Relocate to Wisconsin

     There are some sellers who believe that the best or only time to sell is in the spring....that has never been less true than it is now !  Times change....trends are different...market conditions are different and  to capitalize on these conditions....now is the time to SPRING INTO ACTION !!!

      One of the basic premises in the pricing of real estate is the law of supply and demand.  If there is greater supply...buyers have more choices, they can be pickier. As a seller you have to have the best priced home on the market in your area, for the size, kind, etc. AND it has to be in the best condition to be chosen by buyers looking for....and recognizing the BEST VALUE for their home investment.

    Currently in most markets there is a considerable supply of homes....AND to make it the very best time for buyers....the interest rates are OUTSTANDING... bouncing around 5%.....!  It really is a win, win situation for both buyers and sellers....Sellers...more people qualify to buy your home at lower interest rates...more home is affordable,,,make sure yours is shined up and ready to buy at a good price.  We include a FREE STAGING and HOME EVALUATION PACKAGE  with our listings to insure that you are putting your best house forward !

            Buyers....now IS the time to Spring into ACTION....

  Outstanding selection...Great Interest Rates....and we can offer you the benefit of being specially trained and certified as a Buyer's Agent. 

  Sellers...beat the rush, let us help you get the highest return on your real estate investment and make your home the most desirable for potential buyers.

   Buyers take advantage of outstanding interest rates...a great time to step up...step in to a new home...and with experience in investment and residential real estate...hands on remodeling, design, construction, buying and selling and a dedication to a profession we love....you won't find better agents anywhere...find out why we say..."Prompt Service\Proven Results"  it is what sets us apart....and how we make your needs and desires a priority....Call Now...locally: 414-525-0563 or if you are transferring to the area...let us show you the state we have called home for a lifetime.....and you'll be glad you too are "becoming a Badger State resident".....Sooooo "If you want to a Badger....just come along with us...." and we'll show you the very best Wisconsin has to offer...

It is a holiday weekend....and we sure don't want our sellers to miss any showings but at the same time, we appreciate agents who understand that there may be overnight guests and getting everyone out of the house may be a problem. We had a "same day" request which our seller gratiously honored with the understanding that they would be there during the showing....the weather is also less than inviting for even walking around...foggy, rain/snow.

Soooo the agent shows the house and proceeds to engage the seller in conversation. ...with her buyers present...urgh !

Our Seller is a  smart Lady and did the research on Short Sales FOR her divorce lawyer so that she could get out from under the financial burden of the house, stop borrowing living expenses from relatives and get on with her life.  And she found us on the internet and interviewed us before suggesting to her ex and lawyers involved that we list the home.  She knew the previous agent or agents without short sale experience could not likely close the sale.

         Real Estate 101 (This was an experienced agent)....if you have questions...ASK THE LISTING AGENT NOT THE SELLER. Too many opportunties for mis-understanding, mis-information....MISSED everything ! We have told the seller if she should ever be in that situation again....just tell the agent to contact us...it's easier...it's smarter...it's professional.

       Understand Short Sale Buyers, Potential Sellers....and Agents...Sellers are not Short Sale authorities and it is best to contact the listing agent. Know that home sale contingencies are not acceptable....Short Sale Sellers don't fix or repair....,if you aren't paying the mortgage....you aren't paying for the well test, the radon mitigation, the new windows, paint, carpet....etc....it's on you Ms/Mr/Mrs Buyer...know that questions are best answered by those who DO know.

        If you have missed mortgage payments or have lost your job and know you will if you don't find another position...call us...we will explore EVERY option....and find someone locally who can help you. Call us, 7 days a week...414-525-0563 in southeastern Wisconsin or toll free 877-525-0563 from anywhere in the country. You may have choices....don't wait and make foreclosure one of them.

 Soooo..you made a NewYear's Resolution to de-clutter....downsize...get rid of that broken_________, the disco pants, piles of magazines you meant to get that recipe from....Grandma's old______that not even Grandma wanted. Or as my mother says when we cleaned out HER mother's house....The boxes of "String long enough to use"   and the other boxes marked "...String NOT long enough to use."  The basement, the attic, the garage...the bike the kids grew out of...the exercise bike...well you know...No matter what the Clutter.....Call: 1-800-GOT-JUNK .

