March 2018

Found 16 blog entries for March 2018.

Ready for outdoor recreation? Spring is almost upon us, and soon the area will be bustling with bikers and paddlers. Madison, with its abundance of parks, trails, and lakes, was ranked by WalletHub as one of the best cities in the country for an active lifestyle. And this weekend, March 9-11, the city is hosting two converging expos at the Alliant Energy Center with great deals, prizes, and tips: Bike-O-Rama and Canoecopia. Note that admission does not include parking fees.

Bike-O-Rama
When: Noon to 9 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: New Holland Pavilion, Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison
Admission: Free

The Midwest Bicycle Show and Sale "Bike-O-Rama" is the largest bicycle sale in

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We recently had an opportunity to do 2 market analyses which showed how dramatically market conditions can differ from one location to the next. One property was located in a clear seller's market in Madison's Westmorland neighborhood. The other property was a higher priced listing located in a more rural buyer's market. Below we share a few examples from both market analyses which demonstrate how buyer's markets and seller's markets differ.  

Seller's markets typically have low inventory levels and a high percentage of listings with accepted offers. These two traits run very strong in the Westmorland neighborhood. At the time of our analysis the Westmorland market had only .6 months of supply available for sale on the MLS. In addition, 50% of

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In a hot real estate market, making a strong offer to purchase is the key to success. If you include a contingency to sell, it can be enough to prevent you from obtaining an accepted offer. Because there are a limited number of properties available this spring, we encourage our buyers to do everything they can to avoid having a sale contingency on their offer.

Karen Wedvick, of Johnson Bank, offers a few suggestions to help buyers have a good offer ready, without selling first.

1. Get a Home Equity Line of Credit BEFORE you List your Home.  A line of credit allows you to use your home equity to work for you, including the option to use it for a down payment. This option can be appealing, because it typically allows you to access 90% of your current

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Enter Monona Terrace today or tomorrow, and the smell of all things dairy will be wafting through the air. More than 3000 unique cheese, butters and yogurts will be on exhibit, hoping to gain recognition and earn rewards at the World Championship Cheese Contest.  This 32nd biannual event is hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, a trade association that includes more than 500 companies dedicated to making the best dairy products possible. And, while Wisconsin is famous for cheese, entrants in this competition include cheese makers from around the world.

The contest is open for public visits until 4 p.m. today and Wednesday. Stop in to enjoy the smells, taste the samples, and see what leading cheese makers are doing with their products. 

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Don’t wait for the snow to melt and ground to thaw before planning your next landscaping project. Take it from Joe Hanauer, owner of Landscape Architecture LLC in Madison, who has over 20 years of experience in landscape design and horticulture. Whether you’re a green thumb or would rather hire a pro, his spring landscaping tips will help your plants thrive and yard shine. 

Clean the yard

In March or early April, rake up leaves and remove perennial foliage and ornamental grasses left from fall and winter. It's important to get rid of rot and mold to keep your garden free from pathogens. "It will reduce the apple scab in crab apples and some of the black spot on roses, so it's good to get that stuff out of there," Hanauer said. As long as a

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One aspect of our job that we really enjoy is helping home owners whose previous listing expired without selling. When we meet with owners we start by getting to know the property and the marketing used during the previous listing. Usually we find out there's a lot we can do to help each client.

Such was the case with our recent sale of this upscale listing which we sold this February. When we first met with the sellers we were struck by the beauty of the property and setting. It was a truly special home, but the home's beauty wasn't fully exposed by the previous marketing. 

For example, we saw an immediate opportunity to upgrade the pictures and produce showcase listing photos like this one below. This was one of several ideas we had for generating

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