Bill's Blog

Well, I guess it's official now - the US is in a recession.  A report released yesterday says that based on all the data we can officially call this economic time a recession.  I don't know about you, but I don't really care what it's called.  We all know that the economy is bad, businesses are f...

Realtor® 12 days of the Contract(Sung to the Twelve Days of Christmas)Lyrics by Stacy Jenkins (Realtor in TX)On the first day of the contract, my client said to me,I won't pay your transaction fee.On the second day of contract, my client said to me,Like your company but I won't pay your transacti...

An editorial in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel got my attention.  It was about Linking homes and jobs using a housing trust fund in Waukesha County.  I had never heard of a Housing Trust Fund before so I started searching online. (http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/35096609.html) Did you kn...

The front page story in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel really caught my eye this morning. It was about the DOT zoo interchange project and the homes/businesses that might be lost based on various considerations. The article indicates that as many as 30 homes and a number of businesses might h...

I know that Thanksgiving isn't even here yet and recipes aren't really real estate related, but I wanted to post this favorite of our family. It takes all day to make (off and on) so make sure you plan ahead if you decide to make it - it's worth it! Ingredients 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2...

The Wisconsin Realtor's Association released their latest numbers for home sales and prices on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, for sellers, the news was mixed. The report showed that sales in the state dropped almost 17% and average prices were down just over 5% for the same period last year.  This is c...

The Richfield Village Board is going to be considering a request for annexation this Thursday from the property owners of a 46-acre area currently in the Town of Polk.  The Town of Polk recently denied the request from the owners for the Town to maintain the private road serving the businesses.  ...

I was out with a client on Saturday looking at investment properties (condos that can be rented out) near downtown Milwaukee.  We found a number of potential properties, that based on information obtained from the listing agent, could very easily have positive cash flow if rented out.  Today, I d...

Well, I guess it was just a matter of time.  Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, said today that the original plan to use the $700 billion to purchase distressed mortgages is not the best use of the money.  Instead of using the money to do that, they are going to continue pumping money into th...

So you've found your dream home and everything looks perfect.  how can you be sure that you won't be surprised with any problems once you move in?  The best way to protect yourself is to have an inspection done by a Wisconsin-registered home inspector. Rights  Just because you and the seller agre...