September 2, 2017 to September 3, 2017

Taste of Madison

If it’s Labor Day Weekend, it’s time for A Taste of Madison. Now in its 34th year, it’s your chance to enjoy bargain-priced menu items from more than 80 local caterers and restaurants. The two-date fete also offers three live-music stages all weekend. Who needs to travel on Labor Day Weekend? Apparently, more than 250,000 Madisonites prefer to stay home and head to A Taste of Madison. It’s open on Saturday from 2 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m., in Downtown Madison. Find details online at tasteofmadison.com.

September 7, 2017 to September 9, 2017

Quilt Expo

Who knew that quilts were such a big deal? Those in the know are heading to Alliant Energy

I have to laugh when I read real estate advice from folks who have never had a real estate client in their lives, never been responsible for the sale of a home and have never been a homeowner trying to sell one. Novices have a tendency to throw out advice and then either ignore or gloss over the details. Open house and home showing advice is some of the most common I encounter on the Internet.

Even worse, however, is when this invaluable advice is tossed out on a real estate agent’s website. Here is one of my all-time favorites:

"get the pets to stay elsewhere until your home sells"

Now, darn it, why didn’t we think of that? Just board your pets for the entire time your home is on the market! Understand that pet boarding facilities

Back to pencils, back to books . . . we are getting close to September, which is when our Madison students head back to class (September 5 and 6) with nary a “dirty look” from parents This means we have mere weeks to gear up for the routine ― the shopping, the adjustment in sleeping schedules and juggling transportation issues. Let’s take a look at some ways to prepare yourself and the kids for the annual ritual.

Ease into the new routine

Probably the hardest routine to change is sleep. Kids have been sleeping in every day for the past few months and having to now wake early, to the sound of an alarm, isn’t going to be easy. Ease them into it by starting the new routine a week or two before schools starts

In fact, if you aren’t one of us who

You have questions and we have the answers. If you’re getting ready to sell your home in Madison, read on.

1. Is one season better than another to sell a home in Madison?

I know – it seems like summer only just started and here we are on the cusp of autumn (it starts September 22). And, while we’re all trying to wring out every last drop of this glorious summer in Madison, I am starting to get what I call the “seasonal selling” questions from homeowners.

Long ago, “spring is the best time to sell a home” became the media’s mantra. And, to be fair, they’re partially correct. The media are also fond of telling us that winter is a terrible time to sell. There, they are wrong.

Home sales in November do tend to fall around 8 percent,