   Maybe the Junk is not yours...you are the relative, the realtor, the friends that are "chosen" to help the person who has moved, gone to assisted living, down sized, re-located....Whatever the case...You have to Call  GOT JUNK.

   We have listed a number of estates....relocating folks...and these people are LIFE SAVERS....NOT only will they remove the Junk....if it needs re-cycling....they do that...If it can be donated....They do that..AND give you the tax deductible receipt !  On a most recent visit...They even swept the garage when they finished emptying it !

   Some people know their stuff...These guys really know their Junk....And YOURS TOO....

   Save money....Go to: www.GotJunk.com and put int he zip  code of your "junk location"...you will  be able to book a time for pick up and save $10 by booking on line as well....nothing could be easier, cleaner or make you feel better faster....the best remedy that isn't chocolate flavored !

   Today is The Head Wisconsin Blogger and Social and Viral...probably Bacterial, Spiritual, Physical and Technical King's Birthday....SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tom at:

 tom@tombraatz.com

  Now here's one for the scrapbook...we surprised Tom with Cake...and our best wishes....and it looks like from this "once in a lifetime picture"....he is without Words.....Blogs....Comments...The only conclusion is that he is contemplating whatever to do with all the good wishes we gave him....Not to mention the Caribou Barbie doll complete with glittery antlers..

   If you ever wondered how Tom churns out all those Blogs...he has special headgear that taps him into the Blogosphere..

And yes....His favorite gift...a dictionary...

all the better to Blog with !

  Christmas Comes But Once a Year...

        How Glad We all should Be...

          For that's the time when Baby Dear,

    Eats ornaments off the tree !

  This little piece of holiday humor was written by Betty Ren Wright...a student in my mother's high school English Class....a family friend...and author of Zillions of Children's Books....including "This Room is Mine" written about my sister and me....having to share a bedroom after my brother John, to whom the book is dedicated. Betty Ren and her Mother spent many holidays with my holidays with my family.  You tend to take childhood family friends for granted...a check with Google says the rest of the world did not with over 90,000 entries,....Betty Ren is a reknown author of novels, stories in Redbook and other magazines,...

   Betty Ren was not only often a guest in our home....she "visited" us nightly when my Father read us our bedtime story....another valuable and cherished memory we are all fortunate to have as a part of our "Cleaver Family" youth.  Happiest of new Year's to everyone...and may all your stories have happy endings !

  Throughout the Rain....and the cocktail party and neighborhood gathering, family celebrations you hear the whisper of resolutions..."Next Year I will......"

       When you look into the mirror...do you like what you see ? Not just physically....but in every aspect of your life.

Only YOU can choose the priorities...only YOU determine your direction.

•  Lose Weight
• Exercise Regularly
• Take vitamins
• Apply new business systems
• Target markets
• Contact my SOI regularly
• Earn a designation
• Find creative ways to get more customers/clients
• Work WITH the economy, NOT against (Don't "buy" listings)         
• Spend more time with family and friends
• Learn a new skill 
• Tune up your social networking
• Evaluate your website and SEO
• Actually write a business plan
• Fire/Hire that business coach
• Set financial goals/objectives

    The list can continue forever based upon the "coulda, shoulda, woulda" of the past year....what you wished would have happened...what you did when it DID happen,...If you are new to lending, real estate or any other profession and found that survival is too rough for now...don't kick yourself...know that is your life lesson for now...If all you learned was that the pursuit or continuation of a career in__________(fill in the blank) is not where you need to be right now...you have learned a great deal.

There are many stages of life...parts of life...career, family...our psychological side, our spiritual side...our business direction...our financial future.

