Real Estate Information Archive

Who doesn’t love a good DIY project? There is something to be said about taking things into your own hands (literally) and completing home improvement projects so they turn out exactly how you envisioned. However, there are some DIY projects that you will want to put the hammer down for and call in the professionals to avoid costly and risky mistakes. In today’s post, we are going to be talking about three DIY projects that you want to avoid and call in the pros for.  

The first project we urge you to avoid are structural changes. Many people have a hard time deciphering which walls are load-bearing walls, and there can be large (and dangerous) consequences if the proper precautions are not met prior to the construction. Load-bearing walls act as support systems for areas in your home such as your roof, second story and attic and they are an important part of the structure of your home. Bringing in a professional contractor and/or engineer will allow you the peace of mind knowing that the structural integrity of your home is not being compromised because of a home DIY project you wanted to take on.  

The next DIY project to avoid is plumbing. Now while any plumbing mistakes you make are not necessarily life threatening to you and your family, but they can prove to be very timely and costly repairs if you have to bring someone in to fix what you did. Also, plumbing mistakes can leave your home unlivable until the problem is fixed, therefore putting you and your family at friends houses or at a hotel – and let’s face it, what is worse case scenario! Lastly, you want to avoid DIY electrical work. We know that many DIY project mishaps can be frustrating and annoying, but when it comes to electrical work mistakes, it can be downright dangerous for you and your family. If there is improper wiring for example, it can damage electronics in your home, as well as has the potential to cause a fire. It is always a good idea to call in the professionals for any large electrical work that you are thinking of doing to help avoid very costly and dangerous scenarios down the road.

There are so many fun events and adventures happening all throughout Omaha this weekend! Grab your family and friends and head out to explore all the area has to offer. We have listed a few events below that are great for all ages and are sure to keep the smiles and laughter going all weekend. Enjoy!  

What: Hip Hop Dance Tour (Breaking Workshop)
When: April 27th
Where: 1236 Royal Dr. Papillion, NE

What: Shakespeare in Love
When: April 25th till May 6th 
Where: Omaha Community Playhouse

What: Lanoha’s Spring Open House
When: April 28th till April 29th
Where: 19111 West Center Road Omaha, NE

What: Omaha Symphony Presents: Jurassic Park
When: April 28th 
Where: Holland Performing Arts Center 

What: Youth Triathlon
When: April 28th
Where: 10242 Mockingbird Dr. Omaha, NE

What: Nebraska Renaissance Faire & Midlands Pirate Fest
When: April 28th till April 29th
Where: Riverwest Park

What: Nebraska eSports Expo 2018 
When: April 27th till April 29th 
Where: 1000 Galvin Road South Bellevue, NE

What: Sweet Treats Bus Tour
When: April 28th till June 30th 
Where: Omaha Culinary Tours

What: The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner
When: April 28th
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Omaha Downtown 

What: ‘Widespread Flowering’ Art Exhibit by Ann Brugenhemke
When: April 25th till June 4th
Where: Lauritzen Gardens 

Putting your home on the market is such a fun and exciting time as you are saying goodbye to one chapter and looking forward to the next. Staging your home is one way to help sell your home faster and seem more appealing to potential buyers. And while that may sound like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be. There are some simple tips and tricks that we will be discussing today to help you through the process – we hope you take them and use them during your home selling process.

One of the first things you will want to do when staging your home is to de-clutter the spaces. Having too many items and/or furniture can make the home look small and closed off, which can be a turn off for potential buyers. It is also a good idea to steam clean the carpets, repaint the rooms that look dull, and give away or sell things that you do not need anymore. This will all help you to achieve a clean canvas for you to stage. Also, if you are going to be painting the inside of the home, you may want to stick to white or lighter colors as they can help to make the spaces appear larger.

Nothing is better than a home that has light and no one likes walking into a dark and dreary home. And the good news is if your home is darker than you would like, it is a pretty simple fix! First, make sure that all windows are clean to help push natural light through the home. Next, you will want to replace any dark window treatments with lighter ones to brighten up the frame of the room.

