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About Dane County, WI

Dane County foreclosures DOWN 18% in January

02-09-10
Dan Miller
Dan Miller: Real Estate Agent in Madison, WI

For the first time in 34 months, Dane County foreclosures have decreased. A total of 127 foreclosures were filed in January, compared to 154 a year ago.

Dane County monthly foreclosure filings

For our full foreclosure report, you can check out the economic trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com .

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Short sale option for distressed homeowners

Guy Lofts CRS Real Estate Guy in Madison, Wisconsin: Real Estate Agent in Madison, WI

Today, i had the pleasure to speak to Joe in Madison Wi. He is trying to sell his home by owner. It turns out that he thought it was the only way he could get out from the home because he owed more than he could get by selling with an agent. This has got to be a tough and stressful situation.

To try to do something - in this case sell one's most valuable asset - that one has never done before, because you believe there is no option.

As we chatted, i found a bit more about his situation. He hadn't owned his home too long, (couple of years). If he sold at x price with no costs he could walk away good. As the market slipped away, stress mounted.

I showed him how a professional could help him out, by not only getting an offer on the home, also negotiating with his lender, to accept an amount less than full payment. This is called a short sale. We actually come across this situation often.

There is nothing short about a short sale. It is time consuming and frustrating for all parties. But sometimes it is the best option to help our sellers move on and get a buyer into the home.

Read our FAQ page on short sales and foreclosures

RealEstateGuy sells homes in Madison Wi. His team has made short sales a successful part of the business and has a very good track record of getting homes closed

Ten tips for investing in foreclosed or bank owned distressed properties

Michela Terrazino: Real Estate Agent in Madison, WI
  1. Search on the world wide web for distressed or foreclosed properties as a starting point. Use a professional REALTOR to identify great foreclosure deals for you. You may be successful at searching the web on your own, but keep in mind some of the information is outdated, some may be incorrect, and some of the available properties are not even listed. A REALTOR subscribes to updated MLS listings and can offer you the most current information available.
  2. If you search yourself for distressed properties and purchase from the selling agent, you are paying a commission to someone with a vested interest. Obtain objectivity in the sale by working with your own REALTOR. You won't pay any more. Technically, everyone works for the seller, since they pay the commission.
  3. With distressed or foreclosed properties, time is of the essence. Purchasers must close on the date specified by the agency, and cannot close after this without penalties of $25-200 per day.
  4. It takes 1-3 weeks to qualify a loan. If you are approved for a loan, make sure you are qualified by your lender as soon as possible. If you are paying by cash, make certain funds are available. If finances are in order, the REALTOR will then submit an offer. When the offer is accepted by both seller and buyer, the REALTOR will submit the ratified contract to the lender and closing agent. These steps will begin the process of a successful real estate transaction.
  5. When purchasing a distressed property, always obtain 3-4 bids from different contractors to estimate costs of repairs, if you do not plan on doing the work yourself.
  6. If you are going to sell the property after rehabilitating it, ask your REALTOR to research similar properties in the neighborhood to ascertain market price.
  7. Keep copious records for tax deductions. Any expenses related to the purchase, repair, or maintenance of the property may qualify. Meticulous records are key to a profitable real estate venture.
  8. The title you receive after purchasing a distressed or foreclosed property is a special warranty deed rather than a general warranty deed. Some buyers are alarmed by this, but there is no need to worry. The purchase of title insurance protects the buyer. Each lender purchases insurance to protect the loan as well. Titling insurance should be obtained by the property purchaser. It is always offered by the closing agent. Consider using an attorney instead of a titling company as your closing agent. An attorney is only $50-75 more than a titling company. A real estate attorney can remedy any situation that may arise. Therefore, they are more efficient representatives on time sensitive foreclosure properties.
  9. Foreclosure properties require special addendums and special contracts by the individual bank and HUD office (where applicable).
  10. Foreclosure properties are potentially the most profitable, but require the most attention to detail. A REALTOR experienced in foreclosure deals is highly desirable because the paperwork must be in order to submit a proper bid, and timeliness is critical.

