Why You Should Move to Madison, WI: We've Won All These Awards!

Top 10 Outdoor-Oriented Towns
Yahoo! Real Estate, Fall 2007

Best Farmers' Market in Nation
Eating Well, August 2007

Top Medium-Sized Metro in the Arts
Creative Class Group, May 2007

#1 Walking City
Prevention, April 2007

Top 20 Children's Museums in America
Grand Magazine, March 2007

Best Road Biking Town in America
Outside, August 2006

#1 City for Cycling
Bicycling, March 2006

Most Romantic U.S. City
USAWeekend.com, February 2006

Top 10 Places for Outdoor Activities
Spearling's Best Places, Fall 2005

Top 10 Places to Live the Athletic Life
geezerJock, Fall 2005

2005 Award for Garden Excellence, Olbrich Botanical Gardens
American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta, Summer 2005

Best Game-Day Atmosphere
Sports Illustrated on Campus, September 2005

Top 10 Best Places for Families
Richard Florida and the Creative Class Exchange, May 2008

Top 10 Most Livable Cities
2007 Places Rated Almanac, Spring 2007

Top 30 Best Towns in America
Outside, August 2007

Middleton: Best Place to Live
Money, August 2007

Top 25 Best Cities to Live
Kiplinger's Personal Finance, June 2007

Top 10 Greenest Cities
Yahoo! Real Estate, May 2007

Top 100 Best Places to Live
Money, August 2006

Top 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live
50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live, Gregory A. Kompes, Fall 2005

#3 in 100 Healthiest Cities for Pregnancy
BabyFit.com, December 2005

(Information from Madison Magazine, http://www.madisonmagazine.com/)

Madison Area Beer and Wine Tours

1. Ale Asylum
   3698 Kinsman Blvd.
   aleasylum.com
   Price: Free
   Dates/times: Saturdays, 6 p.m.
   Describe it, 10 words or less: Industrial meets chic. Plus, $2 pints after the tour.
   Don’t miss: The labels—owner Otto Dilba says their label artwork has to pass the “tattoo test.” “A design won’t go to press unless it’s something … a person [would] want to get tattooed on their body.”
   
   
2. Botham Vineyards
   8180 Langberry Rd., Barneveld
   bothamvineyards.com
   Price: $3
   Dates/times: By appointment for groups of fifteen or more. But the tasting room is open March through December (check the website for days and times).
   Describe it, 10 words or less:
   A friendly, unpretentious mingling of wines, automobilia and gorgeous scenery.
   Don’t miss: The Vintage Celebration in August, when vintage automobiles are
   showcased at the peak of the growing season.
   
   
3. Capital Brewery
   7734 Terrace Ave., Middleton
   capital-brewery.com
   Price: $3
   Dates/times: Fridays, 3:30 p.m., Saturdays 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
   Describe it, 10 words or less: Island Wheat, Wisconsin Amber, Supper Club. Need we say more?
   Don’t miss: We all know about the outdoor Bier Garten, open May–September. But drop by during the cooler months for a drink in the lesser-known Bier Stube, a cozy bar that’s open Tuesday–Saturday year-round.
   
   
4. New Glarus Brewing Co.
   2400 State Hwy. 69, New Glarus
   newglarusbrewing.com
   Price: Free self-guided tour.
   Dates/times: Mondays–Sundays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
   Describe it, 10 words or less: You can’t get their brews outside of Wisconsin—literally.
   Don’t miss: Three things: the renovated hilltop facility, the tasting room where you can sample brews daily from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Wisconsin Cran-bic, part of brewmaster Dan Carey’s limited-edition “Unplugged” beer series. Carey will roll out a new set of Unplugged beers in 2010, too.
   
   
5. Wollersheim Winery
   7876 State Rd. 188, Prairie du Sac.
   wollersheim.com
   Price: $3.50
   Dates/times: Tours start daily at 10:15 a.m. and run until 4:15 p.m.
   Describe it, 10 words or less: California vistas in Wisconsin.
   Don’t miss: The west coast views are more than mere coincidence at this Midwestern winery: the first owner of the vineyard, Hungarian Count Agoston Haraszthy, left Wisconsin in 1849 for California and is known as the founder of that state’s wine industry.
   

