Terri Wonn, Realtor, Waukesha County WI Real Estate

BUDGET BUSTER #1 - LAND

You’ve found the place where you are going to build your “dream” home. What do you do next? Stop, look and listen! Before you move forward with purchasing the lot, you need to first consult with both a Realtor knowledgeable in vacant land and new home construction and the actual Builder who is going to be building the home on your lot. Secondly, when looking at the lot, you have hopefully done your homework and narrowed your search down to a Builder or two that you might use in building your dream home. The Builder(s) will want to go out and actually walk the lot with you to make sure that you are able to do what is necessary to erect the home on the property, within your budget, lot lines, exposure, etc.

What can go wrong you might ask? Plenty! So much so, that this piece of land could end up costing you substantially more than you ever imagined. It could become a “Budget Buster” and that’s not a great way to start the home building process. Here are a few of things you need to know before purchasing your land:

1. What are the building restrictions? Can you have vinyl siding or do you need to do an LP siding? Do you need to have a % of brick/stone on the front? Can you have a front entry garage? Etc.

2. Does the land have municipal sewer/water or well/septic or mound?

3. What is the local municipalities “impact” fee?

4. If you aren’t planning on building right away, what type of maintenance do you need to do on the lot?

5. Are there Association fees, which are basically maintenance fees?

6. In this market, I’d be asking if the developer is stable? Many developers are having financial issues right now. That last thing you should do is pay for a lot in a subdivision that is getting turned over to the bank. Building stops and all of a sudden, when the bank is ready to sell, those lots could be priced significantly less than what you paid, affecting everyone’s property values.

Again, these are just a few of the concerns you need to know about when looking at raw land. Be sure to consultant with an experienced Realtor and Builder to ultimately avoid a “budget” busting mistake.

Tomorrow’s blog will cover:

The Wonn Report - Top 10 Budget Busters When Building Your Dream Home – ARCHITECTURAL CONTROLS

An interesting thing happened (at least to me) on our company's tour of homes yesterday. A co-Realtor made mention of my socks. Her actual comment was something to the effect of..."I see you wear fun socks too!" She continued to say, "I finally started wearing my fun socks again after two years."

Initially, I didn't think anything of it...but, this morning, this comment still was in the forefront of of my mind. Something as simple as my socks. Most would probably think nothing of a comment like that. Just general chitchat while looking at homes.

However, as I sit back and look at my socks, I realize that it is a reflection of who I am. You see, I've NEVER been one that fits into a particular "mold". When I was interviewing for my first job out of college with Pillsbury in Minneapolis, I was very individualistic. So much so, that when I was called for an interview, I decided to wear my peach linen suit with frilly blouse underneath it. I knew what "Dress for Success" in the late 80's, (where the women dress like men and wear navy and black suits), but, that really wasn't for me. So, excitedly, I walked into the Pillsbury Center and interviewed with my dream company in my beautiful peach linen suit. To be honest, I almost wasn't hired because my "would be" Manager wasn't sure that I understood the whole "Dress for Success" concept. But I did get offered the job and had a very successful run in a "corporate" environment.

Where am I going with this, you might ask? As a Realtor, I ask myself continually...what makes me different from the next guy/gal. We all do Open Houses, send out letters, make phone calls. How can I stand out from my competition? I am a "why" person, so even though many Realtors continue to operate as they did 10 years ago, I continually ask "why"? If it doesn't make sense, then I don't do it. Sometimes it's an intangible, but other times, it is how we dress, how we act, how we develop relationships that is a direct relationship to being comfortable in your own skin and having people accept you for who you are.

Let's get back to the socks. My title implicates that I hate wearing socks, and I truly do. I don't like shoes either. As a very young child, I was known to venture out into the snow without shoes or socks on. My parents would have to put "workman-style" boots on me that would lace half-way up my calves and then double-knot them. As an adult, and looking back, I can see that I work my business the same way. I don't like the one size fits all approach. All Realtors are not the same and my buyers and sellers are not the same.

As an entrepreneur that happens to be a Realtor, I've realized that I need to continue to let my clients know who Terri is. I am about so much more than getting the deal done. It's about enjoying what I do and working with people that I want to work with and want to work with me. I get it that not all people will care about my "fun" socks. But, what they should know is that those socks are a reflection of who I am...I work outside the box. I am not a one-size fits all Realtor. I am someone who treats their clients as individualistically as I would like to be treated.

