Real Estate Information Archive

Are you selling your Omaha home and thinking about staging your home? Staging your home is worth paying for. Realtors highly recommend it to increase the chances of selling. While it's an extra cost, it helps make a positive impression on potential buyers and showcases the full potential of your property. Professional staging can highlight the best features, create a welcoming atmosphere, and allow buyers to envision themselves living in the space. Ultimately, staging can lead to a quicker sale and potentially higher offers, making it a worthwhile investment.

1. First Impressions Are Everything

When potential buyers enter a chaotic and disorganized home, they can quickly become disinterested. Comparing a messy property to a clean one, it's clear which one they will prefer. Professional staging can transform a space and create an inviting atmosphere.

Home staging is a transformative process that enhances your property's appeal. It is akin to a professional photoshoot, accentuating its best features. In a competitive market, first impressions are crucial when selling a home. By staging your property, you can capture buyers' attention and increase the likelihood of receiving offers.

2. Accelerate the Sale

When your home remains unsold, it incurs ongoing expenses such as mortgage payments, utilities, and property taxes. However, staging your home can significantly expedite the selling process. On average, staged homes sell 30 times faster than those that are not staged. By utilizing staging, you can save weeks, or even months, of time. Selling your home quickly allows you to cease paying for household expenses and transition to the next phase sooner.

3. Larger Offers

Staging a home can lead to higher offers from buyers, resulting in significant financial gain for sellers. It goes beyond superficial fixes and is an important aspect of marketing efforts.

Staging a home can have a significant impact on buyers. When a house is staged, it helps buyers visualize themselves living there, leading to a higher likelihood of them making a higher bid. The investment you make in staging could potentially result in a larger sale price. Whether your real estate agent covers the cost or you pay for it yourself, home staging is a worthwhile investment that should not be dismissed as just another expense.

4. Enable Buyers to See Themselves in Your Space

Home staging is a powerful tool that bridges the gap between different buyer preferences. It transforms a home into an inviting space that appeals to a wide range of potential buyers. By neutralizing unique tastes, staging creates a blank canvas that still exudes character. This allows buyers to envision themselves making lasting memories in the property.

Professional home stagers employ psychological tactics to create an inviting and appealing atmosphere. It goes beyond simply arranging furniture; home staging aims to establish a seamless flow that evokes a sense of excitement and possibility for potential buyers. By strategically placing items and creating a harmonious environment, home staging communicates the message, "Your future life here will be amazing."

Paying for Home Staging is Worth It

Selling a home can be an emotional and financial roller coaster. Fortunately, staging is a helpful tool for finding buyers. Staging acts as a safety harness, ensuring a smooth and quick sale process. The benefits of home staging make it a worthwhile investment when listing your home.

Have your home needs changed in the past year? Perhaps you’ve outgrown your present home, or need to downsize to a more suitable home. If you’re ready to make a move, let’s connect and talk about all the amazing opportunities that are available to you!

There's a lot of work involved in keeping a home looking clean and tidy, whether or not your house is on the Omaha market and you're preparing for showings. Particularly when you have a family, keeping your home clean can seem like a full-time job.

If you’ve ever been to someone’s house and felt like it’s always clean and you’ve wondered their secret, they probably have a few, including the following.

Stop the Marathon Cleaning Sessions

Many of us put off household chores and try to do everything at once, which makes us feel like we'll never be able to keep up. You may pile up clutter all week and then tackle it on Saturday.

That’s fine, but you could develop a negative relationship with cleaning because it’s always frustrating to tackle such a big project.

If you can make goals to clean your house a little at a time, it changes your habits and becomes a natural part of your routine rather than a once-in-a-while dreaded task.

Try focusing on things you can do right now that will make a difference over time, even if they are small. As a result, you won't feel overwhelmed. By gradually adding these small tasks to your daily routine, you'll stop thinking of them as cleaning. You'll just accept them as part of your daily routine.

Try the 20/10 Rule

The 20/10 rule is an approach that can help you stop being a marathon cleaner.

By using a timer, you train yourself to clean briefly throughout the week. For example, you can set a timer for 20 minutes. You focus on cleaning something during those 20 minutes. Then, you give yourself a 10-minute break to do whatever you want, and once that ends, return to cleaning.