    What makes YOU a Person of Interest  to.....your clients, customers, competitors, potential employers, friends, family, neighbors, allied business contacts, referral sources....and the list goes on..perhaps answering that question can be the beginning of a new year....a more polished you...personally, professionally, physically, spiritually....If you are not the Person of Interest you want to be...start now with the list that will...build self confidence, create better health, forge stronger relationships ...personally and professionally, discover/re-evaluate your career path, build a financial future...you can be that Person of Interest.....to whomever you wish...do it...you can...you should...you owe it to yourself.....Happy, Healthy, Prosperous 2009....and to all a GOOD YOU !

 This is Four Year old...former runt of the Litter....Not a Brain Trust...Afraid of his shadow...Only likes his Dad and few select other Males....MAGIC giving the Christmas kitties a Kiss Hearthside in the Great room of the Hanson House...

Not to be outdone by his pesty little brother..Meet Cosmo...You can see his regal "Lion Like face" as he checks out the feline friends fireside...Named after "Kramer" as a kitten his clumsy feet were the size of his head and graceful has never been a part of his demeanor....

  I promise....40 more pounds (I lost 90 this year....wah...hooo) and you will get to see a new, improved picture !

  Our very best wishes for the Happiest, Healthiest of Holidays and a most Joyous and Prosperous New Year   !

      We recently got an offer on a short sale...which had been priced tooo high for too long. The buyers are well qualified but they wrote considerably under the already generously discounted price...the selling agent had no understanding of a short sale...had never written on or listed one.  We explained that while the buyer is welcome to have an inspection...test the septic and the well...do a radon test and any other test that they thought was appropriate....the seller was not paying for any repairs or replacement. There are often at least two lenders in short sales....and this was not an exception.  The buyers agreed to accept the offer hoping to beat the foreclosure clock....and knowing that because the offer was not as much as any of us wanted...and that the lender may counter it and lose the buyer,....they accepted it with mixed feelings...was this "the way out" ? 

                                                  We won't know for a while.....

     In our experience, the buyers for short sales are almost always represented by buyers' agents who feel it their duty to defend whatever offer was written no matter how little it is.  Well, my friends...fellow realtors....short sale candidates and interested other parties...Buyers' agent or not....if the buyer wants the already bargain priced home...know that they are not the ones who determine the price ultimately, it is the lender. And, from our perspective, in any sale...short or otherwise, the object is to make the transaction go together and while everyone may not get everything they want....we always work toward havin the offer and the concessions made by BOTH sides be somewhere near equitable. The buyers are waiting....and paying for tests, some of which may have been paid for by the seller in a "normal" transaction....the sellers are hoping the listing agent can convince the lender that the offer is worthy of taking and not want to negotiate further with buyers that often dig their heels in on a price. The sellers take their home off the market...in effect....as MLS requires us to show the listing as "active with offer" which effectively discourages any other showings.

       Many agents won't take short sales with more than one lender....certainly not more than two lien holders and not less than 6 months from a sheriff's sale....we have and we have closed them and will continue to try to save both the sellers and the lender from further financial ruin. 

    Know that AS SOON AS YOU KNOW that you are in trouble with missed mortgage payments....loss of a job...illness, divorce...The sooner you call a Short Sale expert,....the more options you have !

           If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments...call us, we can help you with a local expert who can evaluate your situation....tell you your options and help you end the stress by giving you clear direction for  your financial future. TOLL FREE: 877-525-0563....Free advice that is priceless !

   Soooo...you think the housing market is feeling a little "under the weather" ? If you live in the frozen tundra of the north where we REALLY know how to get ready for Santa's sleigh....then you REALLY know what "under" is all about....

   If you REALLY want to contribute to the recovery we know is on the way...here are some things that will speed the process...Just do or in some cases...don't do....and watch what happens !

• Price to SELL,...Not to SIT !  Realtors...if you buy into a Sellers' : "I need, I have to have, I know my house is worth, the one down the street 3 years ago sold for..." Shame on you...you contribute to the inventory on the market, a poor image of realtors....and the very worst, dashed hopes of a seller who may end up in foreclosure as the result of staying at too high a price for too long.....not a good idea.

