We invite you to visit our site each month to read Stapleton News & Views.

Imaginary

Maureen's Musings, Selling a Home|

We all know the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  But never is it truer than when you are selling or buying a home.  Stapleton Realty takes that saying to heart using photos when marketing a property.  Some of the periodicals we place ads with pictures are: Exclusively Yours, Lakeshore Living and MKElifestyle Magazines. In addition, we are in many of the local publications and newspapers such as the Lake [...]

Holiday Recipes

General|

From Judy: Holiday Cranberry Salad Dressing: ½ C sugar 1/3 C olive oil 2 tsp. of chopped green onion Dash of salt 1/3 C lemon juice 2 Tbls poppy seeds (Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.  This can be made ahead of time.) Salad: Mixture of Italian and red leaf lettuce 1 ½  C each apple and pear slices 2 C package of finely grated Mozzarella cheese 1 C craisins ¾ C [...]

Happy Holidays from Stapleton Realty

General, Maureen's Musings|

It is out of care for all of you and our  greater community that we are going to pause our annual holiday party this year and hope to return to it next year in better times for such gatherings. In lieu of the party, we are going to be donating to the Oconomowoc Food Pantry. We ask that you drop off  non-perishable food items or a monetary donation at our office (112 [...]

The Hub of the Home

Buying a Home, General, Lake Homes, Selling a Home|

The Hub of the Home The kitchen is the hub of any home, a space that needs to be functional yet esthetically pleasing. Now more than ever, we are staying home, cooking more, and spending more time in our kitchens. It is the room listing agents describe in great detail…stunning granite countertops, gleaming stainless steel appliances, oversized islands, and custom walk-in pantries. Because renovating a kitchen can be a substantial financial undertaking, some [...]

Thankful

General, Maureen's Musings, News|

This year has seen an unprecedented change and disruption in the world and economy that none of us could have predicted. One thing that didn't change however is how incredibly thankful we at Stapleton Realty are to our buyers, sellers, and all the individuals that help us to be successful in our endeavors to do the best we can be in representing all of our Buyers and Sellers. We learned what it meant to [...]

Life Transition Points and the Effect on the Housing Market

Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, General, News, Selling a Home|

This year, 2020, has offered us so many different challenges, but the housing market has stayed hot. How could that be? Record layoffs, unprecedented unemployment, stock market volatility and so on. The housing market has been hot: a low inventory of for sale homes, many people in the market to buy motivated by low interest rates and ability to move where they want to live while working remotely. If you could live [...]

Lake Are Free Clinic

General, Maureen's Musings, News|

Lake Area Free Clinic Photo credit: Lake Area Free Clinic and Ocreative https://www.lakeareafreeclinic.org/gala-event/ All bidding for the Gala will be done through Text2Bid.   Preview our Silent Auction items on this site beginning September 1. Silent Auction using Text2Bid begins on Saturday, September 5 at NOON Silent Auction ends Saturday, September 12 at 6:00 PM Live Auction begins September 12.  Join us on this website for the Live Event and have your mobile [...]

Why Inspect?

Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers, News|

The process of buying a home is nerve racking for many reasons. It is a large investment; it is the beginning of a lot of work to move from your old home and it is change. Worrying about what shape the home we are buying is in, is important, but most of us do not know enough about home conditions to evaluate our new purchase. Most realtors would suggest you hire a [...]

Spring Bank – Oconomowoc Lake

Lake Homes, Maureen's Musings, News|

Photo Credit: http://www.oconlake.com/ A masquerade ball given by Fred Pecks at the Townsend House Hotel (now the site of the roundabout in Okauchee near the prior Coach house that still remains there) brought Captain Tom Parker and his wife Clara to Oconomowoc in 1874.  Captain Parker bought 235 acres of land for $50.00 per acre, a handsome amount at the time.  Sea Captain Parker spent his early life aboard ships, and after [...]

Surviving in a Seller’s Market

Buying a Home, News, Selling a Home|

What is the difference between a buyer’s and a seller’s market? As its name suggests, a buyer’s market is beneficial to the buyer and a seller’s market is beneficial to a seller. A buyer’s market is a market in which the supply is higher than the demand.  A seller’s market exists when the demand for homes exceeds the supply, or there are more buyers  looking  to purchase a home than there are [...]

I am a buyer looking for the perfect home, where do I begin?

Buying a Home, First-Time Home Buyers|

I am a buyer looking for the perfect home, where do I begin? The process of buying a home is big and so is the financial investment. Choosing an agent is an important part of the process and should not happen by chance. Using the agent my cousin likes or who was at the open house may not end up being the right fit for you. When you need a new doctor, [...]

Markham Estate

Maureen's Musings|

  At the end of the 19th century, America already had a long history of beer drinking. By the end of the 1800s, good beer was well established by Midwest families whose names in the industry are yet popular today. Several built their summer homes on Wisconsin’s Oconomowoc Lake near Milwaukee including the Millers, the Schlitz family and the Pabsts where they entertained and enjoyed cool breezes off the water. Brewer George [...]

Evinrude and Okauchee Lake

Maureen's Musings|

Evinrude and Okauchee Lake This week, an icon originating from our community, is shuttering its doors after 100 years of making motors. Sadly, it was announced this week that the Canadian company BRP, Inc. the manufacturer, of Evinrude outboard engines, announced it will no longer manufacture Evinrudes, marking the end of an iconic Wisconsin brand. Ole Evinrude, who migrated from Norway to Cambridge, Wisconsin, fashioned his idea for a motor to power [...]

History of Stapleton Realty

Maureen's Musings|

Stapleton Realty began as a dream for me, long after I was a young girl who grew up on South Street in Oconomowoc. Having graduated from Oconomowoc High School, I went on to receive a BA in Marketing/Merchandising and then a Master’s degree in Vocational Education from UW-Stout.  I then began a teaching career at this University.  At the same time, my brother, Timothy, was in the service. As fate would [...]

Why use Stapleton versus another realtor, discount company or flat fee company?

News, Selling a Home|

All financial decisions go exactly the way your parents told you when you were younger,” you get what you pay for!” If a company significantly reduces the fees for selling your home, they will need to make up for the loss of revenue with volume. With more listings, agents have less time to help you with the sale of your home. With less time, they will know each home less than [...]