Todd Graves's (toddgraves) Blog

Every year, RISMedia and REAL Trends release two of the real estate's most comprehensive surveys: the RISMedia Power Broker Report and the REAL Trends 500. Both surveys rank the largest residential real estate brokerages in the U.S. based on both transaction sides and sales-dollar volume, and the...

The Fed did this! The Fed did that! Rates are up! Rates are down! Aaaagggh! Okay, now exhale.  In turbulent economic times the media can't wait to report what interest rates are doing.  Pundits prognosticate, forecasters forecast and soothsayers sooth.  When should you buy a home based upon inter...

Financing SolutionsYou've watched the news and read about it in the papers. You know, the "credit crisis" and how buyers need 20 percent down in order to buy a home? And even if you found a buyer with 20 percent down, lenders aren't making loans anyway. So, why bother, right? Wrong!We're right sm...

I just joined the Keller Williams Greater Omaha office today and look forward to continuing to help bring buyers and sellers together in the Omaha market.My new office address is 12720 I Street, Omaha, NE 68137, but my phone number 402.880.DIRT (3478) and fax number 866.622.0134 remain the same. ...

Frustrated not knowing if the agent who scheduled the appointment actually showed up? Here's a little trick to discover if anyone has been inside your house.Before you leave the house, place a ball up against the door the agent will enter. When the agent  opens the door, the ball will roll away. ...

Just because someone is a convicted felon doesn't mean they will be a repeat offender. However, it would be nice to know if your neighbor has done time.Go to http://felonspy.com/ to find felons residing in your area.For the Registry from the Nebraska State Patrol which lists High risk, Level 3 se...

Omaha appraisal company, Mitchell & Associates has recently released two reports on the Omaha real estate market. The Midtown and West Omaha reports cover both the eastern and western sections of Douglas County. Whether you are buying, selling or just curious about the Omaha real estate climate y...

As a seller, you obviously want to get someone to buy your home. To do that, you need to get buyers to come look at it. How easy is it for that to happen?Try calling your broker's company to set up an appointment to see your listing. What happens? Does the message say the office is closed even th...

O.K. maybe one half percent isn't so bad. What about taking an extra week to sell, though?As Satan rushes to the hardware store to stock up on mittens and ice melt, the real estate bubble has burst in Omaha. Not since 2001 when the average sales price dropped nearly 3%, has the Omaha real estate ...

The lockbox revolutionized the real estate industry. Instead of driving around to real estate offices to collect keys to show listings, they can just access the key from the lockbox, usually hanging on the door knob of the listing. There are three types of lockboxes in the Omaha area: The combina...