Anna's Blog

There is no denying it, fuel costs are really high these days. I thought this would be a great time to mention a couple links to alternate transportation in the area. Madison Metro is a our bus option and operates 24/7 throughout the city. Additionally, the Madison area bike paths are as nice and extensive as you will find in any city.

If alternate transportation is a consideration for you, be sure to review these helpful sites! 

I recently completed all of my continuing education requirements in order to renew my real estate broker license at the end of this year. The experience reminded me of the importance of lifelong learning and also stood out to me as a great blog post. I love to educate, and I think it's important that buyers and sellers know about the continuing education requirements in our profession.

In Wisconsin, a Realtor must complete 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years in order to renew their license. This requirement is the same for a salesperson or a broker. The classes can either involve commercial or residential real estate topics, and the classes are always timely and relevant to current issues in the industry. We also may take classes that count toward various real estate designations and count the classes as continuing education as well as designation requirements.

It's important to know that real estate professionals are required to remain current with the issues, law changes, and trends that impact the industry. Continuing education is a great service to real estate professionals and consumers alike!

Many buyers that I meet are currently renting. Buyers that plan to make the shift from renting to buying often ask me when is the best time to start househunting before their lease is up.

While there is no definitive answer, there are a few things to consider. First, it's important to sit down with a lender as soon as you have decided you want to purchase. Visit your local bank or credit union, or contact me and I can recommend some great lenders. A lender will offer very useful advice for a buyer's situation - they will review credit, employment, asset, and rental history and recommend a basic time line to consider following for purchasing a home. 

Once preapproved with a lender, I like to meet with buyers to, among other things, discuss a gameplan for purchase. I can explain various strategies for timing a purchase and a lease. 

Overall, if you are interested in homeownership, call me and we will discuss your situation. I have worked with clients that have 30 days before their lease is up as well as 300 days. Together, we'll devise a plan that works for YOU!

As we navigate through the awesome days of spring, two perennials start to show up in every yard: tulips and dandelions. Tulips are gorgeous (have you seen the tulips on the State Capital lawn these days?) and almost shout to a buyer: breath of fresh air, move right in! Dandelions, while a pretty yellow color, seem to shout even louder: sorry buyer, but you are going to have some work on your hands taming me!

Keeping a weed free yard is another important curb appeal tip. Even if you don't subscribe to fertilizing, there are great chem free options available to tame yard weeds. Take a peek at this tool. No more bending required, and weeds pop put as fast as you can navigate around the yard! This must have been a popular Mother's Day gift this year as I saw many people out using their nifty weed tamer in their yards this past Sunday.

If you have any questions about lawn care options in our area, call or email me and I'll share some additional ideas with you.

And, to all of the mothers out there (including mine!), I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day over the weekend!

At a time when nearly every newscast and newspaper has a comment about rising energy costs, it's always helpful to learn about useful information that can help us save money and energy. The power company in the Madison area, Madison Gas & Electric (MG&E) has a terrific web site that everyone in their service area (homeowners, renters, or business owners) should know of and review. I recently started receiving their newsletter that offers loads of energy saving tips. You can sign up for the free newsletter by clicking here.

This site is also helpful for reviewing past energy use at your address, paying your bill online, starting and stopping service, and much more. Be sure to take a peek!

For those in the surrounding area serviced by Alliant Energy, they too offer a useful web site. To check it out, click here!