BEFORE YOU BUY A HOME

There is much help available today if you want to buy a home but you will want to consider the following.

First you need to determine how much home you can afford. So how do you do that? A good rule of thumb is that you can only afford to buy a home that is equal in price to approximately three times your gross annual income. So for guys like me who work on commission that can be a moving target!

Secondly and to be more exact you should consider these six factors: 1.) income; 2.) the amount of cash you have available for a down payment, closing costs, and the cash reserves required by your lender; 3.) credit history (your credit history smart guy not your lender); 4.) the type of mortgage; 5.) outstanding debt; 6.) current interest rates. I did pretty well on this list until number 5…ugh!

The long and short is that you should get pre-qualified or pre-approved with your personal lender for a home loan. They can help you find out how much home you can buy and in the end it makes you a more credible buyer. And the more credible you are the better you can negotiate.

We continue to be blessed as our drought conditions have been all but taken care of with the many inches of rain received in September and October. There isn’t a dry pair of shoes in my closet.

Have a great weekend and plan to come up and see us in beautiful Sawyer County!

Life is Good, Enjoy!
Gary and Amanda

Near-Water Development

There is much discussion and concern as to the amount of development near lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands.

In addition, there are the issues of landowner rights, public rights and resource stewardship. Obviously there is an effect on both those who are developing their land and those whose land is affected by the development - not to mention the economic well-being of the community. The days of putting up your garage wherever you wish are gone; from my perspective that isn’t all bad given the adverse effect building might have on our natural resources.

Yours truly is for controls provided all landowners are treated the same and that the “arbitrary rulings” are taken out of the equation when it comes to development. When we have goals that seem to contradict each other, a scientific basis for assessing effects of development and effectiveness of mitigation measures helps ensure fair and constructive decision-making. Yet, I have heard some say we can't believe the scientists and engineers; now that's perplexing to me. Who can we rely upon if not the experts?

There is potential for adverse effects where ever and whenever we develop. The complexity of these issues underscores the need for sound engineered watershed plans rather than depending only upon the approaches of the past. With better understanding and implementation of such plans, both the critics and the proponents will be better able to protect our water resources for generations to come.

Make it a great weekend and Happy Halloween; I’m headed to North Dakota to visit family. If you’re traveling this weekend please drive safely!

Life is Good, Enjoy!

Market Update

For the most part, except for building and home real estate sales, the market continues to chug along and real estate is just 5% of the overall economy. Despite the negative reports that we all receive there are many reasons why I continue to be optimistic about the reported “crisis” in the real estate market. In part because we have had another great year and the fourth quarter pipeline of business is very strong. I see this as a time of opportunity; you make money when you buy – not when you sell. That is, if you buy right it sets you up for profit when you sell. On top of that you get to enjoy the use of the property while you own it.

Why the continued optimism? Typically, home owners who are in the market for the long-term nearly always come out on top in building wealth. Mortgage rates are historically favorable, there is a wide selection of inventory and the worst in the credit crunch appears to be over. There are more jobs, incomes have increased and there is more wealth. Finally, and I have written this before, there is a pent-up buyer demand.

The HACC Wine Tasting is tonight! Good news, we have had a ton of rain in September and October so our lake and pond levels are really up compared to earlier this summer. We won’t have to put on that dock extension after all or worry about pulling our boats off the lift.

Have a great weekend; come on up and see us!

Life is Good, Enjoy!

Gary A. Nathan and Amanda Mavis

Moratoriums

A growing number of communities have enacted moratoria on new development, more particularly on new land divisions and subdivisions. The stated purpose is typically to eliminate development pressures during those times that municipalities are in the process of doing land-use planning. Some towns apparently are using Smart Growth to prevent growth which could lead to some negative results. There have been challenges to the enactment of moratoria as to whether or not it is legal.

There is legitimate reason for moratoria, purposes such as insufficient sewer capacity or water supply but sometimes it appears moratoria is enacted out of fear that development is going to “happen in my back yard” and I just don’t like it.