Make the Beds Everyday

One of the best things you can do for yourself to feel mentally more in control of your home and your day is to make your bed every day. Make it even on the weekends or when you don’t feel like it.

Making your bed has an immediate impact. You can feel calmer knowing that at least one thing in your home is tidy, no matter what.

Put Things Away As Soon As You’re Done Using Them

Take a moment to consider how many things you use throughout the day without putting them back. Every day, we do it unconsciously. You might leave something on the countertop for now instead of putting it back in the drawer.

Clothes are another example. Instead of hanging them up, you start throwing them on the floor or your bed, so try to change that habit.

These things add up.

If you consciously promise yourself you’ll put everything back after you’re done using it, you’ll notice a difference in your home.

Do One Room At a Time

When you do clean, focus on one room at a time. It gets overwhelming to tell yourself you have to clean the entire house.

You can stay motivated and encouraged when you focus on one room at a time.

Have a Schedule

Having a schedule can help people maintain a clean home consistently. It is up to you to come up with something that works for you, but one way to do it is to separate tasks by day and do them on the same day every week.

You might dust and do laundry on Monday, and vacuum and clean bathrooms on Tuesday. You can go from there, but as you’re doing more frequent cleaning, things have less of a chance to become big messes.

Finally, aim to do a load of laundry a day. That means washing it, folding it, and putting it away. Laundry can create piles and messes all over your home if it gets out of hand, so taking control of those before they become problematic will keep floors and other areas tidier.

Maybe you come up with a routine for the load you do every day. For example, you could put a load in in the morning before leaving for the day. You put it in the dryer as soon as you get home, and you put it away before bed.

Have your home needs changed in the past year? Perhaps you’ve outgrown your present home, or need to downsize to a more suitable home. If you’re ready to make a move, let’s connect and talk about all the amazing opportunities that are available to you!

Moving, downsizing and renovating are among the many reasons why people look to utilize a self-storage facility. Whether you are needing to store your belongings for a few weeks or a few years, you want to thoroughly look into a facility to help ensure the safety of your belongings.

Below we have listed five things to look for when selecting a storage space. Let’s dive in:

-The first area you want to look into is the safety of the facility itself. Look for things such as surveillance cameras, door alarms, a keypad code entry and security gates around the premise. Additionally, utilizing a heavy-duty lock is a great way to add an extra layer of protection after you load in your items. 

-Checking to make sure the facility is climate-controlled is another crucial area to look into. This is especially important if you are storing electronics or other items that are temperature sensitive. It’s true that climate-controlled units tend to be more expensive, but so is having to replace items that are destroyed due to temperature. 

-Location, location, location. It can be quite a nuisance to drive a long distance when you need an item out of storage at the last minute. Convenience of location is a high priority for many people when selecting a facility. 

-There are some facilities that will only allow you to access the unit during certain hours so making sure those work with your schedule is crucial. Or if you don’t want to work around certain time frames you may want to prioritize facilities that you can access 24/7. On that same note, make sure the store manager is professional, familiar with the property and able to answer your questions. 

-What better way to get a feel for a facility than from people who have interacted and rented at the specific location? Looking through reviews online is a great way to get first hand testimonials of what your experience may be like. If a facility has incredibly poor reviews, you may want to move on and continue your search. 

If you are looking to sell your Omaha, NE house, be sure to contact our team for more information. Our dedicated, knowledgeable agents are here to provide you with the expert services you need.

Staging is a crucial part of the selling process, especially if you want your home to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers. It goes without saying that not everyone has the same taste in decor, paint colors and overall home aesthetics. Staging allows buyers to visualize themselves and their family living in the space, regardless of style differences. 

Below we have listed six common staging mistakes to avoid. Keeping these in mind during the selling process will allow your home to appeal to a wider range of buyers and stand out in a competitive market. Let’s dive in: 

Unnecessary furniture 
One extremely common staging mistake that sellers make is having too much furniture positioned in each room of the home. You want to keep in mind that potential buyers want to imagine themselves in the home with their belongings and that vision is clouded if they can’t see the space clear enough. Less is more when it comes to furniture and staging. 

