Keeping My Resolutions While I Run Around Acreages in Omaha, NE

Happy New Year!  I know. I am a little late. The first month of 2015 is almost over. But, I have been working out, trying to keep my New Years Resolution to stay fit and time just got away from me.

While traveling around, listing Acreages in and around Omaha, it struck me how many opportunities we have to stay in shape. Aside from all of the gyms and exercise centers, we have a fantastic bike and trail system in our fair city. Did you know that??? The trail system is called, Paths of Discovery. You can find detailed information on it by clicking here. While I am looking for just a few short miles, a person could go over 150 miles total!  Some trails take you though the heart of the city. Others, like the Keystone Trail, take you through the heart of my Dundee neighborhood. While, yet others take you through acreages lands in and around Omaha and even into Iowa if you take the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge across the Missouri.

All Trails.com has a good list of what is available for hiking in and around the Omaha area. One of the places I find myself most is in the Acreage Community of Cottonwood Creek. It's just off Hwy 133 on your way to Blair, NE from Omaha. I represent that development and find myself there frequently, so I just hop on their walking trail and get a little exercise while I am promoting acreages in and around Omaha. If you are interested in learning more about that great community, click here.

Living in Omaha makes it easy to keep my New Year's Resolution. I like that I can get out and enjoy the fresh air pretty easily, no matter where I find myself throughout the day. Hope you are enjoying the start of 2015! And, if you or anyone you know is looking to move, especially to or from and acreage in or around Omaha, please send them my way. Thanks!

So You've Found Your Dream Home in Omaha, NE...

Ok. So you've found the home you want to buy. Now it's time to prepare the home you currently live in and get it ready to sell.  Of course, you know you can call me at anytime and I am happy to assist you but to get you started in selling your home in or around Omaha, NE, I found this checklist on Real Simple to be a pretty good place to start. Click here to access it.

Basically, you need to look at your current home (as much as possible) as if it were the first time you were looking at it. If you were a buyer looking for their dream home in Omaha, NE, how would you rate YOUR home? We all tend to move into our homes in Omaha, NE with lots of ambition. I know my kitchen cabinets were the first things I planned to change...years later, they are still there.  Also, time has a way of slowly changing the condition of the walls, woodwork, etc. especially if you have raised a family since moving in. Are the walls marked up? Do you need to repaint? If you do, be sure to keep things neutral and light. Buyers are attracted to a blank slate so that they can see themselves in the home.

First impressions are critical. Is the yard healthy and weed free? Are the trees and shrubs trimmed so that they are not touching the house? How about the driveway...are any cracks sealed up? First impressions are very important. You want to be sure they make it to the front door feeling good about the home. I'm not going to go through everything on the list here but you get the idea. Keep things neat and tidy. Here's a great before/after photo of a tidied up laundry room.

Make the home look well cared for. Serious buyers will want to see every room in the house and may also ask "technical" information like what is the R factor of the wall and ceiling insulation, what are the ages of the appliances and/or roof, etc. So, it is a good idea to have the answers on hand, just in case.

Our market is heating up...There are fewer homes on the market than there were last year at this time. You know the whole supply and demand process. In the case of home buying in Omaha, NE, this means that it's a great time to Sell and a good time to Buy, but you better be making that move sooner rather than later. Prices will continue to rise as supply falls and interest rates have been slowly rising.  Check out this article by the National Board of Realtors. (While I am on the topic of articles from NAR, I have to let those of you who have interest in Acreage Communities in or around Omaha, NE know about the special financing available in rural areas. Click here for that article.)

I hope the information I have provided here gets you off to a good start. Remember, you can call me at 402-680-3945 or email me anytime at dickgibb@dickgibb.com if you want more information on how to prepare your home in Omaha, NE for sale. Until next time...

Easy Moves: The What, When, Who and How Much of Moving in Omaha!

Last year, you got to know me through my love of Acreages in and around Omaha. This year I'd like to offer up some of the things I've learned after being in Real Estate in Omaha, NE for over 25 years! Hopefully, what I share over the next several months will make your life a little easier if you will be moving in 2014.

When you're thinking about the what, when, who and how much of moving, it's been my experience that the whole moving process takes about 90 to 120 days from the date that the contract gets accepted to the day you exchange your keys. That means that after you decide the where of your new home, you have about 3 months to decide what you will move, when you will move it, who will help you and how much it is going to cost.

The first few weeks you'll need to focus on what you will be moving.  It's a great time to clean out the attic, basement and closets. Also, what furniture will you need in your new home? Will everything fit? I found this video by the author of the Clutter Diet that has some pretty good advise.

If you've got some pieces that won't fit or maybe you're just tired of dusting, you can have a garage sale (I've got some metal signs you can use) or you can give me a call. I have a friend, Anthony Yates, that has a ministry of taking gently used stuff that I don't need to someone that does. He picks it up for free and puts a smile on someones face when he delivers it for free.

If you have some left over paints or other liquids that you won't be moving and can't throw away, call UnderTheSink to arrange a time to drop them off.

I have more stuff to share about the what, when, who and how much of moving in Omaha but my assistant is bugging me to make my sales calls so it will have to wait. But if you are sitting on the edge of your seat and can't wait to hear more about the what, when, who and how much of moving, you call me.  If I'm on my phone, she'll think I am making my calls.

Getting Ready for Ol' Man Winter in Omaha, NE

While I am enjoying the last of the produce from my garden in the backyard of my home in Omaha, NE, I try not to think about the fact that winter is just around the corner.  And, since I live in a drafty, old barn in Dundee, I best be thinking about more than the great looking squash on those dried out vines.  I guess I need to turn my thoughts to the things I need to do to make sure my wife and I are comfortable during the upcoming cold winter months. 

I was searching the web and came across some tips for getting your house ready for winter in Omaha, NE. One of the better checklists I came across was posted by Bob Vila of This Old House.

Another good resource I came across for preparing a home for winter in Omaha was this video posted by Country Restoration:

 

And, I found this guy on YouTube. He has videos on just about everything I can imagine that I might need to do to get my home ready for winter in Omaha. His name is Tim Sellers...not sure where he is from but he really seems to know his stuff! He has short one to two minute videos that talk about preparing your eaves, your windows, your pipes and (my favorite) your furnace in homes in colder climates like Omaha. Here is a link to a playlist for some of his videos:

 

Preparing your home for winter in Omaha, NE

 

If you start looking around your home in Omaha and decide that it's more than you want to tackle, call me and I can put you in touch with our handyman who can help getter' done for you!  If you decide that you'd rather switch than fight, give me a call and I'll help you find a home in Omaha or the surrounding areas that requires a little less maintenance. Either way, it's time to put away the shorts and flip flops and get out the sweaters, mittens and coats cause winter's comin' whether we like it or not!