Fox Valley Real Estate

Fox Valley Real Estate Founded by Tom Seaman (NMLS # 400629).

This is a public page with the goal to help everyone in our community get the most up to date real estate market information in Fox Valley.

06/17/2026

If you were waiting for mortgage rates to drop, May was a frustrating reminder that rates do not move in a straight line and that perfectly timing the market is one of the hardest things anyone can attempt.

One hotter-than-expected inflation report can push rates higher fast and that is exactly what happened. But that does not mean your window is gone. It means you need a plan that works even if rates move against you rather than a strategy built entirely on hoping the perfect moment arrives on its own.

Here is what I tell every buyer right now. Do not shop based on the lowest rate you saw online two weeks ago. That number may not exist anymore. Shop based on what you can actually afford today and give yourself a cushion in case rates shift before you get under contract. Once you find the right home have a real conversation with your lender about every tool available to you. Rate locks, seller credits, temporary buydowns, and permanent buydowns can all meaningfully improve your payment situation without requiring rates to drop on their own.

Waiting can work when it is grounded in something real. If prices are softening in your market or inventory is improving and creating better options, waiting has a logical foundation. But waiting simply because you are hoping rates magically fall is a strategy that has backfired for a significant number of buyers over the last two years while prices in many markets continued to appreciate around them.

The goal is not to predict the market perfectly. It is to buy when the numbers make sense for your actual life. Follow me for more real-world mortgage advice.

06/16/2026

Most homeowners have no idea that when they die their family could lose the house, even if it is already paid off. Here is what actually happens and why it matters more than most people realize.

If you have a mortgage and no plan in place, the payments still have to be made after you are gone. If your family cannot make them the bank takes the house and keeps all the equity you spent years building. Everything you worked for disappears.

If you do not have a will, the court decides who gets your home through a process called probate. Not your family. A judge. And it costs them thousands of dollars and months of waiting during an already painful time.

If you do have a will, most people think they are covered. They are not. A will still goes through probate. It is somewhat cheaper but your family is still paying lawyers and waiting months to access what you left them. The will tells the court your wishes. It does not skip the court.

But if you have a trust, you skip probate entirely. The house transfers directly to whoever you chose, exactly the way you intended. No court involvement. No delays. No unnecessary legal costs. Your family gets what you built for them without fighting for it.

That is why almost every high-net-worth family uses a trust. It is not about being wealthy. It is about protecting what you built and making sure the people you love actually receive it.

Share this with your family before it is too late to have this conversation.

06/16/2026

Inflation just hit a three-year high and your clients are going to see that headline and feel nervous. Here is the good news you get to share with them right now.

Yes, the top number came in at 4.2 percent. That sounds alarming on its own. But the real story underneath that headline is significantly calmer than it appears. More than 60 percent of that increase came from one place: energy and gas prices. Strip those out and look at core inflation, the number the Federal Reserve watches most closely, and it rose just 2.9 percent for the year, which actually came in softer than experts were expecting. That is a very different picture from the headline number.

That is exactly why the Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady at next week's meeting. The underlying data does not support an emergency response and the Fed knows the difference between headline noise and structural inflation.

When a client brings you that scary headline, you now get to be the calm and trusted voice who walks them through what is actually happening behind the number. That is exactly the kind of guidance that turns a nervous buyer into a confident one who is ready to make a smart decision rather than freeze in place.

The headline was loud. The underlying data was not. Follow me for more on what the headlines actually mean for housing and mortgage rates.

06/11/2026

Rich people do not use credit the way most people think. I learned this from a banker who works exclusively with high-net-worth clients and it completely reframes how you should be thinking about credit.

Most people believe credit lines are debt and that debt is bad. So they close accounts they do not use or avoid applying for credit they do not immediately need. But wealthy people do the opposite. They keep massive credit lines open, sometimes hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and they keep them completely idle. That is not an accident. That is a deliberate strategy.

Here is why it is genius. Keeping large credit lines open with little to no balance keeps credit utilization near zero which is one of the most powerful drivers of a high credit score. But more importantly, when a deal comes along, a real estate opportunity, a business acquisition, something that requires fast capital, they can move immediately while everyone else is still waiting on bank approvals. They are not using credit to buy things. They are using it to stay ready.

Here is how you can implement this same strategy right now. If you are a homeowner, open a HELOC. It sits there unused until you need it but it is available the moment an opportunity appears. If you are not yet a homeowner, request a credit limit increase on cards you already have but rarely use. Keep the utilization low and let the available credit work for your score and your optionality.

Follow for more smart money strategies that actually move the needle.

06/10/2026

Your mortgage payment is fixed but your total monthly payment might not be and here is exactly why that happens and what to do about it.

When you have a fixed-rate mortgage what is actually fixed is your principal and interest. That piece never moves. But if you have an escrow account your lender is also collecting money every month for property taxes and homeowners insurance and those two things are absolutely not fixed. When your county reassesses your home and raises your taxes or your insurance company increases your premium your total monthly payment goes up even though your interest rate never changed by a single point.

Sometimes the increase feels even larger than you would expect because your escrow account was short from the prior year. Your servicer is not just collecting for the newly adjusted amounts going forward. They are also collecting extra to make up for the previous year's shortfall. That combination can produce a payment jump that feels like it came from nowhere and that nobody warned you about.

