is that if nobody lists their house in the next 30 days, Oregon will be out of houses within the month. It's not like buyers aren't out there shopping, right? I mean, we don't have very many houses for sale, but the buyers are definitely there. If we take a look at this graph of showing activity, we can see the average number of showings from 2018 through 2021, that's four years worth of data, and you'll see that for the most part, 2022 has been higher. It's exceeded that buyer activity, even though 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, were all hot sellers markets. If we're low on listings and high on buyer activity, what does that tell us about our market? Well, look, it's basic supply and demand, it's economics 101. We can continue to expect to see a very hot seller's market for the near future because we have extremely low supply and extremely high demand and there need to be a lot of changes that happen before that shifts to the point that it makes any difference for our buyer clients. However, despite competition and rising rates, I don't think that right now is the time for buyers to sit it out and wait for a better market. Again, our market has a long way to go before it balances out - people who buy today will start creating equity in their home and maintain that stability in their monthly payment whereas those that continue to rent will continue to be impacted by the stability of the market, changing rental rates, and they will not get into their first home down the road with any money in the bank. We heard from people last year who were waiting for the market to shift. They were convinced that it was going to happen despite the information that we were sharing. As an example, I want to share a very specific story about some of our clients. We had clients last year who bought a house for $440,000.  They decided that it wasn't the right place for them to be and they have since put their house on the market. Purchasing last year at $440 with around a 3% interest rate and we're going to assume 20% down, puts them at about $1485 a month for their monthly payment. Now this year they're going to sell their house for $505,000, plus rates have gone up to 3.875. This means the person buying their house is going to pay about $1900 a month for the same house. That's over $400 a month more for the exact same house, simply because the people buying it this year did not buy the house last year. That's a result of rising prices and rising interest rates. If prices had not increased and only the rates went up, the buyers today would still be paying extra $170 a month in monthly payment because of the increase in rates and price of the house would've had to decrease 10% over the last 12 months for today's interest rates to keep the monthly payment the same as what the people paid for it last year. I'm sharing this because during the last crash, we did not have a 10% decrease in home values. That is unlikely to happen for us. That's why we say people who buy today are still sitting in a good spot. Buyers competing today need to be aggressive and fast. It means you need to have a realtor in your corner and you need to have your pre-approval set and ready to go so that you can make a move right away and know exactly what you're capable of doing. Sellers that really want to maximize their opportunity in today's market are not cutting corners. They're taking all the right steps and doing things the right way instead of relying on the market to get the job done for them. That means staging, making small repairs, getting the house cleaned up, making their house shine and their realtor needs to use professional photography - that should be a non-negotiable in today's market. There's no reason your realtor should be taking pictures with their iPhone. You also should be using advanced marketing techniques to get your property in front of the most number of buyers possible. Yes, your house will sell in today's market. That's not the challenge. The challenge is maximizing your property, maximizing your opportunity so that you can make the most of this market and to do things the right way - without skipping steps. If your realtor advises you to take the easy way out, I would certainly look for a second opinion. Hey, thanks for checking in! To stay on top of the changing market or up to date with new listings, make sure you follow us on social media or subscribe on YouTube. As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation, give us a call, we are always happy to tell. We love serving our Oregon neighbors. Let's talk soon.

Dane County Housing Market - March 2022 Hey, Dane County, welcome to another spring market. If you paid attention in recent years, you know that this is the time of year, that the crazy stories start to emerge. Just how is the local market performing? Is now a good time to sell your house or should you wait to buy until the market shifts? With all the information that's flying around out there, it can be hard to make a decision and figure out what's best for you and your family. Let's take a look at the data and see exactly what's happening in the Dane County area to help you figure out what's right for you. In Dane County, at the time of this post, we only have 217 houses throughout the entire county that do not have an accepted offer, and currently houses that are getting accepted offers in 2022 and have also closed this same year in Dane County are selling on average for 5.5% over asking price. Now, I do feel obligated to make note that is an average. For everything pulling it up, there's somebody bringing them down, right? That's how averages work. If you're looking to list your house and an agent tells you that you don't need to stage, or don't need to worry about making sure that it looks the best, or we don't need to do advanced marketing techniques, run for the hills - those are the ones that are pulling the average down. If you really want to maximize your opportunity, you still want to make sure you're taking all the right steps. As far as market pacing is concerned, we have about one month of inventory across all price points in Dane County. Now for reference, six months is considered a balanced market. We are well below that balanced six month mark; we have a long way to go before that shifts back to balance between the sellers and the buyers. Is it a good time to sell? Yeah, it's a really good time to sell your house. If you take the right steps, you're going to maximize your opportunity. Is it a good time to buy a house? Opportunities exist where you look for them and people that are buying a house in 2023 are likely to be paying a higher price for those houses than they're paying right now, which equates to a monthly payment that's higher for the course of 30 years. You can  look at that initial pain of feeling like you're competing and doing too much, or the long range vision for where you want to be and what you want to accomplish. I do think that buyers that are buying today are still going to be sitting in good shape next year and years beyond. As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation and what's right for you, give us a call. We are always happy to help! And don't forget to follow us on Facebook or YouTube for more real estate tips and information on the latest listings. Let's talk soon.

