Welcome to Teresa Elliott's Video Web Series with resources and topics that matter the most to you, featuring Teresa Elliott of Elliott Co., BHHS Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha, NE.
This Year's Street of Dreams was a great success! A Record-breaking, nearly 20,000 people visited. See a highlight reel featuring rooms from all 8 houses, plus our special walk through video tours of two of the homes! *For more information about the Estates at Coventry, fill out our quick online form
We were able to give away a brand new iPad to one lucky visitor from The Street of Dreams, compliments of ADC Homes, Icynene Insulation Systems and Seal Rite Insulation. Congratulations to Jessica & Paul Zulkosky, parents of 2 year old Quadruplets Ethan, Cade, Mason, Camden:
Teresa Elliott's Video Blog:
Street of Dreams Video Tour: Highlight Reel of all 8 homes: 11/11/2012 | Street of Dreams | Omaha, NE – A quick peek at all 8 homes from this year's Street of Dreams at The Estates of Coventry
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Street of Dreams Video Tour: ADC Homes (Sold, House #8): 11/11//2012 | Street of Dreams | Omaha, NE – Looking for a custom home? ADC Homes brings dream homes into reality. Check out this beautiful house created to the unique specifications of "The Jackson Family," complete with a gorgeous pool, themed rooms for 3 growing boys, a wrestling gym, and more. *Teresa Elliott is proud to represent ADC Homes and can help make all of your dreams of a beautiful custom home come true for you! Contact Teresa today at 402.690-1573 to learn more about building with ADC Homes.*
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Street of Dreams Video Tour: Widhalm Custom Homes (Currently for Sale): 11/11/2012 | Street of Dreams | Omaha, NE – Innovative Design by Widhalm Custom Homes, Inc. High end selections & contemporary finishes. Complete audio & security pkg. State of the art Thermador 4 fridges & brand new washer/dryer included. Kitchen has 100% flush mount appliances & hidden TV. 2 Story w/6bd, 6ba, 4 Car, 2 offices, in-law suite, finished LL w/ rec area, fam rm & wetbar. All Hunter Douglas window treatments are included, living rm & basement are automated. Beautiful Treed Walk Out Lot in Cul-De-Sac -------------------
videos created by: www.amouraproductionsrealestate.com
A behind the scenes look at the Street of Dreams 2012
9/15//2012 | Behind The Scenes at the Street of Dreams | Omaha, NE – The 2012 Street of Dreams Kicks off today. This year's Street of Dreams features 8 homes with 7 different builders, including the custom that ADC Homes built for our clients, the Jackson family! ------------------- Street of Dreams Special Events Calendar:
September 15th - Opening Day! get the first view of the homes, open from 11am-7:30pm
16th - Live music listen to the music of Chris Saub from 1-4pm
20th - Ladies' Day Out wine tastings, cooking demos, live music, giveaways, and more!
22nd - Husker Day watch the game as you tour the homes and win husker themed prizes!
23rd - Live music listen to the music of the Dan Cerveny Jazz Quartet from 1- 4pm
28th - Celebrate 28! vote on your favorite "confection art" display created by local bakeries in each home
29th - Celebrate 28! cake display winners announced
30th - Celebrate 28! and Live music listen to the music of Michael Lyon from 1-4pm
We’ve all heard the expression “time is money” right? So why, then, is time not something that most sellers think about when hiring an agent to list their property? Just imagine, hiring the wrong agent can end up in months of frustration with lack of communication, lack of preparedness and worse, a lackluster attitude toward what is probably the most important financial transaction of your life.
To help make sure you don’t make the same mistakes that countless other sellers have made, here are three important things to consider before you sign the dotted line of a listing agreement.
Shop Carefully and Consider Your Options
This question is often asked, especially by homeowners who consider selling their homes by themselves. The fundamental first answer to this question is that an experienced realtor is an expert at what he or she does. Through hard work and education, they’ve acquired a set of skills that make the process of home buying and selling a lot easier than it would be by doing it yourself.