(List from http://www.madisonmagazine.com/, article titled "Seize the City! 62 things every Madisonian should do in 2010" by Brennan Nardi, Shayna Miller, and Katie Vaughn. Photo from http://blog.wisconsinbrewerytour.com/)

Don't Feel Bad SpongeBob!

Madison, WI: Home Value Trends

This chart compares home values over the last several years in the Madison, Fitchburg, Middleton, Mount Horeb, and Waunakee areas.

Send Your Name to Mars!!

http://marsparticipate.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/

Follow the above link to send your name to

Mars

on a microchip carried by
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover!

Video: Cross Plains' St. Francis Football

It's the little Catholic School that could. It has 200 kids that play football and that's the same as the entire population of the school. The program has such a great reputation kids from all over the area come to play for St. Francis Xavier in Cross Plains. They have a rich tradition of sportsmanship and winning. It's viewed as a feeder program for the perennial powerhouse Middleton High School Football Cardinals. One of their players has even gone pro. Patty Loew reports on the secret to their success.

Click here to watch the video from Wisconsin Public Television.

Click here to volunteer to help support Wisconsin Public Television.

Good News, Sellers!

Sick of dirty footprint trails around your home after a Showing to potential Buyers? Well now you can leave your Swiffer in the closet, because we've ordered a huge supply of "Disposable Shoe Covers" that will easily stretch around your guest's shoes and keep the mess off your floors!

(Photo by Abs, Modeled by Miss Mahliss)

All Star Rodeo Challenge 2010 in Madison, Wisconsin

• When:
  Friday, January 15, 2010 and Saturday, January 16, 2010 from 7:30 pm to 10 pm
  
• Where:
  Alliant Energy Center Coliseum
  
• Description:
  This rodeo event will surely be a hit with the entire family! There will be bulls, broncs and babes to entertain and amaze. All cowboys in each event will be matched up against the rankest bucking horses and bulls in the nation. And some of the most talented women in the Midwest will compete on some of the fastest horses in the Midwest. Punkintown, one of the funniest rodeo comedians you'll ever see, will introduce you to Diamond and bust some moves like you have never seen before! Admission - $37 (Gold Buckle), $27& $18.50 Kids 1/2 price day of show, or $5.00 in advance (Excludes Gold Buckle Tickets). Tickets on sale now! For more information visit http://www.allstarrodeochallenge.com/.

(event information from www.alliantenergycenter.com)

Isthmus Beer and Cheese Fest 2010 in Madison, Wi

• When:
  Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 1 pm to 5 pm
  
• Where:
  Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall
  
• Description:
  Taste Wisconsin's finest beer and cheese at this event while learning about what beers go best with what cheeses, chocolates and everyday foods from the experts! You can dance to great live music from the Cork n' Bottle String Band while mixing and mingling in the beer garden. Tickets are limited and can be purchased in advance for $40 at www.TheDailyPage.com/beercheese. Time of event is from 1pm to 5pm. Tickets also available at the Isthmus office (101 King Street), and at Star Liquor, Fromagination, The Malt House, and Steve's Liquor locations. Save $5.00 on tickets at Star Liquor and Fromagination with qualifying purchase. See store for details. Take Union Cab to and from the festival! Show the driver your ticket for a FREE ride to the festival, and/or $5.00 off your ride home.

(event information from http://www.alliantenergycenter.com/)

Notes from Nicole

New Year’s Resolutions. I feel like they’re the same every year: spend more time with my kids, lose weight, become more organized. This year they’re very similar, but with a different twist.

Many of you know that I have a prosthetic leg. Many of you also know that I’ve been struggling for years to lose weight. For the past couple of years I’ve been fantasizing about running a marathon. This last summer I started working out on a regular basis and really watching what I’m eating. So far I am down 44 pounds, but still have quite a ways to go. I started running (more like a glacially paced slow jog) and am able to go a couple of miles (still have a long way to go!), but it’s quite an improvement from even just a few months ago. This year I will be running the ½ marathon in the Madison Marathon on Memorial Day weekend. Towards the end of 2010 my goal is to be in good enough shape to run a full marathon. Along with my training and diet/exercise regimen, I have started to journal my progress. I plan to write a book called “The One Legged Fat Girl Runs a Marathon”, have already started a blog (not publically published yet), and started a YouTube series to chronicle the journey.

