Relocate to Wisconsin

->Part 2 - Decisions Decisions Decisions

  One of the most important factors in major decisions is gathering facts….and this is one of the most difficult for many ….agents, managers, buyers, sellers, investors…our own perceptions, experiences, prejudices, desires, often Color the decision making process…..here are some examples.

 Buyers

• Develop an emotional attachment to a house that has mega structural problems

• Are victims of “undue influence” rather than listen to the realtor…the parent, neighbor, friend, etc. becomes the expert based on their limited or perhaps out dated experience

• Belief in media trends may not apply to the area in which they choose live

• Not getting a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) and looking at only a part of the loan offered to them…i.e. just the interest rate…not closing costs, pre-payment penalties

• Wanting to believe lenders who promise the world but look only at income or supposed down payment or _____and don’t have all the information but promise low rates and quick closing.

Sellers

• The tax bill gives a fair market value or an assessed value…that must be the least amount of the list price when the home goes on the market

• Don’t update…even if it means a splash of fresh paint…removing old carpet to reveal hardwood floors…the new buyers will decorate as they choose; eye candy is a waste of money and time.

• Let the  inspector find the repairs…or sell “as is”…

• Putting more furniture in a house will show the prospective buyers how much it can hold

• The neighbor, the home equity lender, the repair cost, the appreciation, the money needed for the next house means the house HAS to sell for  $X

Agents

• The buyer, prospective seller told you they would call you if they_______ and then wrote an offer at an open house, took the neighbor’s recommendation for a listing agent…

• The buyer/seller says one thing in e-mail, another in voice mail – agent is supposed to decipher which is the “truth” or truth today

• Procuring Cause..sometimes subject to determination by boards who made up their minds without listening to the facts

• Management who knows the customer is always right…the agent should buy the ____ regardless of what the seller/buyer said, promised, wrote

   The list could probably stretch out into the blogosphere for miles…the very great point is no matter who you are in the transaction…personal or business decision…making a choice based upon PART  of the information….not knowing the history…what may have been said or done or promised or hidden can be detrimental to your…..budget, wallet, sale, purchase…Taking the time…keeping an open mind..not what you want to have happen…what you wish the outcome to be…but what ALL the facts really reveal is the best time you can spend…and may save time, money and stress in expecting something or making a choice that can be detrimental to your future in a variety of aspects. The choice you made will color a relationship…a purchase…a listing…be as much of a “Know It All” as you can…the rewards are priceless.

    Whether you are a lender, realtor, manager, buyer, seller, appraiser, lawyer….or in an unrelated field, you make decisions every day ….of various sizes, natures…that have consequences and rewards and we are closely involved with people who make big decisions as well.  Sometimes our buyers, sellers, lenders, professional networkers,  etc., want our input into their decision making process. Our experience may be different, more educated, from a different perspective, etc. than theirs and they value the expertise as a vital ingredient in the decision making mix.  This short series will help you identify methods and means for making good decisions and/or being in the capacity to advise others.

   Anyone can learn to make better decisions….and you can recognize the kind of decision maker that  you are  working with in a transaction, your office, your family, friends, management, etc.

               First of all…the Cardinal rule of all decision

     making…The Best Decisions  are Made

                    From A Position of Strength.

 - Unfortunately, sometimes when we have to make a big decision is at a time when we feel least able to make the decision.  We see this in short sale sellers, realtors who are unsure at this juncture, this is their best career path. People with health, relationship and other conflicts and challenges that impede the decision making process.

- The best thing to do when you recognize for yourself…or to the level that you are able to advise others…advise them to get advice from the highest and best sources.  That may mean not parents, boyfriend, co-worker, landlord, neighbor, sibling. It may mean..an experienced : doctor, lawyer, realtor, remodeler, home inspector, etc. Is the advice given based upon what the advisor will receive…more business, commission, fee…and ONLY that criteria ?   Run ….Run….!  A successful professional in any field…does not need that surgery, tooth extraction, lawsuit, listing or closing to meet their overhead…they are giving advice from their highest and best position which may mean it isn’t  just “all about them” but is in what they believe is in the best interest of the person being advised.

