1930's Charmer / Madison WI Real Estate

Close to the ever popular Atwood neighborhood, this 1930's charmer is full of that “near east side" character, but at a fraction of the cost! You’ll love the arched doorways, original wood floors, baseboards, doors, art deco door knobs/escutcheon plates, telephone nook, and YES, there are wood floors under the carpet upstairs! [wds id="7"]

A warm and inviting sunroom connects to the large deck, which overlooks a HUGE sunny, fenced in yard. Mature, fruit bearing Gala & Macintosh apple trees in the front yard create nice privacy from the street.

Some updates include refinished hardwood floors & fresh paint, newer windows & insulation, driveway, roof over sunroom, new carpet in sunroom, newer high efficiency washer & dryer. The kitchen boasts newly installed can lights, a new dishwasher, garbage disposal & Corian countertops.

Oh, the places you'll go! Walk to the following:

La Taguara (a DELICIOUS family owned Venezuelan restaurant- highly rated!) Pedro’s Mexican Restaurante Brother’s Three Bar & Grill Lazy Oaf Lounge Boulders Climbing Gym Gardener’s Bakery Retail Outlet (In case you ever wonder where those amazing smells are coming from) Hawthorne Elementary School & playground. The school features multiple playgrounds for kids of all ages and stages, as well as an open field and blacktop games. You can actually see the school from the house- it’s basically across the street. several major busline stops Walgreens The Vinery Stained Glass Studio Madison College Carpenter Ridgeway Park- A great little gem, tucked back against the peaceful Starkweather Creek path! This park features an open field and playground equipment, plus the city’s first-ever walking meditation labyrinth, all right along the bike trail. Starkweather Conservation Park Thurber Park Walking, Running & Biking paths! (see the Carpenter-Ridgeway Map/Guide here)

House Facts $225,000 / 4 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms / 1.5 car garage / 1964 finished square feet

Swing by our open house on 6/18 from 11-1! Showings also begin on 6/18.

The Dirty Secrets Behind Zestimates

A while back, we uncovered the truth about the accuracy of our beloved Zillow's "Zestimate."A recent article by the Washington Post made us wonder, are Zestimates totally invalid or do they still provide value to home buyers and home sellers seeking the hard facts behind the Madison, WI real estate market? Read on to draw your own conclusions and if you're a homeowner asking "But what can I do to improve my Zestimate?" - don't fret! The answers are just a click away! Read more >

For Sale By Owner: What I'd Do Differently

My husband and I had just tied the knot. My domestic urges must have been in overdrive, because within days of the wedding, I found a house on a Madison "for sale by owner" website that seemed so perfectly us.

I had been combing the Madison WI MLS as a matter of habit -- but I had gone to only a handful of open houses, and I really hadn’t moved from curious to serious. We loved the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood, where we were renting an apartment. However, we also wanted to keep our mortgage affordable and not sacrifice our lifestyle in order to pay our housing costs.

Unfortunately, everything in our ideal area that even came close to our comfortable price point needed an incredible amount of work! We’d seen The Money Pit  -- and we had been warned of the ways a fixer-upper can take over your life (for better or worse), so we were focused on our first home being as move-in ready as possible.

In the end, this two-bedroom house a little further beyond our ideal area held all of the charm we were looking for -- plus a kitchen and bathroom that were both generously sized and updated. As seasoned apartment dwellers, we thought two bedrooms seemed like more than enough space, and we were willing to overlook the lack of garage for the large basement and walk-up attic. One fast month later, it was ours, and we were moving in! A happy ending!

Now, I'm armed with 6+ years of life experience and a real estate license. I can look back and offer the following kernels of wisdom to “first-time-homebuyer me” and others.

Lessons I've learned:

1. Know your priorities. We sacrificed on location to get the house we wanted for our price. Was this a good decision for us? Probably. We’ve been able to comfortably roll with life’s punches (several job changes, new babies, travel opportunities) thanks to a very affordable monthly payment. However, location is the one thing you can never change about your house, and this will absolutely top our criteria for our next purchase. We really miss being in a more walkable area, and have some new family-related neighborhood priorities. I also think my husband will insist on a garage next time around! There will always be trade-offs; it’s about weighing them and making the best choice for you and your lifestyle. Make a prioritized list of your wants and needs at the start of your search and use it to keep yourself honest.

2. Hire a "Wisconsin Registered" Home Inspector. We asked a family member who is a licensed professional home contractor to look at the house for us. He helped us go into the purchase with our eyes open about some of the home's potential issues. But, even if he had pointed out every defect that a home inspector would have found, we wouldn’t have been able to use his findings to negotiate with the sellers, per the state-approved Offer to Purchase contract. This basically meant we bought our home "as-is." When we go to sell our home, chances are the buyer will want a formal inspection, and we’ll be on the hook for issues that may have been present in the home when we purchased it. The money spent on a qualified home inspector pays off up front in negotiations and down the road in peace of mind. A professional home inspection and report is in the best interest of every buyer.

