Wisconsin Rapids Real Estate – Wisconsin Rapids Homes For Sale

Halloween is once again upon us. Was anyone else thinking we were going to have snow by the time Halloween rolled around this year? The beginning of October was cold… I like the weather we’ve been having. Let’s keep that.

As we quickly approach October 31 and trick or treating, as parents our concern becomes keeping our children safe. Following are a few rules to ensure a happy and memorable time for all this Halloween compiled by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen:

SAFETY

• Use reflective tape and carry a flashlight if going out after dark.

• Be sure that older children take friends and younger children are accompanied by a trusted adult when Trick or Treating.

• Accompany younger children to the door of every home approached.

• Teach children never to enter a home without prior permission from a parent or guardian.

• Teach children never to approach a vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent or guardian.

• Teach children to never approach a home that is not well lit inside and outside.

• Families may want to organize or attend parties at home, in schools, or in community centers as a good alternative to Trick or Treating.

COSTUMES

• Please take time and care in choosing the appropriate costumes for your family.  Ensure store purchased costumes are flame resistant.

• Costumes made primarily of polyester or nylon fabric typically do not ignite from a small flame such as a candle and if they do, the resulting fire may burn slowly and may be readily extinguished.  If you are making costumes from scratch, choose polyester or nylon fabrics for greater flame resistance

• Make sure Halloween costumes fit properly.  Allow extra room for warm clothes to be worn underneath the costume while avoiding long, loose fitting costumes potentially posing a trip hazard or increasing the chances of being ignited by an open flame like a candle.

• Always supervise children as they go Trick or Treating, taking special care to avoid lit candles and jack o lanterns, high heat or flaming decorations.

• If a costume does catch fire, remember to “Stop, Drop and Roll.” This serves to keep flames away from the upper body, neck and facial areas.  It also helps to slow or reduce flame spread and smother the flames.

DECORATIONS

• Keep hay, straw, dried corn stalks and other decorations away from heat sources like hot lamps and candles.

• Keep open flames such as candles away from curtains, decorations or other objects that could catch fire.

• Never leave lit candles unattended.

• Any open flame can be potentially dangerous.  Consider purchasing battery operated lights to place inside of jack o lanterns.

For more information about Halloween safety and child safety in general, go to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at http://www.missingkids.com.

Have fun. Stay safe. And feel free to drop some candy off at the First Weber office for me… No really, I like candy.

read the entire press release

Or maybe trying to find Bigfoot. Or the Loch Ness Monster. Or a pot of gold.

Nevertheless, at some point all Wisconsin Rapids home sellers have felt that finding a buyer for their home is like finding one of those 4 examples. It’s not always easy. Or glamorous. Or fun.

At some point you just want to throw the towel in. You’ve read my Wisconsin Rapids are market reports. You know that the average days a home sits on the market is over 5 months.

That can be a long time. Maybe it’s time to get a bit creative in how you approach selling your home. Shake up the status quo.

Margarat Woda who writes about Crofton, MD read estate recently wrote a blog post providing creative ways that any buyer could use to help ‘lure’ in a hard to find buyer.

What ideas do you have to help bring attention to your home?

Just a quick reminder that McDonalds United Way Day is this Wednesday, October 14, from 7am to 7 pm – - with Ronald being there from 4:30 – 6:30.

All proceeds from the day’s sales will benefit our local United Way.

So….make a plan to stop by McDonalds for Breakfast-Lunch & Dinner. Plus maybe a snack or two during the day!

Thank you for supporting United Way Day at McDonald’s!!

Wood Counties second quarter housing statistics were recently released. View the report now.

As you might expect the total number of homes sold is at its lowest point in the past 10 years. Overall the number of home sales is down 7% from this time last year. Home sales are down a whopping 29% since its peak in 2006.

Yes, home sales are down, but homes in Wood County are continuing to appreciate.

Our area has always prided itself on being a hard-working close knit community. Because we’re more blue collar than white collar the housing market is not predisposed to balloon or crash out of control. Like many areas of the country. This is evidenced by our consistent, albeit, slow rate of appreciation. 2007 saw an abnormal spike in home value, up almost $7000 from $93,700 to $100,000, but by 2008 we returned to “normal” and we’re on the same path again this year.

My question to you: What factor(s) would go into you deciding to place your home on the market? Obviously your job situation is most important. You must feel that your job is safe… But if you feel safe, is the local and/or national real estate market keeping you from selling your current home?

Foreclosures, the hottest new trend in real estate. Everyone envisions purchasing a foreclosure for pennies on the dollar. Instantly gaining thousands of dollars in equity.

On paper it sounds like the perfect way to purchase your next home.

But there’s a problem. It can become quite expensive… Here’s how:

In a normal real estate transaction every seller fills out a Property Disclosure form. This is a bunch of questions asking the homeowner if they are aware of any major problems with their home. Water leaks, electrical issues etc. It behooves the homeowner to be honest in answering these questions because if it becomes apparent that they lied there can be repercussions for the homeowner.

Obviously with a foreclosure that homeowner does not own the home anymore, the bank does. And because the bank has not lived in the home they do not complete a Property Disclosure form.

That’s a hassle but not a deal breaker. It just means you have no background information as you begin your due diligence…

Next, as a Realtor I’m not allowed to do many things. One of which is to give legal advice. Another of which is to give advice on the status of the mechanicals of the home. The plumbing, electrical etc. I’m not a professional electrician or plumber. Nor did I sleep at a Holiday Inn last night… My role is to handle the negotiations and contracts. The closing and legal transfer of title is then handled through your lender and a lawyer.

Lets back up for one second. In a normal situation the homeowner will do everything in their power to make sure the home is in the best possible condition to sell. In a foreclosure, the homeowner is beyond upset about losing their home and in many cases will damage and leave the home in worse condition than when they lived there. Often times the damage will go unnoticed by you and your real estate agent.

This leads you to hire a property inspector to thoroughly inspect the property from top to bottom looking for issues and things that need to be repaired.

So, the property inspector does their thing and finds a problem(s). One major issue is the electrical is not up to code. You get an estimate and find out that it will cost you upwards of $1000. And this is on top of you having to paint because many walls have scuff marks because the previous homeowners moved as fast as they could with no regard to damaging the home. Plus there’s a hole in the wall that needs to be fixed. You get the idea.

All of this adds up. Property Inspection + Electrical Upgrade + Other Fixes = More money than you’re comfortable paying out.

So you decide to pass on this home, but you’re now out the money you spent to have the property inspection and you’re no closer to finding your next home.

And that is how purchasing a foreclosure can become expensive.