Oral History Interview, Liz Lauer (1489)

Abstract

My story is a classic Madison tale of coming to the UW for college and quickly growing roots in this community - falling in love with this city and its people. I grew up in St Paul, MN where my father was a scientist at the U of M and my mother was a Realtor. In college I worked for a developer who owned and managed downtown Madison rental properties. From the beginning of my time in this town - enjoying the winter and summer recreation, intelligent and hard working people, and the cultural activities and entertainment - I knew this city was home home. Upon graduation, I started purchasing, rehabbing and managing income properties in the downtown and near east side of Madison. This quickly grew beyond the personal and into a public career - working with people to achieve their real estate goals. Never just to get a house sold or to get someone into a new home, but more than that every time. My mission was to help people understand their own needs and desires in a home and neighborhood, to identify a property's full potential, and crunching numbers and budgets so my clients have all the information to make informed financial decisions.