Real Estate Information

It’s common knowledge that home improvement is more than just a weekend pastime. Taking the time to update a home can dramatically increase its livability and value. However, many homeowners are hesitant to make changes; putting off new cabinets because they’re not sure about the material, or wanting to make their home more energy efficient but not sure where to start. Luckily the Greater La Crosse Home and Builders Show brings together seminars and exhibitors that can answer all your home renovation questions. Whether you want to remodel the kitchen or revamp your yard, this event is a great opportunity to meet area contractors in person and get all your home renovation questions answered. Event officials have gathered over 90 different local and national exhibitors and a great line-up of seminars.

One of the great things about the Greater La Crosse Home and Builders Show is that you can learn about a do-it-yourself home project from a seminar and meet local vendors who can set you up with all the tools and materials you need to begin. You can sit in on McKay Nursery’s “Low Maintenance and Edible Landscaping” seminar and then visit their booth for pricing information specific to your landscaping needs. Or, talk to the guys from Beyer Custom Cabinets, who’ve been in business since 1987, about replacing or resurfacing your current cabinetry. Not only will you receive expert advice on anything from tile-setting to roofing, you come away from the event with hundreds of ideas for your home.

This three-day event will be held in the ballroom and South Hall of the La Crosse Center off of Hwy 53. Admission is free for children under 12 and $5 for adults. With warmer weather just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start planning those home renovation projects and the experts at the Greater La Crosse Home and Builders Show are there to help.

Foreclosures and falling prices combined with rock-bottom interest rates have turned many would-be home buyers into new home owners. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index hit home prices hit a new record level of affordability. Of all new and existing homes sold during the last three months of 2011, 75.9% could have been comfortably purchased by families earning the national median income of $64,200. It was the highest percentage recorded in the history of the index, and a big increase from 72.9% just three months earlier. And while it’s possible for home prices to continue to drop, it’s perhaps more likely that they will increase again as economic recovery reaches more sectors and more people realize that now is a great time to buy a home.

Another reason to start looking for homes sooner rather than later are low, low interest rates. According to housing analysts, interest rates are near a 50-year low! As of mid-May, 2011, 30-year fixed mortgage rates had fallen to 4.63% - the lowest rates of the year. According to USA Today, the last time average rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage were this low was during the 1970s when minimum wage in Wisconsin was less than $2 per hour!

With mortgage rates at this level it makes a lot of sense to stop waiting and start shopping for your first home. If your family has grown in the past couple years and you need more room, or even if the kids have left for college and you’re looking for something smaller or closer to work, these interest rates make it possible to find a new home better suited to the size of your family. Of course, with many people scrambling to find a place to rent, it follows that now is the best time to invest in rental properties. Why wait? Stop by our office today for more information about buying the home of your dreams for a lot less money than it may take before long.

Winter in western Wisconsin means sub-freezing air temperatures, Arctic wind chill blasts and blizzards that have the power to shut down the entire region for days. The good folks who call this seasonally frozen tundra home need something to look forward to have fun and stave off cabin fever.

Winter Rec-Fest in La Crosse provides residents and visitors with the perfect avenue for winter fun. Beginning in mid-January and running to early February, Winter Rec-Fest offers a diverse selection of frigidly fun activities, all designed to make citizens and visitors of all ages and interests happy.

It’s all about fun at Winter Rec-Fest. Thumb your nose at Old Man Winter, pitch in $2 for an all-inclusive button and embrace the season by participating in one or all of the events and activities.

The events kick off with the city-wide Snowflake Medallion Hunt. Then, you’ll want to get all your friends together and join in one of the competitive team sports tournaments, such as the Frosty Feet Kickball Tournament, Co-Rec Snow Volleyball Tournament or the One-Pitch Snow Softball Tournament.

Delve Into New Fun for 2012

* More than 230 hopefuls entered the Button Design contest this year, establishing a new record in Winter Rec-Fest history.

* Just when you thought Friday Night Family Fun night at Forest Hills couldn’t get any more fun, Rec-Fest organizers found a way! They’ve added games for the kids, a torchlight hike, fireworks, a snowman-making contest and a snow sculpture-creating contest.

* This year you will get to enjoy games, movies and food at the Hood Park Skate Day.

* Events brought back by popular demand from last year’s Rec-Fest include the Chicken-Que, the Frosty Feet Kickball Tournament and the Curling Event.

You can purchase your official 26th Annual Winter Rec-Fest buttons at the Green Island Ice Arena, the Parks & Recreation Office in the La Crosse City Hall, the Southside Neighborhood Center and the Black River Neighborhood Center.

For more information, like a detailed listing of show times, and activity registration and participation requirements, all you have to do is surf over to www.cityoflacrosse.org or call 608-789-7533.

For a detailed schedule of events for the 26th Annual Winter Rec-Fest, which will run from Wednesday, January 18 to Wednesday, February 1, click right here.

Here’s one more reason (as if you needed another one!) to “See Judy Gull For ALL your Real Estate Needs.” Follow Judy and she will guide you through a free service that can get you into your dream home quickly.

Like many other worthwhile pursuits, house hunting hides a paradox within its intricate, labyrinthine processes and procedures. There are a lot of fairly obvious good things, such as picking out your favorite neighborhoods, popping in to some open houses and mentally decorating your future new home. However, one of the primary and reoccurring difficulties many house hunters run into is trying to keep up with all of the listings of new homes that hit the market in a timely fashion.

Not anymore – if you have an email address, you can use this system.

Judy’s new home listings system is not only free, but also incredibly easy to start. All you have to do is go to this website, enter your email address and some of the criteria you’re looking for in your new home and voila! You’re set.