Choose an Agent or Broker That is Current
What do we mean by “current”? It’s simple. Just like technology continues to evolve in all other areas of life, we have to assume that the person representing them is also current with technology. A very surprising large number of agents neglect to realize the importance of delivering on real-time needs of buyers using up-to-date tools. Rather than make the mistake of hiring an agent that is relying strictly on Open Houses (studies show less than 2% of sales are generating from Open Houses), contact someone that is using relevant technology.
Video is the single most innovative and also underutilized technology in real estate. Your agent should be using video tours as a matter of routine and unless they do so, you are working with a broker that has not yet kept up with the times. Buyers are out there using their smartphones to do home searches, utilizing their GPS systems to search neighborhood properties and expecting real time responses to information requests. That’s why it is critical to know that unless your broker is up to speed in today’s technology, they can’t keep up with the needs of today’s buyers. As a test, look up any agent in Google. Do they pop up as the first or second item on the search results page? If not, they are not positioned to be at the forefront of today’s technologically advanced real estate industry.
Look for Recognition Among Community and Peers
There is something to be said about agents and brokers that are revered not only by members of the community but also by their peers. In the many dealings that are necessary for a smooth transaction, it is critical that agents on both sides of the transaction are able to communicate effectively. When you have an agent that is difficult to get along with, does not mesh well within the community or their colleagues, you stand to face risks that directly impact the sale of your property.
Hire a broker with a name that is respected in the marketplace by both consumers and other real estate agents. When interviewing your prospective agents, be sure to ask about their dealings with others in the industry. ~ These are just a few of the things you can do to make sure you are in good hands when it comes to selling your home. But beyond that, it’s important to be able to look your agent in the eye and feel that you are valued – cherished and most of all heard. To give us an opportunity to listen to your needs, please contact us today. We look forward to the chance to share with you why we are the right brokerage to hire for your real estate needs!
Yes, you can pack everything up yourself and sure you’d save a few bucks but at the end of the day wouldn’t you rather be able to focus on enjoying your new place and setting things up rather than recuperating from the exhaustion of packing and hauling boxes? Hire professional movers. They get the job done so you can focus on enjoying your new place.
Say “Yes!” to Offers of Help
Rather than be polite about any offers you receive for help, ACCEPT them! Now is not the time for pleasantries – just like when a new member of the family is born and everyone wants to help, moving is a big deal too and friends, family and coworkers enjoy being there for you. So take all the help you can get and then invite everyone over to your new place to celebrate when all is said and done!
Use Up Some Vacation
Though you could get away with prepping your move, supervising the pros (see first point above), and setting up your new place only on evenings and weekends, the last thing you want to happen is for the whole process to drag on more than necessary. Take some time off from work, get the moving job done and then go on with life. Simple.
Don’t Procrastinate
It can be very easy to put off things “just another day” or one more weekend, but truth be told, it is FAR easier to chisel away at moving tasks one thing at a time, especially if you get a head start. Start early with your planning, identify the things you want to move, which ones you want to get rid of, and anything in between. Then take care of them systematically so that when moving week arrives you’re way ahead of the game.
Get Ready to Purge, Purge and Purge
The old rule is “if you haven’t used it, thought about it or seen it in a year – TOSS it!” so go ahead and get rid of those things! Not only will it be refreshing to start in your new home with plenty of room to play with but it will also feel good to donate things to deserving people that might actually use the things that have been sitting there forever.
Organize Thoughtfully
It’s easy to pack things up in a frenzy when moving out but if you are thoughtful about it you can end up making your move IN much easier. The best way to handle this is by labeling things and packing them on a room-by-room basis. You can use color-coded stickers, markers or anything else that clearly separates one room from the other and that way when the movers move you in your new home they will know exactly where everything has to go.
Treat Valuables With Care
Not just in terms of packing but it is essential that you are watchful of your valuables during the move. In the moving madness that is typical of most households during such a major transition, things of value can easily be lost, damaged or even stolen. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to transport especially valuable things in your own vehicle(s) and possibly look into moving insurance on larger items of value.
Plan the First Few Days At Your New Home
You may think you will be able to find those towels, kitchen utensils or hand soap once you move but the truth is that unless you go in prepared you probably won’t be able to find anything at first. The easiest thing to do is to prepare a box of all the essential items you will need for at least a few days in your new home. Make a list and have every family member add their own items to it.
