It's here, winter in Wisconsin. Although it's not official until the 20th, the 6 inches we have on the ground tells me otherwise and the 6 more forecasted for this weekend lets me know it here for sure. I was showing a home yesterday on a vacant property and I couldn't find the driveway and ended up trying to get to the garage across the front law, haven't done that before. The good news, I only have one home that needs to be shoveled and the rest are taken care of. There is nothing worse than leading your clients into a home and being covered in snow. I'm ready!   12/10/2010

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Fields_(memorial)         PHOTO CREDIT:  DAWN ZEHREN, JULY 2006  Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area.  Visit Pat's website - please consider it as your online source for local real estate information, and return often for the latest property listing updates 12/08/2010

Photo Credit:  Pat Tasker 2010 covering the suburbs of Greater Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington and Milwaukee Counties Looking for a Realtor in the Milwaukee Metro Area?  Call Pat Tasker at 414-588-4907   Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area.  Visit Pat's website - please consider it as your online source for local real estate information, and return often for the latest property listing updates 12/07/2010

     we are having our first snow of the season, and it made me think of 6 years ago this weekend, when we were in Central Park during a blizzard...  this photo is from the Central Park Conservancy or Friends of Central Park...Isn't it gorgeous?  Nothing like NYC in December!  I do love snow, it makes me happy.  At least until February...then I get a little sick of it... Photo Credit:  Central Park Conservancy covering the suburbs of Greater Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington and Milwaukee Counties Looking for a Realtor in the Milwaukee Metro Area?  Call Pat Tasker at 414-588-4907   Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs a... 12/04/2010

PHOTO CREDIT:  ERIK TASKER JUNE 2009 covering the suburbs of Greater Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington and Milwaukee Counties Looking for a REaltor in the Milwaukee Metro Area?  Call Pat Tasker at 414-588-4907   Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area.  Visit Pat's website - please consider it as your online source for local real estate information, and return often for the latest property listing updates 12/01/2010

If you live in Germantown, you know those German roots are deep!  This weekend you can enjoy some festivities that would be common place years ago!  Take a walk down Main Street and make a few stops.  Sinter Klausen is the greatest Christmas store, stuffed to the brim with ornaments and decorations reminiscent of those years past. Stop at the Bier Stube for a bite to eat, traditional German fare includes one of our family favorites Laberkase.  Of course a beer off the "bier list" would be an appropriate paring!  The Bier Stube has hundreds of biers including many on tap!  After shopping and lunch, be sure to make it to the Dhiensville Settlement on Holy Hill Road for the Sinter Klausen Konsert at 3pm. A tour of the  Bast Bell Museum is worth checking out while there.  A Germantown resid... 11/30/2010

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....                                 the holidays and all the craziness will be upon us full force by this Friday, commonly known as Black Friday.  While most home sellers are ready to give up on the marketing of their home, I would argue there are some great reasons why now is actually a great time to be on the market. 1. Serious Buyers are out this time of year.  The casual lookers have moved on to Holiday shopping and merriment. Transferees make use of holidays and vacation times to make house hunting trips to the new location. Educators have time off of work during holidays and are out house hunting. There may be a slow down in showings, but they will be serious buyers. 2. Home For The Holidays...Doesn't your home look the best, this time of ... 11/22/2010

 It's not just a sales pitch, it's the truth, the numbers tell it like it is! If you had a budget of $1200 for your  monthly payment in 2008, here is what the numbers would have been. Today that same $1200 monthly payment has extended your buying ability by over 20%.  Additionally with the price of homes coming down in some cases by as much as 10 to 20%  you can buy a larger home the same home for less. Now is the time!   11/16/2010

Germantown Historical Society Subject of UWM Public Museum Project  In September the Germantown Historical Society was approached by a student in the graduate certificate program "Museum Studies" taught through UWM and the Milwaukee Public Museum. Diane Newbury of Fox Point has been assigned a project to do an in-depth study/behind the scenes of a local museum and she chose the Germantown Historical Society from the suggested list. The end result of the assignment will be to write a paper and create a PowerPoint presentation covering what she learns through interviews and museum visits. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain more local exposure for the Historical Society, learn from a student of Museum studies how best to move forward in an efficient and effective manner and also for M... 11/08/2010

    Wecome to Germantown! The largest Vilage in Wisconsin with approximately 35.5 square miles of rolling hills, farm land and very active commercial corridor.With its small-town rural atmosphere and easy access to Milwaukee and surrounding suburbs, Germantown is  a unique community that brings suburban amenities with rural charm on Milwaukee's northwest side. Over the years, Germantown, the "Gateway to Washington County," has distinguished itself among some of the best communities to live and do business-not only in Wisconsin, but the entire nation, as seen through its recent recognition as one of the "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine.       A suburb with distinct German heritage, centered around seven district, historic hamlet settlements that are all now incorporated into a mod... 10/26/2010

