How many bedrooms?

How much of a house do you need? When you start looking for your place, the first question you need to answer is how many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want or need. The question sounds simply only on the surface. There are few philosophies you can use to help you to the final number.

Now and in the future

One approach is very logical, but requires planning ahead. Consider how many years you plan to stay in the house? Will your kids still live at home at that time? Will you have more children? Can siblings share a room? Will you parents would want to move in, to help take care of the kids – or be taken care of? This should give you a good idea how many bedrooms do you need. Add a guest bedroom or an office if you plan to work from home or host relatives dropping by with a visit.

Each one their own

Another approach asks you to do simple math. Count a room per person you expect to live in the house, and add one bedroom for guests. This risks too many spaces (it counts for example two bedrooms for a couple) and paying to heat and light unused space – it will also add to your property tax. However, it will come handy if the house you select will not have a dedicated space for a home office, typically located off the main entrance – or a non-conforming bedroom to be turned into an office. A non-conforming bedroom is a room without a closet and window or with window that is higher than 4 feet high above the floor.

Resell approach

The third one considers resale value, and essentially suggests to get a so called “cookie-cutter” house of 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Those houses are also easier to rent if you decide to turn it into source of income in the future. Above 4 bedrooms, it’s considered luxury home, which might be harder to sell in the future.

A bit about bathrooms

That is a whole topic by itself. It all boils down to personal preference, where you want to have bathrooms, and how many you think your family lifestyle will require. If you entertain often, half bathroom by the living room is extremely useful. It provides privacy for the rest of the house and is convenient for the whole family.

At least one bathroom per livable level is a must. At the same time, if a level contains only family or living room-kitchen area, half bath will do. Beyond that, the decision is really down to your personal preference. It becomes popular for each bedroom to have its own bathroom. Sometimes you have cute Jack-and-Jill bathrooms for adjoining bedroom, very practical solution. Again, typical house will have 2.5 bath, and for most families, it should be perfect.

Reality check

Next, the number of rooms itself does not determine the size of the house. The rooms can be bigger, a good idea if you want siblings of similar age share the room. If the bedrooms are smaller, each kid can have its own space without adding too much to the whole house.

Make a decision based on what you think appropriate number of rooms will serve you best – and than consider the square footage you can actually afford. For affordability, use the rule of thumb for value of the house to be at 3 time your annual household income. Depending on the average prices of square footage in the area you are moving to (check our Community pages for prices around Madison, WI), you should be able to quickly calculate what you can afford. With that, give us a call or send us an email (click here for contact information), we can take it from here!

Community

Appreciate your teachers

This morning Iza asked me a question – “Which one of your teachers do you remember the most?” To my blank stare she added “It’s Teachers Appreciation Week, you should write something about one of yours”.

Over my career I was subject to countless (one could argue futile) attempts to educate me by tens if not hundreds of different teachers. Most of them I could not remember for the life of me. But I do remember a handful. Those few that somehow stayed with me through the rest of my life. Coincidentally those are the same teachers that at the time I severely disliked and were at the very bottom of my ‘favorite teachers’ list.

Like my Polish language teacher, who in her, what seemed to us 90s, but in reality probably 50s, was so strict on any grammar and spelling mistakes that we were scared to even get in that room. But who also surprised me by praising my unusual approach to an essay she assigned us to write. She taught me that I shouldn’t worry about independent thinking.

Or my math teacher who insisted to treat us as adults throughout our high school, allowing us to choose whether we wanted out parents to even talk to him (and you’ve probably guessed it, my parents were never bothered having to come to school for any reason) with all the good and bad that can only come from that.

And last but not least, my English teacher, who was so adamant that we have to learn foreign language that most of the class became finalist in regional foreign language competition and two spending year in US in exchange program. Comes in handy every day.

Those were the most dreaded teachers back then. I didn’t like to go to their classes, I disliked the amount of material they had us to learn and despised the discipline…

Today…. Today I wish all of them were like that.

This week is Teachers Appreciation Week. Slow down, reflect for a second and say thank you to your favorite ones. And double thank to the rest of them.

Community

Choosing a school

Finding the perfect school for your child only adds stress to already complicated process of moving. We split the process into eight easy steps. Tackle one at the time to be sure you make the perfect choice.

