What is that strange little spotty picture??

Have you seen the funky little boxy graphics we are starting to incorporate in our marketing and yard signs?

These are called QR codes, and you will probably see them popping up more and more in retail stores, on website, on advertising posters.

If you are wondering what on earth a QR code is and what you should do with it, don't worry. Lots of people in our area don't know about them. Basically, if you have a smart phone, you can download an app called a barcode reader or a QR reader. Not all smart phones can read these codes, but iPhone can and most Androids will too. Android phones often come with Google Googles, which can read them, or you can download apps like Barcode Scanner from the Android Marketplace. If you have an iPhone, readers like Optiscan, QuickMark, QR App, and NeoScan are recommended by cnet.com. Palm has their own QR reader app, or i-nigma or BeeTagg.

You scan these little graphics with that reader, and it decodes them. The QR code might be a text display ("Open house on Friday evening from 5 to 7 pm"). It might reveal a website link with more information. That code above take you to a website that has the pricing, photos, and features for one of the homes we have listed. It could open a video or audio stream, or initiate an email on your smart phone that already has the recipient's email address and the subject line entered ("Please send me more information on 1610 16th Ave, Monroe").

We are using them on yard signs at some of the homes we have listed for sale and in some of our online marketing. It is just another way that we are reaching out to a different client base to help our sellers' homes be seen by as many people as possible.

Things to do around Monroe, WI

*Boo* It is that spooky time of year again. If you have time between Halloween parties and trick or treating this weekend, take a look at the area happenings:

~ Stop at at JoAnn's on Monroe's Square this evening for the Monroe Chamber of Commerce Business After 5 event.

~ Join the Young Professionals of Green County for the Ghosts of Green County tour this Friday evening. Let a local expert guide you through 55 miles of spooky stops, dark cemeteries, ghost sightings, and creepy locations through out Green County. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a flashlight. Space is limited!! $15 per person, register at the YP website.

~ The Imobersteg Farmstead Cheese Factory at the National Historic Cheesemaking Center in Monroe is ready for a ribbon cutting. Come to the Center of Saturday morning at 10 am for a ribbon cutting ceremony. Milk will be delivered at 9 am, and local cheesemakers will work their magic in the farmstead factory for the next four hours. There will be a presentation at 2 pm, "More than Just Cheese - Gourmet Spreads", followed by a tasting.

~ The Aliens are here! UFO Days is in Belleville this weekend. Don't miss out on the fun this Saturday throughout the town. Pancake breakfast, kids games, craft and food fair, fun run, parade, monster ball and more are going on throughout the day in Belleveille.

~ One of our favorite Halloween traditions is the Costume Parade in Monroe. Children of all ages are invited to show off their costume and walk in the parade from the middle school, around the Square and back to the school. Parents are always welcome to walk with the kids or line to streets and enjoy the fun. Line up by 3:45; parade starts at 4.

~ This is the last weekend for the Orangeville Haunted Mill and the Lena Haunted Barn. Have you visited these spook-tacular community fun-draising events yet this year?

~ Argyle has Fair Acres Haunted Hike this Friday and Saturday evenings. Meet at N7180 Dougherty Creek Road at 7:30. You'll hike up the hill and through created tunnels and halls at this haunted event.


~ Are you wondering about Trick or Treat hours for your Green County community?

• Monroe - 4 to 8 pm
• Monticello - 3 to 6 pm
  
• Albany - 5:30 to 7:30 pm
• New Glarus - 3 to 8 pm
  
• Brodhead - 4 to 8 pm
  
• Browntown - 5 to 7:30 pm
  
• Brooklyn - 4 to 7:30 pm
  

~ Monticello has costume judging at the school after trick or treat hours are finished. That is followed by hayrides to the firehouse for bonfires.

~ Finally, don't forget to VOTE next week on Tuesday. If your Tuesday looks busy, contact your community clerk about early voting via absentee ballot.

Property of the Week

This week's featured property is a brick home in Monroe.


They don't make homes like this anymore! This home is classic perfection inside and out.

A full brick Colonial, this home has 4-7 bedrooms. There are three main floor rooms with closets can be bedrooms if you need the space for a large family. Otherwise, use them like the current owner: home office, family television room, toy room. The master bedroom is truly a retreat from it all. There is a private balcony patio, a tiled bathroom with soaking tub, an alcove waiting for a chaise lounge and a truly enormous 11x9' walk-in closet.

There are oak floors throughout the home, and the original woodwork is beautifully maintained. In the living room, enjoy the stone fireplace with cherry mantle.

The retreat feel continues as you step outside. The fabulous 3 season porch lets you enjoy the view of the landscaped yard even when the rain falls or the mercury dips. It opens to patio and deck that are the ideal place for entertaining in pleasant weather.

Come see this one of kind, classic quality executive home today. Call Brenda or Luis at 214-5796 to set up a showing.

Curing for a Cure

This weekend marks the final regular season farmers market here in Monroe, and one vendor has organized a way for them to end the year with a bang.

Our friend Stef Culberson from Goosechaser Farm has put together "Curing for a Cure", a fundraiser for breast cancer research. Come downtown Saturday for a live auction featuring a variety of meats and other goods from local business owners.

Curing for a Cure draws its name from a donation of two whole, cured hams and two full sides of bacon. There will also be other food items such as 5# packages of Goosechaser Farm's famous brats, meat sticks from Hoesly's, a produce basket from Brennan's, fresh produce from Avon Locker, a produce and book basket from Inn Serendipity, acupuncture treatments from Harmony Community Accupuncture, car washes from Pro Image Car Wash and more.

Come downtown and bid high for this great cause!

Property of the Week

This week's featured property is an executive home near Monroe.