Within your initial email message, you will see a listing of each and every one of the homes that match the criteria you entered for sale at that time. After that, you will receive a fresh email every morning with new home listings, as well as any changes in previously listed homes.

It is not just anxiety or paranoia to think that you will miss out on your perfect home if you do not take an active role in the hunt. This service provides you with this opportunity and all you have to do is fill out a short form.

If you are still apprehensive about giving your email address to a website, here are some factors that might ease your mind. First, you can discontinue the service at any time. And, Judy Gull will not sell your information to any other website or entity.

So, if you’re house hunting in the La Crosse, Holmen, Onalaska, West Salem and La Crescent areas, give Judy’s new home listings system a try. You have nothing to lose and your dream house to gain!

Real estate experts agree that knowing the basics of making an offer on a home is an extremely important tool for as a homebuyer. The first step is to understand your own position as a homebuyer. Are you pre-approved for a mortgage? Do you have to sell your current home before you can buy a new one? How much earnest money can you put down on a home? Are you an all-cash buyer? Can you afford the mortgage on a home?

By assessing your financial position and taking steps to ensure that you are in a position to make a strong offer, you will be equipped for success in this challenging process. In addition to understanding your current situation, it is also useful to find out as much information about the property you are interested in as possible. For instance, how long has it been on the market? Why is the home being sold – i.e. are the sellers under pressure to sell? Is the home part of an estate sale? What is the history of the home? What are the area’s comparable home values? The answers to these questions will help you determine how much flexibility you may have in making an offer, and whether that offer is likely to be accepted.

A written contract is essential for any real estate transaction, since oral offers are not legally binding. Your real estate contract must conform to local and state laws. Judy Gull can help you navigate this legal and financial terrain. In addition to ensuring that your contract follows standard procedures, Judy will verify that the contract reflects your desires as a buyer before presenting it to the seller’s agent or representative.

Your written contract will include specifics about the property itself, including its address, legal description, sale price, and title and deed information. In addition, the contract will include your terms and conditions: if it is all cash or subject to obtaining a mortgage; the target date for closing; the amount of earnest money deposit and how it will be returned to you should your offer be rejected; how real estate taxes, utilities, and other bills will be adjusted; who will pay the title insurance, survey, and inspections.

Once these provisions are laid out, Judy can advise you regarding any property disclosures that are required by law, as well as last-minute walk-throughs and other contingencies. The latter are critical components, as they are designed to protect you should issues and problems arise. For instance, one contingency would ensure that you won’t be bound by the contract if you are unable to obtain a loan. Another contingency would guarantee that a satisfactory home inspection is provided within a certain amount of time after the offer has been accepted.

Once your written offer is presented to the seller and the seller signs an acceptance, your contract will be legally binding. If the offer is rejected, however, the sellers cannot hold you legally responsible for the contract should they change their minds later on. Most likely, a seller may make a counter-offer, which may include changes in price, closing date, and other provisions. Judy can help you negotiate with the seller and can help determin how and if you should move forward in the sale. In the best case scenario, both parties will arrive at an agreement, and you will be the proud new owner of a home.

If you are thinking about buying La Crosse area real estate or selling a home in the La Crosse area, give us a call at 608-781-7714 or send us an email to explore your options and to find out when is the best time for you to make a move.

After the success of last year’s event, CenturyLink’s Sand on the Riverfront is back in 2011. The fundraiser, hosted by Riverfront, a nonprofit organization that provides services for the disabled, will take place at Riverside Park in La Crosse August 19-21.

Sand on the Riverfront’s theme for the year will be “Sports of all sorts,” which will include a new event for 2011: a 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the 20th. Riverfront handed out awards to event winners in 2010, but with the organization accepting donations, everyone truly goes home a winner.

Riverfront has been helping disabled adults find employment and homes since it was founded in 1977 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Since then, the nonprofit has expanded to six offices throughout Wisconsin, employing almost 300 people to provide constant support for the state’s disabled community. The organization provides training, living support and recreational programs that allow over 1,700 disabled members of the community to live independently and find success in their lives.

Admission and registration to Sand on the Riverfront is free, but donations will be accepted and support of the Riverfront organization is encouraged. You can find out more about the Riverfront organization or CenturyLink’s Sand on the Riverfront for 2011 at www.riverfrontinc.org, or by calling 608-784-9450. Don’t miss the fun in beautiful downtown La Crosse!

It’s no secret that housing and real estate markets all over the country have been hurting for the past couple of years, but there are areas that are improving and even showing evidence of growth. La Crosse, Wisconsin is one of those areas that continues to thrive, despite being in a recession. La Crosse has exciting housing trends, as well as plenty of spacious and comfortable living options to offer new home buyers.

In 2011, the La Crosse housing market has seen a sharp increase in median sales price. In January of this year, the median price was $125,500, but in just six months that number has risen to $143,000. With the median sale price climbing, potential home buyers should be encouraged to look for their dream home in the La Crosse area during the remainder of 2011.

Home sales in the area are down from a year ago, but considering that first-time home buyers in La Crosse were supplemented by the Federal Housing Tax Credit Program in 2010, the drop off is not a real setback for the market. In fact, home sales actually increased from May to June, showing that there may be more growth to come later in the year.

The declining unemployment rates in the area make La Crosse real estate a stronger market. According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, the housing market should receive a healthy boost with more residents working. The state of Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is under the national average and with 25,000 jobs already added this year, things are definitely looking up for the state, the area of La Crosse and for Wisconsin real estate in general.

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.