A moratorium can have devastating impact on the housing market and the overall economy. New development helps fuel and create new opportunities for many jobs including land use planners, surveyors, architects, lenders, appraisers, lumber companies, carpenters, electricians, title companies….well you get the drift.
Not only can it cause a downturn in the local economy it can reduce land value and have an undetermined long-term effect.

The public health, safety and welfare must be considered and much thought and discussion must take place before municipalities consider moratoria on development. Keep in touch with your local Town Boards and the County as future plans unfold.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall colors!

Life is Good, Enjoy!

Gary Nathan

Wilderness Lakes Class

Thought I should give you and update if you have not been following the Wilderness Lakes Class meetings in Sawyer County. There was a very large crowd that turned out for a Sawyer County Zoning public hearing last month, probably as a result of a Northland Area Builders Association (NABA) mailing to about 2500 land owners. NABA felt that Sawyer County did not properly notify the public of this newly proposed lake class since the newspaper notices did not include the list of lakes affected by the proposal. The NABA went on to say they were concerned because any change could greatly affect property owner rights as well as the value of the property.

The list of lakes affected was unveiled the morning of the hearing; at the time of the hearing only named lakes were scored. One Hundred Forty -Two (142) privately owned named lakes would become Wilderness Lakes. 141 of these lakes are currently Class 3 lakes requiring just less than 2 acres to build. One of the lakes, Island Lake, is currently a Class 1 lake. The Wilderness Class would require 5 acres to build, 300 feet of frontage (600 feet for multiple family dwellings), 700 feet of depth and side setback minimums of 60 feet for a total of 120 feet. The reclassification would roughly affect 78% of the lakes in Sawyer County.

There is certainly agreement to preserve the wilderness quality of the land surrounding the lake. The NABA disagrees with the proposal in its current form; they say that managing pollution through dilution does nothing to improve current levels of pollutants from failed septic systems, fertilizers and unmitigated shorelines. The also feel the proposal lacks the basis of protecting public health, safety or welfare and the burden of protecting the water is not distributed fairly amongst all property owners.

The NABA calls for the enforcement of current Zoning laws that are intended to protect the waters and shoreline and the use of Storm water Management Plans for new construction when impervious surface standards exceed 15% on properties within the watershed of a lake. Stay tuned!

Looks like we are at or near the peak for fall colors; Life if Good, Enjoy!

You Should Know This

Until recently studies indicated that women spoke more words than men; can’t imagine this could be true. Women supposedly turned out about 20,000 words a day compared to men at a mere 7,000 per day. Another study indicated it was more like 6,000 to 8,000 for women and 2,000 to 4,000 for men. Now that’s more like it. But, noooo someone had to come along and do another study; where do people find the time? Recent research indicates that women churn 16,215 words per day compared to …….are you ready..…..drum roll please………15,669 for men. Now that’s more like it, specific numbers, none of this round off to the nearest 1000. It caused at least one woman to quip, “What it really means is not that she talks too much, it’s that he doesn’t listen enough!”

Just a few more must-knows to end your week. Did you know that most lipstick contains fish scales, baby Robins (birds) eat 13 feet of worms a day, fingernails grow four times faster than toenails and every human has a distinct tongue print? Finally, did you know that 166,875,000,000 pieces of mail are delivered each year in the U.S.? I wonder if that includes all the lost mail.

So what does this have to do with real estate? Absolutely nothing, but now you will think twice before hitting the delete button on my boring blog; it may cause you to wonder just what insightful weekend conversation bits you might be missing.

Make it a great weekend, the colors are turning quickly and Stone Lake Cranberry Fest is just around the corner.

Life Is Good, Enjoy!

Gary A. Nathan &
Amanda Mavis, Gary’s personal assistant who does all the real work……..

Holding Back

For the most part the market is fairly good for us in Sawyer County while the rest of the Country appears to be in the tank; that is if you believe everything you read and everything you hear on the networks.

According to a recent report by Lawrence Yun, who does research for the National Realtors Assn., there is a pent up demand on the part of buyers. The US has added 4 million jobs since mid-2005, wages have risen 7%, aggregate national income is up $1.35 trillion and wealth has grown significantly.