Did you know?

There are five types of schools in USA:

Public
Magnet public
Charter
Private secular
Private religious

Try to select desired school and neighborhood combo together. You are not guaranteed a spot in your selected school, and you might not be able to afford a house in your desired neighborhood. Pick at least one backup school and neighborhood location.
When choosing school take into consideration your child’s learning style (lecture vs hands on?), special needs (languages? advanced placement? support of learning disabilities?) and interests, like languages, theater or sports. Make “must have” and “nice have” lists to help make comparisons and narrow down choices.
Consult your child’s current teachers. Ask them for suggestions and recommendations. Talk about your their learning style and recommended school environment (for example large or small school).
Consider your needs as parents. Would other parents share your values? Do you want to have volunteering opportunities or would you rather have full support for working parents? How will your commute look like, is there a space to drop off and pick up up your child comfortably? Does school offer school bus, and is there a distance limit on where you can live to use the bus?

Rankings of schools in Madison, WI area

Consult sites like Great Schools or Niche.com for current rankings of schools. Read the final note, but consider how the note was obtained, what where the criteria.
Check school district’s website. While the quality of those sites vary greatly from district to district, you still be able to read the updates and study the events. Check our Community pages, we provided links to that place school districts.
Look up prospective teachers’ web sites. It will allow you to learn about their personalities, teaching styles and types of project they assign.
Visit the school if at all possible. Get the feel for friendliness of staff and other parents, how teachers and children’s interact, how does facilities look and feel for you.
Connect with other parents. Gauge their opinion about school, facilities, teachers and other students.

Community

Movers for Moms charity drive

This spring, Madison area Keller Williams agents partnered with Two Men and a Truck in supporting Movers for Moms national charity drive. This is 14th year of the program, and 9th of drive across the country.

Make your mother proud

During the program, donations are collected to support local women’s and family shelters. The purpose is to provide small gifts for women who are victims of domestic abuse or homelessness. All items will be delivered on Mother’s Day, May 9.

Two Men and a Truck was started by a mom, has women in key leadership roles across the company, and some of the most successful franchise owners are women. It was natural idea.

In 2021, The Korwels team will collect donations from two neighborhoods in Sauk City, Wi. We will distribute program fliers on Saturday, April 23 in the afternoon. Items will be collected the following Saturday, May 1 after 3 pm, for delivery to Two Men and a Truck location in Madison.

Items to donate

Nice soaps
Hair styling products
Shampoo/conditioner
Nail polish and other fun toiletries
Pillows
Blankets
Slippers
Robes
Other items to pamper these women

You can also donate online though one of Amazon wishlists:

More details about the program can be found online on Facebook and Twitter.

Seller

Getting ready for garage sale

You do not have to be selling your home and moving across the country to want to declutter- and earn few dollars in the process. Now, when the temperature is climbing and days are getting longer, it’s perfect time for Garage Sale season!

When you start your spring cleaning, look around the house and in all of your storage areas. Do inventory of each of the storage spaces: garage, attic, spare bedroom closet, and yes, yours (and your kids) summer and winter wardrobe. Anything you have not used in last 12 month is a good candidate to go. It is a good rule of thumb for clothes, decor, and even books in your must read pile.

Don’t censor and dismiss any item. One person’s trash is another person treasure. Besides, if any item doesn’t sell in your garage sale (best strategies below), simply donate leftovers next day to your favorite charity (Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army etc.). You already made the decision to part with those items, didn’t you? Drop the. Off same day. And save the receipt for your charitable tax deduction.