National Housing Market Update - March 2022 I know that everywhere we look, prices are on the rise. From food to gas, we are paying more, and housing costs are not immune to rising prices. But there can be huge benefits to owning a home when other prices are rising.  Inflation gives homeowners a buffer when prices are on the rise. According to the NAR, as inflation goes up, home price appreciation rises faster. And Investopedia says, "Real estate is one of the time-honored inflation hedges. It is a tangible asset and those tend to hold their value when inflation reigns, unlike paper assets. More specifically, as prices rise, so do property values." In case you haven't heard, homes are certainly increasing in cost right now, but how does that affect you and your decisions? Well, Forbes put it simply when they said, "Homeowners are shielded from mounting rental prices because their cost is fixed. Regardless of what is happening in the market, they're locked in at that payment at today's cost." In other words, once your mortgage is set, it's usually consistent regardless of other economic impacts. Rising interest rates, inflation, those things do not tend to affect your mortgage payment on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, people paying rent are at the mercy of the market. Now, how is the market? We're in a bubble, right? Everything's going to burst because that's what happened in 2008. Well, let's take a look at foreclosures. According to RealtyTrac, just over 90,000 homes across the United States were put into foreclosure in 2021. This number is down 96% from the just over two million that went into foreclosure in 2009. As you can see, we have a very, very different market than the last housing bubble and crash. So what does this mean to you in simple terms? Number one, home ownership allows you to weather the storm of economic impact with a consistent monthly payment that's not going to fluctuate. And number two, we are not in the same market we were in 2006, '7, '8, '9 or '10. It is very, very different today. And while the market will correct itself at some point in time, it's not going to happen overnight - we have a long way to go. Expect to see continued buyer competition and continued rising prices for the near future. As always, if you have any questions regarding your unique situation, just reach out; we are always happy to help! Don't forget to follow us on social for more real estate tips and information about the newest listings. Let's talk soon.  

How Quickly Should You Sell Your Home? It's a seller's market, but how quickly should you sell your home? Right now it's such a huge seller's market that it's really easy to fall for the idea that your house will or should sell in one day. But don't fall for it. A seller's market occurs when months of inventory falls below six months - and we are definitely sitting in a seller's market. However, no matter how strong the seller's market is, we don't believe that selling your house in one day is always your best option. When you sell your house too quickly, you might be leaving money on the table. In today's market with high buyer demand, when your house is marketed properly, it can take a few days to get all the interested parties and most qualified buyers through your house. If you finalize the deal too quickly, you may be missing out on other offers that would increase the competition and the quality of the terms written in the offer. So will your home sell quickly? Yes, absolutely. A seller's market will make your home highly desirable and you should expect a few offers on your house within a few days of being on the market. But, if you truly want the most money and the best terms, you're going to want to allow our listing process to work for you. You should still aim to sell quickly and don't cut corners along the way, but let the process do the work so we can ensure that you get the best terms for your home. Are there situations in which taking an offer on day one is beneficial? Absolutely - let's acknowledge that. However, for most home sellers, they want to see the absolute best terms;  for that, we encourage a couple of days of exposure to the market so you can garner the most attention possible.  As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation, give us a call. We're always happy to help. Let's talk soon.

