I’m joined by Chris Mancuso [sp], the owner of Accurate Basement Repair. Chris has been in the basement repair business for over a decade and helped hundreds of customers all throughout eastern Wisconsin.

Today, we’ll go over a few common questions buyers and homeowners alike have about their basements.

As a buyer, what concerns should you look for in the basement?

It’s important to look at the walls and the floor. You should also go outside the home to check on the grading, gutters, and downspouts.

When you enter the basement, Chris recommends using a flashlight so that you can focus on each area of the basement.

In the video above, the basement we’re in already has reinforcements installed. The previous owner must have put these in to deal with a structural issue. These steel columns were installed to hold the walls in place.

You should look for any cracks, structural issues, and water intrusion.

What kind of cracks should you be concerned about?

Not all cracks are bad cracks. Almost every basement has some kind of crack in the wall.

For example, there is a vertical crack in the wall in this basement. Chris says that this is a settlement crack from years ago, and that he didn’t see any recent movement that would affect the structure upstairs.

As a homeowner, you should always have a professional come out to determine which cracks you should be concerned about. Common concerns would be any cracks that come off the window ledges and long, horizontal cracks. The cracks by the window could indicate that the wall is tilting inward, while long, horizontal cracks indicate bowing in the wall. Both of these issues have to be fixed, but they are each addressed a little differently.

You should always have a professional come out to assess a crack in the basement.

What is the acceptable standard for movement of a wall? What do you do to fix the wall if it is bowing beyond that standard?

This year, the state of Wisconsin did issue a code for wall instructions. That is good news for buyers, as inspectors now have a code to look at.

If there is cracking in the wall with less than an inch of displacement, you will need to install the vertical steel bars we mentioned earlier. If there is more than an inch of displacement, you’re also looking at excavation, wall strengthening, and reinforcements to repair the issue. Accurate Basement Repair can give you estimates and help you with all of these repairs.

Why should you be concerned about water intrusion if you’ve never had water in the basement?

There are a lot of preventative measures you can take to make sure that you never get water in your basement. You might not have noticed any water pooling anywhere, but if you are suffering from wet sock syndrome, there is some water in your basement.

You should also look for efflorescence (or discoloration) on your basement walls. This could indicate a drain tile issue or a grading and downspout problem, as is the case with this property.

Thanks to Chris for stopping by today. If you have any questions for him or if you would like him to inspect your basement, you can give him a call at 414-744-6900 or check out Accurate Basement Repair’s website [link].

As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

A lot of people have been asking me lately, “Should I sell now, or wait?”

Predominantly, people tend to think that spring is the best time of year to sell. However, the fall can sometimes see more transactions than earlier months of the year.

Today, I’d like to share five reasons why you might want to consider buying or selling now instead of waiting until spring.

1. Interest rates are low. Right now, you can get a fixed-rate mortgage for as little as 3% or 4%. We don’t know what the interest rates will be next year, so acting now may be your best option.

We don’t know exactly what the future market holds, so acting now may be your best option.

2. Inventory is low. In most price ranges, there is at least a 10% to 15% decrease in the amount of inventory available. Sellers listing right now will benefit from the high demand that has been generated from this low supply. Currently, low inventory can be leveraged for better prices. Inventory in spring tends to increase by at least 15% to 20%. Why wait to sell only to face more competition?

3. Buyers are more serious. People who are shopping for homes at this time of year are very committed to doing so. The market’s current buyers are ready, willing, and able.

4. Transferee buyers are on the market now. If you wait until spring, you won’t be able to capture buyers who are transferring for jobs and must find a home before the end of the year.

5. There’s an upswing of prices. Currently, we’re running a cycle of upswings in prices. It is my belief that in a few months, this cycle will end and prices will stop going up. So, selling your home now while prices are still rising is a good idea.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I get a lot of questions from people asking me if they should trust the value that Zillow gave their home. 

To answer that, let me share a few facts with you about Zillow. As a company, they started in 2006. Prior to that, they weren’t involved in the real estate market. Last time I checked, they haven’t sold any homes, either.

Zillow is basically a company that collects whatever data they can find and then puts it into their website to determine home values. The one thing Zillow can’t account for is the upgrades or special features of your home. Think of it this way: has Zillow been in your home? Of course not.