  If the only thing you learn of value from reading this series is the first cardinal rule, you have learned a  lesson that can prove to be valuable in many aspects of your life…for a lifetime.  Long blogs are hard reading…tasty nuggets of knowledge are more easily absorbed…this is the nugget for today…enjoy and absorb.

   A number of situations in different aspects of business and life recently gave us the “AHAA  Moment” of how very large a role trust pays in everything we do…how we live, choices we make…consequences and rewards for exercising trust.   It  can be as simple as the brand of toothpaste, laundry detergent or  shampoo you know has always worked well…you trust the manufacturer and the formulation of the product. The stores you patronize, the services you use…. you know the quality will be what you have received in the past…and if for some reason it is not…you  know they want to know rather than lose you as a customer. The predictability of the phone call returned or e-mail answered…unanswered from someone’s past experience you trust may mean the message was not received….you trust that they would answer your communication.

   In business….you come to trust the lender, the  buyer, seller, associate and know that based upon your past experience…you can trust that they will be everything/everyone you have come to expect from your past experience with them. When you hear things that seem out of character... you are probably seeing  just part of what  is most probably a much larger picture.  Making decisions with part of the information…whether it is the price you choose to give a seller…the way you respond to communication from someone it is all based on  trust. Be very careful that if things do change…you examine the reasons and know the whole picture before you lose the trust of someone you value….or discontinue the patronage of a once valued service or product.  It can change your life…and the people involved forever…getting it back is a difficult task…evaluating thoroughly first… gains more trust…and you can never have too much of well founded, well earned and continually deserved, Trust.

  If you always wanted lake frontage...full time  OR a getaway from all things city on the weekends...we have the perfect place....it's clean, updated...manicured landscaping..2 car garage AND huge shed...2 baths and a lower level mini kitchen sure to meet your entertainment needs. Enjoy the lake views in every season from the family room...snuggle up to the fieldstone fireplace....retreat to the second floor loft....no detail overlooked.  Outistanding location....Richfield, WI....an easy commute to anywhere...a private respite from everywhere.....Short sale patience at a rewarding price  $360,0000...Call us for a private showing...quickly or it will be gone !

                 4771 Riverview Drive, Richield, WI

     Communication is important in any/every relationship....your friends, relatives...neighbors...you get to choose..is it an every day thing...a need to know...just to stay in touch.  The level and frequency levels are jointly determined.

   In business...it is vitally  important so that every agent, buyer, seller, lender, title company...every person who is party to a transaction...know as much is as necessary as promptly as possible.

   Time IS of the essence....it is not for any one member of the transaction to determine how important their timely response may be to someone else...it's the adult, responsible person who responds quickly...courtesey....you can expect it and you should...but don't always get it.  No one can properly do their job without it...

   A real estate transaction is never just about YOU....the buyer, the seller, the lender, the agent....it is about working together for the common good....

   Being Mute....not good...not adult...not fair...not ethical..morally upright...make it about everyone...and everyone will benefit.

  I am sure some people who read our blog think all we do is cook....and we do like being "Kitchen creative" and find it to be stress relief and so much prefer homade creations to fast food and most restaurant food...

   An idea that we want to share that we may have shared before....is Soup-er.....this  year when you are making your grocery list include extra broth and/or cream.

    When you find you have odds and ends of all the vegetables you have prepared....put them in the food processor or blender....add broth and/or cream...season if you wish with dill...chives...peppers...add more squash or whatever  you wish to give it the consistency you like.....simmer a while...taste...add seasoning to taste, barley or beans or whatever suits your taste....ladle into serving size freezer bags....place on a cookie sheet an you have blocks of Thanksgiving soup....something to be thankful for until the last sllllllllllllurp is gone. We deliver some to our sphere...what a way to say thanks for being able to be of service to them..Enjoy,,,an have a very happy holiday !

  We decided this year we would have Thankful Day.  It's our first atempt at this new holiday and may expand next year...but for now...it will be a few families and friends.