How Much is Your Home Worth? There are a lot of opinions out there on what your home may be worth. With the strong sellers' market we are currently seeing, everyone wants to tell you about what your home is worth and what to do with it. So how do you know what you should do and who to believe? When determining the value of your home, key things that we look at include: size, condition, location and marketing. We can't compare a 2,000 square foot home to a 4,000 square foot home. We can't just compare your home to others in your area. We have to look at homes that are similar in size. And since there's not a lot of inventory on the market, we will look at homes that are similar to your home and make adjustments to them, just like in an appraiser would. The condition of your home has less to do with age and more to do with upkeep and upgrades. We look at things like landscaping, renovations and modern updates. What about location? When assessing your location we listen for traffic, look for railroad tracks, proximity to freeways, schools and amenities, and anything else that may influence the value of your home. My favorite and where we see agents having the hardest time is with the marketing that's done on your home. Proper marketing or lack thereof can drastically change what you will get for your home, even in a sellers' market. Don't listen to someone who says marketing isn't important - it makes a drastic difference and we have the stats to prove it. The value you can get for your home can influence the decisions you make about your home. Make sure that you are going to experts who have the experience and proven track record when finding out what your home is actually worth.

Three Musts When Selling Your Home It takes more than a fresh coat of paint, slapping the home on the MLS, taking a few pictures and throwing it up on social media if you want to make the biggest profit on your investment. That's why our team has a consistent, proven process that we execute from start to finish to make sure that our clients maximize their success in this wild market. Today we have three things you'll want to be aware of before you get your home ready to hit the market. The first thing you need to think about is exposure. Even in this hot sellers' market, the more eyes you get on your home, the more return you will see on your home. In fact, a statistic from the NAR, or National Association of Realtors, shows that 67% of buyers will see a home that they see online (and I bet that number is actually a lot higher). On top of that, homes that use drone photography sell 68% faster. This is why our team has committed to making sure that we use advanced digital marketing techniques to ensure that your home is seen by the masses, not just our followers on social media. We use targeting techniques both locally and outside of the area to make sure that people who are looking for homes like yours see your home. Next, you'll want to hire someone who's really good at negotiating. According to the South Central Wisconsin MLS in 2021, more than 70% of agents in Dane County sold less than 10 homes and only 13% sold 20 or more. As someone who's been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions and is a certified negotiation expert, I understand how important the roles of an experienced negotiator are in the selling process and making sure that you get the most money from your investment. The last things to consider are price, condition and location. Here's the deal, everyone thinks their home is worth more than it actually is. And you know, there's sites that you can check that will tell you exactly what you want to hear. But these algorithms don't take into account upgrades, views or other basic amenities. Each of these things can have a huge impact on the type of return you will get on your biggest investment, your home. Everyone knows a realtor, but before you sell your home, find a real estate expert that you know will market your home at the highest level, is a negotiation expert and understands the role that price, condition and location play in the sale of your home. Our team is highly trained in all of these areas and we would love to help you try and sell your home. As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation give our team a call, we'd love to help. Let's talk soon.

Oregon, WI: Market Update, February 2022   Hey there, Oregon. How is the market? Are we in a bubble? Are things going to crash? Is it ever going to be okay to buy a house? I get asked these questions all the time and I get it. When we look around town, there's not a lot of for sale signs out in yards. And despite nearly a decade of prosperity, the memories of the last crash still linger. It can be so confusing with different news stories and constant changes in the market to know what's best for you and your family. So let's take a look at where we've been and where we're going in this Oregon, Wisconsin housing market update. First of all, anytime we have inventory levels of six months or above we're in a buyer's market. And if that number's below six, we're sitting in a seller's market. Think of it like a gas tank. If the gas tank is full, there's lots of houses on the market and that makes it a buyer's market. But if that tank swims back to empty, we're sitting in a seller's market, because there's no choices available. Right now we are definitely sitting on empty. Not only are we under six months of inventory, but within some price points we are under a couple of weeks. In fact, inventory is so low in Oregon that at the end of January, we only had 12 homes available on the market, which is by far the lowest number we've seen since I started keeping track of numbers in 2013. And it's not like buyers aren't shopping. If we look at this graph, you'll see that when compared against the last four years of activity, 2022 home buyer activity is right there along with it. So if we're low on listings and high on buyer activity, what does that tell us about where we're going? The former middle school social studies teacher in me can't help but share that this is basic economics 101 - supply and demand. We have low supply, high demand, which means we can expect 2022 to once again be a hot seller's market most of the way through the year, if not well into 2023 and beyond. However, despite competition, low inventory, rising interest rates, it doesn't mean that buyers should hold