GREETINGS FROM VERNA ACKER
REALTY EXECUTIVES Elite
414.534.7400
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Real Estate Information from Western Racine County; Waterford, WI 53185
Vol IX April, 1999

What an exceptional month it has been! The 4th annual Home & Commerce Show is history. As chairman of that project, I got my life back on March 21 :-). My youngest daughter had a beautiful baby boy! And, the real estate business in our area is doing extremely well! As a result of all of this, my newsletter is a bit tardy.

Because, as of Friday, April 16, there were 66 new listings and 40 closings since the newsletter of March 26, I am including the Quick Print of the properties and brief stats as an attachment. If you cannot pick up the attachment with your equipment, let me know and we will e-mail it to you in another form or we would be glad to mail it to you. I will give you a brief synopsis of my new listings and sales here. The rest you can access, if you wish: (NOTE: The attachments have not been archived)

IN WIND LAKE, there is a very pretty colonial on ½ acre for $159,900. 8710 Racine Ave. It has about 1800 s.f., 3 bedrooms and 2.25 baths. It abuts a scenic conservancy area.. Code 2064.
IN ROCHESTER, you will find an exceptional 3 bedroom home for $119,900. It has 3 bedrooms, a 2 car garage and a nice fenced yard with a pool. Built in 1890, it was redone 1979 and further in 1988. The hardwood floors were added to the living room and dining room in 1992. Code 2074.
IN WATERFORD is one of the few real Queen Anne Victorian homes. The property is zoned multi-family, has been a duplex and is presently being used as a single family. Priced at $169,900, it has pocket doors, French doors, colonnades, beveled and etched glass, hardwood floors, natural woodwork and even a beautiful front porch for you wicker set! Code 3044.
IN BURLINGTON I have listed a condominium for $29,900. It is an efficiency unit in the Browns Lake Resort. Enjoy resort living without making reservations! You have a pool, tennis court, sandy beach area and the golf course is just up the road. Code 3104.
ALSO, IN THE BROWNS LAKE RESORT, I just listed a larger condominium This one has about 688 s.f., with a large bedroom and a spacious bathroom. Asking $63,900, you have all of the resort amenities and a nice apartment, too. Code 2124.
IN WATERFORD, a couple hundred feet from the Fox River, you will find an 1850 square foot ranch that has a four car garage, a pretty lawn and the lower, walkout level has 3 more bedrooms, a bath, rec room and even a kitchenette. Asking price is $159,900. Code 2034
ON THE WATERFRONT I have a 3 season cottage for $104,900. It has 80 ft of frontage on the Fox River, above the dam on Bridge Road, and an additional 90 x 220 lot (not buildable). Code 2144.

THIS IS INTERESTING
According to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, mortgage loan applications slipped 1.8%. Total purchase applications slid 9.7% from the prior week, while refinancings jumped 10.8%. Refinances made up 43.2% of all mortgage applications

IN THE VILLAGE OF WATERFORD
New water lines, curbs and sidewalks along Aber Drive are in store for the village residents in the near future. Opening bids are just underway and the project is expected to begin in May or June and should be completed by mid-September.

OLD HOUSES SITE
Old homes carry charm and history. Go to http://www.inman.comInmanStories.asp?ID=12944 for a March 15 article that leads you further to an exceptional web site titled Ian Evans World of Old Houses.

IS THE MARKET STACKED AGAINST THE SELF-EMPLOYED?
Jack Guttentag has written a good article aimed at the self-employed buyer. Go to http://www.inman.com/InmanStories.asp?ID=12377

DID YOU KNOW? According to a recent survey, 38% of Americans older that 16 are already hooked up to the internet and an expected 100 million will be accessing the Net by the year 2000.

LOAN COMMITMENTS. The Wisconsin Realtors Association is on a campaign to alert mortgage lenders and buyers about the impact of conditional loan commitments. We will link you to the full report in the next newsletter. Basically, when an offer to purchase calls for a loan commitment, it is extremely important that the buyer is fully informed about the commitment and what conditions may be included. If the loan officer and/or the buyer provides a conditional loan commitment to the listing broker/seller, the buyer is assuming responsibility for the conditions. An example: If the commitment states that it is conditioned upon a satisfactory appraisal, even if the property doesn't appraise, the buyer could be forced to perform on the contract if the appraisal comes up short. If the commitment that is delivered states that it is conditioned upon the borrower closing on his/her home, the buyer could be forced to perform – even if the home does not close. Unless worded differently in the offer to purchase ANY loan commitment that is delivered to the listing broker/seller is sufficient to fulfill the loan commitment requirement of the financing contingency. More to come…..
We will mail the full report from WRA to you if you e-mail me your address: verna@vernacker.com

GREETINGS FROM VERNA ACKER
REALTY EXECUTIVES Elite
414.534.7400
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Real Estate Information from Western Racine County; Waterford, WI 53185
Vol X April, 1999

LEGAL MATTERS
When you are dealing with an offer to purchase, be sure that you are working with the entire offer to purchase. On occasion, an agent will FAX you only the signature pages because 2 of the four pages are considered standard, "boiler-plate." Contracts must be faxed in their entirety; this is to ensure that the contract is complete and that no language is stricken. The Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing has ruled this to be an incompetent practice and a violation of license law. Complaints can be filed against agents who fax incomplete documents, per the legal counsel of the Metro Board of Realtors.

LOAN COMMITMENT UPDATE
I mentioned, in the last newsletter, that buyers should beware of giving conditional loan commitments to listing agents/sellers. They should be careful to inform their lenders not to send out a loan commitment without their express approval. A conditional loan commitment is sufficient to satisfy the loan commitment contingency as printed in the standard offer to purchase, unless the verbiage is adjusted appropriately. For the complete WRA statement regarding this situation, go to www.wra.org/realtors/mortalert.htm

OUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD
The events of the last week in Littleton, CO, brought the realization to all of us that none are exempt from the horror of such tragedy. One of the children is coming back to Waterford for burial. Our own community had national attention not long ago when Burlington was put in the spotlight by a small group of troubled kids. We thank God that our story was a "could-have-been." Our prayers go out to those who were not so fortunate. We have the blessing of living in a community where we seldom hear of bad things in our backyard. As we watch the events as they are brought into our living rooms, each of us must be charged to spend a little more time with our children and a little more effort on the things that are important. The greatest gift that we can give to each other is the gift of our ourselves and our time.

WHAT'S NEW?
Go to the attachment for the brief print out of the newest listings in our area and the most recent solds. If you cannot access the attachment, let us know. We will send it in another form or we will mail it to you if we have your address. All properties on the print out have a six-digit ID number. Use that ID number when you e-mail to us for full print outs or showing appointments. (NOTE: The attachments have not been archived)

MY NEW LISTING
I have listed another condominium in the Brown's Lake Resort. It is a second floor unit with a balcony that overlooks beautiful Browns Lake. It has about 650 square feet, with one large bedroom that has a view of the lake, too. You can enjoy the in-ground pool, the party room, tennis courts and sandy beach. An 18-hole golf course is just up the road. Asking price is $63,900. Enjoy year-round resort amenities without the necessity of a reservation!