January 16, 2009
Buying a Home in Lake Geneva...or Anywhere
It's been said that this is the year you'll wish you had purchased real estate. With mortgage rates at levels unseen in decades, increasing inventory, and a weak stock market, real estate appears to be an easy choice. Whether it's a primary or secondary home that's in the stars for you in 2009, the same advice applies: be prepared…and be prepared to make an offer. While the Geneva Lake area is not experiencing the same level of foreclosures and short sales other communities and states are seeing, there are still excellent values. For Sellers this means you must be at the top of your game. Luck truly means preparation meeting opportunity! For Buyers, nothing can compare to doing your homework, choosing the right realtor, and making a reasonable offer when you find the right property. Here are some guidelines for Buyers that will help make your home-buying process efficient and successful:
Location. Location. Location. It's crucial. If you are looking for a primary home, consider what is important to you and do your research. Schools? Shopping? Proximity to the lake, shopping, transportation, major highways? You can change many features of a house, but you cannot change the location. Compromising the location of your home could be a mistake in the long run.
- Make a list of your priorities and review it until you are sure it reflects your needs and wants. Differentiate between needs and wants. You want a boat slip…do you really need it? Now? Could you rent one? You need three bedrooms…would two do? Would four be too many? Your mother always told you, “Do your homework.” It was important then and it's important now. As a buyer you have access to incredible amounts of information on the internet. Do your preliminary “home viewing” on a website such as mine, www.SellingLakeGeneva.com, or www.relohomesearch.com or www.realtor.com. Visit the sites of local school districts for information about schools (for example, www.lakegenevaschools.com) and look for local trends in real estate sales during the past 12 months. Information=education=results.
- Need a mortgage? Get pre approved with a local lender. In the current market it's more important than ever to work locally. If you need recommendations email me at jhartley@keeferealestate.com – I'll send you a list of my top 5 favorites.
- Use a “Home Features Checklist”. Don't have one? Email me and request my “Home Finders CheckList” at jhartley@SellingLakeGeneva.com
- Take a digital camera or video camera with you when you go to view homes. You'll be glad you did.
- Prepare for your home search by meeting with your agent before you go to view properties. Review your needs/wants list, discuss agency law in Wisconsin (it's different than in Illinois), consider whether or not you wish to enter into a Buyer Agency Agreement with the agent, review your financial plans for purchasing a home, ask questions…then ask some more.
- Dress comfortably and be prepared for a long day (or morning, or afternoon).
- Remember: marketing, negotiating and selling real estate is what your agent does as a profession. Many of us love our communities, love sharing them, and enjoy what we do. It is our career and we take it seriously. So be honest and straightforward with your realtor and you will find your home-buying experience rewarding and satisfying. When you engage an agent to research and show your properties, be prepared to make an offer – it's what we do.
- Relax. Although the purchase of real estate is generally the largest single investment many people make, when you work with a realtor who is experienced, knowledgeable and who “clicks” with you, you are in good hands.
Posted By: 
Janis Hartley
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January 09, 2009
The Wisconsin Home Inspection
Thinking about buying a home? Don’t forget to include a Home Inspection Contingency in your Offer to Purchase. In Wisconsin, this contingency is found in lines 298-315. The contingency provides for “…a Wisconsin registered home inspector” to perform “a home inspection of the Property.” Thus, if Uncle Ed is a contractor and you want him to take a look at your future home, that’s all well and good – but unless he’s a “Wisconsin registered home inspector…” anything he finds will be for your personal information and will not offer you the standard protection of this contingency. On lines 299-300, you may also include language that would allow “any additional structural, mechanical, electrical or system inspections as recommended”. Thus, if the home inspector suggests that you have additional inspections, there is language already in the Offer to Purchase to that effect. Buyers should know what is – and is not – covered in a home inspection. The purpose of a home inspection is to confirm the condition of the major components and systems in a building. In the words of the home inspection contingency: “For the purposes of this contingency, a defect is defined as a structural, mechanical, or other condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the Property; that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of the Property; or that if not repaired, removed or replaced would significantly shorten or have a significant adverse effect on the expected normal life of the Property.”
Together with the Real Estate Property Condition Report, the Home Inspection report should give you a fairly complete assessment of the property you are purchasing. While the Real Estate Property Condition Report discloses defects and conditions the Seller “has actual knowledge of” the Home Inspection Report may reveal additional conditions and/or defects. Remember to keep things in perspective and to obtain as much information as possible before addressing the report. Every home has its own set of circumstances and a condition that may be unacceptable to one buyer may be a “non-issue” for the next. A perfectly wonderful 100 year-old home on Delavan or Geneva Lake may have a damp basement and while that may spell trouble for a buyer who has bailed rain water; another buyer may simply acknowledge its existence and see it as a condition that can be addressed. Don’t lose out on your dream home because you can’t see the bigger picture. When you’re ready to look for your new home, visit my website, www.SellingLakeGeneva.com or email me at Janis@SellingLakeGeneva.com. I’ll guide you through the buying process!
Posted By: Janis Hartley
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