Listing & Selling Your Home
As a full time REALTOR®, I have successfully marketed and sold golf course, country, resort, lakerights/access, lakefront, vacant and investment properties in Walworth, Racine, Kenosha, and Jefferson counties. My multi-faceted and innovative approach to marketing, offers sellers excellent exposure to the Wisconsin, Illinois, and national markets. Professional affiliations such as the Wisconsin Realtors Association, National Association of Realtors, Council of Certified Residential Specialists, e-PRO network, among others, keeps me connected to other real estate agents throughout the state and country.
Experience…it’s not just about the work!
For over 30 years I’ve lived, worked and played in Southeastern Wisconsin. Whether it’s sailing or boating on Geneva Lake, walking the lake path or hiking in the Kettle Moraine, enjoying Music at the Lake in Williams Bay during the summer months, or attending poetry readings at our local library, I’ve enjoyed much that the lakes area has to offer. I would love to share it with you!
Keefe real estate – a winning team
With over 100 agents, many of whom are tops in their field, Keefe Real Estate maintains its winning edge year in and year out. While choosing the right agent is very important, choosing the winning team is equally so. When I joined Keefe Real Estate I did so because I knew I belonged on the winning team. As a multi-million dollar producer each year since my first “Rookie of the Year”, my team is integral to my success and the success of my sellers. Keefe Real Estate continues to maintain its lead as Walworth County’s top company in annual sales volume. Unequalled support in the form of full-time, on-site management, an advertising and marketing department, and information technology department, makes disseminating information to buyers efficient and effective. For over 65 years Keefe Real Estate maintained its reputation as the leader in lakefront, country, resort, and commercial sales in this area. When you partner with Keefe Real Estate you can be sure you are taking advantage of the very best the real estate industry has to offer.
Effective Exposure ‘Round the Clock
Our company website welcomes over 1,400,000 unique visitors per month – and offers sellers and buyers extensive online resources. From listings to information about many of the lakes in Southeastern Wisconsin, to the online version of Lake & Country Magazine, www.KeefeRealEstate.com leads the way. Through my own personal websites, www.SellingLakeGeneva.com and www.GenevaLakeRealty.com, the National Association of Realtors website (www.realtor.com), Metro Multiple Listing Service website (www.wihomes.com), and numerous other websites, buyers can access properties 24/7. Chicagoland buyers can access our listings on the Chicago Tribune website, www.chicagotribune.com/homes. This venue has proven to be highly successful and sellers and buyers recognize it as a proven tool for local sales.
Lake and Country Magazine
Keefe Real Estate is proud of “Lake and Country” Magazine distributed both in hard copy to over 200 designated drop sites throughout Northern Illinois and the Geneva Lakes Area and mailed to over 80,000 Chicagoland contacts annually. The online version, www.keeferealestate.com/magazine/, is easily accessed by visitors to both the Keefe website and my own website. All, active Keefe listings are included in this publication which is published four times each year. My articles on local homes of historical and/or architectural interest can be found in each issue. I hope you enjoy reading them…and finding the perfect dream home!
Additional Marketing Venues for your Property
While over 85% of all buyers begin their search online, Keefe Real Estate understands that marketing takes an integrated approach. Our listings are advertised in local newspapers 52 weeks a year; additionally, I selectively advertise properties with full photo exposure in our local newspapers. Insertion in The Resorter, our local newspaper, is included on a rotational basis and at least six times each year, my properties are advertised in a full or ½ page ad. Every listing is heralded by a full color postcard mailing to the immediate area as well as to a vetted list data base of potential buyers. When allowed, each of my listings is advertised by means of a professionally installed post sign with my 24/7 contact information.
Keefe Resort Rentals Division/Keefe Commercial
The Commercial Division of Keefe Real Estate negotiates large and small commercial transactions. As a full service REALTOR® I work closely with the commercial division on listings that require their additional input and expertise. Keefe Resort Rentals connects “potential” buyers with rental properties. We maintain an extensive inventory of lakefront, lake access, golf community, and residential properties for short and long term rentals. This is an excellent way for buyers to decide if the Geneva Lakes area is a good match for them and their families and many renters quickly become buyers. Call me if you are interested in leasing or renting your property or go to www.KeefeRentals.com.
Broker to Broker Referrals
Keefe Real Estate has established a comprehensive referral base with all major Chicago and Milwaukee real estate brokerage companies and we are the designated RELO Broker for the Geneva Lakes Area network of broker to broker referrals. RELO, the nation’s largest referral organization, allows us to provide the most comprehensive worldwide exposure for buyers and sellers of luxury real estate in the Walworth County Area through RELO’s online Luxury Portfolio – www.luxuryportfolio.com.
Designed to Sell
You’ve decided to sell your home. Congratulations…you are one of hundreds of sellers hoping to gain the attention of buyers who are waiting to be impressed. In any real estate market the key to selling your property quickly and for the best price is pricing, presentation, and patience; this is especially true in a buyers’ market. In a buyers’ market pricing and presentation are especially important and that is why so many sellers are turning to professional home stagers to give their nests the necessary fluffing and buffing.
Home staging is the art of decorating to sell. In a buyers’ market, staging is the key to making your home stand above the crowd; it creates a flow beginning at the front door and continuing from room to room. Laura Jensen, President of Lake Shore Staging and Design, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, works with sellers looking to take the lead over a burgeoning competition. According to Jensen, “People confuse decorating with staging because the factors are the same: paint, colors, furnishings, placement, art…both improve a space but for entirely different reasons. Staging should please a specific owner. Staging appeals to an unknown buyer.” Mary Lou and Mark Elson engaged Jensen to stage their townhouse in Lake Geneva. “We needed the fresh eyes and perspective that Laura brought to our home,” says Mary Lou. “…she started outside the front door, which I found very interesting, and worked her way throughout the house, helping us see our home from the buyer’s perspective.” One of “Laura’s gentle suggestions” to the Elson’s was to remove televisions from the bedrooms, which, according to the sellers, “make the rooms seem more open and lighter.” The Elson’s experience with home staging is not unusual; most owners feel the non-judgmental critique by a home stager gives insights into how to present their home’s assets in the best possible light. 
In a 2002 article published in Forbes magazine, home stagers were referred to as, “the dream weavers of the real estate world.” A home that has been staged will sell faster and for more money than a similar home that has not been staged. In fact, Jensen believes strongly that all homes, even those that have been professionally decorated can benefit. “If we were to sell our house, it would definitely need to be staged,” she says with a laugh. “There’s just too much of ‘us’ in it and we’d need to create a space that has a wider appeal.”
The home staging investment versus return is compelling; an investment of hundreds of dollars can save owners tens of thousands of dollars in price reductions. “Rather than reducing your price, make the commitment to stage your home properly from the start – then price it to market conditions,” counsels Jensen. There are some changes that reap big rewards: a new front door mat; bright, live plantings near the front door; freshly painted walls (without the wallpaper, please); crisp white bed linens, fresh towels and updated fixtures are small investments that can make a big difference. A home stager will reposition artwork and furniture to make rooms appear larger and will suggest a décor that is may seem minimalist. The point is to create an inviting space that appeals to as many tastes as possible. “I try to help owners see that they’ve already detached themselves emotionally by deciding to sell. My job is to help them sell their property faster and realize more profit in the process,” says Jensen. She brings a strong dose of diplomacy, a certification in professional home staging and a background in construction to the table…a table brightened by bright yellow lemons piled in a tall glass urn!
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