All Rights Reserved.  Photographed in Monroe WI in November, 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving! Are you looking for something to do after the traditional dinner is finished?

~ Come to Downtown Monroe on Friday evening for the annual Lighted Holiday Parade. The parade kicks off from the middle school starting at 6 pm. This year's theme is "Frosty and Friends". Many of the entrants will be creative in their use of lighting, and generators are donated for use by PDC.

~ New Glarus lights the Community Holiday Tree this Friday evening at 6:30. Come downtown for all the festivities and join your neighbors to see the magic of the lights.

~ Turner Hall is the setting for the local Christkindlmarkt. This old world holiday shopping event has its roots in the markets dating back to 1432 in Germany. Stop by the Grand Hall between 9 am and 4 pm either Friday or Saturday. There will be a variety of fiber and fabric arts pieces, candles, soaps, floral arrangements, decorations, Scherenschnitte, Kerbschnitte, Holzschnitte (traditional Swiss-German crafts) along with a European cafe and Swiss baked goods.

~ Come to Flannery's William Tell restaurant in New Glarus this Saturday to enjoy live music by Amber Skies starting at 8:30. Amber Skies plays everything from americana to rock. Amber Skies is a popular local band with roots in Belleville.

~Higher Grounds is hosting a Turkey Jam. Enjoy great music from Aaron Whalen, Nate Yeske and Dustin Hyatt, and Anneliese Schrader. Admission is $5 which includes a $1 coupon. This is our favorite Freeport coffee shop, and a very comfortable place to spend time.

~ Stopy by the Monroe Middle School this Saturday for "Shop for the Cure." Sponsored by the Green County Relay for Life, all proceeds from the day go to the American Cancer Society. There will be more than 40 independent local consultants, vendors and crafters offer a wide variety of gift items, making this a great place to work on your holiday shopping. The day will also include door prizes, raffles, baked goods, and a light lunch.

~ The Family Movie at Lindo Theater in Freeport this Saturday morning will be Planet 51. Bring the kids for a fun movie experience. $5 per person, and the kids will receive a holiday gift.

~ Stop by the Monroe Arts Center to view the items for this year's Silent Auction. This annual event supports all the great programming at MAC. There is usually everything from Dr Najat's honey to framed art pieces, special event dinners in your home to gift cards to local businesses. There is always something for everyone and every price range.

~ The Mighty Richland Players Dinner Theater will present A Christmas Madrigal: Handel and Gretzky" on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This laughter filled show will feature songs and comedy from the Renaissance era. Bring your appetite as dinner will be an English groaning board (roast beef dinner). $40 per person, call 815-819-1310 for ticket information.

~ Pick up your tickets for the upcoming Festival of Trees or performance of A Christmas Carol. The deadline for tickets for Festival of Trees is Monday at 10 am; contact Pam at the Chamber to reserve yours (3257648). A Christmas Carol will be performed by the Monroe Theatre Guild the second and third weekends in December. This year, all children under 12 are free with an adult ticket thanks to the generosity of Scrooge (aka John Bauman).

This week's featured property is a three bedroom home in Freeport

This is a great house for the price! The asking price is only $39,900!

This 3 bedroom home has gorgeous hardwood floors, huge living room with fireplace, eat in kitchen, formal dining room and a open staircase. There is over 1800 square feet of room in this large home.

Relax and enjoy evenings on the front porch with removable screen panels. Let the kids run in the fenced in back yard. This home is conveniently located to shopping and schools. Move in to a great home for your family.

The owner is a licensed real estate agent.

Have you heard of Monroe Money or Monticello Money?

Both of these area communities have special programs where area residents can purchase certificates to be spent at any one of a number of local businesses. Monroe Money may be purchased at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and can be spent at any Chamber of Commerce member business.

Monticello has Monticello Money, and the certificates can be spent at any of the Monticello Business and Professional Association members. Monticello Money may be purchased at the Bank of Monticello's Main Street location or at the Village Hall.

Monticello Money or Monroe Money also make great gifts in and of themselves. Both can spend these at any member businesses. With lists of members that include hair salon, grocery stores, bowling alleys, repair centers, gift shops and much, much more, there will be myriad options for the lucky recipients.

Monticello is doing a special Black Friday promotion to encourage people to shop locally this holiday season. Monticello Money will be 10% off on Friday, November 27.

 

(All the details on the expanded and extended homeowner's tax credit as explained by the CEO of Coldwell Banker, Jim Gillespie)

President Obama has signed the extension of the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit. This is exciting news because this bill also expanded the parameters of the Tax Credit, allowing for larger income maximums of the people receiving the credit.

Move Up Buyers are also considered in this tax credit. People who have lived in and owned their primary residence for at least 5 years are now eligible for a Move Up Credit of $6500.