Elegance just minutes from town. This refined home in a rural subdivision is country living at its best.

You will have endless options for entertaining with the open layout and large deck. The home office is perfect for a satellite office or managing the household. There are new solid surface counter tops, hardwood flooring, and appliances, plus mature landscaping and updated paint colors, making this high quality Will Pick home a better option than building new.

Enjoy the morning sunrises with your coffee in the office or end the day on the deck watching the sunset over the private valley. Walk in; come home.

Volunteers needed

Get a little exercise and help out the Green County Humane Society at the same time.

The GCHS is always looking for people to help with walking dogs. This volunteer opportunity is a good for all involved - volunteers get exercise and the good feeling of helping out, the dogs become more adoptable with increased human interaction, and GCHS staff is freed up to work on other projects.

Requirements are pretty minimal: must be at least 13 years of age, schedule a time in the afternoon or early evening, walk a dog for at least 15 minutes.

To help out, you can go to the GCHS website and print out the volunteer application. Some community organizations (such as Monroe Theatre Guild) organize dog walkers in exchange for grant money. If you want your volunteering to go even farther, contact a non-profit you are part of to see if they participate in these programs.

If dog walking isn't your thing, you can help out with the cats as well. Cat Cuddlers are also needed, and the minimum age for that is only 12. As with dogs, cats benefit from the interaction and become more adoptable as they become increasingly comfortable with humans.

Can you spare a hour once a week or once a month to help out?

Things to do around Monroe, WI

Time once again for a things to do in the area in the upcoming week.

~ Monroe Youth Hockey is sponsoring "Give Hockey a Try" this Saturday from 8 - 10 am and 10 am - noon at SLICE in Monroe. This if for boys and girls 10 and under who have NEVER played hockey to try on some equipment and skate with our coaches to try hockey. Must be accompanied by parent or guardian.

~ Do some holiday shopping early at the Monticello Lionesses Craft and Nut Fair this Saturday. The gym at the high school will be filled with exhibitors featuring handmade goods of all sorts. The Lionesses also will have nuts of all varieties available to purchase for your holiday baking. There is a cash raffle, and lunch is available on site.

~ The growing season is drawing to a close, but local farmers markets are still open for a few more weeks. Visit the market in Monroe, Monticello, Paoli, or Lena to stock up for winter. Honey, preserves of all sorts, baked goods, root vegetable, meat and much more area still available.

~ Local athletes always need community support. Come to a youth football or volleyball game this weekend and lend your voice to cheer for the home team!

~ Come back to Monticello on Sunday morning for the Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast fundraiser. The proceeds go to support Monticello school scholarship program, vision screening programs, and the Wisconsin Lion's Camp and more

~ Dad's Farm Corn Maze is open for the season. Friday night is flashlight night. They will be open until 9 pm, so bring your flashlight and get ready for a spooky time finding your way through the maze. The maze is open 10 m to 6 pm on Saturdays and 12-5 pm on Sundays.

~ Monroe Arts Center has two events coming up in the next two weeks. Have you purchased tickets yet? Dallas Brass performs at the PAC on Monday starting at 7:30 pm. Monroe High School band students will spend time with the band that afternoon and will take the stage with them that evening. Tickets are $10, general admission. Folk musician Arlo Guthrie will also perform at PAC next week, on Friday evening starting at 7 pm. Tickets for that event are $20-75 depending on section. Contact MAC to reserve your tickets.

~ The Young Professional of Green County have a social event scheduled for Tuesday evening. Join them at the Monroe Country Club after work from 5-6:30 for conversation, a drink and an chance to win free golf.

We apologize for the weeks without our regular "Things to Do" feature. Between vacation and illness, Brenda clearly missed a number of weeks. We're healthy now and back on track. See you around town!

Property of the Week

This week's featured property is an executive home near Monroe.


Elegance just minutes from town. This refined home in a rural subdivision is country living at its best. You will have endless options for entertaining with the open layout and large deck. The home office is perfect for a satellite office or managing the household. There are new solid surface counter tops, hardwood flooring, and appliances, plus mature landscaping and updated paint colors, making this high quality Will Pick home a better option than building new. Enjoy the morning sunrises with your coffee in the office or end the day on the deck watching the sunset over the private valley. Walk in; come home.

Foreclosures and Sheriff's Sales

We've talked about concerns in buying a home through a sheriff's sale in the past.

The new issues with some foreclosures being handled incorrectly by lenders like GMAC, Chase and Bank of America are creating worries for some purchasers of homes at sheriff sale. With so many notes being sold and resold these days, proper documentation regarding the current lien holder is not always in place. If a bank cannot document that they own the lien to a home, they cannot legally foreclose.

This is an issue right now because it has come to light that some home that were already foreclosed upon or that are currently on the market might have defective documentation. If a court determines that a foreclosure was not valid, the judgment could result in a sheriff sale being voided. If a court rules a sheriff sale void, the buyer can be required to relinquish the property.

The ramifications of this are huge. Unless a purchaser at a sheriff's sale lines up title insurance, and not all title insurance companies will cover this, there is nothing to guarantee title and protect a purchaser's investment. This can impact not only the person who bought a house at sheriff's sale, but also future buyers.

We've said it before, but it bears repeating:

Please proceed with caution and with guidance if you are purchasing a home through sheriff's sale. It is possible to find a wonderful home or investment through these sales, but someone navigating these waters for the first time should take the time to become fully educated on the process.

The Wisconsin Realtor Association advises "No one should ever purchase a property at a sheriff’s sale without a title commitment and the advice of their attorney." Realtors don't give this advice like this because we only want people to purchase homes with the help of a realtor, but rather because we are a little more aware of potential pit-falls and want to help people avoid these situations.