Alot of my buyers were requesting a closing checklist of things they should do and have in line ready for the closing. To accomodate their request, I've compiled this general list that would apply to everyone in the Milwaukee/Waukesha area.
1. Home owners insurance: you will need to have a homeowner’s insurance policy in place before closing. Check with your car insurance company first, often times you’ll get a reduced rate if you have both your car and home insured with the same company. You can always change down the road, but you need this policy in place before closing.
2. Gas/Electric: Call we energies before closing to have the gas and electric transferred to your name on closing day. 800-242-9137
3. Water: You don’t need to do anything, the bill will be sent to the house every 3 months. The seller’s credit for their portion used for the quarter is credited at closing, and you pay the full amount on the bill when it comes.
4. Phone: Personal preference if you want a land line and with who.
5. Cable: Personal preference, again. Time Warner Cable is the local provider: 800-627-2288
6. Mail: make sure to fill out a change of address at the post office prior to closing.
7. Subscriptions: make sure to contact your magazine/newspaper subscriptions to go to your new address.
8. Amount to bring to closing: your lender will let you know the day or two before closing what the exact amount is. You’ll need to bring it in a cashier’s check or money order.
9. At closing, you’ll receive a HUD 1 statement, you’ll likely be able to use this on your 2008 tax return, so put it somewhere where you’ll find it easily.
10. Movers: if you are hiring movers, have this scheduled well beforehand. Don’t wait until the last minute to pack; you have more stuff than you think!
Showing posts with label Milwaukee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milwaukee. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Real Estate in December
Oh yes, it is once again that time...the area between Thanksgiving and Christmas where everyone is thinking about the traveling they'll be doing, the groceries they need to buy for entertaining, the gifts, the mall, the kids programs, the new black dress they want....ok so not everyone will want a new black dress. But, this is the time where the last thing on MOST people's mind is buying a house. And while this is the 'slow season', people are still out there wanting to move. Alot of job transfers happen at this time, and they need a home. The end of the school's 2nd semester is coming up, a good time to move the kids at. Also, right now in our local area (Waukesha, Milwaukee) our interest rates are as low as 5.75% for a fixed 30 year loan! So when people ask me if now is a good time to buy, my response is inevitably YES!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Milwaukee Housing Market
I recently was the guest speaker at a First Time Homebuyer Seminar. One thing I really wanted to do was ease their minds about the local housing market. I found an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal (September 11, 2007) that pretty much summed it all up and read that to the class. It was a letter to the editor written by Mike Ruzicka, President of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors, and it goes exactly like this:
HOUSING
News locally is not all doom and gloom
While national housing figures are newsworthy, running the Sept. 7 article with its fervent headline "Housing market in for worse?" on the front page was a disservice to readers. Implying that national housing statistics directly apply here is like checking the weather for the entire United States and assuming the temperature is the same in Boise, Idaho, Houston and Milwaukee.
Foreclosures have increased, but 96% of homeowners in the state are not in trouble and are making their payments. The small increase in foreclosures we have seen is largely a dynamic of the subprime market: greedy Wall Street firms backing loans with overly optimistic terms to people who were marginally able to get into the housing market.
Over the next year, about 10,000 adjustable rate mortgages will reset in our market, but very few will default. That is because homeowners will refinance, just as they had intended when they originally took out the loans.
Readers would have been much better informed with just the facts and less zealous innuendo. The market may get worse - in seven other states. Locally, homebuyers can expect an economy that is in good shape, a variety of homes to choose from and interest rates in the 6% range.
HOUSING
News locally is not all doom and gloom
While national housing figures are newsworthy, running the Sept. 7 article with its fervent headline "Housing market in for worse?" on the front page was a disservice to readers. Implying that national housing statistics directly apply here is like checking the weather for the entire United States and assuming the temperature is the same in Boise, Idaho, Houston and Milwaukee.
Foreclosures have increased, but 96% of homeowners in the state are not in trouble and are making their payments. The small increase in foreclosures we have seen is largely a dynamic of the subprime market: greedy Wall Street firms backing loans with overly optimistic terms to people who were marginally able to get into the housing market.
Over the next year, about 10,000 adjustable rate mortgages will reset in our market, but very few will default. That is because homeowners will refinance, just as they had intended when they originally took out the loans.
Readers would have been much better informed with just the facts and less zealous innuendo. The market may get worse - in seven other states. Locally, homebuyers can expect an economy that is in good shape, a variety of homes to choose from and interest rates in the 6% range.
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