  Our holiday celebrations always include family and expand to the newky widowed, divorced...just moved here...can't travel to relatives...friends of all of the above...you never know...and sometimes we don't either who or how many people will around the table. My mothe says we cook for 2 counties...so suffice ot say that no one goes hungry or leaves with less than a few "people bags" of leftovers.  There are always tons of leftovers....some people (myself included...I know it's unAmerican, unPilgrim, untraditional...but I can't get turkey past my nose) so there is always another kind of meat...every kind of vegetsble,,...heaps of mashed potatoes, sauces for those who choose dill butter...lemon herb....and desserts for the pumpkin pleased and some for gluten free guests...no crusts !

    Soooo this year....it's hard to make a little turkey....we always have more than enough for everyone to take home so we decided to make Black Friday, Thankful Friday and a few families will come over with homade leftovers in hand and share time to be thankful...new friends and old...missing those who have left us...welcoming those who have become friends...it will be a golden sort of Friday....not so black....and oh sooo memorable.

     Creating traditions...whether it is a special entree, meal, dessert or something you do together as a family, as friends...making memories...be thankful...make Friday a golden tradition..enjoy...good health, good food, good friends and family...best wishes to you all.

    Never before...and not likely again...will you get such a tremendous value for your housing dollar...this condo is bigger than lots of houses...over 1200 square feet....3 bedrooms...kitchen and dinette with all the appliances..gas fireplace...in unit laundry...Outdoor Pool...and Community Room....recreation inside and out....all yours to enjoy in Woodland Trails Condominiums ....a few steps from the Sports Complex..on Cobblestone turn north on Ryan Road.

A little patience with this short sale will result in tremendous value for the new onwer !

           9363 S Cobblestone Way, Unit H , Franklin, WI

                    JUST  $125,555

  14010 West Meadowshire Drive, New Berlin, WI

                       Noon to 1:30 pm

  I could lie and say “I like football as much as the next Packer Backer”…but I would not be telling the truth….and I think there is a special place in Blogging Hades for Bloggers who lie…I do have to say that the Packer schedule does play havoc  for our sellers and the people who are devoted fans….so in honor of Packer Fans…we invite you    to our open House on Saturday, November  21st noon to 1:30 p.m.

    You are going to LOVE this house….there is nothing  not to love….from the 3 car garage and finished lower level to the granite countered kitchen, updated baths….the ambience of the gas fireplace…the patio with with privacy fence and waterfall…..new carpeted….newer mechanicals…outstanding location…inside and out…from the in ground sprinkler system and newer driveway to the master suite and walk in closet…4 bedrooms…2.5 baths…your family will want to call it home….and at $369,215…you will too !  If you need a private tour/showing, just call the Hansons- 7 days a week: 414-525-0563 and we are happy to set up a convenient showing time for you.

    Yesterday while I was enjoying my usual morning routine…AR and coffee…I came across a blog by Sharlene Hensrud   of St. Louis Park , Minnesota.  She had given a recipe for Panera’s baked potato soup…..creamy cheddar cheese, bacon bits…the imagined aroma wafted thru my mind all day.  Work…soup…..appointment…still not able to erase the taste from my brain….so on the way home from our listing appointment, we  stopped at Aldis….which has become an addiction that a Doctor client of ours had introduced my husband to a couple years ago. It has become an obsession of how many bags he can fill for $X.  Baking potatoes, sour cream, cheese, bacon…..and on to the fresh vegetable aisle to grab the bunch of onions for the garnish….and piled high were bags of burger and hot dog buns for next to nothing…we had just been to the Waukesha  Womens’  Center the day before and knew that the shelter was experiencing shortages in every area.  We ran to the checkout and asked if there was a limit as to how many bags of buns you could buy….We explained we were going to take them to the shelter….”Take them all !” the manager said.  We filled an entire shopping cart….and then some with 72 bags of buns and then some sloppy joe fixings and hot dogs to fill them.  We were thrilled at our good fortune…and the fortune that the women and children at the shelter would experience with our Bun-nanza  of Value !