off and wait for the bubble to burst or the market to crash. We have a long way to go before the market balances out much less crashes or over-corrects too far. Buyers that choose to wait for the market to shift are probably costing themselves thousands of dollars in purchase price and monthly payment by waiting, as houses will continue to get more expensive and interest rates will continue to rise over the next few years. In fact, I'll say that buyers that buy a house today are going to be sitting on a good chunk of equity in two to three years if they choose to buy again, and they can use that money to make a down payment on their next home. Whereas, people that continue to rent will not have the equity available to them in order to make that next down payment. For a quick example, let's look at this: If a current house is $350,000 with an interest rate of 3.5%, it is reasonable to assume that in a year or two, this house is going to be worth $400,000 with an interest rate of at least 4.25%. When we boil that down, we are looking at a $1414 monthly payment today on the house, versus a $1771 monthly payment in the future for the same exact house. Buyers competing in this market need to be aggressive and fast and be fully connected with their realtor and lender so they can make a move when it's time to do so. Buyers should not negotiate like their parents did 30 years ago. That's not going to fly in today's market. Buyers need to make strong, aggressive, enticing offers and keep the big picture in mind. Don't get caught up on little details that can easily be taken care of. Think about where you're going and where you want to be and what the long term goal is instead of the initial point of pain. And sellers hitting the jackpot are not cutting corners. They are effectively preparing their house for the market so it looks fantastic. In addition, they're working with a top-level realtor that is going to make sure that their house shines online and is seen by the highest number of home buyers possible. Oregon sellers specifically, you want to pay attention to this interesting statistic. Based on numbers I compiled from the South Central Wisconsin MLS, in 2021, Oregon based agents, that is agents that live in Oregon, are involved in the community, do a lot of work in the community, sold their listings on average for $7,900 over asking price. Meanwhile, all other agents averaged $2,600 under asking price for their listings. That is an additional $10,000 in value that a local agent is going to bring you. We have a bunch of fantastic realtors in Oregon, and while I certainly believe that our team would do a great job for you, you have plenty of people to choose from. To stay on top of the local market or get more tips, see more listings, make sure that you follow us on socials or subscribe on YouTube. If you have any questions about your situation, give us a call. We're always happy to help our Oregon, Wisconsin neighbors. Let's talk soon.

Dane County Housing Market Update - February 2022 What's happening in our Dane County real estate market? I get asked this question all the time. I also get asked if we're going to see a crash or if we're in a bubble and what people should do with their home? Is now a good time to sell? Should I be buying? It can be really confusing, with the constant changes in the market and stories that you hear, to know what's best for you and your family. That's why we are here to help walk you through the process and see exactly what's going on in our local market. Let's dive into the numbers. First of all, anytime you have less than six months of inventory it's called a seller's market. Think of it like a gas tank. If you have your gas tank halfway, that would be six months in a balanced market. If the tank is all the way full, you would have a buyer's market and that would be more than six months of inventory. If the tank is all the way empty, we're sitting in a seller's market, at zero months of inventory. Right now, we are on empty and definitely in a seller's market. Not only are we down to a few months of inventory, in some micro markets we are within weeks of running out of properties to sell. So is it a good time to sell here in Dane County? At the time of this video, we have 470 homes available in Dane County. Meanwhile, we are having an absorption rate of 561 homes per month. That means we are selling more homes per month than are currently available on the market. Overall in Dane County we have a 0.84-month supply of inventory. This is a very, very strong seller's market. In fact, if nobody else listed their house, Dane County would run out of homes for sale within 25 days. That is crazy. So yes, it's a great time to sell your home. We are consistently seeing great prices, excellent terms, bidding wars, competition - but sellers, don't be fooled by cheap promises and big ideas. The sellers that are really hitting the jackpot are not cutting corners. They are not taking the cheap way out. The sellers that are really doing a great job in this market are taking all the steps to make sure that their home looks fantastic as soon as it hits the market and they're working with a top level realtor who's going to digitally market their house, get it out there in front of the largest number of home buyers possible, looking as great as it possibly can. So if it's such a hot seller's market, should buyers wait for a crash or a bubble to burst? Well, in short, you could, but it's probably not the best financial decision. It all depends on your motivations. The market has a long way to go before that balance actually happens or before we dip into a buyer's market. Until the market shifts, I would expect that people that get into homes today will see a significant impact in the high level of equity that they will grow in their home between now and the time of that market shift. Meaning, if they want to become home buyers again, they will have much more available cash and equity in their home than people that sit around renting, waiting to buy a house when that market finally shifts. The key for buyers who want to win in today's market is to connect with a realtor and a lender who have the strategies, tools and relationships to get the job done in a competitive market. To stay on top of the changing market and get updates with new tips and new listings, make sure you follow us on socials and subscribe on YouTube. Let's talk soon.