• Short Sales....If you have not done any....have not been successful,....don't understand the required marketing strategy, timetable and huge amounts of extra effort required...refer the listing...KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW !  (We can refer you to a short sale specialist anywhere in the country...call our toll free number: 877-525-0563.)

If you don't have commercial experience...Don't be fooled by the tales of exhorbitant commissions and 9-4 commercial realtor hours with no marketing dollars...those days have disappeared ...if you think that ROI and NOI are oriental appetizers....refer the listing....KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.

    Know What You DON'T KNOW... Practice What You Know..Refer  What you don't know... and very soon we will all live happily ever after !  Best wishes to every realtor, lender, professional...seller and buyer....the very best times are right in front of us...outstanding interest rates...super selection and homes in the best condition they have ever been in to compete for housing dollars,...sellers to get the best price...buyers to get the best house..realtors to sell them...lenders to mortgage them...Go for it....Enjoy..."Live Long and Prosper !" 

  My husband looked at the calendar and began to chuckle,....."Did you know that today is the FIRST day of Winter ?"                       

     Just the FIRST DAY....

  Ya Think....

   We are lifelong Wisconsin Residents...and "We Sell Snow" and the joys of living in the Wisconsin Winter Wonderland we call Home.

  It snows, it blows....it freezes your nose....and then there are the good reasons to live here.....

   The crackling fire....with or without roasted chestnuts...

And then there is the opportunity for the Toasty Warm Fashion Statement...

  There is the skating, sledding, toboggans...saucers....and Tom 'n Jerrys...And From Sally & David....Warm Wisconsin Wishes for the Happiest of Holidays !

We recently listed a short sale....it had been listed for two years...no home in that location had ever sold for the nearly the price it was listed at...or re-listed by the same agents For the divorcing sellers...things went from bad to worse...the market continued to decline...they...AND the agent held the price.  She kept telling them that there were "interested buyers".  The truth is that most probably there is NO WAY THE HOUSE WOULD EVER APPRAISE AT ANYWHERE NEAR THE LIST PRICE !   We listed the home as a short sale...the only option for the  sellers who are a little more than 90 days away from the Sheriff's sale. The first week on the market...we got an offer...short sale priced correctly. What will this mean to these sellers...No garnishment, a predictable date to move...no semi-permanent credit ding of foreclosure...no risk to employment credit investigation...WOW !

        The first listing agent took the listing before it went to foreclosure...she heard the date the judge gave the couple.....and continued to list the property at a price for which it would not sell.  This is not the first such case we have seen. Another couple had listed their property for six months.....and never had a showing...and didn't know why....didn't know the could cancel the contract...didn't know the house was priced too far above the market to sell.....No one knew who could make the decision because no agent was ethical enough to tell the sellers....and as a result...The Foreclosure Bus almost caused a seller fatality.

      If your home has been listed for a long time...you are upside down (you have missed mortgage payments or will soon) you have had no offers and few showings...there is a reason...don't let the Foreclosure Bus run you over. It's hard when the present agent has sold you a house, the agent is a friend or a relative...and the truth of the value of your home is sometimes not pleasant....but better that than the consequences of Foreclosure.  If any of this blog sounds way toooo familiar....Call us...it's FREE, the advice is Priceless...we can help you with a local agent wherever you are in the country...TOLL FREE 877-525-0563 or locally 414-525-0563.

   We were honored to be chosen by Susan and Ann Ploetz to sell the home that belonged to their parents...next door to where my Grandparents had lived. It was a charming cape cod...steps from Lake Michigan....a master bedroom on the first floor...two large bedrooms upstairs...a just the right size backyard with patio....2 car brick garage.

   The house has the record for the most offers we ever received....on the first day from someone who had a FSBO in Mississippi....and wrote $20,000 under....and a grade school classmate claiming to be a member of my fan club...probably not now...who had contingencies on top of contingencies...including the right to walk 3 days before closing just because....and choose the title company...And the couple who had the pre-approval from the lender who had worked with them for a year....who really weren't qualified to buy a dog house. And then a couple came to an open house and fell in love with the house from the fireplace to the privacy of the first floor master...mmmm....eat in kitchen.  For this family, try as I did....wish as they did,...life just got in the way...medical problems, credit confusion, a car accident,....the house was right, unfortunately the timing was wrong.  They will buy a house in February...it won't be this house as that will close December 26th.