Here is the important distinction. Your lender did not change your fixed rate. The cost of owning the home around the mortgage changed. Here is what you can do about it. Review your escrow analysis statement every single year so you understand what is changing and why before it catches you off guard. Shop your homeowners insurance regularly because premiums vary significantly between carriers and switching is often more straightforward than most homeowners realize. And investigate whether you can appeal your property tax assessment because successful appeals are more accessible and more common than most people assume.

Follow me for more mortgage tips that homeowners usually learn the hard way.

06/10/2026

Should you put 5 percent down now or wait to save 20 percent for the best loan? Let me run the actual numbers on a $500,000 home because the math might surprise you.

Option one: put 5 percent down today. That is $25,000 out of pocket. With good credit your PMI runs about $170 a month. Over four years that is $8,160 in total PMI payments.

Option two: wait four years to save the full 20 percent down payment. Sounds responsible, right? Here is the problem. At a conservative 5 percent annual appreciation rate that $500,000 home is now worth $607,000. Which means it now costs $607,000 to buy the same house.

You spent four years trying to save $8,160 in PMI and it cost you $107,000 in additional purchase price to buy the exact same home. That is not saving money. That is losing money while feeling financially responsible.

The numbers do not lie. Waiting to save a larger down payment in an appreciating market is one of the most expensive decisions a buyer can make. Getting in now, building equity, and eliminating PMI when you hit 20 percent equity through appreciation and payments is almost always the stronger financial play.

Reach out and let's run the real numbers for your specific situation together.

06/10/2026

Think buyers have disappeared? They have not. They have just become a little more selective and the data backs that up clearly.

Despite all the headlines about affordability challenges and elevated interest rates, purchase mortgage applications are actually running higher than they were at this same point last year. That tells us people are still actively looking to buy homes. The demand is real. What has changed is the behavior. Today's buyers are not rushing at every listing that hits the market. They are taking their time, comparing their options carefully, and moving when three specific things line up together: the right home, the right price, and a monthly payment that makes sense for their budget.

So if you are a homeowner who feels like the market is completely frozen, that is not really what is happening. The market is not dead. It is selective. There are still serious and motivated buyers out there looking for the right opportunity every single day. What has shifted is that pricing, strategy, and presentation matter significantly more today than they did a few years ago when buyers were competing aggressively for almost anything available. The homes that are positioned correctly are still getting attention and generating real offers.

If you are wondering what buyers in today's market are actually looking for and how to position your home to attract them, let's have that conversation. Reach out and let's talk through what this means for your specific situation.

06/09/2026

Did you know the home upgrade with the highest return on investment is not the kitchen and it is not the bathroom? It is actually much simpler and significantly less expensive than either of those.

It is your garage door. According to the latest Cost vs. Value report, replacing your garage door returns 194 percent of what you spend. Spend $4,000 and add nearly $8,000 to your home's value. That is not a typo. Almost double your money on a single upgrade.

But here is the part that number does not even capture. That 194 percent is just the direct ROI. It does not account for something equally powerful: the feeling buyers get when they pull up to your home for the first time. Your garage door is one of the very first things a potential buyer sees. When it looks sharp and well maintained, buyers walk through the front door already expecting a home that has been cared for throughout. That first impression makes them more willing to pay top dollar for everything they see inside because the tone has already been set before they even cross the threshold.

So you are not just doubling your money on the door itself. You are shaping the entire perception of your home from the moment a buyer arrives. That is one of the smartest and most cost-effective moves any homeowner can make before going to market.

Follow for more smart money real estate strategies that actually move the needle.

06/08/2026

Financial advisors tell you to never touch your 401(k) to buy a home. They'll scare you with penalties and ruining your retirement.

Here's the truth. You can take a loan against your 401(k). Zero taxes. Zero penalties. Your money stays invested and keeps growing. You pay yourself back through payroll deductions, and the interest goes right back into your retirement account.

Meanwhile, if you wait 3 years to save a down payment, that $400,000 house could easily be $440,000. The old advice just cost you $40,000.

21% of buyers already know this and borrowed against their 401(k) to buy a home last year. Follow for more strategies most advisors won't tell you.

06/04/2026

If you have ever wondered how much house you can actually afford, the online mortgage calculators are almost certainly giving you the wrong numbers and here is the actual formula that matters.

Take your gross monthly income and divide it by three. That is your maximum payment with existing debt obligations. So if your total household income is $100,000 a year, that is $8,333 a month. Divide by three and you get roughly $2,770. That is the total mortgage payment you would qualify for under standard debt-to-income guidelines. At today's rates with 10 percent down, that buys you a home around $430,000.

But here is what most people never hear. If you have zero other debt, no car payments, no student loans, no credit card minimums, you can actually qualify for up to half your gross monthly income. That same $100,000 household income now qualifies you for up to a $4,160 monthly payment. With 10 percent down that buys you a home around $650,000. That is a massive difference in buying power and most people have absolutely no idea that range even exists.

Your actual number sits somewhere in that window depending on your specific debt picture and the loan program you qualify for. The only way to know exactly where you land is to have the real conversation with a lender who will run your actual numbers.

Comment the word HOME and I will send you a DM with your personalized breakdown.

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N1470 Stone Bluff Lane
Greenville, WI
54942

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