Compliments of the Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce Goodwill Donation Center in Germantown Look for the Goodwill Donation Trailer located to the far west of Sendik's Village Centre parking lot, behind McDonalds.  They are open 7 days a week, 8:00am-5:00pm   Relay for Life of Germantown-Richfield 2011 You are invited to become part of the planning committee for this annual event.  Meetings are monthly, the second Wednesday of the month at WaterStone Bank, Germantown.  Next year's event is Friday-Saturday, June 3-4, 2011.  Contact Anita Hilleman for meeting times and other questions; 262-335-6886 or ahilleman@councilonaoda.org   Sneakers Health & Fitness is now a permanent drop site for Soles for Jesus; a local charity that collects new and gently used shoes to send to those in despera... 10/22/2010

Wow, This is great news. Germantown seems to be on the move. TecStar Manufacturing Co. in Gemantown will add 186 jobs to increase production of the machines that make frames for solar panels.  TecStar is a plastic injection molding manufacturer and a subsidiary of MGS Manufacturing Group in the Germantown industrial park. This is great news for the manufacturing sector in Germantown.  The Govener of Wisconsin, Jim Doyle was in Germantown to announce a $3.75 million low-interest loan under the State Energy Program to support a total project cost of $15 million. This loan will be used to build injection molding machines for producing solar panel frames. The TecStar facility currently employs 170 people. Recently Germantown has seen some other good things happening in the manufacturing sec... 10/19/2010

Although this happended over a week ago, I was not able to blog about it because of my involvement with Oktoberfest. The idea tossed around the village halls for several weeks for it would be cost effective for the Washington County Sheriff's office to take over the dispatching duites of the Germantown Police Department. Although most think that the local dispatchers only dispatch 911 calls and answer phones, there are many other administrative and clerical work that are part of the job description that most are unaware. At the board meeting the main message from the Village Board during a two-hour discussion Monday on a proposal to move dispatching services for police, fire and emergency medical services to the Washington County Sheriff's Department in West Bend. The board unanimously ... 09/30/2010

This is my first blog in Active Rain so I thought I would write briefy about the needs of the community. My family has been in Germantown since June of 1997 and after of couple of years living here with our young family and wanting our children to be involved we decided to get involved so as to make our children's home town a place that would grow and offer many of the experiences we enjoyed growing up. We've been invloved in Leadership Germantown, the 4th of July festivities, The Germantown Historical Society, various school functions, class room volunteering at the Rockfield Elementary as well as our Local Church. We've planted flower, cut down trees, painted buildings, cut grass and help were we could. As we have grown as a family we have also grown in our volunteer efforts. I can te... 09/13/2010

  I'm excited to say that I was interviewed as a real estate expert for the May issue of Kipplingers Personal Finance Magazine.  They have several pages on the real estate markets across the country.  My one hour interview, came down to 1 quote on page 77, but check it out...Here are just 2 pages from the magazine article that focused on home buyers in our current markets. Pat Mertz Esswein is the real estate editor for Kipplingers, and it was fun talking to her.  For over an hour she quizzed me on what the market is like, what challenges they are facing, and the effects the tax credit has had on sales.  I was excited to get my copy of the magazine in the mail last week, and had to use a magnifying glass to find the information I shared....so at the bottom of page 77, there it was, all ... 04/21/2010

  Photo Credit: Dawn Davis       Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area.  Visit Pat's website - please consider it as your online source for local real estate information, and return often for the latest property listing updates 04/18/2010

  Never take anything for granted, when it comes to security while showing homes!  Recently in our metro area of Milwaukee, there have been reports of open house vandals. ....the reports say the Realtor hosting the open has been the target of late, but sellers beware!  Think smart and prepare your home for showings and opens!       Check out this post for futher details!      bit.ly/OpenHouseVandals And lock up your valuables!  Security if one thing I ALLWAYS cover with my sellers....be sure to double check your home today!  Or call me for advice on getting your home shown safely and securely!           Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real... 04/18/2010

    Thats all you have left to MAKE EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS BUYING A HOME!  I doubt that anything as good as this will ever come along again!  Rates are low as well as prices, inventory is high, sellers are super motivated, knowing there will be a slow down once the credit goes away!  WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR???  call me TODAY, YES, there is still time to find a home..You need an accepted offer by April 30th and close by June 30th, so GET GOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!   414-588-4907       Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additiona... 04/18/2010

 This was National Open House Weekend, and the traffic was pretty good!  Buyers are at a fever pitch trying to find a home before the tax credit ends April 30th.  Yesterday on the east side, I saw a few buyers, but today in Germantown, I had 12 and 4 at different open houses!  Surprising to me was the number of buyers who have a home to sell, but haven't put it on the market yet.  The market in months to come is a little uncertain, so getting your home on the market NOW is imperitive!  While planning a buyers tour this week, out of 20 homes, 10 had accepted offers....so it is a "micro-market" of a fast paced almost sellers market for the next 19 days. Even if YOU don't qualify for the home buyers credit on your new home, the credit will be a driving force in getting your home SOLD!  Af... 04/11/2010

  PHOTO CREDIT PAT TASKER MARCH 28, 2010   Pat Tasker is your Milwaukee area Real Estate specialist.  Her knowledge of the Milwaukee area and surrounding communities allows her to thoroughly assist you in meeting all of your real estate needs and goals.Contact Pat if you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area.  Visit Pat's website - please consider it as your online source for local real estate information, and return often for the latest property listing updates   03/28/2010