            I felt badly...more than once Mrs. Buyer had mentioned how she hoped that the sellers would consider selling her the piano in the living room.  When the moved here from Texas a while ago they had left theirs behind...too expensive to move and they weren't sure their new home would have room for it. I knew she could hear the children practicing while she made dinner...and she even talked about taking lessons herself.  I had to tell them this would not be their new home...I felt badly, they felt badly....and Susan felt badly too I think....she knew this family would love this house as her family had loved it for years.

     Our sellers knew that while we continued to market the house, I had stayed in touch with this family. The inspection went flawlessly...and the sellers offered some of the furnishings we had kept for staging for  sale.  The piano sat quietly in the living room....almost as though it was wondering if it would be adopted.  Susan asked if I thought the family who had "life get in the way" might still want the piano. Oh yes....not the house they couldn't have right now....and it was free,...they just had to move it.  Susan never met the family....and the family won't live in the house...but they will always have the piano.

   I know that Mr. & Mrs. Ploetz are smiling and watching their daughters do what they do best...live the kind of life that their parents taught them by example...to make life about "Them"...their friends, their neighbors...the people that they go to church with....and the family they never met who will always remember that the music they play on the piano was a Christmas present from someone who cared about their fellow man...even when it is someone they will never know.  Merry Christmas. 

Those of us who choose self employment also pay a penalty for not being able to be a part of a large group with reasonable health insurance premiums.  Our health insurance premiums for 2 people is over $1,000 a month.  If you have ever had ANYTHING....ie high blood pressure (who hasn't if you are over age  ___) you will not be accepted by any reasonable without a ton of exclusions....and those are among the primary reasons you need coverage !

        We are seeing more and more SHORT SALE seller candidates forced to consider a short sale due to mountains of medical bills. Medical bills should be carefully examined before they are blindly put on the "payable some day" pile.  Hospitals and other medical suppliers are quick to put liens on homes...and not as quick to have you make sure that all the charges are legitimate.  In our own family we have had many bills charged that were less than ethical...removal of a pacemaker never exisited, weeks of psychological counseling for someone in a coma, oxygen, meals and private room charges for someone DOA (dead on arrival) in the ER. While analysis and indeed dispute of these charges may not save a seller from a short sale...it will lessen the financial burden. Make sure when you tell the doctor, hospital etc. that you send a copy to the state licensing board as well.

           If you find yourself buried in medical expenses and may not be able to keep the business or the job you once had....you may be a candidate for a short sale...Or maybe with enough equity in your home,you can downsize...not getting the price you wish you could...but reducing unwanted and unneeded overhead.  A GOOD realtor,...and short sale specialist will not tell you that a  Short Sale is your only remedy...if may or may not be and that won't be known until you discuss the entire situation with a short sale specialist in your area...

        Call us...toll free..877-525-0563 from anywhere in the country and we will refer you to a LOCAL SHORT SALE SPECIALIST. They will discuss your options and alternatives as well as be able to list your home if that is the best choice for your own health....physically and financially.

We got a call from a perspective  short sale seller today...we were out and the message said he had been referred to us along with one other agent...the message indicated he was going to give the listing to whomever had "the best evaluation of their home."  Oh yicks...now we are not only doing a CMA we will also be doing a short sale education class.  The best agent to sell a short sale is one with both education and successful short sale experience.  It doesn't matter which agent has "bought the listing" giving the seller the higher price.  The seller cannot and will not realize any profit from the sale of the home.  The very most important thing is that the Short Sale Agent knows how to market the short sale AND how to successfully negotiate the short sale thru closing.

           We enjoy an excellent short sale record of experience....we don't just list short sales...we close them.  No matter where you live....if you have missed mortgage payments and your house is not valued at the amount you currently owe....CALL US...we will refer you to a short sale expert in your area. Trust your future and  your future credit to people with successful experience....it is the only way to avoid foreclosure and get on with the rest of your life.