Keep Important Documents Close at Hand
Many people pack their important documents early on in their quest to be prepared for their move and as a result sometimes those boxes get embedded deep into the room where those boxes have been moved. And as luck might have it, the minute you need something from your files you might realize that they are not so easy to reach. To avoid this from happening, establish a box of key documents that you may need access to and keep them close at hand with you during the move.
Keep Track of What’s Coming and Going
Finally, as you prepare and implement your move there will be a LOT of stuff going back and forth. Keep an inventory list, broken down by room and even further broken down by color code (see “Organize Thoughtfully” tip above). That way if you suspect something is missing you can easily refer to your inventory list. Also, if your moving company provides insurance your inventory list will be very helpful if not mandatory in case there are any claims.
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Good luck with your move! Remember, in our many years of experience working with buyers and sellers, we have established a long list of local preferred partners that we can vouch for as being valuable to our clients. Contact us today for a list of our preferred partners or for any other real estate related needs you may have.
This is our 8th annual client appreciation week and we can't think of a better place to celebrate than the 18th green of Champions Run. Come to our booth Thursday - Sunday and enjoy the Omaha tradition of the Cox Classic. We will have drinks, snacks and best of all the members of Team Elliott! We also have extra grounds passes to the event so if you're interested call or email us. We look forward to seeing you on the course!
For most homeowners selling their home the thought of negotiating an incoming offer is a matter of settling in on a price that both sides can agree upon. But did you know that there is another key aspect of negotiations aside from price that could have even greater impact on the sale? The terms of your contract hold equal weight and importance as price in the sale of your home and are critical to a successful sale.
Here are five essential things to consider when navigating through the negotiation process after an offer comes in on your home.
Preapproval
After the housing market crashed in 2007 lenders, buyers and sellers have proceeded very cautiously. Lenders are staunchly following stringent requirements, buyers and sellers are savvier than ever before and what seemed like formalities in the process before are now becoming necessities. Preapprovals are one of the things that did not always need to be done in advance of buyers finding a home. But as you receive your offer on your property, be sure that your buyer has apreapproval from a reputable lender. The letter should indicate what the buyer can afford and how much the lender is willing to loan them, assuming they meet all requirements at the time of application.
Down Payment
One of the requirements lenders have today is to have an appraisal done on the home to equate its value with the selling price. Unless the buyer has a significant down payment available, a less than ideal appraisal can stand to affect the sale altogether, even causing the deal to break down. Check to see how much your buyer is able to put down on the house and add up the down payment with the loan amount to see if they equal your asking price.
Existing Home
Does the buyer have an existing home they need to sell? This can be a problem for you as a seller if they want to include a contingency in the contract that absolves them from the commitment of buying your home if their home does not sell. This can wreak havoc on the sale of your property, as it would require you to leave the terms of your sale up to the success of another sale. It would be best to avoid offers that include existing home contingencies.
Closing Date
When does the buyer want to close on the home? If the requested closing date extends beyond 90 to 120 days then it might be time to reconsider the offer. Lenders have timing guidelines that dictate a 45-day policy, within which buyers must apply for a loan before closing. Anything longer than that would get in the way of the lenders’ policy leaving the seller hanging in limbo during those off weeks. When a buyer cannot meet the contractual obligation to get a commitment within 45 days, it might be a good idea to forego the offer altogether rather than to risk the sale.
Cash Transaction
Some buyers offer cash rather than opt for financing and though it is an attractive offer at first, you need to make sure that the buyer has the cash. Asking your Realtor to verify the availability of those funds will become a necessary additional step before you can move on in the offer. In some cases, buyers opt for alternative financing and when the time comes to verify the funds they are unable to do so. The risk is too great so unless you can be sure the cash is there, it is a better idea to move on to the next offer.
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Navigating through offers is a tricky process – especially in today’s market. It is no longer just a matter of coming to agreement on a sale price, rather both parties must agree to all aspects of the terms. For customized guidance on your real estate endeavors, contact us today!