Should I Work With a Flat Rate Broker? Does it make a difference who you hire to sell your home, especially in a hot seller's market? We already looked at the numbers in a previous post and concluded that it absolutely mattered based upon the experience, the education, the market knowledge, and, of course, the digital marketing capabilities of the agent you choose to sell your house. These things can be worth thousands of dollars for you. But what happens when you hire a discount broker? Their model is designed to earn business by being the cheapest option in the market, not by offering the highest level of service. So, is it worth it? After all, houses are flying off the shelves. Why do you need service, marketing and the other things that a full service brokerage is going to provide to you? I mean, it makes sense to just pick the cheapest option and let the market do the work, right? Keep reading - we're going to look at what the numbers have to say about choosing to work with a discount broker in Dane County instead of a full service real estate brokerage. I want to start off by saying that we fully respect and appreciate our fellow agents, and do agree that everybody has the right to run their business based upon the philosophy that they align with. Personally, I've had a number of great experiences where the other side of the transaction was a limited service or discount broker. And I've also experienced a high number of situations where it was very clear that the other side was not getting the education or advice that they deserve, so that they can make good decisions for themselves. Today, we're going to look at the numbers and determine exactly what it means when you work with flat rate broker in Dane County. We pulled this information straight from the South Central Wisconsin MLS. We reviewed single family homes that sold in 2021 that sat on less than one acre of property. And the reason we cut out homes that were over one acre is because the acreage has a significant impact on both days on market and price of the property. In Dane County, the average listing from a flat rate broker sold in 14 days and for 0.99% over asking price. That's great, right? Sold in less than two weeks, and for more than asking price, and you paid less money to list your house. But our team averaged nine days on market and 4.2% percent over asking price. In other words, we sold our listings 52% faster, and four times more over asking price than the average flat rate broker sale. And it's not just us. Our brokerage averaged 10 days and 3.3% over asking, while the top five full service brokerages in town averaged 12 days on market, 2.7% over asking price in 2021. To boil it down, both our team, our brokerage and the top five full service brokerages in Dane County all sold faster and for more over asking price than the average flat rate sale. The number one goal of any home sale is to actually sell your house in the first place. You'll see here that our team sold 100% of our listings and our brokers sold 97%, yet only one of the flat rate brokers was in this range. In fact, the majority of them couldn't sell up to 12% of their listings in the hot seller's market.   Now, we get it - the discount brokers are cheaper, so you're saving money. Even if you take longer and don't sell as much over your asking price, it still is a cheaper option. Right? Well, let's take a closer look. Take a look at the average sales price based upon a $365,000 list price, which was the median price in Dane County in 2021. Here's what we're going to find. You'll see that you could expect our team to sell this home for about $380,000 based on past trends, yet one of these brokers would only sell the house for $364,000 based on those same trends. That's a big difference. But is it close enough to make the cheaper price worth it?   It's important to understand that in Dane County, it's very customary for the seller to pay the buyer agent commission. That averages around the 3% mark in our area. When a discount broker tells you that they sold the house for X number of dollars, it's not quite the whole truth, because they haven't factored in that extra amount of commission. In fact, it's really just an old school bait and switch to get their foot in the door.   If we go back to the theoretical sales price of $365,000, you'll see that the average broker commission due for the flat rate brokers is going to vary between $13,000 and roughly $18,000 based on their highest level service package. Meanwhile, the full service brokerages are going to average around the $22,000 mark. This is a four to $9,000 difference, and seems like a steal and a no-brainer for the consumer, right? Not quite.   Remember, we've already shown that the full service brokerages outperform the discount brokers in both time of sale and dollars over asking price. If we factor in the average list of sale ratio and then throw in the commission, you're going to see a seller net, which is the seller's bottom dollar, that looks something closer to this. You'll see that after adjusting for most likely sales price and broker commission, that the difference between our team and the top flat rate broker is about $1,000 different with the top flat rate broker.   The scary thing is that despite being so much cheaper, at the end of the day, only one of these brokerages is likely to outperform our team and our brokerage, and have their clients walking away from the closing table with a bigger check. In fact, most of these are going to have their clients walking away with significantly less money, despite being cheaper up front. It will cost you significant money by not hiring a realtor that has extensive experience, market knowledge, high level digital marketing strategy and a proven track record of outperforming the market. As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation, give us a call. We're always happy to help. Let's talk soon.