Zillow's estimates, called Zestimates, are determined by an algorithm based on comparable homes sales. In the greater Milwaukee metro area, Zestimates can be off by as much as 10% or more. Zillow even admitted that 46% of the time their Zestimates were off by at least 5% or more. 

Zillow’s Zestimates can be off by as much as 10% or more.

As you might’ve heard by now, a homeowner in Illinois actually filed a lawsuit against Zillow because they claimed their Zestimate harmed their home sale. This may yet turn into a class action lawsuit. Zillow knows they have a problem, and they’ve gone as far as offering a $1 million prize to anyone who can fix their algorithm. 

In the 11 years since Zillow has been around, whenever I get calls from prospective buyers about homes they’ve found on Zillow, I’ve found that 35% of the time their information is inaccurate. Our website’s information, on the other hand, is 98% accurate. 

Taking all of this into account, I wouldn’t put much credo into Zillow’s Zestimate. If you really want to know the value of your home, call a professional Realtor. We can physically look at your home and all of its upgrades and features to provide an accurate valuation. 

If you have any questions about Zillow or you want to know the real value of your home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

In our current market, if you see a home you like that’s a hot property in a favorable price range, there could be multiple offers for it. 

If you find yourself in this situation and have to compete with other buyers, here are seven things you can do to make your offer the best of the bunch: 

1. Make sure the seller knows you’re qualified. The best way to do this is to get a pre-approval letter (not a pre-qualification letter) from your lender and submit it along with your offer for at least the mortgage amount or higher. 

2. Submit a large earnest money deposit. A normal deposit in today’s market is 1% of the purchase price, so make yours 2%, 3%, or even 5% of the purchase price. If your offer doesn’t get accepted, you’ll get that money back anyway. 

3. Find out from your agent what’s important to the seller. Do they prefer an earlier or later closing date? Do they want certain items excluded from the sale? Your agent can find these things out by talking to the listing agent prior to you making your offer. 

4. Give the seller time to move. I understand you want to move in as fast as possible, but normal closings take about 45 days, so if you’re expecting them to be out in 20 to 30 days, that’s unrealistic unless it’s a vacant property. 

5. Consider shortening or waiving some of the contingencies you have. For example, instead of waiting two or three weeks to do a home inspection, do it within seven days. If you think the property is good enough as it is, consider waiving the inspection altogether. The fewer contingencies you bring, the better chance your offer has of being accepted. 

6. Let the seller know you love their house. I suggest writing a brief letter to the seller outlining why you love their house and why they should pick you to be its buyer. And remember—be sincere. 

Make your first offer your highest and best one.

7. Make a good offer. Make your highest and best offer now because you may not get countered. Excuse the listing price and have your agent do a comparative market analysis—sometimes properties are priced below market value, and you may have to offer thousands of dollars more to get that property. 

If you have any questions about getting your next home in today’s competitive market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to assist you.

Now that we’re into August, I thought I would take some time to give you a market update recapping the last seven months of this year. I’ve laid out the current statistics compared to this time last year below.

If you’re thinking of selling, now is the time to do so.

Inventory is low and prices are going up—so if you've been thinking of selling, now is the time to do so. Based on these statistics, we’re in a firm seller’s market in the metro area. For buyers, the interest rates are still low and you can find a great deal on a mortgage if you’re looking to buy.

If you have any questions on the market or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, please give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

Over 50% of the houses we sell have radon gas inspections done. Eric Clark from Lifetime Radon Solutions is here with us to talk a little bit about radon gas, what it is, and how you can treat it if the levels of radon in your home get too high. 

Radon is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas. We know it’s there, but we don’t know it’s there. It’s a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from uranium in the soil and is concentrated in the home. The midwest is notorious for high levels of radon. Wisconsin is right up there.

Radon can’t be seen or smelled, but it can be measured and it can have consequences. Behind smoking, radon gas is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Every house has radon, it’s just a matter of how much. The EPA recommends action for any radon levels above 4 pCi/L.

A solution to a dangerous problem.

Lifestyle Radon Solutions offers radon mitigation systems and they can install them in a number of ways. They draw the radon gas out from the home by creating a negative pressure that gets the gas out before it even enters the home. They guarantee that your radon levels will be below 4 pCi/L with one of their systems.The price range for one of these systems is anywhere from $845 to $1305. 

