What do Milwaukee condo dues cover?
What condo dues usually cover, how to spot a special assessment, whether dues can go up, and why your lender reviews the building.
Journal
Notes from the field.
Neighborhood guides, first-time buyer answers, seller prep, and honest takes on the Milwaukee market. Written by Emily.
What are seller closing costs in Wisconsin?
A state transfer fee, commission, title work, your payoff and a few prorations. Most of it is predictable before you list, and one line is entirely up to you.
Should you use a flat fee brokerage to sell your Milwaukee home?
A lower fee is only a saving if the price and the timeline hold. What a flat fee listing includes, what it leaves to you, and how to run the math.
What is your Milwaukee home worth?
Sellers walk in with a Zestimate or a tax bill as their number. Neither one is what a buyer would pay, and this year the gap between them and reality got wider.
What is the Shorewood, Wisconsin real estate market like right now?
Priced high, moving fast, and thin on inventory. What Shorewood homes are actually selling for, why prices run high, and what it means for buyers and sellers this fall.
Why is this house still on the market?
Metro Milwaukee absorbs a listing in 19 days on average. When one sits for six weeks, it is almost always one of three things, and only two of them are negotiable.
How much over asking should I offer in Milwaukee?
Everyone wants a percentage. There isn't one worth planning around. What there is: a comparables range, an honest read on escalation clauses, and a ceiling you set before you walk in.
How much cash do you actually need to buy a house in Milwaukee?
The down payment is not the number. It is one of four, and the other three are what catch people out. Including the one repeat buyers never see coming.
Buying and selling at the same time in Milwaukee
Homes in the metro went under contract in an average of 19 days in July. My own listings average 3. Selling is the fast half, and most people have the two risks ranked backwards.
When to start looking for a house in Milwaukee
Renters ask me most weeks if they’re starting the search too early. In a market with 1.6 months of true inventory and a 90-day pre-approval clock, the honest answer is almost never.
Mortgage pre-approval, in plain English
What a pre-approval actually is, how lenders come up with the number, where you can get one, and how it’s different from a pre-qualification. Written for buyers, useful for sellers reviewing offers.
Is now a good time to buy or sell in Milwaukee?
The question I get every week, answered with real metro Milwaukee numbers: 2,020 homes sold in June, 1.6 months of true inventory, and why the statewide figure will steer you wrong.
Emily Walczak, Realtor Serving Metro Milwaukee
Welcome to the Journal. A short note on what to expect here. Neighborhood guides, honest market takes, and the questions clients actually ask me. Written for anyone thinking about a move in greater Milwaukee.