Our team is now equipped with a new tool that helps us identify and remove rental scams that use your listing photos and information.

It is more and more common for fraudsters to use the photos we put up online to make fake rental ads (often with very cheap rent to entice tenants) and scam renters out of a security deposit. Now, with the “Property Shield” tool, we are notified when these posts appear online, and we can quickly use the software to remove them. For example, here’s a snippet of the alert we got for one of Shelley’s recent listings.

"Little by little, one travels far." -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Whether you're working to build up your down payment, improve your credit score, or prepare your home for the market, you'll make amazing progress toward your goal by approaching it one step at a time, one day at a time. We've seen it play out over and over again, with hundreds of clients. The key is having the gumption to take that first step. 

At Mad City Dream Homes, we're here to help you take your first step, and keep making consistent progress toward your goals. We do this by helping you develop a good plan, by connecting you with helpful resources, and by working alongside you each step of the way. 

So what real estate goals are you hoping to accomplish in the year ahead? Call us for a

We love to keep the lines of communication open with you, even before you’re ready to buy. If you ever see a home online that piques your curiosity, we’re happy to help you find answers. 

Why is that home so cheap? So pricey? Still for sale?

There’s often a clear story about each home when we pull back the curtain, and we love to help our clients educate themselves during the (even casual) home search. And better yet, we love helping them find a home that’s an incredible value. Reach out if you could use our help. 

Online real estate platforms can be filled with industry jargon and terminology often varies from site to site. So, what do all these statuses mean?

For Sale / Active:
This seller has not yet committed to a buyer and is still looking to enter into a purchase contract. The home is “on the market,” and the seller is likely welcoming buyers for showings or an open house.

Pending / Contingent / Offer-Show / Offer-No Show:
This seller has chosen a buyer and is committed to moving forward with that purchase contract in good faith. However, they have not yet signed the final paperwork to transfer ownership. The seller and buyer may be using this time to work through agreed-upon contingencies, arrange funds, or prepare to move. Often the seller is no longer welcoming

We’re excited to announce we’ve launched a new platform for our website, which makes the new Mad City Dream Homes easier to use and navigate. Here are a few of the new search features that are now available at MadCityDreamHomes.com.

Property search from any page

Now you can launch your Madison area property search from any page on our website. This search bar allows you to quickly launch a search based on the city, neighborhood, address, street, zip code, and MLS number.

The “more options” features gives you full access to all of our MLS search criteria.

Content search on a desktop computer

Our new “content search” feature makes it easy to locate the real estate guides, articles and blog posts that you’re looking for. If

The Mad City Dream Homes mobile search app is the best app around for searching Madison area listings on the go. We've put a lot of thought into the design, which includes some great features you won't find anywhere else. Download our free app using the links below, and read on for a list of handy features. 

Mobile App Search Features

• Search Nearby Listings
• Search Polygon
• Search Radius
• Exclude Accepted Offers
• Search School District
• Search Open Houses
• Search by Days on Market
• Search Garage and Parking Spots
• Search by Location
• All Purpose Search Tools

Discover Which Nearby Listings Have Accepted Offers

Which listings are selling in your neighborhood? Our "nearby" feature provides answers by automatically

We've added a lot of features to our website which make it easy to focus your search on the properties that are still available for sale - in other words, the listings which don't yet have an accepted offer. Now all of our community, neighborhood, and condo association pages show these listings at the top of each guide. 

"Active, Newest 1st" Sort Order

Now all of the listings without accepted offers are shown at the top of the list with the newest listings shown first. Take a look at this example below from our Wexford Village real estate guide. The first two listings shown have a status of "active" (no accepted offer) with the listings sorted from lowest to highest days on market. The third listing shown is a listing with the status of "offer-show"

Have you tried the Mad City Dream Homes app yet? It's available for both iPhone and Android, and can be downloaded at no cost. The app simplifies your property search and comes with some key functions to make targeting the right properties simple.

In this case, we're looking at how to search for homes by school district. You start by hitting the search button on the home screen (lower left). This takes you to a map (lower right). Click on the magnifying glass at the top to define your search.

Since school district boundaries don't always match the home address, it is convenient to search for the specific school district you are targeting in your search.  The app allows you to enter your preferred district, along with other information that is

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

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