I know, it's just 3 days after Christmas, but already...my mind is starting to move towards Spring. No more Christmas music on the radio AND the days are slowly but surely, starting to get longer! I find myself getting more and more excited about my son's upcoming baseball season! I am a huge fan!

This year, Logan is playing on a new team within the Milwaukee MAJORS league. Here is their website: http://www.ballcharts.com/glybl He is very excited to play for the U13 Delafield Titans and is looking forward to a very competitive season!

We've had experiences with other leagues over the past few years, having started out with the Okauchee Youth Baseball program. This program is run by Rick Russart and is outstanding! It is the truest form of youth baseball that we found that is non-select in the Lake Country area. We were with the Okauchee program for 6 years and thoroughly enjoyed our experience there.

The Okauchee Youth Baseball program will hold baseball and softball sign-ups at Lions Park usually on a Saturday (during the day) and a Wednesday evening in March. Sign up dates should be available soon. The league is open to all youths in grades first through eighth. Registration forms are usually available at area schools, Piggly Wiggly on Brown St. and Citgo in Okauchee. Any questions, call Rick Russart at (262) 965-4071.

We also played for the Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club select program for 1 year. For information on their program, you can go to http://www.oconomowocareabaseballclub.org/ Tryouts have already taken place for the 2010 year, however, for future reference tryouts are usually towards the end of August and also early September.

More to follow on awesome camps and/or clinics available for our youth sports fanatics!

A tradition, that our family has started each year around Christmas time, is taking in a play at Theatre on Main in Oconomowoc. Theatre on Main is a quaint, wonderful, local theatre located in the downtown area. They have been in business for the past five years, and hopefully will continue for many years to come! Here's their link in case you are interested: http://www.theatreonmain.org/


This year, the Holiday musical was "Christmas in New York". Here's what the theatre had to say about their production...”Christmas in New York” is a music-filled spectacular highlighting favorite Broadway shows and Holiday hits sure to please audiences of all ages…a dazzling extravaganza guaranteed to bring music to your ears, and the spirit of Christmas to your heart.

This musical was also directed by award-winning musical director Cathy Pfeiler. Here is more of what Theatre on Main's website had to say about their director! "Ms. Pfeiler’s direction of “Cats” at Arrowhead Union High School won her national acclaim as the USA WEEKEND Magazine’s Showstopper of 2008 Award recipient. At the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, Ms. Pfeiler was named Teacher of the Year and retired from her position as head of the distinguished Broadway Company at Arrowhead Union High School, and we are so pleased that she is now going to be sharing her musical and theatrical talents with Theatre on main!"

And let me tell you, the musical was fantastic! The performers were nothing short of amazing. My goosebumps arrived when Soloist, Jamie Zimdars performed "Breath of Heaven". Her back up singers were Cathy Pfeiler and Nate Groonwald. I thought to myself, this gal should be recording this song and sharing it with all on the radio! Absolutely phenomenal.

To have this caliber of theatre in our town of Oconomowoc is amazing. And, it is very affordable entertainment for all. Our tickets cost us $38 total for a spectacular evening of top quality entertainment. Not bad, and it was 10 minutes from our home. With icy rain in the forecast, we could definitely get home before things turned ugly!

One of the many wonderful things Oconomowoc has to offer. Much more to share down the road!

Yes. I have a short list. A short list of homes and/or property, typically not listed by me...which I believe to be outstanding properties and outstanding opportunities for any potential buyer. My short list is not published. It's my best kept secret. It could be a certain home listed on the market, vacant land, a diamond in the rough (great for flipping and/or making into your dream property), etc. It must meet certain criteria that I have established and something that I would consider buying myself if I were in the market!

This list contains no more than 5 properties and ebbs and flows as either I or someone else sells them. You will not find the mundane or cookie cutter homes. What you will hear and see, if you contact me, ..is all about unique properties (no more than 5) at an unbelieveable value with loads of potential. Are you curious yet?

Now, I realize that for whatever reason, the location, the style, or something else might not appeal to you about my Top 5 properties. Please keep hope though. I am a great "treasure-finder". I love looking for the diamond-in-the-rough so that others can turn their dreams into reality! What are you waiting for? Let's go!