Watertown, WI

tom braatz           

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WOW What A day for Open Houses. Today I held two open houses in Watertown WI. In the past year that would mean I have a fifty fifty chance of seeing anyone come to ether of them. By the end of the first hour I had ten groups come through the first open house. By the end of both open houses I had nineteen groups come through. Of these twelve were prospects, and one might write an offer on Monday. I think that is as many people I had come to all my homes this last year! Not to mention it was a dreary cold and wet Wisconsin winter day, not the best for showing homes. So what was different. This time I decided to only do 2 opens and to hold both open for more then 2 hours. In the past I would do 5 opens for an hour each. I also hang 30 posters around town, laundry mats, sub shops, the library, etc. I had three people bring a poster to the open, and I am sure there were others that found out there. I also made big bright orange signs to tell people the date and times of the opens. You had to be blind to not see these out on the main streets. I had two tell me they saw the signs earlier in the week. But this can not be the only thing. I have the solid filing the market is changing. Several homes in Watertown have gotten accepted offers this last week. And the attitude is changing. The one thing I can say is 2010 is going to be a great year for real estate. If you are buying do it now. Prices are going up!

Watertown WI is a beautiful town filled with warmth, beauty, love, and history. Why anyone would want to live any ware else is beyond my comprehension. I had a couple that moved from Milwaukee to Watertown not to long ago. They wanted to get out of the busy streets where everyone snobs you on the road. Their problem is they liked the convince of the city, but they wanted that down home attitude. And to top it all off they wanted a cheaper home they could afford. I bumped into them at a class I was taking in Milwaukee, and struck up a conversation. They told me what they were looking for in a house and I told them that we had several of those in water town. But then they said, “but we don't want to live in the country where we have to drive an hour to get to a good restraint.” I told then there are two four star restraints with in 15 minutes. The outlet mall is only ten miles away and with all the quaint shops in town you can never run out of places to go. Then they said that must be a huge town then. I said, “no, Watertown WI is only 21000 people. Still enough that the shop owners can know your name. And you are going to bump into them the next time you are in Walmart” and the home values are close to50% less then what you could find in Oconomowoc just 20 minutes East. They had to see it. I showed them a few homes, and they now live in Watertown WI. I bumped into them at a local coffee shop the other day. And they have already fallen in love with the tow. I noticed on the way out the guy behind the counter called them by name on the way out. Why live any ware else?

Short sales are the scourge of most Realtors lives. (or so I have been told) I on the other hand have cut my tenth of short sales, that is about all I know. The fact is they are not going to vanish ether. This is a fact of the real estate world. So if they are a pain I would suggest get to know them better. The new designation of SFR is a great course for understanding the ins and outs of the local market and laws. This is necessary information for Todays Realtor. So once you get to know the short sale it can become your best friend. There are so many Realtors that will not touch short sales, and this can be to your benefit. Now you can be the hero and come to the rescue of the home owner in distress. Every short sale I have closed I have had the seller thank you up and down for selling there home. They did not make a penny, but they were not foreclosed on. They know of the hard work and devotion it took to sell their home in this market. And I had the pleasure of helping them out. Those are some of your most loyal fans, and they are willing to tell everyone and there dog how you saved them from the bank. If this was the only outcome it would be worth it. But some of the greatest joy I have had in the past few years was helping these people that no one else would. Are you a Realtor who helps those in need, or are you just looking for the quick buck.