Does it Matter Who you Hire to Sell Your Home? Does it make a difference who you hire to sell your home? I mean, aren't all real estate agents the same? Are we just a commodity? In a hot, competitive seller's market, does it even matter how you market or negotiate for your home? Lastly, does it matter which brokerage you work with? Stick around and we're going to review the data so you can see why who you hire to sell your house really matters. I want to start off by acknowledging the fact that we truly respect and appreciate our fellow realtors. There's this misconception among the public that it's super cutthroat in the industry, but the reality is, the absolute best agents out there are the ones that work collaboratively to get things done. The fact that we have so many amazing realtors in the Dane County area is something that we all benefit from. Some people think we're all the same, and honestly, in a lot of cases, it's kind of true. I can understand and appreciate why people would think that. Do you know, in fact that it's super easy to get your license? In Wisconsin, it takes 1500 hours of work to get your cosmetology license. Meanwhile, it's only 72 hours of pre-licensed coursework to get licensed to be a realtor. So yes, absolutely, a bunch of licensed real estate agents lack the training and education to really be great at the job. What does the data say? Does it really matter who you hire? And when someone says that it doesn't matter how you market your house because houses are flying off the shelf, is that good advice? Let's dive into all the numbers. Our team pulled this information straight from the South Central Wisconsin MLS. We reviewed single family homes that sold in Dane County in 2021 with less than one acre. The reason we excluded houses over one acre is because they're a unique property that sell much differently, and they're going to have an impact on days on market, pricing, and other factors that aren't as influenced by more traditional sales. In Dane County, these single family homes sold for an average of 19 days on market, and for 1.93% over asking price. Meanwhile, our team averaged nine days on the market and 4.23% over asking price. In other words, we sold our listings 52% faster and 119% more than the typical listing in Dane County in 2021. Let's acknowledge and keep in mind that while I certainly believe we do a great job for our clients, there are many agents in the area that you'll find have similar statistics. The point I'm trying to make is that yes, it absolutely matters. When you have agents who can produce these statistics against the market, they are doing something different and better and something that you should expect as a consumer. It's very clear that the experience, the market knowledge, the education, the marketing capabilities have a significant impact on your bottom line as a home seller. Does it matter what brokerage you list with? The number one goal of any home sale is to actually get the house sold.  Our team sold 100% of our listings in 2021 and our brokerage sold 97% of listed properties. Meanwhile, when you look at the top five brokerages in terms of sales in Dane County, you will see that one of them didn't sell 13% of the houses they listed - and that's in a hot seller's market when everything is supposedly flying off the shelf. Well, what about pricing? Our brokerage averaged 3.3% over asking price for our sellers. You'll see that one other brokerage did crack 4% with a 4.2% over asking price average. It's pretty impressive. But none of the other three brokerages broke 3%. Now, while these numbers can seem small, they can add up to thousands of dollars for our clients. So let's take a look and see how this average list of sales ratio comes out to play in a typical $350,000 sale. (graph in video) Now, while all the top five are selling over asking price, you'll see that the average sales price could go from 355 up to 364. That's an almost $10,000 difference that your brokerage could make you. I also think it's super important that we take a look and see where your brokerage is heading. The last two years have brought about a lot of change, and it's really important to see who's evolving and changing with the times and who's falling behind. Our team has seen a 46% increase in sold listings over the last two years despite there being fewer listings available to sell. Yet, three of the top five brokerages have seen a decrease in sold listings over the last two years, including two that have lost 10% of their business since 2020. I don't know about you, but personally speaking, I would rather put my faith in the hands of the business that's shown they can grow and evolve through changing markets and changing dynamics in the industry, instead of relying on practices from the past that are no longer relevant. Whether it's the agent you choose or the brokerage you work with, even among the top firms in the area, there can be a significant difference in your bottom line when you choose to sell your house. In fact, it's costing you a significant amount of money if you choose not to work with a realtor that specializes in digital marketing, high level exposure and can consistently outperform the market. We continue to take our education seriously as we evolve and improve our strategies in order to get you the highest return on your investment. As always, if you have any questions about your unique situation, give our team a call. We're always happy to help. Let's talk soon.