This time next year I hope to be writing to you in review of the journey from couch to marathon, and telling lots of exciting tales in between. Hmmm, maybe next year’s resolution will include an Ironman?

Happy New Year!

Foreclosures, Short Sales, and REO: Sorting Out the Confusion

As more families struggle to make mortgage payments on time, we hear more about foreclosures, short sales, and REO homes, but what do these words mean?

It seems that hardly a day goes by that there isn’t a report on the news about the rising foreclosures and the current state of the housing market. While it is unarguably a great time to purchase a home, there seems to be a lot of confusion amongst buyers and sellers on what foreclosures, short sales, and REO’s mean, so here I hope to sort them out.

When you purchase a home that is financed by a lender, you sign a note and mortgage which is your promise to repay that loan. When you stop making payments on that loan, the lender can foreclose, meaning they can take the property back from you. Foreclosures can take a really long time to complete, so it’s usually at least about a year after someone stops making payments on their property until the property goes to Sherriff’s Sale. The bank typically buys it back at the Sherriff’s sale and then the property then becomes owned by the bank. The bank sells the property, known as a REO (Real Estate Owned) listing. The bank typically sells the property as-is and will not make any warranties or representations as to the condition of the property. A buyer is usually able to get a really good price on REO properties as the banks slash the list price in order to get the property to sell quickly and off of the bank’s books.

A short sale is when a lender accepts short of the balance due on the mortgage in exchange for release of title so a person is able to sell their property. This typically happens when the homeowner is already a few months behind on their mortgage, however we are seeing more and more short sales where the owner is still current on their payments but knows they won’t able to be current for much longer. Let’s say you owe $200,000 on your house, the market has declined or you took out mortgages that ate up all the equity in your property and your house is only worth $150,000. With a short sale, after buyer and seller reach an accepted offer, the offer goes to the bank for their approval. So the offer of $150,000 gets submitted to the bank, and the bank approves the $150,000 price, but technically the bank is still owed $50,000. At this point the bank will do one of a few things: 1) Sue the borrower for the deficiency, 2) Reserve the right to sue for deficiency but not actually do it, or 3) Waive the deficiency completely (basically forgiving the difference). Clearly, the third option is the best one for the borrower, and we are seeing more and more banks waive deficiency judgments completely. The beauty of the short sale is that it helps the Seller avoid a foreclosure all together, buyer gets a great deal on the property they are purchasing, and the Seller also is able to avoid the nasty impact that a foreclosure would have.

If a homeowner is late on their mortgage, or is currently struggling with their payments, it’s best that they speak with their Realtor as soon as possible. Realtors like myself, who are CDPE’s (Certified Distressed Property Experts) are extremely familiar with negotiating with banks and the intricacies of the short sale process. It is important that a distressed property owner have the best representation possible. If you, or someone you know is struggling with their monthly housing payments, please don’t wait to have them call. In the world of foreclosures, judgments, and financing, timing is everything!

Madison, Wisconsin: A Trusted and Creative Wedding Planner

By Miranda Walker of
Marry Us Miranda
(608) 772-7802
mwalker@marryusmiranda.com
www.marryusmiranda.com

There are girls that grow up dreaming of finding their soulmate, falling in love, and planning the perfect wedding day. What does your dream wedding look like? Is it a black tie affair in a childhood church? Are there gorgeous flowers and stunning photographs capturing unforgettable moments with family and friends?

Organization, creativity, and coordination are essential to planning the perfect wedding day. Often times I’ve found that brides who try to plan every detail on their own are stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious that some important detail was forgotten. But with a little bit of help and guidance from an expert, the planning process can be fun. It is my goal to take any anxiety out of the special moments leading up to your important day and to have a successful and memorable event.

In the event planning business, professional connections are priceless. I value the knowledge and ideas I have gained while working alongside a variety of other creative professionals. I have been involved in event planning for six years and hold both a general event planning and wedding planning certificate. No party is too big or small. I have planned and coordinated everything from small parties for five to grand banquets for 500, and I love what I do. No matter the occasion, I always get excited to meet new people and plan the perfect event, incorporating the tastes, personalities, and styles of all those involved.

Your wedding day will be one of the most important and memorable days of your life. It’s a time to let yourself get lost in. While you are happy living in those moments, Marry Us Miranda will have the rest of the details taken care of.