Ahead of time

Do your homework. Check your Communities: HOA association and city regulations regarding garage sales. Is it allowed on your property? Do you need any permits? This is also a good time to check if no city or block wide events are not being planned in the area that will advertise and bring crowds of people.
Plan date and time. If you are not joining a larger event, the best time is to schedule on a first Saturday of the month (people have paycheck to spend), before noon. If weather is nice people are most likely to be out and about. Check and re-check the forecast.
Talk to your neighbors. You can either talk them into joining you, or offer to sell some of their overflow items. They can also assist in putting the word out to their friends.
Advertise. Put the info out on your social media accounts. Place a note on local groups boards, like Facebook groups or on NextDoor. Use garage sale website to spread the word out: some examples are Garage Sale Finder or Yard Sale Search. Be specific what types of items you will have for sale and provide some photos to build interest.
Sort and prepare. Wash and iron clothes, dust off books and furniture, clean sporting equipment.
Price your items. Place small labels with prices on every item you plan to sell. Good rule of thumb is to price items at 20% of their original value. However, items in the range $1 to $5 dollars will sell the quickest. Perhaps you can organize items in the same categories and sell for same price? For example- all books $3, all dresses $10. After all, main idea is to declutter, not to make money.

Evening before the sale

Put signs out. Unless your garage sale is part of city or block wide event, put plenty of signs, balloons and arrows around area. Make it easy to notice and find you.
Visit your Bank. Garage sale is a cash business and you’ll need to have a way to give change back. Ask tellers for $1 bills. If you plan on asking less than full dollar amounts – get some coins too.
Organize your items. Sort everything in clear categories, similar to the ones you see in department stores: clothes, toys, decor, books etc.
Get ready. Prepare and organize all items and accessories evening before the event, for example in the garage, for speedy set up in the morning.

On the day

Keep your house safe. Keep the doors to your house locked, and set out note “no public restrooms”. You can add directions to closest public facilities, for example corner gas station.
Provide packing materials. If you have many small things, having a supply of cardboard boxes and or plastic shopping bags can come in handy. It also helps to declutter your place of those items.
Separate free items. Put aside a clearly marked box with items you are willing to give away for free. Side note: Mark “not for sale” any items in visitors view that are not for sale to avoid confusion!
Provide barrier. Do not put any items directly on the ground. Place them on the table, tarp, etc. It just makes them more desirable – and easier to reach.
Hang clothing. Present clothes, particularly adult clothes that are typically hard to sale, on hangers and on a rack. It will make them more appealing. Pro tip: set up a mirror by the rack to try items on!
Allow testing electric items. Set an extension cord to allow to plug in and test working condition of any appliances etc.
Create experience. Play some music, sell bottled water to drink, if weather is hot.
Sit down and enjoy. Set up a chair in shady spot with good view of your display and observe.

Buyer

Tax benefits of owning your home

Oceans of paper have been filled with dissertations whether it is more beneficial to rent vs. own your home. You can read our own take on it here… One thing that very few sources mention are potential tax benefits* of owning your home. In some cases they can tip the scale substantially towards the ownership side.

How can owning a house save you money?

1. Mortgage interest

Chances are that you have a mortgage on your house. And at the end of each year you’re receiving a form from your financial institution detailing how much interest you’ve paid over the course of the year. Save that form. Interest paid on mortgage used to finance your primary residence is tax deductible. But you probably knew that. Mortgage interest deduction is one of the most common ones claimed by tax payers.

2. Property tax deduction

You may deduct up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) for a combination of property taxes and either state and local income taxes or sales taxes.

You might be able to deduct property and real estate taxes you pay on your:

Primary home
Co-op apartment
Vacation homes
Land

3. Home office deduction

Do you run small business out of your home? Is that space used exclusively for business? If yes the IRS allows you to deduct utilities, real estate taxes, repairs, maintenance and other related expenses. The details of this deduction are too complex to list it in this post, but the simplest way is to claim standard deduction of $5 per square foot (up to $1,500) of the space dedicated as office use.

4. Energy efficiency updates and credits

As a homeowners can claim a federal tax credit for making certain improvements to their homes or installing appliances that are designed to boost energy efficiency. Solar, wind, geothermal, and fuel cell technology are all eligible for the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit.

Disclaimer: we are Realtors, not tax attorneys or CPA, so the above should be treated as anecdotal. Please consult with your tax preparer before you claim any of the credits.

Tips around the house

Spring around the house

First warm days of season are upon us, and with this, it feels good just going outside after long months of cabin fever (particularly if you live up North). It is a good time to take a walk around your house, backyard, and garden, and check on everything after the winter season. Even if you live in an apartment, there are things you can do, so please continue reading our tips collected from around the Internet.