Incohesive/dark paint choices
Splashing a fresh coat of paint on the walls is a great and relatively inexpensive way to refresh the rooms of your home. Dark paint colors tend to make a room feel uninviting and smaller than it is and having drastically different colors throughout your home is likely to disrupt the overall flow within the house. Light, neutral colors are always a safe bet. 

Having too many personal items on display
While showing that the space is livable is good, sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. It’s always helpful to put away the extra knick knacks prior to potential buyers touring your home. This will allow them to focus on the space itself and not commenting on family vacation photos or refrigerator art projects. 

Leaving rooms in the house empty
Some sellers believe if they can’t stage a room with expensive furniture that it’s better to just leave it vacant. This is a large mistake. Not only do furniture and decor have the ability to conceal imperfections within the room, they also show the potential of the space. 

Ignoring the exterior of the home
It’s true when they say you never get a second chance at a first impression. Driving up, the exterior of your home is the first thing potential buyers will see so be sure to not neglect it. Planting flowers, pulling weeds, adding a wreath to the door and painting your front door are simple things that can make a huge difference.  

Having realistic expectations of staging 
While the staging process can be extremely beneficial and helpful when selling a home, it’s not magic. It will not cover up obvious structural issues or evident flaws throughout the home, so be sure have realistic expectations when approaching the process.

Selling your Omaha, NE home? Allow our team of professional, knowledgable and trustworthy real estate agents to go to work for you! Additionally, don't miss our "Seller Tips" page here! 

If you are looking to sell your Omaha home, chances are you have made a list (either on paper or in your head) of all the projects and improvements you would like to complete before the listing goes live. This can be a stressful time for homeowners and many of the tasks you've outlined may seem daunting from a time perspective as well as a budget. 

Don’t let that discourage you. Here are five areas to focus your efforts to get a great start:

1. While decluttering your home, be ruthless in what you purge. Whether you are selling, donating, or throwing things away, you want to ensure any items that are left in your home are intentional. Potential buyers want to be able to see themselves living in the space, so an uncluttered, neutral space allows them a clean slate to envision their lives in your home. 
2. Details matter! Walk through each room of your home with a discerning eye. Check light switches, baseboards, light fixtures, door handles & hinges, flooring, and walls. Make a list of any and all damage that needs to be fixed. Small items like patches in a wall or replacement of switches or hinges are fairly easy. However, if you find you need faucet replacements or larger items, you may want to hire a handyman to take the stress off of you and knock out chunks of your list at once. 
3. A fresh coat of paint is a great way to refresh almost every room of your home. Not only will it look brighter, it also gives the room and home a "new home" feel. As a side note- remember to choose a neutral palette in your color choices. This allows your potential home buyers to decorate according to their personal style. 
4. You never get a second chance at a first impression. Knowing this, give your front porch and yard a little extra TLC. Look into low-cost projects that offer big-impact curb appeal such as porch lights, new house numbers, a fresh mailbox, welcoming doormat, planters and/or a wreath for the front door. 
5. Finally, we can’t overstate just how important it is to give your home a thorough, deep clean before potential buyers start to tour the space. If you don’t have the time to do this yourself, look into hiring a cleaning service to make sure each surface is shiny-clean and your home is able to put its best foot forward. This includes cabinets, closets, the basement, and the garage. 

If you are looking to sell your Omaha, NE house, be sure to contact our team for more information. Our dedicated, knowledgeable agents are here to provide you with the expert services you need.

If you are in the market to sell your Omaha, NE home, the process may seem daunting and overwhelming at first. There are a lot of things to consider and clutter to sort through. To help alleviate those unpleasant feelings, we have broken down the selling process into a few easy steps to help you understand the steps a bit more. Let’s dive in:

-Find a knowledgeable and qualified real estate agent that knows the market and will work hard in your best interest. This is one of the most important steps as a great real estate agent will be able to walk you through each step of the process and ensure your home is sold quickly and for top dollar. (Learn more about our team here!)

-Determine the list price for your home. This is something your real estate agent will be able to help you determine based off current market trends, comps in the area, etc. Pricing your home too high could lead to your house sitting on the market for a while, and an underpriced house will leave money on the table.

-Get your home ready to sell by decluttering, making repairs and staging. You want potential buyers to walk in and feel like they are home. You should strive to make it comfortable, yet depersonalized enough that buyers can picture themselves living in the space. 