    It all started with Active Rain…..a blog from Minnesota that ended up feeding hundreds in Wisconsin…..Thank you Sharlene….it was a great recipe….we did make it tonite and enjoyed it a great deal….but the really great deal was being in the right place as the right time…and being able to give back.  You can do this too…we left our business card at the store and the next time they have large quantities of food that they are going to sell quickly…they are going to call us first.

       Do you have a store near your home or office where you could help the local shelter or food pantry by taking a few minutes to give back ?  It’s a souper feeling that warms you all over.

    Active Rain isn't just food for thought...it fed a whole shelter of women and children !

               Active Rain is Just Souper !  

  I am not one to pass along e-mails...in 5 minutes to 12 people so my wishes come true.....I received this e-mail this morning from a good friend....who was widowed before 50 due to her husband's cancer...she has recently lost a niece in her 20's...we all know someone...a friend, a relative, a neighbor....who has been taken by this disease...what an incredibly powerful thing if everyone in AR would take 1 minute every day to think positive thoughts...pray as your faith dictates...do as your conscience suggests....to rid the world of this horrible devastating disease...Amen.

  This is the time of year when we count our blessings....know are very fortunate we are to have a warm bed, roof over our heads a choice of food, entertainment...and thoughts turn to people who at not as fortunate at this moment.  The Waukesha Womens Center is a place of refuge for women throughout Waukesha County who have escaped an abusive relationship...often with children in tow and very little more than the clothes on their backs. A few times a year....we do what we can and encourage others to go to their website and review their immediate needs and see what each of you can do to help make the holidays a little brighter for people who may have reached the bottom of where they felt they would ever be....

   The lists you will find at their site,  Sure there are the basic needed things...food...serving utencils..and the bus fare tickets.  They always need to "outfit" single beds...we choose to do a number of beds each year from the mattress pad and pillow to the sheets and blankets. Stuffed animals to cuddle, games to play...nail polish and makeup to brighten what has to be a very depressing time of life.  We choose this as "our charity"....we choose it because it's not that baby, that child, that teenager OR that woman's fault....it's a little hand up...at a time when putting a head up...a chin up ...may be the most difficult thing to do...a hand is what we can all do at this time when so many need the touch of someone who can in some way help them through the hard times and let them know that someday things will be better....and their days brighter once again.

   We spoke with a seller who is very upside down with their mortgage and has already had some reduction in income with a pending divorce which is only going to become more drastic when the divorce is final.  "It goes against my moral fiber..." he sobbed.   He has sold everything he owns, borrowed money from family members (almost ironically that was going to be used for the down payment on a house.) and done all he can do to try and remain in the house and not "short the bank."

     Many people were raised all wrong to be irreponsible and the thought of not paying a bill on time...or at all..of getting any consideration for a short sale is more than they can bear.  They have worked hard, made timely payments, made home improvements....put sweat equity....a piece of their heart...a part of their soul in what is often, their largest asset. He wants to try a loan modification....he just "can't do that to the bank who lent me money and expected payment in return....they trusted me."  Yes...and you trusted them not to lend you more than the house was worth....more than you could pay when the rate adjusted....and they have no conscience about that. But then "they" are corporate America....not the man who worked hard all his life, paid his bills, was and still is a credit to society....and now his choices are limited.

   We will try and help him with a loan modification if it's possible...for whatever reason...when a realtor talks to a lender...the answers are faster...the terms more easily undertstood.  We will do all we can to help him maintain his dignity during a difficult period in his life....it's what realtors do...it's not always about the money or the listing...it is a people business...and we can be the people who help people and are paid in the gratitude we get, the way we feel when the job is done and the burden lifted from the seller...it's what we do, it's what we should all do, whenever it can be done.

  The City of New Berlin will be celebrating its Christmas Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 5^th 2009 at the New Berlin Veterans Memorial site located on the corner of Casper Dr. and National Ave.  The event is sponsored by the New Berlin Lions Club and begins at 4:30 pm. 

There will be a presentation of Christmas Carols by the New Berlin Eisenhower Choir and brief remarks by our City’s dignitaries.  The New Berlin Lions will distribute free stockings filled with candy. New Berlin Boy’s and Girl’s Scouts will provide food and hot chocolate. 

