{Hawthorne Ridge, Brookfield} RARE Thursday Open House

This Thursday evening I will be holding this great home open to the public! It will be open from 5:30-6:30 PM so don't be late! This is such a fantastic home, you won't want to miss it!

Stop on your way home from work!

Directions: Barker Road to Watertown Road (west) to Pitzka Road (north) to Highland Pass (east) to Hawthorne Ridge Drive (north) to Hawthorne Ridge Court (east) to home. It is the second house on the left from the corner.

Call me today to let me know you are coming!

Update: Sold Queen Ann! New(er) Listing on Hawthorne Ridge Court!

Well, first off the GREAT home that was for sale on Queen Ann Drive in Brookfield sold! It received an accepted offer in only 22 days! Pricing under the market worked for this home although it is not always the best thing to do, especially if you do not have equity in the home. These clients decided that they needed to sell quickly, versus waiting it out to possibly receive close to fair market value. Congratulations to the new owner (who grew up in that neighborhood)! You have some work ahead of you, but the returns that you will receive far outweigh the sweat and money you will invest. Congratulations also to the sellers! I'm sure you will find happiness soon! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your cooperation and your business!

While we were going through the process on Queen Ann Drive, Mrs. Seller told me that she had recommended me to a friend who also lives in Brookfield, and also needs to sell their home. I received a call, set the appointment, and went out to take a look at the home. I was amazed! This home sits on top of a hill overlooking all of Brookfield and is on a cul-de-sac! Gorgeous views out of all of the windows and off of the two decks on the back of the home. Furthermore, this house is clean! Hardwood floors, newer carpeting, a gas fireplace, built-in bookcases in the Family Room and built-in buffet in the Dining Room. Spacious bedrooms, updated bathrooms, newer furnace, new water heater, newer roof, gorgeous landscaping! The best part about this house is that it has a full, walk-out basement finished with a great Recreation Room!

The sellers have been on the market for some time and are eager to get this home sold! They wanted to ensure that we were pretty close to market price. We took the price from were it was previously ($304,900) and got it under $300,000. Now it's up to me to market this fantastic home. Aside from this blog, I created a website, added a tour to numerous sites including Facebook and Realtor.com, advertised on 20 or so websites, mailed the area with over 500 mailers and took the stance that we have to tell everybody in the market about this home!

All of the other homes in the neighborhood have sold for well above $300,000, and they didn't have this view!

Some of the details of this SUPERB home are:

• 4 Bedrooms
• 2 1/2 Bathrooms
• 2 1/2 Car, Attached Garage
• 2308 square feet (not including basement that meets egress requirements)
• Hawthorne Highlands Subdivision (no dues!!!)
• Gorgeous Views!
• Large first-floor deck off of Kitchen/Family Room
• Second floor deck off of Office/Bedroom
• Hardwood floors & newer carpeting throughout
• Formal Dining Room with built-in buffet
• First-floor Laundry Room
• Gas Fireplace
• Gorgeous Landscaping
• Newer mechanicals throughout
• Newer roof
• Fun sledding hill
• Walk-out lower level!
• Priced well below assessed value, and below fair market value!

***CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO THE RIGHT TO SEE THE PROPERTY TOUR FOR THIS HOME***

It's worth a look if you or someone you know is looking in Brookfield for a move-in condition home that will only go up, up, up in value! Give me a call today so you can see it in person!

New Listing in Brookfield

This is such a great home! I always like to take some of my notes from my listing appointment and share them here so you, the consumer can get a good idea about the property before making the journey out to see it.

This home was listing with another real estate broker prior to me getting the listing. When I walked in to meet the sellers, I was impressed by how large the yard was and what great potential there is in this home. I drove past this lovely park that has a very large pond. Neighbors were walking their dogs, jogging and playing in the park with children. Right around the park are these extremely extravagant homes that easily fetch well over where I knew my market analysis was for the home I was going to.

While meeting the sellers I knew that this was probably the "ugly kid" on the block. It is by no means an ugly home, it just needs some updating. Recently this has been an issue with other homes that are close to negative equity, as it is difficult to update when their is no money to pull out, or time to do so. Going in I knew that the City of Brookfields tax assessment was sitting at $344,500 for this home for the 2008 tax year, and that the last broker had it on the market for $300,000...which should give the new buyer equity of around $44,500. Unfortunately the tax assessments generally are high, and I knew that we needed to price the home under $300,000 to sell this home.

My sellers understood the delicate equation of location, price and condition. And they decided to list at $275,000! This would give a buyer equity of around $60,000 at closing (if we are looking at assessed value). Why is that important? Well, when a home needs a bit of updating the first thing you look at is how much will your updates net you in return. Location? Great. Price? Figured for the updates needed to be done. Condition? Not a total redo...just needs someone who can do the basics and has a knack for decorating.

Fact of the matter is: the sellers in their wisdom priced this home to sell in a very tough market, and are giving one of the best (if not THE best) deal on the market to date.

If you are looking to buy a fantastic home, in a fantastic location, for the best deal that you will find in Brookfield and possibly south-eastern Wisconsin...give me a call and I can show it to you. It is well worth the time!

Some of the features: 4 bedrooms

2 1/2 bathrooms

3 natural fireplaces

1.08 acres on a private cul-de-sac

2 1/2 car attached garage

sunroom attached to the garage

Unique "L" shaped ranch home

Brookfield location for well under assessment and market analysis

Newer roof, new water softener, all appliances included

Under floor radiant heat system

***CLICK ON THE PHOTO OF THIS PROPERTY TO THE RIGHT FOR FULL INFO***

Current Market Conditions

With the new $8000 tax credit that first-time homebuyers can use for a down payment, traffic in homes in the Metro-Milwaukee area has risen to pre-recession levels. So what does this mean? It means that home prices up to $250,000 are starting to stabilize. Taking into account the foreclosure properties that are still out there, this is a very good thing for all of the real estate market.

As we know, the moment that the non-foreclosure properties start selling in the $250,000 price range and below, this directly affects the properties that are generally considered the "move up" properties, i.e. $250,000 and higher. Once someone sells their home, they tend to buy bigger and in turn, more expensive.

When we see the trend of the current inventory of these lower priced homes start to move, the higher priced homes follow suit. Interestingly enough, activity is picking up in these areas already!

Interest rates have hit record lows, and they appear to be moving down. The inventory of properties is up, and the economic markets have all bottomed out and are on their way up as well. Comparing even the best mutual funds in the market that earn 12% or more annually, a better investment is still property investment that earns 15-30% annually. Now is the time to start thinking about getting in on the bottom of the real estate market before it goes back up!

If you would like to sign up for a free home watch search of any property, please feel free to contact me, and I can show you several options to maximize your investment gains in the real estate market!

First Time Home-buyer's Tax Credit

From now until December 1, 2009, if you are a first-time home-buyer, you can receive an $8000 tax credit as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.

What does this mean? This means that you can use $8000 towards the purchase of your first home, and get that money back at tax time!!!

For full details on this incredible deal, go to:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/gapublic/american_recovery_reinvestment_act_home?lid+ronav0019

Please, please...if you have any questions, consult a tax professional to get the details.