Madison real estate (Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Wausau: rent, condo, houses)

[sillygal]

Hi, I am not looking for anything fancy but a small one/two bedroom craftsman house would suit me fine, I have a budget of under $100,000 and I am thinking Madison may be out of reach for me, but I would like to stay in the area.....Can anyone suggest an area to look at that I could pick up a house for under $100,000 that is close enough to utilize the amenities of Madison. Since I am a bicyclist I like to keep my options open to all the rails to trails and greenways in the area. So being in the middle of all that would make me <<grin>> besides having the amenities of state street, and the lakes.

[JudeF]

Hi Madison real estate is sky high. But there are several small towns in the area, Deforest, or Barneveld is lovely and quant Lake Mills is about 30 miles from Madison and have a lovely lake and small town atmosphere along with Band concerts every Friday.
Good luck
JudeF

[sillygal]

Thanks for the reply, are u telling me the only option for housing under $100,000 is 30miles from the Madison area? Wow, thats a long ways away to enjoy the amenities of Madison. Does anyone know of a closer city, or area?

[cecily]

I am looking for a house to buy in Baraboo WI or Portage WI. $100,000.00 or less. Does anybody have any ideas or listings? I am originally from Madison, have taught here in CA...I HAVE to get home,; this place is driving me crazy!

[mrsincredible]

With only $100k as a budget, you'd be better off renting. You will not be happy living in a condo in an area that sells for under $100k. You could check craigslist or the fsbomadison.com website for ideas of what's out there and in what price range. Once you find the price range you're looking for, you can start plotting them out on a map to see the distance from Madison and start researching the neighborhoods for general info.

Again, you might be happier renting. You won't have to pay the astronomical property taxes so that's a plus.

HTH

[LML]

There is not a half way decent home for sell anywhere in Dane County for 100k or less..period.

[therrboomer]

Web sites to check are First Weber Realty, Remax, Century 21, Stark Realty, MSN Real Estate, FSOB-WI.

The info is out there lurking on the web, just got to dig a little.

To help your search, Baraboo is in Sauk County, Portage is in Columbia County.

Good luck!

[bucky]

Originally Posted by sillygal

Thanks for the reply, are u telling me the only option for housing under $100,000 is 30miles from the Madison area? Wow, thats a long ways away to enjoy the amenities of Madison. Does anyone know of a closer city, or area?

30 miles? Try minimum of 50. $100k won't buy much anywhere near Madison or Milwaukee. Or even Wausau or Eau Claire or in the Fox Valley, actually.

You should rent and save for a larger down payment. Decent "starter" houses in Madison are minimum $175k.

[Mol1112]

Don't forget to figure in property taxes. They're horrendous.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by Mol1112

Don't forget to figure in property taxes. They're horrendous.

I used to think that when I lived there, until I moved to a place where property taxes are higher.