Tori Ross is the co-host of "Real Estate Reality Hour" which airs every Saturday morning at 9:00 on 1290 KKAR. Tori has invited me to join her Saturday on-the-air to discuss all things real estate.  You can listen to the broadcast either on your radio at 1290 am or online at 1290 KKAR. If you have a real estate question you can call in at 402-342-1290.   Trumm Team - Omaha, NE Your Home Sold within 120 Days or I will Buy It! 08/20/2008

Whether you are looking for an inexpensive way to upgrade your home or have upgraded and want a way to recycle the materials from your home, be sure to remember the Habitat for Humanity Store in Omaha, Nebraska.   Donations accepted include:   "The ReStore accepts new and used building-related materials from contractors, suppliers, individuals, remodelers and property managers. Some materials are used directly in the construction of Habitat homes, but most are offered to the general public to purchase at significantly reduced prices. When you have good, reusable or new materials, give us a call at 402-934-1033 or send an email to sarment@habitatomaha.org.You will need to provide a description of the materials as well as your contact information. If you are unable to deliver the material... 08/18/2008

Connie Watts | Prudential Ambassador Real Estate | 402-880-9027 17112 Madison Street, Omaha, NE Two Homes in One! 5BR/3.5BA Single Family House offered at $254,500 Year Built 1999 Sq Footage 2,989 Bedrooms 5 Bathrooms 3 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Fireplace High/Vaulted ceiling Walk-in closet Hardwood floor Tile floor Family room Living room Bonus/Rec room Office/Den Dining room Breakfast nook Dishwasher Stove/Oven Microwave Granite countertop Attic Basement Laundry area - inside Balcony, Deck, or Patio Yard Jacuzzi/Whirlpool COMMUNITY FEATURES Garage parking OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES Great curb appeal! Spacious kitchen with lots of cabinets & counter tops E... 08/18/2008

So you got an offer on your house. You like the price but what is this about ‘seller to pay 3% of purchase price towards buyer's closing costs?' Basically the buyers are asking for you to pay the expenses that they will incur in purchasing your home. These can include costs related to the loan, prepaid and prorated taxes and insurance, appraisal fee, discount points, survey, title insurance, closing fee, and the list goes on. This is ridiculous, right? Wrong, it is typical. Nine out of ten offers include seller paid closing costs. With where the economy is at and with lenders requiring at least a 5% down payment, buyers don't have the additional funds necessary to pay their closing costs.  Look at the numbers. If the offer is $200,000 and the buyers want you to pay 3% ($6,000) of the pu... 08/17/2008

Troy Trumm | Alliance Real Estate | troy@troytrumm.com | 402-676-6700 13632 W Street, Omaha, NE 13632 W Street in the Discovery subdivision of Omaha 4BR/3BA Single Family House offered at $122,000 Year Built 1979 Sq Footage 1,572 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This home has been meticulously prepared to sell – fresh paint, new carpet and cleaned from top to bottom. Huge kitchen with two story ceiling, new laminate flooring, and tons of counter and cabinet space. The family room has a gas fireplace and beautifully refinished built-in book shelves. The master bedroom has a private 3/4 bath with a new counter and updated hardware. All appliances stay. Furnace, AC & roof new in ’01. Outside is mai... 08/16/2008

You're invited to stop by my open house this Sunday, August 17th from 1pm - 3pm.  The home is a beautiful 2 story home with GREAT CURB APPEAL. It's been well maintained, is on a cul-de-sac, has a terrific floor plan, large kitchen and nicely landscaped yard. Take a VIRTUAL TOUR of the home HERE. 08/16/2008

On my listings I request feedback from showing agents by email and I offer a $20 gift certificate to the agent that closest guesses the sale price. At the end of each month I send out an email announcing the winners for the month and I also include information on all of my new listings. The program has gained me quite a bit of notoriety among agents. Agents read the email to see who in their office won and it's a great chance for me to expose them to my listings.   Trumm Team - Alliance Real Estate, Omaha, NE Your Home Sold within 120 Days or I will Buy It! 08/11/2008