3. Work with a buyer’s agent. We bought the home on our own, from a seller who was selling it on their own. While I don’t have a horror story to accompany this scenario, I do wish we had used a professional buyer’s agent to guide us through the process and help us pay attention to the details we overlooked. Sellers pay the buyer’s agent commission 99% of the time, so it makes sense to employ a seasoned buyer’s agent who can advocate for you and manage the paperwork and other details of buying a home, which can otherwise be pretty stressful. While we felt like we purchased the home for a fair price, now I know how much information should be used when determining market value, and we didn’t consider all of the pieces in the puzzle. When we go to sell our home, we will be subject to the market conditions and recent comparable sales when choosing a listing price and negotiating with a buyer, so it pays off to work with someone who knows this data when you buy.

I’m looking forward to finding our next home in the coming year or two and applying what I’ve learned to advocate for my family in the process. Our home has treated us well over the years, so I also look forward to giving it new life with its next owners!

Want to learn more? I welcome your questions and would love to apply my experience and professional knowledge to help make your next home-buying experience a positive one!

New Listing: 105 N. Ingersoll Street

1,250 square feet // 3 bedrooms, bath // $229,900

We're so excited about ROOST's latest listing at 105 N. Ingersoll Street -- a charmer of a home, right in the heart of Madison's Isthmus! Check out a few photos below, plus many more on our Trulia page!

[photo_gallery] [image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="living room, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh29db68cb8e857f2d1e5ec542d18a11b-ps63ae402c76b450f9833fc060d3dbcfdf-105-N-Ingersoll-St-Madison-WI-53703.jpg[/image] [image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="dining room, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh2cfd286b17cf99e98cfc46ff36d882c-ps39982ee2786ee2096fab8d5e8d9cb6.jpg[/image] [image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="kitchen, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh843e654357df1409b27a070a0c24a9-psbb59a2458fa696d78b26f77ddbf977e.jpg[/image]

[image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="kitchen, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uhe7b5f9fbea82b19e485f1e1d36ce95b-pscc8ebe1dca8912f6a27c6db5bfd1361-1.jpg[/image] [image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="master bedroom, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh96d1137d17dc1ccc5d327b5afb7394-ps61c988b6ada576de16559652db6a.jpg[/image]

[image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="second bedroom, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh1491faabab6bdc2fbac0bc74252afc-pse8b7a0d829979a537d06eaba21c28e3.jpg[/image]

[image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="second floor bath, 105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uhb0c07d481b45ac967d61db584c1597e-psbc3a3a385989ec7dec5a5c8047cb2f31.jpg[/image] [image thumb_width="135" thumb_height="135" lightbox="true" custom_link="" title="105 N. Ingersoll Street" caption=""]http://www.roostinmadison.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/picture-uh672a860b52e284fde1d2f087c88021-ps204ea42fdd91ed5cf56e4cf0977f6bc3.jpg[/image] [/photo_gallery]

Homes like this don't come around often. This two-story, 3 bed/2 bath home lives large -- with a sizable kitchen, dining room and living room, and a bedroom and full bath all on the main floor, plus two more bedrooms and a second bath upstairs. The newer roof, siding, and windows will give you peace of mind, while the original maple floors, arched doorways, and solid wood doors add abundant charm and unique architectural detail.

Outside, the cozy, urban yard offers space for a patio or garden bed -- plus ample off-street parking, which can be hard to find on the Isthmus. This home offers easy access to all that makes near-east living so desirable -- live on the bicycle boulevard, within a short walk to the many restaurants, coffee shops, bars, Willy Street Coop, and other local businesses in the Tenney Lapham and Willy St/Marquette neighborhoods.

This location really has it all: Live near three of Madison's most exciting upcoming developments -- the 700 block of East Washington, the 800 block of East Washington, and Madison's own Central Park. Plus, a short bike ride gets you downtown and to the UW campus -- enjoy a stroll around the Capitol square for the Saturday farmer's market, or meet friends for a summertime beverage at the Memorial Union Terrace overlooking Lake Mendota.

If you're interested in a move-in ready home with all that Isthmus living has to offer, this is the home for you.

The details:

• 105 N. Ingersoll Street, Madison, WI
• $229,900
• 3 bedrooms
• 2 baths
• 1,250 square feet
• Off-street parking
• First floor: Living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, full bath
• Second floor: Master bedroom, second bedroom, full bath
• Updates include: roof, siding, windows, and new front porch
• Move-in ready!

For more info and photos, visit this home's Trulia page!