-Market and list your home. Most of this process will mostly fall on your real estate agent as they will be the one to list your home on the MLS database. Additionally, they may market your home in other ways such as holding an open house, a broker/agent showing, coordinating professional photographs of the home and posting sale signage in the yard. 

-Show your home. The more potential buyers that come through your doors, the more likely you are to receive an offer. Make sure that your home can be tidy and clean at a moments notice and you are able to leave your home during the showing as to not distract buyers. 

-Review offers that come in and negotiate if necessary. Besides the offer price, other areas to consider before accepting an offer include buyer pre-approval, seller concessions, closing costs, timeline and buyers contingencies. 

Be sure to check back each week for more real estate and Omaha, NE community information! Also, are you following us on Facebook? If not, be sure to check us out here! 

Did you know the photos that are used in your home listing are a crucial part of the home selling process? It’s true! They can be a large factor in the amount of initial interest your listing receives, and can be a great tool to showcase your home with homebuyers out of state. Below we discuss a few tips and tricks to help ensure your images not only turn out well, but stand out from the rest. Let’s dive in: 

-Our first tip is to ensure that your home doesn’t appear too “lived in.” You want to spend some time decluttering your home to help that the images turn out clear and allow buyers can focus on the home - not your things in it.

-If you are finding you need extra space to store bulky furniture or miscellaneous items, you may want to consider renting a storage unit. It is a great way to keep your items safe and in good repair until the home sells, while also decluttering the space. 

-Staging a home is known to increase not only the amount of offers that come in, but also the price of those offers. You can either stage the home yourself or bring in a professional staging company to help ensure the home looks its best and is staged to sell. 

-You want to make sure to highlight all the natural light and/or pretty views as those features are a huge selling point for potential buyers. Make sure all your curtains are open and windows are cleaned. For a better photograph, you want to make sure all lights and lamps are turned on, inside and out, but to make sure that all ceiling fans are turned off.

-Lastly, it is important to take some time to depersonalize your home. This includes excessive family photos, refrigerator door clutter and kids toys. You want the images to showcase the home itself and not have potential buyers be distracted by the other items throughout your home. 

Are you interested in hearing what our amazing clients are saying about us? Be sure to check out the Testimonials page here!

When selling your home, there are many factors that determine whether your property will sell quickly or sit on the market for a while. If you are in the process of selling your Omaha, NE home and are wondering why it hasn’t sold yet, we encourage you to keep reading as we have outlined a few reasons why the “For Sale” sign may still be up. Let’s dive in:

-The price is too high.
We understand the attachment people have with their homes, however you have to make sure the emotion doesn’t push you to overprice the property and expect people to pay more than it's actually worth.

-The home needs renovations.
Is your home needing those repairs that you have been putting off for years? Are your appliances and fixtures outdated? While some buyers enjoy the challenge and freedom that comes with home renovations, many buyers are looking for a house that is move-in ready. You are better off taking the time and money to do at least some light renovations and updating before your home hits the market. 

-The home is not staged well. 
When potential buyers view your home either online or in person you want them to feel as if the space is livable and functional for them and their family. One way to achieve this is by staging your home and giving buyers an idea of how certain spaces can be used and rooms can be laid out. 

-The listing photos don’t show the house well.
Buyers will typically begin their home search online by scrolling through listings and zooming in/out of images of properties (this is especially true given the current climate). That is why it is so important to have a professional snap the images of your home. Ideally you would use a photographer who is familiar with real estate photography as they will know all the right angles and shots to capture. You want to put your best foot forward and showcase all the wonderful features of your property. 

-The time of year.
Your home not selling could come down to something as simple as timing. Especially when it comes to time of year, as spring and summer months tend to be a better time to sell a home than winter and fall. 

-Your home appeals to a specific buyer.
If your home is unique and unlike others in the area, it can definitely prove to be an advantage in many ways. On the flip side, it  may also mean that you have to wait a bit longer for the right buyer to come along and fall in love with the property. 

Selling your Omaha, NE home? Allow our team of professional, knowledgable and trustworthy real estate agents to go to work for you! Additionally, don't miss our "Seller Tips" page here!