Thank you to the Nebraska Realtors Association for bringing Bruce H. Aydt to Omaha to teach GRI 103: Ethics and Legal Issues. The class was held at the Scotts Conference Center on August 8th and 9th. Bruce has a regular column in Topics covered included fair housing, anti-trust, misrepresentation, disclosure, contracts, agency, and the Realtor Code of Ethics.    Some tidbits of useful information included: There are exemptions from the fair housing laws regarding discrimination. The most common is for 55 and over communities which are allowed to restrict housing to those above 55 years old without minor children living with them. An agent is required to disclose any material defects of a property even if the owner directs him not to. In order for a contract to be accepted, it not only n... 08/09/2008

I can't believe it's August already and school starts in just a couple of weeks. It feels like the summer has just flown by.  I wish I had great news about the real estate market, but the fact is its still in a slump.  However, it will be interesting to see what effect the recent Housing Bill passed by Congress and signed by the President will have on the real estate market for the second half of the year.  One thing is for sure, buyers are getting great deals on homes.  Unfortunately, sellers are not getting top dollar.  For more, check out my blog for statistics for both Douglas and Sarpy counties. Three elements in real estate that determines if a home sells in a timely manner are price, condition, and location.  In this market, price is definitely in the driver's seat. The trick is ... 08/05/2008

Before you make an offer on a home be sure to have your Realtor conduct an address history search.  The MLS is an extremely powerful tool and a savvy buyer's agent can use it to gain insight on a potential property.  This will let you know if the home has been listed in the past, for what amount and how many days it was on the market.  For most experienced agents in our market conducting an address history search is second nature and those agents use it to see if the home has been listed in the past and for what amount.  For example, lets say a home is a "new" listing for $130,000 and is only showing 7 days on the market.  By conducting an address history search, you will see that this "new" listing has actually been listed before for $127,000 and it was on the market for 120 days befor... 08/05/2008

More and more consumers are purchasing web enabled cell phones or "smartphones."  Today's consumer wants instant information and they want that information anonymously without having to speak with an agent.  Previously, in an attempt to meet that need we used to offer an "audio tour" program.  However, consumers want more than just what we think they want to hear.  Most consumers also know that most audio tour programs are a ruse to capture their information ... so they can be harassed later.  If they really wanted to speak with us wouldn't they just call the number on the sign? Wouldn't it be neat if you drove past ANY home listed by ANY company and view photos of the interior without even leaving the comfort of your car or going back home and looking up the home online?  As of today's... 08/04/2008

I am not sure if this should be a "members only" or a public post. I simply amazes me when agents say things such as well, "Your home didn't get shown because you listed with a "discounter."  First of all, commissions are negotiable and their is no such thing as a "standard" commission.  Having a "standard" commission is called price fixing and against the law.  Boycotting a firm because they are a "discounter" is also against the law.  Besides, how can you discount something that is negotiable?  Telling a seller that your home did not sell because of what company they listed with gives ALL agents a bad name and does nothing to enhance the view of our industry.  It gives the public the notion that all we care about is money and it also against the code of ethics.  It also hurts your ima... 08/03/2008

How did the month of July shape up for the Omaha real estate market? Check out the figures below. Total Number For Sale 6271 Total Number of Accepted Offers 837 Total Number of Closed Sales 1002     % of sellers that accepted an offer 13.35% Absorption rate in months 7.49     These numbers encompass all residential listings in the Omaha Area Board of Realtors Great Plains Multiple Listing Service. Absorption rate is the amount of time it would take for all of the current properties for sale to be sold, or absorbed into the market, assuming that no additional properties are put on the market. At the moment there is a 7.49 month supply of homes available. This represents a slight improvement over last month, although it is such a small improvement (7.49 versus 7.93) that I say it is stati... 08/03/2008

June and July are usually robust selling months for homes in Omaha metro area.   However, data pulled from the Omaha MLS indicates a significant decrease in number of home sales from 2007 to 2008.  Some factors, I think, that can be contributed to the decrease in home sales are, rising mortgage rates, tightened mortgage guidelines, and lack of consumer confidence.   Looking forward, I think the second half of the year will interesting to say the least.  One positive for the real estate market is the new housing bill recently passed by congress.  The bill gives first time home buyers a tax credit of $7,500, it also, raises the minimum contribution for an FHA mortgage from 3% to 3.5%.  More first time buyer activity might also spur more move up buyers.  Douglas County had 411 attached and... 08/02/2008

