Blog Archives

If you are paying any attention to real estate news, there’s no doubt you may be confused on the current state of the housing market. All the headlines listed below are from the past 6 weeks. Can you say “conflicting information”!?!? Home Resales Rise 4% It’s Official: Housing Market Was Sicker than We Thought Mortgage Read More

I know you’re probably thinking, “multiple offers”? Really? In this real estate market? It’s not as rare as you may think. In this market there are many bank owned foreclosures and motivated sellers who have priced homes to sell. In some cases pricing is so low, the property generates multiple offers and parties negotiating up. Read More

Property taxes are a big factor when purchasing a home. Your property taxes could be 35% or more of your mortgage payment. Even if you’re retired, debt free, and paying cash for a home, property taxes could be a significant chunk of your annual income. We have heard comments from some buyers and sellers such Read More

After 11 years of owning investment property, I’ve made some great decisions, made some mistakes, experienced an up market, and experienced a down market. After all this, I’ve developed 5 core rules of buying investment properties. Most of these rules can be applied to any type of investing too. Educate yourself Learn all you can Read More

Many of you know I have some gripes with the how the media represents politics, current events, and the real estate market. Last night  financial advisor, Suze Orman, aired a new episode about “real estate reality”.  There were some major points in her show that I disagree with. Suze said that if you bought a Read More

Thirty-nine percent of US households have dogs. If you have a dog or are considering getting one, make sure you consider your K9 friend when buying a home. Kinsey and I have been dog owners most of our lives. Here are the 6 major considerations for us. Commute: This is the number one thing you Read More

Lately I’ve had several people ask “How much less than asking price would you typical offer on a house?” Well, I could answer that question with statistics that the average sale in a particular neighborhood may be 5% below asking price. Although, the true answer to the question is, it depends, every seller and every Read More

We are firm believers that you should give a portion of your income. Why? It makes a positive impact on someone or something, it makes you feel good, it makes you appreciate what you have, and (for the Christians out there) the bible tells us too. Whether you give it to your church, a charity, Read More

In memory of our friend Cody Olson, who died a year ago today in a fire at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Blanchardville,  we’d like to give everyone a reminder about smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. On August 15th the a new smoke alarm ordinance went into effect for the City of Madison. Some people Read More