So, many people have the means to purchase homes but it appears that some are just holding back because of uncertainty. Mortgage rates are certainly attractive especially with the announcement yesterday and the stock market is chugging along. Consumer confidence is up, business confidence is up, inflation continues in check and home sales are brightening across the country.

What do we make of all of this? From my perspective we can’t always compare what is happening locally with what is in the national news. If you are a buyer, be patient and prudent. If you are a seller, be patient and persistent. In the end owning your own home is still a great investment!

Have a wonderful weekend and don’t forget that Fall Fest is in Hayward this weekend and Cranberry Festival in Stone Lake is Saturday, October 6. Check out www.haywardareachamber.com or www.haywardlakes.com for a calendar of events.

Life Is Good, Enjoy!
Gary

Building Green

Green building has gone from a buzzword to front shelf demand by many people wishing to build or purchase a new home. This is a result, of course, of the heightened awareness for environmental and conservation concerns. According to the Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) there is a Green Built Home (GBH) program that signifies an environmentally friendly standard of home building that also keeps costs reasonable. Now there is a definitive checklist of what constitutes a green building that consumers can use. The checklists for new home projects and remodeling projects make it easy for consumers to determine what aspects of a project will comply with the GBH requirements.

GBH focuses its efforts to meet meaningful environmental, health and energy standards and provides a form of building certification. The comprehensive checklist categorizes the three basic requirements that each building project must meet: energy efficiency, indoor air quality and erosion control standards. Builders agree to follow a list of features including site and land use, landscape conservation and storm water management, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor air quality, plumbing and water conservation, waste reduction, recycling and disposal, builder operations and efficient use of space.

The long and short is that GBH-certified homes have less of an impact on the environment and owners will realize greater value. You can get more detailed information regarding enrollment and certification at http://www.greenbuilthome.org/.

Fall has arrived in our County and peak colors aren’t far away so come on up and visit! Have a great weekend.

Life Is Good, Enjoy!
Gary Nathan

All the World’s a Stage

All the World’s a Stage

In the July issue of Home Delivery there was an excellent blurb about staging one’s home for selling. This is good stuff even for those of us in the “north woods” who may be selling our homes or thinking about selling in the near future.

“Does your home have a façade only a homeowner could love? Selling a home can be an emotional experience, and people can lack objectivity when it comes to their own abode. Presenting a home in its best light is always important, but it’s imperative in a competitive market. Professional advice and assistance can make the difference between “Wow!” and “Whaaa?” - a recent industry study found that staged homes sold for 6.9 percent more than homes that were not staged. Another study compared listing times before and after staging. Homes that had first been offered for sale without staging were on the market an average of 4.5 months; the same homes sold within a week, on average, after being staged.”

Believe me the market is competitive and I concur that staging is very helpful in addition to some other ideas we have put together. For more information on designers and staging give us a call at 715-634-2110.

We have received much needed rain this week; the end of the week and weekend forecast is for sun and 80 degree weather; come see us!

Life is good, Enjoy!

Gary Nathan &
Amanda Mavis

What Can We Expect?

The market woes of last week cause many investors to ask what one can expect. Wall Street is pretty weird sometimes. Despite the fact that earnings, for the most part, are accelerating, economic growth has picked up, core inflation is down and the Fed is probably going to lower rates, we get a big sell off. Talk about reacting without thinking.

In real estate I find buyers to be pretty cautious and think through their options before making a final decision. Most do a really good job of checking out value before jumping into a real estate deal just because it “feels” right. The slowdown in the housing market has caused buyers to do more homework. Conversely it has caused sellers to do a better job of staging their homes and being more reasonable in pricing. Out of the negative we get some good positives as well.

Real Estate in our area continues to do well because we are a second home, vacation home and retirement haven. Expect that to continue!

It has been another beautiful summer, come and see us and enjoy a little bit of heaven here on earth!

Life Is Good……Enjoy!

Gary Nathan