Relocate to Wisconsin

  It was our very great pleasure,

to assist a childhood neighbor with the sale of her home recently.  During the course of the transaction...(the house was in bad need of updating and we were able to secure a rehab buyer before the sign went in the ground !)  a distrusting relative demanded a social worker be present for the pre-signing. No problem, I made arrangements for the title company attorney to be at the woman's assisted living apartment with the social worker and myself.  The social worker repeated dozens of times "If there is anything you need at any time, you just call me...I will come next week and bring you ...." On and on....Then the social worker wanted keys to the house so you could "assist in deciding what should be moved where." Well, the woman had already been in her apartment for 6 months and had almost everything she was going to get from her home...I became suspicious.

Always listen to your little voice.....The social worker was NOT a part of the service provided by the assisted living facility as the elderly woman assumed...She was charging her by the hour and a relative had apparently agreed to pay for it..WITH THE FUNDS FROM THE ELDERLY WOMAN !!!!

Seniors...Please, please be careful who you trust....Scams come in all kinds of forms....as does Elder Abuse...Be very, very careful who your trust...there may even be some relatives that you need to watch. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is...ask your clergy person or someone you know that may have been in a similar situation before you agree to anything. If you are getting lots of attention from someone you met recently....a health care worker, a social worker...find out how the are being paid and by whom...the money you save is likely to be your own !

If you want to sell your home...or wonder what it is worth...how to downsize...and you live in Southeastern Wisconsin, call the Hansons, we have lots of experience with Seniors and we will direct you to the proper resources. Children, if you have parents living in the area, please call us toll free: 877-525-0563, it would be our very great pleasure to be assistance to your loved ones.

In the last few days we have had both buyers and sellers make some requests that seem a bit of a stretch for the folks on the other side of the transaction.  When we are working with buyers...even as their agents, we encourage them to put themselves in their position a little bit....If they were selling what would they like...? Wouldn't they appreciate a note with the offer thanking them for maintaining the house and telling them how excited you are to move into it. Sellers...how about that bottle of bubbly in the fridge to welcome the buyers. They chose your home above all the others on the market at a price that you appreciated. Leaving a note with the appliance warranties about who has cut the lawn, plowed the snow serviced the furnace and air conditioner, who DOES have the best pizza delivery?  It's the little touches that sometimes leave the lawnmower

   Too often buyers and sellers look at each other as adversaries and not as cooperating partners in a business transaction that in the end, has satisfied them both. Approaching the process knowing that there is going to be some give and take on both sides and that positive little touches make both sides feel better can forge the way for a better experience for everyone.

   We recently came upon a situation where buyers had paid cash for a home in a neighborhood they did not know...they bought with their hearts not their heads and fell in love with the house. They also made numerous expensive changes to the home. Now, just a couple years later....they want to sell.  The agent that sold them the home, (we assume) was working for the seller. The listing agent was of course, also working for the seller. I know the neighborhood very well and I am guessing the buyers over paid somewhere around $70,000. Since it was a cash transaction, no appraisal was required.

    While there are no guarantees in life....and fewer in real estate.....ALWAYS get an appraisal before you write an offer...OR write it subject to an appraisal even if you are paying cash.  The investment you protect may be your own.

    Whether you are making a cash purchase, or will have a mortgage, Sally and David Hanson are realtors schooled in relocation, as buyers agents, and with special training to assist seniors in buying and selling homes. Call anytime Toll FREE: 877-525-0563 for prompt service and proven results !

      Tomorrow, we will spend the day at Merrill Hills Country Club...sounds glamourous, hmmm ? We won't be there to try out the new pool...,get a massage or get  tennis tips. We are sponsoring a hole at a charity  golf outing to benefit a cancer support group called Stillwater.  One of our client/customers...we have listed 1 house and sold her 2 homes....has recently become a cancer survivor and is involved with the organization. We are hole sponsors for the 10th hole and will give bottled water with our imprinted rubberized insulators around each bottle for thirsty golfers. It's not about a listing appointment...or selling that mansion on the lake to the cardiologist in the next foursome. It is about giving back....

    In Wisconsin, we have had a particularly brutal winter....now the flowers are in bloom, the dirty snowbanks have disappeared and the buzz of snowblowers has been replaced by the whirrrrr of lawnmowers.  We celebrate the spring renewal.....and weather that brings a multitude of opportunities to give back....walks, runs, church festivals, ethnic festivals...Wisconsinites make the most of the warm weather....and it IS the season with soooooo many opportunities and soooooooo many activities...
How are you capitializing on this opportunity to give back ?

 If you are looking for realtors in Southeastern Wisconsin who will give you the kind of prompt professional service you need as a buyer or seller, Call Sally & David Hanson...at your service.

       Not toooooo many places you can go where there are over 700 bands with music for everyone...from blues to country to rock 'n roll....We'll try and arrange some sunshine.... and a welcoming breeze off  Lake Michigan....Have a traditional Brat 'n Beer....Sit a spell and have a cob of corn,....cool off with a sno cone...Turn your ears to whatever you please....get your dancing shoes on and strut your stuff...It's almost summer in Milwaukee..!  If you live here....you appreciate it more than ever after the wicked winter we had...if you don't....Come on Over....ENJOY ! Come to Summerfest...come to the fun....Check out the schedule....Ya gotta love it !

   If you forgot that today is "STAMP OUT HUNGER"  day and you didn't shop for extra things to put next to your mailbox for your mail carrier....RUN NOW  !  If your mail was picked up before you read this...you can still help....look up your local food pantry's address and find out when you can visit them with a donation.  This cause has become one we have adopted since the mail carriers began doing it.

   Some years the spring rain has meant wrapping the non-perishable items in layers of plastic bags. This year, the sun is out and I hope people put out all the food they can to fill the local food pantries. There is more unemployment in many areas and more need than there has been in past years.

   Too often we only remember food drives at Thanksgiving and Christmas...hunger doesn't know a season. We always put out plenty of baby food...cereal as well as jars. In addition to the Spaghettios and mac and cheese, hamburger helper etc. we always include some fun stuff. Kool aid, popcorn....just because your parents don't have a lot of money at the moment...doesn't mean you can't have some fun.

   If you missed your letter carrier's pick up.....Find out the hours of your food pantry. Since much of the staff is volunteer, you may find that they are not open 9-5 every day for donations...make time, hunger doesn't know a season...or a time.

     I am not a Mom....I used to think it might be interesting...then I thought,...no there will probably be a computer program some day that allow me to cross myself with Paul Neuman, John Kennedy or the man of my choice....and I would have satisfied the "wonder what the kids would look like" curiousity. I will not be putting anyone thru college...though Magic our little cat, could use some obedience training...I won't have to stand in line to use my own car...No talking back....the mess I make in the house is my own. I don't have a padlock on the liquor cabinet as my Dad did when my brother hit puberty....Never get calls from the truancy officer or the Principal...no parent teacher conferences...or wondering why my child's report card was the only one "lost in the mail."

   Before I get a flood of comments on the Joys of Motherhood....Just like real estate...it's not for everyone...at least with real estate you have the option of becoming "inactive". To all of you who have opted consciously or accidentally to join the ranks of Motherhood....Have a wonderfully happy day and know that you have chosen one of the hardest jobs in the world if you do it correctly.