What You Need to Know
When Buying or Selling

• Effect of the Homebuyer Tax Credit.
  This morning the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in July plunged 27.2%.Not surprisingly, the end of
• Getting the right selling strategy.
  Metro Milwaukee home values appear to have stabilized despite a daunting inventory of homes for sale. Although this is certainly
• Earnest money: How much is enough?
  When you buy a home, one of the provisions in the Offer to Purchase is something called earnest money. Earnest
• Rent With the Option to Buy
  We closed on yet another home that was rented with the option to buy. The sale was completed in less
• Beware of high administrative fees when paying 6%
  Did you know that most high commission companies charge an administrative fee of anywhere from $195 to as high as
• Why List With Us?
  Perhaps the better question is "Why Wouldn't You List With Us?" ... In the world of real estate today, there's
• Should one remodel before selling?
  One of the biggest questions sellers ask agents when selling their home is: should I remodel my home before I
• Most people fail at selecting experienced agents.
  Experience Matters When Selecting A Real Estate Agent – Just Not For Most PeopleSurveys show that only 57% of home
• How quickly you sell depends largely on which seller profile you fit in.
  Getting your home sold in the Greater Milwaukee area is not as tough as you might think despite the market
• One of our agents gets featured in the Journal.
  Jeanne Van Oss, Homeowners Concept, WauwatosaBy Robert WardePosted: May 29, 2010For 23 years Jeanne Van Oss worked as a commercial

• Wind-whipped fires add to Detroit's economic woes (AP)
  AP - For a city already struggling with high unemployment, widespread foreclosures and deep budget cuts, here was another crisis:
• Bankers urge government to pull plug on Fannie, Freddie (Reuters)
  Reuters - The federal government should take mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off life support sooner rather
• Freddie Mac to issue new 5-year note due 2015 (AP)
  AP - Government sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday it plans to issue new five-year notes due on Sept.
• Summary Box: Mortgage lending falls 1.5 pct (AP)
  AP - MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS SLIP: Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the
• Economists further scale back U.S. growth outlook (Reuters)
  Reuters - Stubbornly high unemployment and signs of persistent weakness in the housing market have prompted economists to further cut
• Mortgage lending down 1.5 pct as rates inch up (AP)
  AP - Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in
• Home buying up in week, but down 40 percent in year (Reuters)
  Reuters - Americans applied to buy homes at the highest pace last week since May, but more than 8 of
• Gov't launches plan to help "underwater" borrowers (AP)
  AP - The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort
• Summary Box: Plan to help "underwater" borrowers (AP)
  AP - NEW FORECLOSURE PLAN: The Obama administration is trying to revive its attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with
• MGIC added $1.2B in mortgage coverage in August (AP)
  AP - Private mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. said Friday it added $1.2 billion in new primary insurance coverage