Municipal assessments can be confusing.  Oftentimes homeowners will confuse their city, village or town assessment (in some other places county) with their actual market value. Those numbers can be very different - especially with accelerating home values the last few years.  Guest Sam Walker, City of Waukesha (Wisconsin) Assessor joins John for a deeper dive into what a city assessment is, how it is calculated, and how citizens can become more involved in the assessment process. This is a podcast you will find interesting and will answer many of the questions you have regardless of ..read more

2023 will go down as one of the slowest years for real estate sales since 1993. But what happened, and what can sellers and buyers expect in 2024?  John breaks down his thoughts in this end-of-year episode.  ..read more

Photography is EVERYTHING - literally. Although all components are important to selling a home the fastest and for more money, great photography is the most important when buyers eventually find your home for sale online. Years ago, when customers had to come to real estate offices to see homes inside large MLS books, photography wasn't as important.  Fast forward to today's highly competitive market and buyers flip through online photos as fast as their thumbs allow. It is incredibly important that your photos create a "pause" in their flipping routine long enough to show off your hard w ..read more

How do we reward our Local Heroes for their service?   Exclusive to RE/MAX Service First, this unique program is for our police officers, firefighters, EMS/paramedics, healthcare workers & professionals, active military personnel, our veterans, and teachers.  When we talk "rewards" or discounts, we mean thousands of dollars usually!  When we help our Heroes buy and sell real estate our agents significantly discount our listing commission, or hand out a check a closing when you purchase real estate. It doesn't matter if you buy or sell a home, an investment property, or land ..read more

Let's face it, sometimes the honeymoon ends quicker than anticipated. You hired what you thought was is a great agent who now isn't so great - what do you do?   You might be staring at substandard photos, marginal marketing, and an agent that doesn't quite have the experience they claimed to have had when you hired them. What can you do, especially if you are selling your home? Are you tied into the remainder of your listing contract? Can you "get out of" the contract if the agent isn't good? How do you get back "on track" with your agent and to ensure that expectations are known to each ..read more

How do you best prepare your home for showings? As a seller, this is your MOST important time! How do you best prepare your home to be shown to prospective buyers? What things are most important?  Should we bake chocolate chip cookies? What scents are off-putting to buyers? How can sellers best create a successful buyer experience which will result in a quick sale for more money? Here are some of Johns' top talking points & lessons from his episode: * Above all, sellers need to understand they are creating experiences, not merely trying to sell homes. Just like major hotels, resorts ..read more

What does it take to complete the PERFECT real estate sale? How do all the pieces of this complex puzzle come together? Have you ever wondered what is really happening - the things your agent hasn't told you about?  Tune in to hear all about the perfect sale and all the components that could go wrong but don't thanks to a great agent.  Administrative Assistant and Transaction Coordinator Monica Young joins the show to talk about all the details that go into the perfect sale, plus all the things that could - and sometimes do - go wrong. She stresses the importance of a good leader hel ..read more

This is your July, 2023 Metro Milwaukee real estate market update for mid-summer sales.  Join John Gscheidmeier as he talks about how the market is performing in this extremely complex real estate environment.  Sales are down almost 25% from this time last year - but not to worry - we still are in a very strong market despite higher interest rates and increased concern over economic conditions. Is it still a good time to buy or sell? Is it time to prepare for selling later this year?  All great questions answered in this episode.  Plus, John might make a guarantee or two in ..read more

Given a choice, everyone prefers a discount.  We are a society that loves to cut coupons; we'll search endlessly for discount codes; we'll wait months to purchase an item knowing that there is a potential sale coming. Given an opportunity to take a discount, most of us will. But is that the best thing in real estate? When leaving law enforcement to join real estate, John Gscheidmeier joined a discount provider. John quickly rose to the top of the firm as the sales leader with very little guidance & training. He saw the "ins and outs" of working inside a discount provider first-hand. H ..read more

Wondering what the 2023 real estate market looks like so far?  The January, 2023, market stats are in courtesy of the Greater Milwaukee Association Of Realtors. John, your expert host, provides an overview of the metro Milwaukee real estate market. Don't be fooled by what the media tells you about real estate sales & trends; this data clearly shows we need more homes on the market but it is still a good time for buyers to purchase a home, and an even better time for sellers to sell their home. The second half of the program is dedicated to some bragging' rights!  Did you know Joh ..read more