On your balcony or deck

Clean patio furniture. Soapy water and soft brush or sponge will do the trick for most types of materials.
Wash the pillows and outdoor rugs. Check the manufacturer’s instruction if fabrics can be washed in the washing machine.
Give your grill thorough scrub. Long-handled stiff-wire brush works on all types of grates.
Refill propane tank for grill to be ready for first grilling of the season (we already started ours!)
Check the deck surface: does it need any repairs? Maybe fresh coat of paint is in order this year?
Consider planting containers with ornamental plants, maybe even vegetables or herbs. Particularly if you do not have a big yard or live in condo, few containers will add life to your outdoor space.

Around the outside of your house

Wash your windows, from outside and inside. You will see so much more light coming in. My recently discovered quick tip – glass cleaner and squeegee.
Replace any used exterior light bulbs, on house walls, in the walkways, on the deck.
Check and clean gutters and spouts, make repairs if needed.
Hose down or power wash home exterior.
Check your roof for any obvious problems.
Check your fence if you have one: does it need any repairs? Is it in need of fresh coat of paint?

Lawn and backyard

Clean your lawn: brush back all remaining fall leaves and remove fallen branches. Pick up litter and any pet waste.
Identify bold spots in your lawn. Mix seeds with fresh soil and fertilizer and seed fresh grass. Remember to keep it moist until it starts growing!
Prune all shrubs and trees – it will encourage new growth
Check water hoses for cracks and leaks. Make any needed repairs – or buy new parts.

In the garden (or container garden)

Remove winter layer of mulch if you had any placed to cover plants from freezing
Add new layer of mulch around trees and shrubs
Cut majority of stalks of ornamental grasses to have them come back fresh
Pull any dead annuals. Consider replacing them new ones?
Remove dead growth of perennials, they will come back fresh and strong.
Take an inventory of plants you already have – and start planing what you want to add when time comes. Make shopping list of seeds or plants.
Build new vegetable beds if you need more/new ones. They will be ready when you need them!
Now it is also good time to seed cold-loving vegetables, for example salad greens or radishes. You will be able to enjoy them in no time.

Seller

Staging a house

Did you know?

In 2019, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) conducted a Profile of Home Staging and found that 28% agents stage homes they list for sale, while 13% of agents admitted to staging only difficult to sale homes. Of those agents, 22% reported that their homes sold for 1% to 5% more thanks to staging, 17% said their homes sold for 6% to 10% more. About a third thought that staging decreased the time the house was on the market.

9 basic tips for house staging

Staging the home you continue living in is a bit different than staging an empty place. Your focus should be on showing how much space there is already in your home, how much natural light there is and how much storage your house offers. Keep also in mind that having your house presentable is equally important in the Seller Market like we experience right now, not only in Byers Market! You do want to secure more offers and ultimately get a better price – and have house sold in less time.

Here are some quick ideas how to approach staging your own place, with items you already own. It is as much about addition as it is about subtraction!

Start from improving your house curb appeal by tidying the yard and exterior. Mow the lawn, clean last year leaves and weeds, trim the plants, organize toys and sporting equipment. Consider power washing the siding.
Focus on main areas. Buyers pays the most attention to: living room and master bedroom. If there is a master suite, master bathroom is a must.
Make the place look inviting – and sparking Buyers imagination of their family occupying the space. It has to look lived in, at the same time not too personal. Remove your family photos, put away your clothes and toiletries. Add some tasteful art or nature and landscape photos. Put up pillows and plants to add color and life.
Declutter. If you choose to follow only one tip on the list, this would be the one. Spend time putting away things you do not use very often. You can even already pack them away in moving boxes. Keep shelves, tables and countertops minimal – but leave out some neutral decorations (again, flowers, natural objects like shells etc.).
Reduce the amount of furniture in rooms. Make the space visually larger, and give Buyers space to walk and their children to run.
Remove about two thirds of items from all storage spaces. That including closets, kitchen cabinets, pantry. This will help to highlight how spacious they are.
Deep clean all nooks and crannies. Now it’s the time for that deep cleaning you were postponing. Potential Buyers will really look everywhere!
Consider repainting rooms in modern neutral colors to refresh the walls. This is particularly crucial if your taste is in bold colors that might not suit everyone and scare more traditional Buyers.
For showings, open all curtains and blinds, and turn on all the lights. The more light, the more welcoming your place will look.

