A couple walked into my office a year ago and wanted to talk
to a Realtor. Yeah me! We sat down in my office to discuss what they
were looking for, in terms of location, size, price, timeline, etc. As we talked, I also discovered they like to
bike, camp, hike and garden. Excellent
information to have when looking for a new house.
As the discussion continued, I also tried to get a feel for
their motivation for moving. I learned
they were living in rural Dodgeville on 30+ acres in a home that they had
built. They had some sentimental
roots. How were we ever going to find a
place that had the home qualities they desired with the feeling of “space” that
their rural property provided them? A
tall order!
Something else was evident.
The wife was more excited about moving to Madison than the husband. He was reserved and reluctant; perhaps he
wasn’t fully committed to moving. The
husband loved his acreage!
We agreed to stay in touch and move forward. We identified a search area on the near west
side of Madison and began looking. We
looked at older homes and a few newer houses.
We looked at ranches, two-stories and even a few contemporary styles. Winter came and the search slowed. Last spring as the market began to gear up,
we resumed the hunt. And we expanded our
area to include Fitchburg. The husband also
began to relish the idea of moving to Madison.
In the meantime, they readied their rural house for
sale. Late last spring they called in a
bit of a panic. Their house in rural Dodgeville
had an accepted offer; time to intensify our efforts. Fairly quickly we landed on a house in
Fitchburg. It was a very nice ranch home,
close to the bike path. It afforded some
privacy and was in close proximity to nice restaurants and some shopping. They liked it! But the yard was tiny! What??
From 30+ acres to less than a ¼ acre lot; actually, yes!
We prepared an offer.
There were counter-offers. We
inspected. There were amendments. We had a closing date. Storage units were ordered. Boxes were packed and packed and packed. Their house out of town closed. They were homeless for 10 days, but took the
time to take a nice camping trip to relax before the next move to their new
house.
My clients moved into their new home late last summer. They are as happy as can be. While the yard is small, it provides plenty
of space for planting perennials and annuals, trees and shrubs. They are close to bike and hiking
trails. And they still camp.
Some transactions happen quickly. Others take more time to find the right
property so that everyone is comfortable and on the same page; where all
involved can get into their comfort zone.
Perhaps you know someone who wants to move (but maybe doesn’t know it yet). Have them give me a call at 608.333.4406. As always, I’m happy to help!
Halloween is the second largest holiday for outdoor decorating, right behind Christmas. No surprise that Christmas is number one, who doesn't need a pick me up during the dark, cold days of winter?
But Halloween does seem like an odd second, doesn't? What about Thanksgiving? Or Easter? Or the 4th of July? No, Halloween wins!
This year I came across quite a few yards and lawns with Halloween decorations on the near west side of Madison. Some ghoulish, some classic and some just downright fun! Some of these displays are best viewed at night when the real character of the holiday comes out.