We got an e-mail the other day from a family who had already moved to Florida and had a home in Wisconsin to short sale....the woman thought the listing had expired.  We checked MLS and it had not expired. We called the homeowner back and told her that we could not help her while the home was listed with another agent. She quickly e-mailed the listing agent who said that she had no experience with short sales and would expire the listing and arrange for us to get the keys to the house. A few days went by and we let the weekend pass and e-mailed the homeowner to let her know that the listing still appeared as "active" on MLS and we had not been contacted by the agent.

         The agent called the homeowner to say that she would have to interview us first...WHAT ????

          That's a new one....agents deciding who is the next agent to get an expired listing...!  The homeowner called us wondering how that could be....so were we....there is a call into the manager of this agent's office...Hello....Hello...is anyone there with any understanding of how to sell real estate ?

             If your home has not sold...you are behind on mortgage payments...make a FREE phone call now...the call is FREE and so is the information...let us find out what your alternatives are...You don't want to be run over by the foreclosure bus....you want to enjoy life, sleep nights and get rid of stress, We will refer you to a local expert that can help you...whether it is residential or commercial...call now: 877-525-0563...save your credit, your stress....get on with life as it was meant to be.  We don't just list short sales, we close them.

  There are some things that have become holiday traditions at the Hanson house. One of the them has always been the Christmas brunch menu and guest list. The brunch menu is always the same....and always enjoyed by all who "grace/graze" at our table.   The main entrees are an egg strata....which has an assortment of cheeses, meats and vegetables...including peppers and mushroom mixed with the mozzarella and cheddar and rising high over the pan.

              The second traditional entree is something that our family has always called snails...no, don't picture those slimey little creatures crawling all over the table,...these are a seasonal item that the elves at Usinfger's ....a well known sausage shop on Historic Old World Third Street just blocks north of downtown Milwaukee.  You will find all kinds of great specialty shops there...that tour is whole blog in itself....be prepared to indulge your senses from the sausage to the spice and cheese shops up and down the street.Fritzie is just one of the elves you will meet as you tour their website....or stand in line at their store.....you will see why the products of this family owned business have become a tradition in our family.

   You have to have some cinnamon monkey bread drizzed with powdered sugar frosting to insure a good dose of sugar and carbs.

On the healthy side of the menu...there is always an artfully arranged fruit plate with an assortment of sliced out of season melons, berries, kiwi and fresh pineapple....palate pleasers that everyone appreciates

   Steaming carafes of hot coffee....and chilled pitchers of Mimosa Slush garnished with mint leaves.  My husband always says I spend more time dressing the table than I do myself....I enjoy it !

   All of this is fun to prepare....beautiful to see arranged on our holiday dining room table with colorful table cloth and napkins...and of course our seasonally red dishes. But the very most important part of this celebration....is not the WHAT of the menu...but the WHO of the guest list.  It's the people who have no family or family too far away to visit...,the new divorcee, the recent widow or widower....there is always a new face or two welcome to join the festivities. This year when you have planned your holiday menu...plan on sharing it with someone who would love to enjoy being a part of your family's holiday tradition.

                                                       Happiest of Holidays !!!

Oh Hurray....we get calls, e-mails....lenders everywhere are screaming the interest rates are 5ish percent....Yahoo,.....a stimulating factor to the housing market...call your buyers...tell your folks to re-finance....save money....!   Now...we get calls from the folks who THOUGHT they could take advantage of this new low rate....and did not realize that the housing market slide in values means that the equity they thought they had....because they.....had a down payment, made improvements....the house down the block (never as nice as theirs) sold for $X  two years ago...is gone...the house would not appraise today for a price that would give them at least 5% to be able to re-finance and take advantage of a lower interest rate.  Unless there is more money to pay down the mortgage....and the homeowner is re-financing less....back to upside down. Unfortunately, lower interest rates aren't the answer for everyone.

