Residency and Real Estate

In January 2014, I’m confident the courts will rule in your favor regarding the residency you deserve. Suffice it to say that the MPA has fought long and hard for this change in law and despite the Mayor’s continued blatant failure to follow the law, you will persevere in the long run. He will be left, once again, licking his wounds, more worried about razing foreclosed properties and going door to door with a ridiculous co-sleeping campaign, than dealing with the real issues that make Milwaukee a safe place to live.

But I digress for a moment…………….

Background and Historical Perspective

For many years, while residency rules were in place, I helped employees from many city departments move their families out of Milwaukee while they maintained a legitimate residence within the city limits proper. Throughout the years, I came to understand personally the issues and potential risks associated with city workers doing this because IT WAS NEVER CLEARLY EXPLAINED BY ANYONE WHAT IT MEANT TO ACTUALLY LIVE IN MILWAUKEE! At that time, there were archaic guidelines from the 80’s and 90’s that were still being used to determine an employee’s primary residence. It was a so-called high stakes “game” that was being played where the rules were set by Internal Affairs and the rules are always changing as they saw fit. It was completely subjective whether or not an employee was living in Milwaukee and THEY DETERMINED if a violation was taking place.

At risk was the employees’ pension. It was not a lifestyle that many city employees wanted to participate in, given this risk, even though many had thought about it and wanted to do it.

After seeing the success and happiness of the families that actually decided to move out, and in following up with the city employees about any regrets or mistakes with their decision, I became one of those employees as well. 

After a few years of contemplating doing it myself and having seen the many other families that had already made the move, along with researching the different communities, my family decided it was time for them to move. 

In July 2002, my family moved out of Milwaukee, while I spent the last 6 years of my career still living Milwaukee. They settled in the Town of Waukesha (excellent schools, country living, low taxes and close enough, yet far enough away) and I settled in around the Serb Hall area.

Given my background in real estate, having helped these aforementioned families and my desire to give my kids a better education, word must have quietly and quickly spread because I had more city employees contacting me than ever before about this whole “moving out of Milwaukee” issue. After hearing what I had to say about the pros and cons, many city workers moved their families out, some did not.

As one city employee put it, I had become the unofficial “underground” move-out-of-Milwaukee expert.

Fast forward to Gov. Walker’s passage of the residency law, and none of these issues and concerns apply to anyone today who wants to make a better life for themselves and their families.

But there are still some important things that need to still be considered if you’re contemplating moving out of Milwaukee.

Considerations

If you’ve been considering or have already decided to move out of Milwaukee, but are waiting until the lawsuit is settled, that’s understandable. But there are things you should consider doing right now that will put you in a position of advantage when it’s time to” make the move.” Before I get into my 3 key points, you must know that outside of Milwaukee proper, real estate didn’t take “as big” a hit in value and currently prices are quickly moving back up and it most areas, it is now a seller’s market. That means that, as a buyer, you will be in somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to offering a price on a property. Just keep this in mind as you read on!

3 key points

The 1st and best piece of advice I have for you is to get your financing preapproved.

Use a local mortgage company and stay away from the online lenders or those who advertise on TV and who require you to mail away your sensitive documents. Lender preapprovals only last for 90 days, so it may seem a little premature to do so, given the pending lawsuit, however, preapprovals are routinely extended if nothing has changed in your financial life. Not everybody finds a new home in 90 days so having to extend the preapproval is “usual and customary” stuff.

Getting preapproved starts with having your full credit report pulled to make sure nothing appears on it that shouldn’t be and that your scores are where they need to be. The “free” credit reports aren’t going to work in this situation. You should have the credit report pulled from a reputable mortgage company. Believe me when I tell you that these reports are completely different than those “free” ones we all here about. 

With credit report pulled, the preapproval process begins and usually takes less than 2 days to complete. A full loan application is taken; including income and asset verification and all is submitted to the lender. Once preapproved, the lender commits to borrowing you “X” amount of dollars and sets that money aside for 90 days. If you buy within that time period, the money is available to you. If you don’t, the preapproval expires and can be resubmitted WITHOUT A NEW CREDIT REPORT for a fresh 90 preapproval. 

The 2nd thing that should be done is determining how much new home you can afford and where you’d like to live. Obviously, Milwaukee isn’t in the equation for you, thanks to Tom Barrett taxes and failed MPS, among other things.

This is where another conversation needs to take place. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. The discussion will include things like: what’s my  time frame, how much house can I really afford, what’s my current house worth, should I sell first and then buy, am I even able to afford a new house, where are the best schools, etc.

Everyone’s situation is personal and these questions and concerns are best addressed during a meeting. During the meeting(s), either in person and on the phone, or both, a plan of action can be developed and put into place. 

Desired communities and neighborhoods will be determined and the likes, needs and desires of the new property should be established. Once complete, any available properties in the MLS (multiple listing service) that meet as many of your requirements as possible will be emailed to you. The MLS system is the system Realtors use to list and find properties. 

Once you’re entered into it, you will receive live updates about new properties that come on the market and/or any price changes. The biggest advantage for you during this step is going to be that you can now begin to effectively monitor and visit different properties in desired communities and get to “know” the nuances of each area and property you look at. It doesn’t hurt to get out there and actually start looking at properties so that you are prepared and educated when it’s time to write an offer.

The 3^rd thing that needs your attention depends on whether it’s determined you must sell your existing house in order to buy a new one outside of Milwaukee. Many times, this is the case because most people, including cops, can’t afford both mortgages and even if they could, they don’t have the down payment money needed to buy the new property. Buying in the surrounding counties is NOT at all like buying a home in Milwaukee. There are separate and distinct considerations that must be addressed such as well/septic, surveys, etc.

In cases like these, my recommendation is to hire a full service Realtor at a reduced listing commission. They are hard to find but do exist. I have several reputable agents that I can recommend to help you sell your Milwaukee property.

When it’s time to buy, you should be using the services of an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent. By using 2 different agents, one to sell your Milwaukee property and one to help you with the new property, you avoid the potential conflicts of interest that abound in the real estate world.

This is especially important when you are the buyer, specifically because the market has turned in favor of the sellers, especially outside of the City of Milwaukee. You are going to want to make sure your interests as a buyer are being looked after, especially when the system is designed to protect the seller’s best interests.

Conclusion

So to offer a quick recap: 

1.     While waiting for the lawsuit to be settled, your financing will have been preapproved and waiting in the background.

2.     You’ll have time to research your interested communities even further and will be receiving MLS listings of properties that you can actually look at.

3.     And finally, you’ll have set yourself up with a full service Realtor to list your Milwaukee home when you’re ready to do so and you’ll have a different Realtor, who is an exclusive buyer’s agent, and probably several new properties that you’ll want to look at while the lawsuit is settled. 

Once you decide the time is right for you to buy outside of Milwaukee, by taking these 3 easy steps, you will be in a much better position to get the home that you want on terms that are beneficial to you as a buyer.