Ghostly Disclosures

Jennifer  Stauter: Real Estate Agent in Madison, WI

I've been told by my friends that I should write down & share my real estate experiences. The following experience really happened about 5 years ago. Jen Stauter www.HomeTeam4u.net

Ghostly Disclosures

I arrived for my 6:30 PM listing appt - it was just starting to get dark outside. I had listed & sold these folk's previous house & helped them buy their current house in the Town of Sun Prairie.

We went into the dimly lit living room to chat about getting their house sold. Upon filling out the real estate condition report - we hit the question about are there any other defects in the house to disclose to a potential Buyer.

Mr. & Mrs. Seller looked at each other and paused. * Having been in this business for a long time - I know a look & a pause is never good.

Mr. Seller says to me, "Do you believe in ghosts?" He did not wait for my answer when he responded, "You better - because we got some here. Do we need to disclose them?"

Knowing the rules on "ghost disclosures" in Wisconsin only requires brokers to disclose a haunting if it has an effect on the physical condition of the property - I asked them to tell me about their experiences to see if something needed to be disclosed or not.

I was told sometimes when they were talking on the phone - another voice other then the person on the line would begin talking to them. Whenever the "phone spirit" was on the phone - it manifests itself as a certain bird outside - this bird sits on the deck & tries to get in the house.

As I'm listening to this I'm starting to feel like I'm in an episode of Paranormal State. I keep listening & the Sellers keep talking.

They had a fire in the basement of the house. The Owners are sure that "Jack" caused the fire. The Owners claim a man-spirit, named "Jack" lives in the basement & that they have seen him. He did not like that they were renovating the basement so he started the fire. During the fire clean up, the cleanup workers discovered old bullet holes in the basement walls. The Owners think that "Jack" must have been murdered in the house.

Hmmm... still listening & nodding... the Seller keeps talking.

Next, they tell me about their bon fires in the backyard. Usually, they see spirits running in the backyard at the bon fires.

Ok - that is enough info for me. We decide it would be best to disclose that the Seller feels the house is haunted. Who knows if it is or isn't, but if the Seller is telling everyone that it is haunted - we might as well disclose it.

A few days later, we got the house on the market. I was set up to do an open house - during the day 1 -4 pm. I arrived for my open house & wasn't thinking about the house being "haunted".

As I was sitting in the living room - the place started to feel dark. So I opened all the heavy, purple, velvet curtains to let more light in. At that point, I remembered the "ghosts".

I decided to keep busy so I started doing some paperwork until open house attendees arrived. Shortly, thereafter I started to hear a banging noise from the basement. So being curious I went down to the basement. I could not find the source of the banging.

Just then the phone started to ring. When holding open houses - I do not answer the Seller's phone so I let it ring. 3 separate times the phone rang & I could hear the message that was left on the Seller's old style answering machine. It was just strange static.

At this point, I decided I was going to go outside on the deck so I was out of the house. It was daylight so I did not see any "spirits" in the backyard. I ended up spending my entire open house on the deck as no one came to the open house.

Later, I told the owners about my experience. They thought "Jack", the basement spirit, was playing tricks on me.

This house was creepy. I don't know if all the ghost stories spooked me or if "Jack" was playing tricks on me. In the end, we did not need to worry about all the ghostly disclosures because the Owners decided that they wanted to stay in the house.

Buyers are out in large numbers

02-09-10
Dan Miller
Dan Miller: Real Estate Agent in Madison, WI

We've noticed a large uptick in buyer activity over the last two weeks. Our real estate search tools are receiving a ton of page hits. Our listings are receiving a lot of showings. Our buyers are out in large numbers, viewing properties and making offers. The market feels much warmer than it did at the same time last year.

If you're planning to buy, don't be surprised if other buyers are getting ready to write an offer on the same home as you. Make sure you have your mortgage pre-approval in order, and be prepared to act quickly.

If you're planning to sell, and you haven't listed your home yet, now is a great time to get your home on the market. From our perspective, the buying season has already begun.

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com