One thing that can help potential buyers see how the spaces can be best utilized is to stage furniture how the room should best be used. Leaving a room unfurnished or solely as a kids play room (when potential buyers may not have kids) can deter them from seeing the home’s potential. You will also want to crank up the curb appeal as this is the first impression potential buyers will have of the home. Make sure your front door is freshly painted, plant some new colorful flowers and make sure the grass is trimmed. You never have a second chance at a first impression, and these are simple ways to make sure it is a good one!

The weekend is almost upon us! And as the weather slowly starts to warm up, there are many family friendly events happening throughout Omaha this weekend. We have listed a few below that are sure to be fun for the whole group. So grab your friends and get ready for a weekend creating new and lasting memories. Enjoy! 

What: Ink | Paper | Press: The Power and Process of Prints
When: April 20th 
Where: Gallery 71, 1806 Vinton St. Omaha, NE 68108

What: Widespread Flowering Art Exhibit by Ann Brugenhemke
When: April 20th till June 4th 
Where: Lauritzen Gardens

What: Karaoke Friday Nights
When: April 20th 
Where: 510 N. 33rd St. Omaha, NE 68131

What: Moon Mouse by Lightwire Theatre 
When: April 20th 
Where: 2700 College Rd. Council Bluffs 

What: Opera Omaha’s ONE Festival
When: April 20th till April 22nd 
Where: Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St. Omaha, NE 68102

What: Shakespeare in Love
When: April 20th till May 6th 
Where: Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. Omaha, NE 68132

What: Handmade Omaha 6th Annual Arts and Crafts Bazaar
When: April 21st till April 22nd
Where: Bancroft Street Market, 2702 S. 10th St. Omaha, NE 68102

What: Old Market District Walking Food Tour 
When: April 21st till June 26th
Where: Omaha Culinary Tours

What: Healthy Kids Day
When: April 22nd 
Where: 2285 S. 67th St. Omaha, NE 68106

In today’s blog post we are going to be talking about a few simple tips and tricks that will help lower your energy costs on a monthly basis. And with summer quickly approaching, it is a good idea to get yourself and your family in the habit of implementing these as soon as possible. We hope you enjoy and hope they prove to be helpful!

The first trick we have for you is to install dimmer switches and light/motion sensors. How many times have you or your children mindlessly left the lights on when you leave the room? These devices are great because the automatic systems help to conserve light energy when you and your family forget to turn the lights off.

Next, you always want to make sure to unplug all appliances when they are not being used as they tend to drain energy - even if you were to power off the device completely. The Department of Energy estimated that appliances can increase your electric bill by ten percent or more, so this trick can prove to be very beneficial for you and your family.

It is always a good idea to keep your hands off the thermostat, as frequently altering the settings can end up wasting a lot of energy. You may also consider implementing a programmable thermostat that will adjust the temperatures automatically for you and thus save energy.

Many people do not realize that your front door can be a huge culprit when it comes to energy loss for heating and cooling your home. Be sure to use weather stripping, as well as check the caulking, to make sure both are properly sealing the air in the home. And if need be, it may be a good idea to invest in a new front door altogether.

If your HVAC systems are more than ten years old, they tend to be less efficient and can also waste money every month. You may want to consider upgrading to Energy Star-qualified replacements to help ensure the system is not draining energy and money. 

Looking for family fun events in Omaha this weekend? Don't let the forecasted rain and clouds steer you away from all the fun activities around town! Below we have listed a few that are sure to bring a smile to everyone's face, young and old alike. We hope you enjoy! 

