Let's face it. Winter in Wisconsin is long, cold, and, while often it is pretty, it's also messy. Trees are bare, landscaping is rarely visible, and your home can't have the same curb appeal that it has in warmer weather. Take this listing, for example. The home is in excellent condition and offers fabulous views. But the drab gray of winter keeps you from appreciating the rolling hills and beautiful views behind it.

In this case, we didn't have access to a previous season's photo. We posted interior photos first. The listing sold successfully, but it could have shown even better, with seasonal photos. That's why we recommend that you start a collection of exterior photos now. When you list your home, you'll be able to show it at its best, and create

As stores pull out their fall merchandise, Halloween costumes and decorations, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum is offering its own twist on the season. This week, the museum is hosting tours of historic Forest Hill Cemetery, complete with actors portraying the dead buried there. During the week, the tours are limited to school groups, accommodating more than 2,000 students with reserved spots. The rest of us can visit Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.

Called "Talking Spirits," guests are sure to enjoy the professional actors they meet at selected grave sites. In between these visits, tour guides will point out cemetery art, prominent people buried in the cemetery and share the story of Madison's deep connection to Civil War history. The museum has

Have you been considering a housing change? Maybe you've been in your starter home for a while, and you're ready for more space, and higher end amenities. This fall is the perfect time to make that change, with the best opportunity to both sell high, and purchase at a competitive price. Let me explain.

How the Starter Home and Move Up Markets Vary

There is a shortage of affordable housing in Dane County. Homes priced under $250,000 are selling quickly due to a limited supply of listings on the open market. For example, right now there are only 1.8 months of inventory in all of Madison. For homes in the $200,000 to $250,000 price range, there are only 1.4 months of supply. Homes that fall within this price range sell rapidly, and often at or

The Mad City Dream Homes app is designed to make property searching easy. You can find the app in both the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching "Mad City Dream Homes."  

There is no charge for this app, and it takes up very little memory on your phone or device. Once downloaded, we think you'll be pleased with its features and capabilities. For now, let's look at the "nearby" search option. This is especially helpful if you are:

1. Trying to get current sales information for your neighborhood:

The app allows you to view all listings within a short radius of your home. These listings will appear on the map, with their asking price. This is useful if you're trying to determine your own home's value. 

2. Targeting a specific part of

Madison is home to all kinds of non-profits and charities. The generous spirit of the city means more than 6,100 nonprofits exist, just within Dane County. From causes helping animals and the environment to victim advocacy and empowerment, there is no shortage of ways to give back. This weekend, we highlight two opportunities for giving, right in town.

Dogtoberfest

In true Wisconsin fashion, raising money for the Dane County Humane Society includes a beer at a local brewery. Bring your dog to Capital Brewery on Sunday afternoon. Dogtoberfest attracts about 500 guests and their four legged companions. Event organizers ask that animals be friendly and remain leashed throughout the event. Admission is a $10 donation at the door, and Capital Brewery's

Who is ready for some good eating? The Labor Day weekend brings a welcome break to many and, in Madison, that also means a break from cooking. Just grab your favorite foodies and head downtown to the 34th annual "Taste of Madison."  The event circles the Capitol Square, and includes more than 80 restaurants, 200 menu items, and 3 concert venues. And, since the Badgers play on Saturday, WKOW-TV and TDS are hosting "Wisconsin's Largest Tailgate Party" on West Washington Avenue beginning at 2:30. The game will be broadcast on a giant screen. Admission to the Taste of Madison, and all the associated entertainment venues is free of charge.

I see a few great things about Taste of Madison:

It's affordable:  Every item is priced between $1 and $4, so it's

One of the great things about Madison is the variety of parks, walking paths and bike trails located throughout the city. Even better, the city continues to create new outdoor environments for residents to enjoy. One example is the new walking path that runs along the southern edge of Owen Conservation Park, connecting the Faircrest and Crestwood neighborhoods. This is a relatively unknown path that offers a scenic route through the west side of the city. 

Photos from my West Side Walking Tour

The dog and I recently entered the path along Inner Drive in the Faircrest neighborhood. This setting feels much more like a state park, with native plantings and stands of old oaks surrounding the path on both sides. 

The path narrows and becomes more

At Mad City Dream Homes we offer several handy tools which help you focus your condominium search. We cover a few of our most popular condo search features below. Of course, you can contact us anytime and we'll do the searching for you. We're out pounding the pavement everyday in search of both listed and unlisted condominiums. Let us know what you're looking for, and we'll get to work for you. In the meantime, check out these features which are designed to make your search easier. 

Check out all of our property search tips here. 

Condo Guide Quick Search

Go to the upper left corner of our website and you'll find our multi-purpose search bar that helps you quickly locate the guide for your preferred condo community. For example, let's suppose

This weekend, more than 200,000 people with head downtown, and enjoy browsing and buying fine art. The 58th annual Art Fair on the Square is run by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMOCA), and is a successful fundraiser for the museum. The Art Fair is well-respected and has earned a national following. More than 1,400 artists compete for the coveted 458 available spots on the Capitol Square. Artists are selected by a jury process, and categories are broad (The online resource guide includes ceramics, digital art, fibers/leather, furniture, glass, jewelry, medal works, mixed media 2-D, painting, photography, sculpture and 3-D mixed media, wood, and print-making, graphics, and drawing).  The vendors will be on all sides of the Capitol Square, and the

In a hot real estate market having the right focus can make all the difference between buying or missing out on your dream home. One good way to focus your search is to target properties which don't yet have an accepted offer. At Mad City Dream Homes our search tools make it easy to exclude listings with accepted offers from your search results. 

Download our free property search app to see which listings have accepted offers and which ones are still available for sale. 

Excluding Accepted Offers from Search Results

As an example, let's suppose you'd like to search for all Monona condos which don't yet have an accepted offer. Here are the settings for your search:

• Enter "Monona" in the location field.
• Select "Condo" as the property