jolenta's Blog: All Categories

It's no secret the first-time homebuyers tax credit has been wildly successful. The prospect of free money to the tune of $8,000 has kept consumer interest steady in an otherwise dismal housing market. But the credit is due to expire on November 30th, 2009. A number of forces are at work that will make it impossible for some who want to buy before the deadline capable of closing in time. Compounding the problem are the way appraisals are being done and the inability to lock rates with less than 30 days. Moreover, short sales and foreclosures are on the increase and Spring is expected to bring even more new inventory on the market. After all, sellers who have held back for better markets can only hold out so much longer. With all these forces at work, the…

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Radon gas is a colorless, odorless, invisible, yet dangerous carcinogen. There's no rhyme or reason as to where radon gas will show up in homes in Wisconsin. There are no established patterns; any home may or may not contain its presence. I recently had an unusual experience with a client who discovered radon gas in her Madison West Side home several years after tests had come back negative. After retesting days later, however, it turned out that she did not, in fact, have radon gas in her home. Read about the trials and tribulations this seller went through, how we got to the bottom of the mystery of why testing intermittently showed elevated, then non-elevated levels of radon, and find out your options for testing for the presence of radon gas.…

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Over the past few days I've shown 45 different properties ranging in price from $125K to over $800K to three different sets of buyers. That's enough properties to give almost anyone a decent idea what's happening with the Madison real estate market which, by the way, is still a buyer's market like most of the U.S. housing market.

That's why I feel compelled to tell you how surprised I am at some of the obvious transgressions sellers are still making when it comes to preparing their homes to be shown by a Realtor. And no, you are not seeing things. That is, in fact, a pile of three knee-pad sized bras laying on the bed of an otherwise perfectly immaculate house!

How did this happen when the rest of the house was so beautifully and meticulously prepared?…

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Brand new on the market and picture perfect, this is the best downtown condo value Madison has seen in a long time.

This like-new, immaculate yet affordable, two bedroom one bathroom condominium is located on highly desirable Williamson Street in the heart of the Madison's near East Side. Live, work, and play steps from all your favorite destinations: walk to parks, restaurants, neighborhood shops, Lake Monona, the bike path and more!

Some of the places you can walk to from here in less than five minutes: the Corner Store, Roman Candle, Mother Fool's, Willy St Pub, Broom Street Theatre, Orton Park, the public library, Star Books, Perfect Knot Yoga, Shafer Pharmacy, Bali & Soul, etc.

WalkScore gives this property an 89 out of 100 or "Very Walkable"…

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"Lake, City, Lake." Madison Wisconsin's motto is such a perfect fit! And now it describes the content of Madison's premier real estate website more accurately than ever.

Lake & City Homes Realty is proud to announce eight new search shortcuts for quickly locating waterfront listings in Madison WI and its surrounding communities. All eight shortcuts are accessible from the right sidebar area of our homepage. There are daily updated listings and prices for Madison lakefront homes, Madison homes with water views, Madison lakefront condos, as well as shortcuts for locating homes on all four of Madison's fine lakes: Lake Mendota homes, Lake Monona homes, Lake Kegonsa homes, and Lake Waubesa homes. There's even a shortcut for Yahara River homes for sale.
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Just listed...6517 Fairhaven Rd for $249,777. Over 2,000sf of brand new green-built construction tailored to your specifications from the wall colors to the flooring to the cabinets to the lighting. This is a 2-story contract home in Nesbitt Valley proposed by renowned builder Elmakias Construction. It can be built to suit just 90 days from signing and the first scoop of the ground. This is an incredible value for brand new construction that includes an open floor plan, fireplace, hardwood floors, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a fully exposed lower level and 2-car garage. Plus it is situated on a very nice-sized lot on the West side of Madison just minutes from downtown.

Take a look at these gorgeous photos of a similar model and give us a call at 608.230.5553… Read Full Post

Just listed...5621 Nutone St, Fitchburg for $324,888. Over 2,100sf of brand new green-built construction tailored to your specifications from the wall colors to the flooring to the cabinets to the lighting. This is a 2-story contract home in sought-after Oak Meadow in Fitchburg is the stunning 2002 Parade of Homes model. Renowned builder Elmakias Construction will build this home a mere 120 days from signing and the first scoop of the ground. This brand new construction includes an open floor plan, gas fireplace, oak hardwood floors, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a fully exposed lower level that can be finished off for more space and a 2-car garage. Exceptional quality and attention to detail includes a Master bedroom with tray ceiling, Master bath with whirlpool…

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There have been dozens of articles written about the value of entering the keywords you want to get ranked for in the anchor text of backlinks you build to promote your site. As you know, backlinks help your site get ranked by search engines for your target keywords, resulting in more traffic to your site. A virtuous circle of sorts.

One important source of backlinks are the comments that you leave on DoFollow blogs, however usually the only opportunity to build anchor text on DoFollow blogs consists of little more than leaving your name. While this helps you rank well for your name, it’s more or less worthless for the keywords you're trying to rank for. That’s why lots of commentators like to enter keywords into the name field, but they do run the risk…

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