Brenda Carus

~ Take a tour of the old world at the annual Amish Quilt Auction. Bid on hundreds of handmade quilts, Amish made furniture, collectibles, and even horse implements. Bake sale and hand made ice cream made with a diesel engine featured. The auction is on Saturday at the Amish Schoolhouse - corner of Hwy. 104 and Atkinson Rd.

~ Turn your trip to the auction into an adventure. Bicycle there by joining the ride sponsored by Bombay Bicycle Club, and the Earth Rider van will bring your purchases back for you. Meet at Earth Rider in Brodhead at 8:00am for the ride. Pace 12-14 mph; Distance: 24 miles; Route: Moderate.

~ Come to New Glarus on Saturday to celebrate the 108th Anniversary of the New Glarus Fire Department. This fundraising event will feature bucket brigades, water fights, children's activities and live music. There will be food stands throughout the day, and there is a steak fry in the evening.

~ If you are experimenting with gardening this year and are curious about how to put up your bounty for winter, consider attending the food preservation workshop sponsored by UW Extension. This one day workshop is from 9 am to 3 pm at Pecatonica High School in Blanchardville. There is a $25 per person charge that includes preservation publications that you will be able to take home. Contact Bridget Mouchon at 328-9440 to register.

~ Fore! Join the YPs of Green County for their annual golf outing this Friday. Registration is required, so get over to their website to print out the form and get it in. $45 per person includes 9 holes at the Monroe County Club, beer on the course, and dinner. Tee time is 5:30.

~ The Green County Entrepreneurs Monday at 6:30 PM at the AmericInn Lodge conference room in Monroe. This month's speakers is Kate Walker from the Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation.

~ The free outdoor movie in Cedarville this Friday evening is "Calamity Jane". The movie starts at dusk, and there will be series of shorts in addition to the main feature.

~ Downtown Freeport will be happening this weekend. Friday evening is Brats, Beer & Blues at the Freeport Art Museum. Saturday, it is Cruise Night. Classic cars will fill the downtown lots. Starting at 7, the drivers can cruise around downtown Freeport as the roads closed to other traffic. Spectators line the street light a parade to enjoy the show. There is also a burnout contest, winners judged by applause and amount of smoke.

~ Don't forget about the great farmers markets happening in the region: Monroe, Monticello, Paoli, Belleville, Orangeville, Lena... Come out, meet your producer and get some great food straight from the source.

Local shutterbugs, it is time once again for the annual Monroe Arts Center Photography Contest and Exhibit.

Everyone is welcome to enter, and there are two classifications this year, Junior (under 18) and Adult. This year’s contest and exhibit will feature three categories, which are Landscape, Portraits, and Unclassified.

Participants may enter no more than two categories and a total of two photographs. All photographs must have been taken after January 1, 2009. They must be a minimum of 8 x 10, a maximum of 16 x 20, and must be framed and suitable for hanging in MAC’s Frehner Gallery. The entry fee for this contest is $20 per photographer and the deadline to enter is Friday August 20, 2010. Participants are not required to be Wisconsin residents.

Photographs entered in this contest will be on exhibit in the MAC Frehner Gallery from September 3 through September 24. An opening reception and awards presentation for this exhibit is scheduled for Friday September 3 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the Monroe Arts Center Frehner Gallery. First, second, and third place ribbons will be given in each Category and Classification based on merit and number of entrants. Cash awards for the Adult Classification are $125-for Best of Show, $75-1st Runner-up, and $50-2nd Runner-up, and cash awards for the Junior Classification are $50-Best of Show, $30-1st Runner-up, and $20-2nd Runner-up.

For Photography Contest entry forms or additional information contact the Monroe Arts Center office at 608-325-5700

There have been a couple email rumors going around regarding new federal legislation and the potential consequences for home owners. We thought it would be helpful to address these issues on our blog today. Rumor: The new federal health care bill requires an additional 4% transfer tax on homes sold. Fact: The new federal health care bill has a 3.8% Medicare tax for some high-income households with net investment income. Starting in 2013, this tax applies only home households with adjusted gross incomes of over $250,000 and would only be charged on home-sale proceeds that exceed the capital gains exclusion of $500,000. If filing individually, these figures change to incomes over $200,000 and home sale proceeds over $250,000. Rumor: The energy bill that Congress is working on would require home sellers to obtain an energy audit or make energy retrofits before selling.

Fact: The bill as written at this point would require new construction to be energy-labeled, but it does not allow states to require new ratings when the homes are sold.

FactCheck.org did a nice job answering this question with references on their website earlier this year.

If you come across any other rumors about these issues or others regarding changing rules for selling or buying a home, please ask our Facebook page, leave a comment, or drop us an email. We will check into it for you. We are here to help with all types of real estate questions here in the Green County area.

Whether you are hoping to sell something like Marc or are looking to purchase just the right property like Faustino, give Brenda or Luis a call or check out our website to send us a message. We are here to help with all of your real estate needs in the Green County area.

Regarding the number of single family homes that sold in Green County in June of 2010:

• 29 homes sold in June of 2010,
• The homes were on the market for an average of 106 days,
• The average sale price was $143,386,
• The median sale price was $128,000,
• The highest priced property sold was $322,000,
• The lowest priced property sold was $27,000.

Let's compare with June of 2009:

• 32 homes sold in June of 2009,
• The homes were on the market for an average of 159 days,
• The average sale price was $148,459,
• The median sale price was $140,957,
• The highest priced property sold was $375,900,
• The lowest priced property sold was $43,000.

Many of the numbers are holding steady against this month last year, but it is great to see that the average days on market is significantly lower again.

Six homes in the over $200,000 price range sold last month. Considering how hard this price range was hit during the last year and a half, it is good to see some signs of life in the higher priced market.