    Bring your camera because Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to visit with the kids at the New Berlin Fire Station across the street. Santa’s Elves will be accepting letters to Santa. The Mail Carriers at the New Berlin Post Office will have a special mailbox for Santa at their Post Office for kids who can’t make it on December 5^th or they can simply put them in your home Mail Box and Mail Carriers will make sure Santa receives them. It’s important that the address is legibly written so that Santa is able to write back to the kids. Snow or shine the event will mark the beginning of this special season of the year.

  Divorce can be one of the reasons that people sell a home...and can also be the reason for a short sale.  The house that was larger when more children lived at home...the dream house that could only be supported by two incomes...the rate that adjusted....a combination of circumstances not only leads to the end of a relationship with husband and wife...it is the end of either member of the couple being able to stay in what had been their primary homestead.

   The decline in values in the housing market can sometimes mean the dream house, larger house is no longer worth the amount of the mortgage balance.  This is not a part of the plan that either the husband or the wife had envisioned. They imagined...they would pay off the mortgage and each have some "start over money" for the purchase of a condo or smaller home...that was going to be the next "happily ever after."

    At some point reality enters the picture. often one or more realtors who have listed the home...and priced it with the mortgage payoff, home equity pay off, commission, taxes and start over money combined...have not been able to sell the house for the over market price.  The couple wants to blame the realtor...that has a face and the market does not.  They may have tired initially or eventually to "save the commission" by trying to sell the home on their own...as a first step...or a last step.

    Agreeing to do a short sale is sometimes difficult...when there are few things in the fray of emotions that a couple can agree on...the disposition of one of their largest assets can heart wrenching and economically devastating. An experienced realtor can be one of the professionals consulted to help the couple know their viable options. Experienced and successful...perhaps there are refinancing or other options available....each situation is unique. 

    If you are divorcing, divorced...know someone who is and the sale of the house is an obstacle to starting over, call a realtor with short sale experience...and tell them you want to know all the options available so that each member of the couple can begin their "happily ever after."

  Ahhh...we just sent these same words of wisdom to our sphere...fewer homes on the market...all decorated and ready to sell....wait till spring..oh not ....celebrate the season with listings...agents....sellers....and oh yes...Buyers...they are gorgeous !

   We recently listed...and sold a property in a blink...no...it was  not the price....we  couldn't move the location...it was the condition.  The property had been listed by another realtor for over a year...who DOES that ? People who want to believe that the realtor who was referred to them by someone they trust....knows what they are doing. That if he says the market is slow...If he says do not repair, paint, stage...the sellers do not....it was the advice from a friend, relative ....and the agent that was referred by this trusted source.

• Roof - torn off...and Replaced
• Garage door replaced - Exterior Trim Painted
• Foundation - Reinforced
  
• Interior - Carpeting removed...Hardwood floors gleaming...Walls - painted
• Staging...done tastefully...
• Days on Market before over asking offer...5
• Gratitude from Sellers - Priceless !

    Price...Price..Price...Location...Location...Location....but ohhhhh that condition....!

Taking these helpful hints to heart...And Home Before you list can mean the difference between an offer and many days on the market....easy....and often forgotten steps.

  We were at an open house yesterday...first time the home was open....it had been cleaned, painted, staged...new roof...basement reinforced....windows washed...cookies and candy at the reception table...all dressed up and ready to go.....

  Enter Ms Prospective Buyer with Boy Friend in tow...in every room...after taking the sales sheet that detailed inclusions and exclusions...."Can I write in the__________window treatments (not blinds...staging materials), antique tables and lamps...Closing cost credit....how about a rent to own....Then I will know if I like it. My agent said I should write in everything...and by the way...would the seller pay points ?"

   No one minds a few "beyond the inclusions" inclusions....and then there are the people who go whole hog...Putting yourself Ms Buyer in the Sellers' Position....wouldn't you want to sell to someone who added some of the inclusions and asked about others  ?  A few manners go a long way to making a happy....and closed transaction.