February 2022 - National Housing Market Update Where is the market heading? Is it a buyer's market or a seller's market? And what does that even mean? Are we going to see a crash? Are we in a housing bubble? There are a lot of things to speculate in today's market. So let's dive in and see what the experts have to say in this national market update. The biggest factor impacting our market today is that we are really, really short on available listings. Realtor.com states that the national average of number of homes available from December 2020 to December 2021 is down 27% nationwide. Yet, even with how hard it's been to find available houses, it has not slowed down our home buyers. In fact, according to the ShowingTime monthly index, the number of buyer showings during November 2021 was higher than November 2020. And these numbers are absolutely crushing the number of showings that were happening before the world turned sideways on us. The Vice President of ShowingTime says, "Showings traditionally lag during the holiday season, but the data we're seeing tells us that buyer demand remains strong. The fact that every region showed a year-over-year increase indicates that buyers are undeterred and it speaks to their desire to keep searching for their next home." Buyers are out there and they are ready. With limited listings available, we are on pace to see a market very much like last year. For updated recommendations, tips, market news, and new listings. Make sure that you follow us on socials and subscribe to us on YouTube. Let's talk soon.

First Time Homebuyers - The Pros of Buying a Home Are you thinking about buying your first home, but not sure if it's the right move for you? We understand what that feels like. Deciding to buy a home is a major decision, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Our team is consistently among the top 5% of local agents. And we've helped hundreds of home buyers, just like you. Here are three reasons why you may want to make this the year that you stop renting and purchase your first home. One: The cost may not be as high as you think. While sales price does matter, your monthly payment has the biggest impact on your day to day life. With today's low interest rates, it's possible for many people to find a home with a mortgage payment that's similar to what they're paying in rent. Two: Equity and wealth. According to the Federal Reserve, the net worth of the typical homeowner is 40 times that of the average renter. Since homes typically appreciate in value, homeowners often receive a return on their investment through monthly payments and the natural appreciation. Meanwhile, rental costs are sunken costs with no return on your investment. Three: Ownership and control. While many homeowners have to comply with HOA or condo rules, for the most part, you have more flexibility over what you do and how you live in your property when you own it. Want a dog? Go for it. Interested in painting walls? There's nobody to stop you. When you own a property, it's yours and you get to make the rules. Beyond those three upsides, there are many other advantages, including more predictable monthly payments that aren't subject to rent increases, a sense of stability and community and the tax benefits of home ownership. So there you have it - three reasons (and a couple of bonus perks) why you may want to consider becoming a homeowner this year. And while we know many of you are waiting for our competitive market to calm down, trends show that it's still likely to be a better time to buy right now, as interest rates and prices are both predicted to rise. If you'd like to learn more and see if this is the year for you to become a homeowner, reach out to our team - we're always here to help coach you through the process. Let's talk soon.

Financing Your Investment Property Are you thinking of calling your traditional mortgage lender to finance a property that you want to fix and flip? Please don't call them just yet. You may be surprised to learn that the financing process for investment properties can be totally different than a traditional home sale. Many traditional mortgage lenders don't provide loans for fix-and-flip projects. It's a ton of liability for their company because these homes generally have safety or health issues. Most lenders would really love to lend on a move-in-ready home that may just need a few cosmetic updates; a house that's in bad shape and ugly, not so much. So who do you call to gain access to funding if you don't have the cash sitting in your account? There are a few options, depending on your investing goals. Hard money lenders can help you at a cost because they're willing to take on the risk of the home. They're generally a group of people that will help fund your project at a higher interest rate and can close a transaction much faster than dealing with a bank, which puts you in a much stronger negotiating position for the property. For many people, owner occupancy is a great way to get started. With this process, you'll occupy one unit of the multi-unit property and rent out the others. This route could lead to a more traditional lending process. Another occupancy option is the 203K or rehab loan. You can't use this as a straight flip or investment, but provided you occupy the home as your primary residence for a certain time period, you'll be able to finance the repair costs into your mortgage, saving you cash out-of-pocket up front. Utilizing home equity or retirement funds can be a way to make that down payment or pay for initial repairs. You can talk to your bank about taking out a home equity loan or running a cash-out refinance to take advantage of the equity you've already built in real estate. Maybe you can find a partner to go into this project with. It will reduce costs and allow you to get started even if you aren't cash-heavy. Just make sure you have all agreements in writing before getting started. Investing in real estate can be overwhelming, but you don't have to let it scare you. Depending on your situation, there may be a great way to get started on financing your journey. Let's talk soon.