At a time when so many realtors are blending in with the crowd, there are still a few professionals in the world of real estate who remain priceless to their clients. And Maureen Moran is certainly one of them. How is it that so many clients have come to love and appreciate Maureen?

It’s because Maureen is a consummate professional who also genuinely cares about the needs and concerns of her clients.

That’s the only conclusion we come to as we peruse the dozens of online reviews that have been submitted by Maureen’s clientele. Professionalism and personal care are the two constant themes that run throughout her clients’ commentary, the two main ingredients in Maureen's secret sauce.

Are professionalism and personal attention important to you as

You're serious about buying your dream home, but you know inventory is tight. So how do you achieve your homeownership goals in 2022? 

The answer is: by adjusting your perspective. By realizing that finding your dream home isn’t about finding the perfect home at the perfect price. It’s about finding the home that will help you build a better life. 

Or, put another way, it’s not about finding the home that checks all of your boxes. It’s about finding the home that checks most of them. 

So, even if the home you buy isn't the perfect home at the perfect price, it can be reassuring to know that your new home can help you create a better life. And it can help you create a better financial future, too. 

By paying down the principal on your

If you're buying in 2022, your offer to purchase will likely be up against offers from other motivated buyers. Below are 28 ways you can make your offer stand out from the competition and be the one that gets accepted. Of course the strategies you use will depend a lot on the type and condition of the property, your level of motivation, and how much competition you have from other parties. 

28 Ways to Write a Winning Offer

#1: Submit your mortgage pre-approval from a reputable, local lender. A pre-approval from an out-of-town or big box lender can create doubt in the mind of a seller. For example, we've seen sellers disregard offers from buyers who are pre-approved by an internet lender. Give your seller every reason to believe your pre-approval is

The number of real estate agents is sky-rocketing in Wisconsin. According to the National Association of Realtors, realtor membership in our state has grown by 43% over the last 9 years. With just over 90,000 sales in the state last year, this means there were about 5 sales per agent in 2021. 

Putting the numbers in perspective 

While the average realtor serves about 5 clients in a year, our team members averaged 25 clients served in 2021.

Does serving more people necessarily correlate with providing better service? We don't think so. But if you were to ask any member of our team, they would tell you that serving more clients comes directly from our full-time commitment to our profession. In other words, because we're fully-committed to our

If you're aspiring to buy a home in 2022, your best option may be a new construction home in one of Dane County's emerging neighborhoods. Whether you choose to buy a lot and build your own custom home, or buy a home that's already under construction, new options are becoming available for you throughout the year. 

New construction advantages

Buying a new construction home offers three key advantages:

1. First, buying a new construction home usually gives you the luxury of purchasing without having to compete against any other buyers, which is a huge plus in this year's ultra-competitive market.
2. Second, you very often have the opportunity to customize your features and finishes, depending on the level of completion at the time of your

Our team approach to buyer representation is paying huge dividends for our clients in early 2022. Here are 3 buyer success stories from early 2022 that demonstrate how "teamwork makes your dream work" when it comes to buying in this year's fast-moving market. 

Lamia and her condo quest

Alan Feder and Max Woods collaborated to serve Lamia, whose goal was to become a first-time homeowner. Lamia needed to schedule her showings around her work life, and Max and Alan were able to flexibly accommodate. When Lamia's dream condo hit the market, Max arranged for a quick showing and Alan immediately submitted and negotiated an accepted offer before any other offers were submitted. Now Lamia is loving her new lifestyle in this beautifully renovated condo. 

We'd like to offer a quick shout out to Max Woods, who's serving his buyer clients with excellence here in early 2022. Max is a key reason why our buyer clients are able to see their favorite properties when they need to see them. He's extremely responsive when questions arise, and he's always eager to help. By exhibiting great teamwork and collaborating with other agents on our team, Max is helping his clients successfully buy their dream home in this year's competitive market.

Max is a big believer in community service. He's an active member of the Rotary Club of South Madison and Habitat Young Professionals, too. To learn more about Max and his philosophies, check out his video on our Mad City Dream Homes YouTube channel. Thank you Max for showing

We're still in the middle of the winter season, but 2022 is already proving to be another fast-moving market here in the Madison area. That's why working with the right team of realtors can make all the difference when it comes to buying your dream home in 2022.

How can our team help you buy with confidence in 2022?

1) Availability for showings and offers

When you buy with Mad City Dream Homes, our entire team of agents is here to serve you. This means you won't miss out on viewing a home because your lead agent is unavailable to show it to you. If your primary agent is unavailable when you need to see a property, one of our other full-time professionals will step in to capably assist you. The same goes with writing an offer. As needed, we'll

As building, lumber, and construction costs rise -- which leads to rising replacement costs to your home -- it’s important to make sure your property is fully covered.

What would it take to rebuild your home if something happened? The average inflation rate in Wisconsin this past year was about 10% and material costs were up about 14% in 2021 from early 2020, and “that’s where the rebuild costs get out of whack really fast,” said Steve Aune, an agent with American Family Insurance in Madison.  

People typically review their policy and coverage every few years to make sure their income and assets are protected. This can prevent them from being underinsured. Aune said some reasons to revisit it include if you: 

• Make material changes to

We'd like to offer a quick shout out to Shelley Lazzareschi and Christine McCorvie for their recent examples of strong buyer advocacy in a seller's market.

First, our kudos to Shelley, who recently helped her client Travis achieve an accepted offer on a home that never hit the open market. Because of Shelley's hustle and legwork, Travis was able to submit his offer without any bidding wars and without any competition. A stress-free offer is such a nice way to buy in this year's ultra-competitive market. 

And congrats to Christine, who just helped her clients Sarah and Jason negotiate $20,000 worth of concessions after a few surprises popped up during their home inspection. By scheduling contractors, obtaining estimates, and effectively