So even if you have high radon levels in your home, it is fixable. If you have any questions for Eric about Lifestyle Radon Solutions and any of the services or products they offer, give him a call at (262)-955-7701. If you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us anytime. We look forward to hearing from you.

We’re less than a week away from Summerfest, Milwaukee! Are you excited? We know we are, especially since this year marks Summerfest’s 50th anniversary. From June 28th through July 2nd and July 4th through July 9th, Lake Michigan is going to be home to the greatest celebration in the Midwest.

Headliners for this year’s festival include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Luke Bryan, Migos, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Dozens of other top performers will grace the stages as well.

What’s new this year at Summerfest? For one, the Miller Lite Oasis Stage has been redone, complete with a concert viewing deck. Summerfest also has a great app this year through Pepsi, where you can get all the information you could possibly need about the festival, the performers, and the food.

What are you most excited for?

Speaking of food, there are more than 50 new additions to the menu. These include stuffed pasta pizza, waffle nachos, and beer-battered bratwursts on a stick (my personal favorite.) 

Family day is on July 2nd and if you bring in three non-perishable food items, you get a free ticket. 

The Roth Team is also giving away four free tickets to a lucky winner who “likes” our Facebook page. If you already liked our Facebook page, you can also enter by "sharing" this with a family member or friend and let us know. We’ll enter you both.

If you have any questions about Summerfest or need more information, head on over to their website here.

If you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Should you use a home warranty to help sell your house? 

Yes, I strongly recommend that you do. Getting a home warranty offers many advantages to a home seller. 

For example, we work with a company out of Madison called Home Security of America. They provide warranties on the sale of used or existing homes just like a builder would on a new construction home. Typically, a builder would cover you for one year after closing, and the same thing applies with Home Security of America’s warranty. 

Getting a home warranty helps sell your house.

Their warranty covers any major problem with the plumbing, the electrical, the heating, the air conditioning, the appliances in the house, etc. The seller also gets free coverage while the home is listed for plumbing, electrical, and the water heater. On a single-family home, the cost for full coverage is typically $564.

The most obvious benefit of getting a home warranty is that it helps sell your home. If your home has a warranty and one of the other properties your prospective buyer is looking at doesn’t, that may sway them to buy yours. Secondly, getting a home warranty provides is peace of mind—not just for the buyer, but for you too. If something goes wrong in the home, it can be fixed or replaced by the warranty company with a nominal deductible. 

If you have any other questions about home warranties or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, feel free to give us a call. We’d be glad to assist you.

When you sell your house, there are some common mistakes that I see too many sellers make:

1. Picking the wrong agent: Most people pick an agent they know or a relative rather than one with proven track record who sells homes full time and has experience in the area.

2. Overpricing the home: There's a fine line between getting the best price and asking too much and selling too cheaply in the end. Get a professional's opinion on the value of your house and listen to them!

3. Not making simple repairs to their home like cleaning and new paint: Some sellers don't even want to replace minor things like missing fixtures or handrails. A good agent can advise you on what to repair.

4. Too much clutter: We all have too much stuff, so get rid of all that clutter when selling.

Give buyers an environment that lets them open up to their agent about your home.

5. Not allowing adequate access: Most buyers will want to see your home by appointment, and sometimes they might want to see it on shorter than a day's notice. Let them in; they're ready, willing, and able buyers.

6. Staying during a showing: You want to leave while a buyer looks at your home so they have an environment where they can open up to their agent and ask questions without feeling like they're intruding on your privacy. 

7. Leaving pets in the house during showings: Cats and dogs are great, but they can be a distraction. 

If you're thinking about selling your house or you have any questions at all about real estate, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We're here to help.

How can you improve your credit score when applying for a house loan?

First, don’t open or close any credit accounts, as that will lower your score. 

Second, check your credit card balances. You want to keep your credit card balance at 25% or less or if you can, pay off the cards each month. 

You want to keep your credit card balance at 25% or less.

Third, this may be common sense, but don’t switch jobs. You generally need two years in the same line of work and one year with the same employer. 

Finally, don’t buy new furniture or a car until after you’ve purchased the home. Those types of big purchases could significantly affect your credit score. 

If you have any questions about buying a home or getting a better credit score, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’m more than happy to help!