What: Free Daytime Family Fun Events
When: April 12th – 15th 
Where: CenturyLink Center Omaha 

What: Welcome to Storybook Land!
When: Sunday, April 15th from 1 till 4pm
Where: 14850 Laurel Ave., Omaha

What: Omaha Mini Maker Faire
When: Saturday, April 14th from 9am till 4pm
Where: Do Space, 72nd and Dodge

What: Nature Play
When: Saturday, April 14th from 1 till 4pm
Where: Joslyn Art Museum

What: Family Education
When: Saturday, April 14th from 10 till 11:30am
Where: 11809 Old Maple Road, Omaha

What: Creative Weapon Flow Classes
When: April 13th 
Where: 11138 Q St., Omaha, NE

What: Yoga in the Aquarium 
When: April 14th and 15th 
Where: Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 

What: The International Omaha Horse Competition
When: April 12th through April 15th 
Where: CentryLink Center Omaha

What: Metamorphosis: From Reclaimed Plastics to Works of Art
When: April 12th through May 13th 
Where: Lauritzen Gardens 

With the arrival of Spring brings beautiful blooms and dashing colors throughout gardens in Omaha. And to a gardener, we know there is nothing better than seeing your spring garden in full swing. No matter if you are a gardening expert or a newbie just starting out, we have some tips and tricks below to help your garden thrive!

A key step to a successful garden is mapping everything out as best you can. You want to think about the location of certain plants, which ones will grow successfully together, the amount of sunlight available in certain areas, what structures you will need, etc. The more detailed your outline and mapping, the easier time you will have when you to go start your garden. 

It is very important to get your soil ready, as nutrients tend to deplete throughout the growing season. You should begin this process 2-4 weeks prior to planting and can achieve this by purchasing soil kits from your nearby home improvement store.

Adding mulch around the garden beds will help to save water, reduce the amount of weeds in the garden, mitigate diseases within the plants and moderate the temperature of the soil. Make sure to water the soil before and after you put down the mulch, and make sure to keep it a few inches away from the stems of the plants. 

Another important step is to prune trees and shrubs to help improve their overall appearance. Be sure to only prune plants that have new growth in the spring, and keep in mind that plants from last years season should only be cut once their final blossom is compete. 

Hello April! With a new month comes new opportunities, new adventures and new family fun activities around Omaha for all to enjoy. For the young and old alike, these events are sure to keep a smile on everyone’s face and create lasting memories for the whole family. We have listed a few of these family approved activities below that we hope you will enjoy this weekend!

What: Spring Family Craft
When: Sunday, April 8th from 1:30-2:30pm
Where: Milton R. Abrahams Brach 

What: Under the Big Top! Circus Night
When: Friday, April 6th from 5-7pm
Where: Union Pacific Museum

What: Kids Workshops 
When: Saturday, April 7th from 9am-12pm
Where: The Home Depot

What: Hummel Hike Club
When: Saturday, April 7th from 9:30-11am
Where: Hummel Park Nature Center

What: Owl Prowl
When: Saturday, April 7th from 7pm-dusk
Where: Hummel Park Nature Center

What: Teddy Bear Weekend
When: April 7th-8th from 9am-3pm
Where: Omaha Zoo

What: 2018 Spring Festival, An Arts & Crafts Affair
When: April 6th-8th from (Friday: 11am-9pm, Saturday: 9am-6pm, Sunday: 10am-5pm)
Where: Ralston Arena 

What: First Friday Old Market
When: April 6th from 6-9pm
Where: Old Market

What: The Art of the Brick Exhibition
When: April 5th – 22nd from (Sunday-Friday: 10am-7pm, Saturday 10am-9pm)
Where: 222 North 12th St. Omaha, NE 68102

We understand that buying a home can be a very exciting time! As your mind wanders from room to room, you think of what décor you will use, what paint colors will dance on the walls and what colorful plants you will line the front walkway with. But understanding the structure and how well the home was maintained and built is also very important as it can help alleviate potential costly repairs in the future. Below we have listed a few items to watch out for, especially if you are a first-time home buyer, that can serve as warning signs for potential issues. 

Roof:
-Singles that are cracked, missing, curled or warped 
-Substantial wear and tear
-Materials that do not match

Plumbing:
-Leaking faucets
-A terrible odor
-Low water pressure
-Water stains that appear around the tub, toilet or under sinks

Foundation: 
-Any cracks that appear in the sidewalks, driveway or walls
-Doors inside the home that have large gaps at the top or jam up
-Crooked windows and doorways
-Unleveled floors 

Electrical:
-Visible signs of electrical tape
-Lights that flicker when turned on
-Exposed wires