Number of home sales down 45%! Thank you for checking out my July Real Estate market report for Omaha NE including Downtown Omaha Condos, Midtown - Dundee, UNMC, North Omaha - Benson, Northwest Omaha, West Omaha Homes, Elkhorn, Ralston and Millard homes that are for sale on the Omaha MLS. . Active Listings, as of August 1, 2008 and Sold Data from July 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008.  Months supply is the number of active listings divided by the number of sold listings for the month. Douglas County had 411 attached and detached homes sold in July 2008 compared with 752 in 2007, which is down 45%. As of August 1 2008, there were 4,068 active homes for sale, which is 9.9 months supply of homes. July Data   Active as of August 1, 2008, Solds 7-1-08 to 7-31-08 Douglas CountyActive listings 4,068So... 08/02/2008

The tv show Extreme Makeover Home Edition is hugely popular and everyone that watches it dreams of having their home made over, but what happens after the remodeling is done and the cameras leave. Most probably take great care of the home knowing how lucky there are to have such a gift. For one family, however, foreclosure looms ahead. Today on the evening news was the story ‘Extreme Makeover' house faces foreclosure. Apparently the owners refinanced the house for a construction business of theirs that failed. When will people learn that a home is a place to live? It is not meant to be used as collateral for anything other than the loan that was given to obtain the property. Sure there are emergencies where using the equity in your home makes sense, but to use it to go on vacation or bu... 07/29/2008

For the most part I mostly write about all things real estate.  Occassionally, I write about items that may save you money so ... you could buy more real estate.  Here is a local Omaha website that may help reduce the cost of your daily commute, save wear and tear on your car, and help reduce our country's dependence on foreign oil. MetroRideShare.org This program is FREE and it works by matching your route with others that may have a similar route.  I noticed one of their signs on an appointment yesterday with a client.  It seems like a great idea and being a passenger will give you time to check out our mobile website at AllianceSells.mobi.  The savings from carpooling could therefore be re-invested in buying a home closer to work. (It was stretch but I managed to make this one a real... 07/29/2008

When selecting an agent there are a few things that you as a seller should do to verify an agent's track record and background. The first thing you need to do is verify that the agent is a Realtor® not just a real estate agent. To understand why this is so important, read In Omaha what is the difference TO THE SELLER between a Realtor® and a real estate licensee? .  Verifying someone's status as a Realtor® is easy just visit Nebraska Realtors Association and click on "Find a REALTOR®." The same thing can also be done at Realtor.com. Next contact the agent's brokerage and speak to the broker. Ask if the agent is still at the brokerage, how long they have been there, is the agent current on their brokerage and MLS dues, and ask the broker's opinion of the agent. Don't expect the broker to... 07/27/2008

The Omaha Area Board of Realtors' standard purchase agreement includes covers several topics that most people are not familiar with. Last month we reviewed Insurance (Nebraska Purchase Agreement - Insurance). Today let's look at paragraph 22 - Condition of Property. The paragraph 22 says "Seller agrees to maintain the heading, air conditioning, water heater, sewer, plumbing, electrical systems and any built-in appliances in functional and operable condition until delivery of possession. Seller will allow Purchaser to walk through property with ___ hours before closing to confirm compliance with this Purchase Agreement." Basically what this means is that the property needs to be in the same condition as it was when the purchase agreement was accepted. If between the time the purchase agr... 07/26/2008

The standard purchase agreement used by the Omaha Area Board of Realtors includes many paragraphs. Last month we reviewed Conveyance (Nebraska Purchase Agreement - Conveyance). Today let's look at paragraph 17 - Insurance. The paragraph 17 states "Any risk of loss to the Property shall be borne by the Seller until title has been conveyed to the Purchaser. In the event, prior to closing, the structures on the Property are materially damaged by fire, explosion or any other cause, Purchaser shall have the right to rescind this Purchase Agreement, and Seller shall then refund the Deposit to Purchaser. Purchaser agrees to provide their own hazard insurance at closing." The main point here is that if the property is damages before closing then the buyer has to option of backing out of the dea... 07/26/2008