   If you are unsure of what your home is worth...want to take advantage of a lower rate....have missed mortgage payments...just don't know what to do....Call us...from anywhere in the country and we will find you a local, qualified professional to evaluate your situation and get you the advice you seek and the help you need to make the best possible housing decision.

   If you haven't found your tax bill in your mail box yet...you will. If you are a realtor with any regular communication with your sphere you are likely to get phone calls and e-mails as we do. "The _________(fill in the blank...city, village, town) says our house is worth________________(choose 6 figures) and now our taxes are____________(Select another 4 or 5 figures) . If we can sell our house for X...we'll list it now.....Sorry folks,..not happening.  I wish I could use a word like "method"...it's just a formula, method...the phrase "imaginary number" comes to mind...so that the government can collect money to do what they need to do to continue to run....plow snow, maintain parks, pay city employees....it is just an imaginary number...changing the assessment will only require the government spend more time which will cost more money to change the rate and lower the value...don't think there is a way to win this one....Happy tax Deduction !

We got a call from an angry soon to be divorced seller....and oh boy...was he going to punish his soon to be ex-wife....the lender would sweep through the house he no longer lived in and throw this soon to be ex-wife on the street.  His voice was raised and angry...of course, this financial situation must be all HER fault and the foreclosure would leave her homeless...and after all, that is certainly what she deserved.  I am sure his soon to be ex has another version of this story.....or she wouldn't be an ex.

                    Wisconsin...as with many other states...is a marital property state...the house that is now upside down....is Upside down on BOTH CREDIT REPORTS....no matter where one spouse wants to lay blame..how much delight one would take in having the other "evicted by foreclosure" as with most less than good thoughts.....it is going to bite you both...divorcing sellers,  A short sale will ding both credit scores...there is no getting around that obstacle.  A foreclosure...hmmm let's see...well there is garnishment to BOTH spouses pay checks....there is the foreclosure that will appear on BOTH credit reports for years and years after the foreclosure...there is the increase BOTH are likely to pay in insurance...if either changes jobs or employers review credit it may affect their careers.

           A short sale may or may not be a possible remedy....what we do know is that foreclosure is not a one way street....not a weapon for punishing ex spouses....it is something that should be avoided at all costs....Call us now...no matter where you live, we can refer you to a local expert to evaluate your situation and if a short sale is the best remedy....Toll FREE: 877-525-0563 or locally: 414-525-0563..the credit you save WILL be your own.  We don't just list short sales, we close them.

 Tonite is our THANK YOU party to the contractors that have helped to make our business successful throughout the year....and I now have a blogging schedule and will give them each their 15 minutes of fame individually throughout the year in their own dedicated blogs.

      We LOVE to cook....so a heaping pan of lasagna is waiting in the fridge with a salad with everything in it....and the garlic bread....and the relish tray....and we will pick up the cake this afternoon....didn't have time to do that from scratch.  We have enough holiday decorations for several homes...Santa parachutes from the ceiling of the rec room and Cell Phone Santa, Rudolph, Bears, Dogs, Penguins, Reindeer...that talk, sing, dance, whistle and travel back and forth across the bar are all wound up with new batteries.

        We will blog you all...we promise....Joe...our handy person....could we have lived without you this year to get our listings ready to sell....Tom...the plumber who found a grant program for the well that had to be abandoned before closing....Mark....staining and finishing our front door and painting the trim on my Mom's house....Ryan.....replacing that furnace on a holiday for the same price as a "normal installation"....Tom...making a holiday weekend visit to diagnose that patio door problem and get a new header installed in record time before closing....Jerry and Dave....for getting the flooring and carpet done before the first brokers open despite the other contractor (we didn't hire) being late and making ita rousing success...Tod....your remodeling and building skills are unequalled and appreciated by all who hire you...Kerry...your design skills from the rec room to the new home are showcased throughout our major 4 county area....and we promise...our present to you each will be your own blog.

For now...We thank you....for all you do....because you have made our business about THEM....the seller and the buyers....We Thank you...May Your Businesses Continue to Prosper in the New Year !