Protect Your Home This Winter With These Essential Prep Tips

Winter is here, but is your home ready to handle freezing temperatures? A few minutes of prep now can prevent weeks of repairs and water damage.

Is your home ready for freezing temperatures this winter? Every year, homeowners face expensive problems when temperatures drop, and many of those issues start with one of the most common and preventable problems: frozen pipes.

When pipes freeze, they can crack or burst, spilling water all over your home. But the good news is that avoiding this kind of winter disaster doesn’t take much. It just takes a little planning and a few smart steps.

Here’s how you can winter-proof your home and avoid costly damage when the cold weather rolls in.

Protect your pipes before the freeze hits. Pipes in places with…

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The Best Time to List Your Home

The Best Time to List Your Home: Why March is Your Ideal Month

When it comes to selling your home, timing can play a crucial role in the success of your sale. While the right time can vary based on individual circumstances, market trends often reveal opportune moments. One such period that stands out in the real estate calendar is March, especially for those considering a sale in Dane County. Check out our video below to learn more about what makes March such an ideal month to list your home:

Understanding Market Dynamics

In today's real estate landscape, the supply of available homes is notably low. Dane County, a vibrant region known for its diverse neighborhoods and strong community bonds, currently has only 409 active single-family…

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Easily Winterize Your Home With These Tips

Here are six tips that will get your home ready for the winter season.

How do you get your house ready for winter? Leaves are almost all down, and winter’s on its way. While there are probably a few nice days left this year, it won’t be for long. Now is the perfect time to get everything ready for the winter.

Here are a few things that I recommend you should do before the snow falls:

1. Take your hoses off your outdoor faucets. Drain them and store them. The older-style faucets or spigots can be shut off from the inside of the house, while the newer ones have a valve that shuts when you turn it. This way, they’ll be less apt to freeze unless it’s extremely cold.

2. Clean the gutters. Once the leaves are all down, get all…

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Why You Should Consider Selling In Autumn

Four reasons why homeowners should consider selling in the fall.

I’m sure you’ve heard that spring is always the best time to sell your house. While spring is traditionally a good time to sell, each other season also has its advantages.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider selling in the fall:

1. Inventory. There’s less inventory in the fall compared to the spring and summer months. While there may be fewer buyers out there, you’ll also have less competition.

2. Buyer quality. The buyers during this time of year are typically more serious than those out on a nice day looking at an open house or touring homes to get decorating ideas.

3. School and weather. Summer vacation is over now, and kids are back in…

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5 Things to Budget for After Buying a Home

The costs associated with homeownership you may not have considered.

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There are more costs associated with owning a home than the monthly payment. Just when buying the home, you’ll have to pay for closing costs, the down payment, earnest money, title insurance, inspections, appraisals, the recording of the deed, etc. You need your real estate agent to lay out those costs for you ahead of time. Then after you own the house, there are five main things you should remember to budget for.

1. Furniture. Many people buy a house and then realize they need to buy furniture, which can cost thousands of dollars…

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Simple Things to Consider when Making Renovations

Despite what many home sellers think, not all renovations will earn you money in your home sale. Knowing the renovations that will add value to a potential home buyer is a key part of the home selling process.

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The big question that home sellers should be thinking about is, “What renovations do I need to make in order to earn more money on my home sale?” 

This question, however, could use a little re-framing: “What do I need to do to sell my home within my desired timeline and also see a bigger return?”

Part of assessing what renovations are worth getting is deciding how long you plan to live at the house or property. If you think it'll…

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A/C Tips for this Summer

Follow these steps so you can count on a properly working air conditioning unit for the summer.

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Air conditioners, especially in the Midwest, are an essential part of life. Most of us don't want to have to even think about life without one. However, many new homeowners have no idea what it takes to keep these units in good, working order. To make sure the A/C in your own home doesn’t “lose its cool” when you need it the most, there are two critical maintenance tasks you must follow:

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Like any major home system or appliance, your air conditioner requires proper care to function as it should.

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1. Never, I repeat: Never! run…

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Here's your 2019 Market Snapshot

2019 is the year of Madison real estate!

It has gotten off to an incredible start as far as our market is concerned. 

Image courtesy of American Advisors Group

Because millennials are entering the market, there has been a surge of buyer demand; this is great news for anyone who may be considering selling this year. In fact, according to Odeta Kushi, the senior economist for First American Financial Corporation, 2019 is aiming to be even more lucrative on this front than we’ve observed in the recent past. Why? Because - 

the “largest cohort of millennials [will soon be] entering peak household formation and home-buying age,” says Kushi.

This will most likely have a huge impact on buyer demand across the nation. Yet, despite all of this…

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Six Simple Tips to Get Your Home Sold

If your home isn't selling, here are a few things I'd suggest to help get buyers more interested.

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The word on the street is that we have a hot seller’s market, and in many cases, that’s true. However, about one quarter of homes on the market still fail to sell and end up expiring from the multiple listing service. If you want your home to sell, here are six things you can do to ensure you and your home don't just become another statistic:

1. DO NOT overprice your house. Even in our fast-selling market, you need to make sure you price your home at market value to get people interested. Many buyers in the market have had their offers…

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Join Us in Making a Difference During March Madness!

Our March Madness Fundraiser is happening NOW. Here’s how you can help us help others, in a great way. 

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Today, we're taking a break from talking real estate. I'd like to talk about a way YOU can make a difference here in Madison. Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, the area’s largest hunger-relief charity, is an inspiration to us. That’s why we’ve partnered up with them for our annual March Madness Fundraiser, and we’re looking for sponsors like YOU to help make this event as impactful as possible.

We're asking for help in three different areas:

1. We've set up a donation page for the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern…

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