First-Time Home Buyers | Stapleton Realty

How to Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2023-04-04T13:15:48-05:00April 4th, 2023|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, Lake Homes, News, Oconomowoc, Selling a Home|

According to a recent Harris Poll survey, 8 in 10 Americans say buying a home is a priority, and 28 million Americans actually plan to buy within the next 12 months. Homeownership provides many financial and nonfinancial benefits, so that interest is understandable. However, it’s unlikely all 28 million Americans will accomplish that goal in the coming year. Experts project a total of around five million homes will be sold in 2023. Why is there such a big difference? It’s partly because there can be challenges to buying a home. In the same survey, when asked, “Which of the following are preventing you from pursuing homeownership at this time?”: 34% answered, “I don’t have enough saved for a [...]

Mortgage Rates Are Dropping. What Does That Mean for You?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2023-01-18T13:42:26-05:00January 18th, 2023|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, Lake Homes, News, Oconomowoc, Selling a Home|

Mortgage rates have been a hot topic in the housing market over the past 12 months. Compared to the beginning of 2022, rates have risen dramatically. Now they’re dropping, and that has to do with everything happening in the economy. Nadia Evangelou, Senior Economist and Director of Forecasting at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), explains it well by saying: “Mortgage rates dropped even further this week as two main factors affecting today’s mortgage market became more favorable. Inflation continued to ease while the Federal Reserve switched to a smaller interest rate hike. As a result, according to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.31% from 6.33% the previous week.” So, what does [...]

Neighborhood Nicknames

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2022-10-05T10:41:47-05:00October 5th, 2022|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, Lake Homes, Oconomowoc, Selling a Home|

Reading an article earlier this month by Bob Dohr of NOW titled “ Why are Milwaukee’s suburbs called what they are?” had me thinking about how even within the City of Oconomowoc, the areas have official names and nicknames. West of Downtown and north of Wisconsin Avenue is “Merchants Plat” as it is currently known, where the houses designed by Roy Henszey for the Carnation Company executives are found along Woodland Lane Glenview Avenue. Just east of Fowler Lake you find “Presidential Row” or “The President’s Streets”, comprised of streets surrounding North Oakwood named Washington, Wilson, Madison, Harding, and Roosevelt. The flower patch is an array of flower names, Lily, Rose, Blue [...]

Is the Market Still HOT?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2022-10-05T10:36:03-05:00October 5th, 2022|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, News, Oconomowoc, Selling a Home|

Many people watch the real estate market with great interest. It is fun to imagine what we could sell our homes for or to see what the houses near us are selling for. Without question, these past months have been some of the hottest months in real estate in the Lake Country in years. We have seen a much smaller inventory, which has driven the prices for what comes for sale up. On top of the increased prices, multiple offers have come in with greater than asking offer amounts, escalator clauses and no contingencies. Many buyers have thrown up the white flag for the moment in hopes “things will calm down.” [...]

How to Choose…

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2022-07-26T15:09:30-05:00July 26th, 2022|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, Lake Homes, Selling a Home|

When you are looking to start the process of buying or selling a home, what is your “step one”? First things first, you are going to need a Realtor. We believe that when it comes to finding your Realtor, it is very important to find someone you can relate with. The journey of buying or selling a home can be emotional, frustrating, and a bit stressful at times- but if you have someone you can trust and feel comfortable with during this process, it will make all the difference in the world. Take the time to read through different Realtor’s bios online, check out their Agency’s reviews, and maybe even meet for [...]

What is the attraction of Lake Country?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2021-07-16T11:19:54-05:00July 16th, 2021|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, Lake Homes, Oconomowoc, Selling a Home|

Why are people moving to the Lake Country Area in droves? There are several reasons…The Lake Country Area which includes the charming communities of Pewaukee, Delafield, Hartland, Merton, Nashotah, Chenequa, Okauchee, Oconomowoc, Summit, Lac La Belle and more, have an abundance of beautiful lakes. There are approximately 25 of them in this immediate area. There are also many parks and recreational places where you can hike, bike, golf and camp. Lake Country provides a peaceful atmosphere that seems to be a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Milwaukee and Chicago. That being said, it is still a relatively easy commute to Milwaukee or Madison. At Stapleton Realty, we’ve recently [...]

What is a Seller’s Market and how does it affect you?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2021-05-11T15:43:10-05:00April 20th, 2021|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, Selling a Home|

Currently in the US, the majority of the housing market is a Seller’s market. Home prices are rising and inventory is tight, meaning there are not enough houses on the market for buyers. We also know that it is a seller’s market because the “DOM”, (days on the market), are very short, often less than 10 days. In a lot of areas, the final sales price is exceeding the list price.Here are a few factors that are contributing to a “Seller’s market”: Population growth- When there is an influx of people moving to a town or a specific area, the demand for housing usually exceeds the supply. This is certainly true for [...]

How can we help you?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2021-03-12T14:58:59-05:00March 12th, 2021|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, News, Selling a Home|

Q: Why use Stapleton to buy or sell your home? A: Our Realtors chose to work at Stapleton because it is a small agency with a deliberate focus on providing our clients with personal service. We have a Google 5 star rating because of this focus. Q: Is Stapleton exclusive in what they sell: Lake properties, price range or residential. A: Stapleton Realtors can help to sell homes on a lake or off-water, in any price range, and have experience selling condos, vacant land or any other type of property you have to sell. Q:How should I choose a real estate company? A: Because this is a personal financial choice, you need a company in which you see a [...]

Life Transition Points and the Effect on the Housing Market

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2020-11-17T13:42:02-05:00November 17th, 2020|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, News, Selling a Home|

This year, 2020, has offered us so many different challenges, but the housing market has stayed hot. How could that be? Record layoffs, unprecedented unemployment, stock market volatility and so on. The housing market has been hot: a low inventory of for sale homes, many people in the market to buy motivated by low interest rates and ability to move where they want to live while working remotely. If you could live anywhere and work from home, you might choose to live in an area with outdoor attractions, closer to your family, or perhaps where you grew up. A lot of what was for years, attractive about living in big cities, has [...]

Why Inspect?

Bonnie Lewis-Tschannen2020-11-17T13:35:33-05:00September 11th, 2020|Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, News|

The process of buying a home is nerve racking for many reasons. It is a large investment; it is the beginning of a lot of work to move from your old home and it is change. Worrying about what shape the home we are buying is in, is important, but most of us do not know enough about home conditions to evaluate our new purchase. Most realtors would suggest you hire a home inspector. Their job is to go through the home you are buying and to look for things that may be an added expense for you or may be dangerous. They are not there to evaluate the cosmetics of the [...]