Seller

Selling during COVID pandemic

The real estate market in South Central Wisconsin continues to be hot, with record low inventory of houses for sale. Per WRA data for January 2021, the number of houses for sale on the market was 43% lower than in January last year.

There are several reasons for the market situation. Low interest rate entice buyers to look for new and better place, while COVID makes sellers hesitant to open house to a lot of strangers. Those reasons and others, bring the ultimate sale price up among multiple offers competition.

If you are ready or seriously thinking about selling your current house and move or upgrade, now is the perfect time to do that. We prepared a guide for you to address some of your concerns how your COVID concerns can be accommodated.

Buyer

Rent or buy?

This is probably one of the most often asked questions and at the same time one that almost never has a clear cut answer. Our lives differ and what makes it even harder to answer this question is that everyone looks at life through their past experiences and biases.

When our clients or prospects ask us this question here is what we say…

Do you enjoy making your house your home?

Owning a house comes with great freedom of making it your own. While renting, the most you can ask for is probably paint change, but don’t expect to be presented with choice other than white, gray or beige. No landlord will agree to blue, green, red or any other non bland, neutral color, for fear of not being able to rent it again when you leave. Would you like to plant a raised bed garden? Install a play set with slide for your kid? You can forget about it when you rent.

Nobody will kick you out or increase your rent!

Owning a house means that your life is protected. You won’t be surprised by landlord changes, sudden rent increases or outright refusal to renew. No maintenance visits either. How would you feel if somebody regularly ‘inspected’ all your closets or bedrooms?

Uncle Sam prefers home owners

Yes, it is rare that uncle Sam is favoring one group over the other. Yet when it comes to owning the house the government clearly prefers that you own your home. To incentivize you to buy they allow you to deduct interest you pay on your mortgage from your taxes (as always, we are not tax professionals so please ask your tax preparer for details).

Your home can be your retirement fund or savings account

We all know how hard it is to save for the future. There is always this or that expense that gets in the way of regular contributions into your savings account. How about your house? Every single one of your monthly mortgage payments contains growing principal portion. Your equity is growing every month. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate this and am relived that my net worth is constantly growing.

And it brings interest!

Real estate traditionally is the safest way to conservatively grow your wealth. Properties appreciate on average between 5 and 10% every year. Not only does your equity grow because you make monthly contributions. It also brings interest!

One more thing – monthly cost in most cases will be lower

When you rent you not only have to pay for somebody else’s mortgage payment on the house. They also need to pay their property manager, accountant, build some nice maintenance reserves, pay business insurance and in the end, bring a profit. This all usually adds up to about 15% premium over what you would pay as an owner on the same property.

Is it all roses then, right?

Of course not. Sometimes it makes sense to rent. Here are some arguments for renting:

Are you planning to live in the place for at least 4-5 years?

As fun and rewarding as owning a house is, selling it comes with a cost. In addition to our commission you will have to credit the Buyer with prorated property taxes, in some states provide home warranty and title insurance and probably pay for some maintenance, upgrades or repairs requested by the future owners. On average you have to budget between 8 and 10% of your selling price as your cost of selling. Considering that in the beginning your monthly payments cover mostly interest it pays to wait few years before selling to build equity and let the house appreciate. If you plan for short stay, better rent.

Can you do small fixes on your own?

I’m not talking remodeling your kitchen or replacing roof, those are best to be left to professionals. Yet there are many small things (like replacing light bulbs, smoke detectors, cleaning dryer vent or cleaning siding and windows that are normally handled by the owner when you rent). All those are typically included in rent (see the mention of the own maintenance reserves) but if you can do them on your own in your house it will cost you only pennies on the dollar and will greatly lower your cost of ownership. On the other hand if you can’t tell which side of the screwdriver is the business end – better consider renting. The owner will have properly trained crew on call that will take care of those issues efficiently and quickly.

Rent vs. Own. There is no right answer. Only you can make that decision. No matter which way do you choose to go, we’re here to help. Let us know if you have any additional questions or comments, we’ll be happy to help!