This week's featured property is a 4 year old ranch in Browntown, WI.

If you have been looking for a newer ranch, here is the house for you! This ranch in Browntown is only four years old, and everything has been meticulously maintained.

The kitchen with island is bright and sunny, and there is plenty of space for any cook. The large living room is the perfect place for entertaining. There are three bedrooms, and the master bedroom does have an attached full bath. Enjoy summer evenings on the deck while the kids play in the yard. The full basement is unfinished, giving your the opportunity to increase your equity just by finishing it off the way you like. The home has energy efficient features including an Energy Star furnace, helping you to save on your utility bills.

Newer ranches don't have to cost a mint, and this one is priced to sell at only $124,900. Call or email today for your private showing.

Help out four local non-profit groups while having a good meal and entertaining evening. Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn't it?

The annual Festival of Trees is coming up quickly. This event is scheduled for December 5 this year. The silent and live auctions are always great fun, and all proceeds will benefit either Monroe Theatre Guild Stage Right Youth Theatre, Green County Humane Society, Green Haven Family Advocates or Green County Habitat for Humanity.

Entertainment this year will be provided by the Monroe Theatre Guild Stage Right Youth Choir. Forty members of the youth choir will perform a variety of songs at 7:30 with the live auction following their performance.

The evening takes place at Peppercorn Banquets and Catering starting at 6 for cocktails and 7 for dinner. Tickets are $40 for the evening, and they include the entertainment as well as the dinner (chose from prime rib, rosemary chicken, butternut squash ravioli or stuffed mushroom ravioli).

Contact any of the charities to purchase tickets (and this way your favorite gets a little more of the proceeds) or contact the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.

Brenda Carus
Re/Max Towne Square Realty
Certified EcoBroker, Re/Max Green Agent
Monroe Area Real Estate

Looking for a place to live a real life? Know your neighbors, eat local, abandon your commute, be part of a community - come to Green County. Whatever your preference is, we have it all from surprisingly urban to truly rural and everything in between.

We have found that though most people have heard of a short sale, there is confusion over exactly what it is.

If a homeowner is in a position of needing to sell a house, but the current value of the home is less than the mortgage, that owner is in the position of needing to sell short. Sometimes sellers will bring money to the closing table from savings to cover the shortage. Sometimes sellers will be able take out a personal loan to cover the shortage. Other times, the seller will ask the bank to write off the extra amount, take a loss.

It is this third instance that the media keeps talking about. There is no such thing as a typical short sale, but all short sales have one thing in common: they take extra time. There are things that sellers can do, however, to shorten the amount of time it takes.

Before a bank will agree to a short sale, they need to gather certain data from the homeowner. They need documentation of the hardship the seller is experiencing, the reason why the seller is in trouble. The bank will need a complete financial statement from the seller to document that there are no liquid assets that could cover the loss and that the seller is unable to continue paying the mortgage as it stands. The bank will have to order an appraisal of the property to determine current value.

If a seller is proactive and starts talking with the bank as soon as listing a home at a short sale price, the process will be a bit quicker and easier. Buyers are not always willing to wait in limbo for three months or more for the short sale process to be completed. Also, there are no guarantees that short sales will go through at the price that a buyer accepts. A bank might determine that the house is worth more and reopen negotiations.

When hiring your realtor, ask how familiar with short sales he or she is. It is a more complex process requiring more work of your realtor, and an realtor with short sale experience can help the process go more smoothly. Start the process with your bank as soon as possible. Contact the bank, explain the situation and request that they send you the packet of documents you will need to fill out. When you get the packet, tackle it immediately; it really will be a weight off your shoulders.

Sellers, if you are facing a situation that might require you to sell short, it is better to be open and up front with your bank and your realtor. Some people find financial matters hard to deal with, especially when they are experiencing hardships. Procrastinating and ignoring these issues, though, will not make them go away. Instead, it can cause delays in the short sale process that prevent a short sale from being able to happen in a timely fashion and result in the home going into foreclosure instead.

Frequent readers know that we are strong supporter of locally owned, independent businesses.  We are joining their ranks.

Towne Square Realty has always been locally owned, but we've been part of the Re/Max family for a while now.   Our company decided to return to our roots and go independent again as of this month.

This move gives our company more flexibility to serve our clients to the best of our abilities.  We still advertise our properties in all of the same venues and all of the same website (including the Re/Max site and all of the other major franchise sites thanks to the wonders of internet data exchange).

Go local, go independent!

60 days and counting for the First Time Home Buyer's $8000 tax credit...

This video is from last spring, but it does a nice job covering information on the tax credit itself. Time is running out, so if you want to take advantage of this tax credit, contact us today!