Garages. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. But what’s the right number? How many should you have? Are more garages better?

I think this has been scientifically proven: Garage Creep. It’s a condition where one’s belongs expand exponentially to fit the space. I like to say, “If you build it, stuff will come.”

When I work with buyers, garage size is factor. Many buyers want a three-car garage, even if they only have two cars. I’ve recently been pondering this listed home. This house is in south Lincoln, nestled in a newer three-car garage land neighborhood. This home is comparable to the other homes, priced right, and has the requisite wood floors and granite countertop. But the house lacks that extra garage. And the home is getting over looked.

Take another neighborhood. Let’s call this area Classic Mature Tree Neighborhood. I think the norm here is a single car, detached garage. A double, detached garage is cause for excitement. And a two car attached garage? Jackpot! Sometimes living in old world charm requires getting wet running from the garage to the house.

Do I hear four-car garages anyone? Could this be a new trend? Good question. I have a friend with four-car garage. And, yes, it is filled with cars and toys. However, I’m not getting the vibe that four-car will be the norm. The compelling factors are cost and size of the home to support such a large garage.

So what’s a buyer to do? I watch buyers grapple with two-car vs. three-car. That’s the most common debate. My bit of advice: look at both. You’re going to miss plenty of quality homes if you limit yourself.

There are the typical signs of spring. The birds come back and build nests in hard to reach places. Your neighbor, the one with the perfect lawn, is getting a jump on everyone else. And kids running through the sprinklers when you still have on a jacket. But this is one of my favorite signs: the parade of personal items lining the driveway and yard. What? It’s time for the spring time garage cleanout!

Here’s how to do it like a pro. (1) Move everything in your garage out in the driveway or yard. Only move the stuff that’s actually sitting on the floor. (2) Got kids? Put them to work, too. (3) Eat lunch and ponder why you have so much stuff, and how you’re going to get it all back in your garage. (4) Sweep and hose. (5) Procrastinate some more. (6) Throw everything back in the garage before it gets dark.

If you’re selling your home, does a clean garage matter?

For sellers, garages are usually ground zero for staging and storing extra furniture and boxes. And, typically, buyers are understanding….especially when the home’s interior is neat, clean, and well staged. Buyers understand, short of a storage unit, stuff has to go somewhere. Yet, an overstuffed garage does look very small and can leave the buyer wondering if there’s enough room for their own belongings.

Here’s an example of garage storage gone bad. Buyer puts in contract for home. Garage stuffed with seller’s stuff. The day before closing, once the seller has moved everything out of the garage and house, in comes the buyer for the final walk through. The buyer discovers that the garage floor is severely cracked. The home inspector missed it, as did the buyer, because of all the stuff. Buyer checks the seller’s property disclosure. No mention of cracked floor. Did you hear the screeching sound? Yes, it’s the sound of brakes being put on closing until the garage floor can be checked out. So, play it safe and tidy up the garage!

When I’m working with buyers I am often asked if it’s important to be pre-approved for a mortgage. My answer is always the same: YES!

First, your time is valuable. Why waste time looking at homes you will not qualify for? If you only qualify for $100,000 it doesn’t do much good to start looking for homes that cost $150,000 because you won’t be able to purchase it. I know, it sounds like common sense: Don’t go shopping for more than you can afford. Open houses are a good way to easily view other home price points.

Another reason to get pre-approved is the sellers will take your offer seriously. If you’re making an offer, which offer do you think will carry more weight with the seller? The offer with a bank pre-approval letter or offer without? The seller wants to know that you’ve been to the bank and chances are very good you can get that loan.

Finally, one of the benefits of getting pre-approved is the lender may find credit report items or income ratios that need to be addressed before you can get that mortgage. You get the opportunity and time to fix any issues before you fall in love with a potential new home.

In today’s market environment, everyone is looking for the “best deal”. There are many homes that may fall in this category. However, the best deals are usually only on the market for a very short time, in some cases, only a day or two. Therefore, if you fall in love with your dream home, you must be prepared to move quickly or someone else will. Your mortgage pre-approval letter will get you one step closer to your goal.

I just met some wonderful people. They walked into my open house last week. The next day I helped them write an offer on that house. I wish I could say this is how our business usually works but this is most definitely the exception not the rule. What is more likely to happen is that we meet prospective buyers at an open house, decide to work together, and eventually help them purchase another property.

Sellers frequently ask “should I have an open house”. I always give the same answer “it depends”. Usually open house rounds are a bit like tire kicking or window shopping. Not necessary, but fun and good background information for future purchasing. So, if a seller is reluctant to open up their home to a group of strangers, or if it is just plain inconvenient, I say, just skip that part. It is not an essential element to their marketing plan.

But, they do have their place. Sellers, buyers and their agents can all benefit this Sunday afternoon custom. It is unlikely that a house will sell from an open house, but sometimes “lightening can strike” that perfect buyer walks in the door as it did for me last week. For the seller this is why it might be worth the effort. For the buyer (present or future) it is a great way to get a sense of the market. What do things cost, what do I like, and yes, we know sometimes you just want to check out the décor. That is okay too, it gives us a chance to meet you. Open houses provide a comfortable, informal way for buyers and agents to “interview” each other. I have met some wonderful people this way. Happily some of you have become my clients!

So sellers if you are game, give it a go. Buyers, come on in we can’t wait to meet you. See you all on Sunday afternoon!

Congratulations, you have just put your house under contract! Let the house hunting begin. Fast forward a day or two of “drop everything and let’s find a home”. We shop until we drop and THE house is found.

The giddy joy of hearing your offer is accepted is usually followed very quickly by a realization that this means an actual MOVE is going to be involved. The freshly signed contract includes a close and occupy date. Guess what? This really is the occupy date. NOT BEFORE. And it means the same thing on the contract on your current home. You must be out of your home (and leave it clean and sparkly too) on the day and hour of closing. NOT AFTER.

This begs the question. HOW?

Close on the new home prior (day, week, month, or year) to closing on your current home. On the plus side, you have time to move, put away, organize, paint, or re-model. On the down side, you own two homes until your current home closes. Depending on your financial position and risk tolerance this can be a wonderful option or not even on the table.

Close on current home, move somewhere in the interim. This is common when building new construction. Take the “bird in hand” and get your home sold NOW and rent (unless you have some very nice friends or family to take you in) until home is completed.

Most common is the “one day of sheer craziness” option. Close on your current home first thing in the morning, take the proceeds from that home and close on your new home a few hours later.

We’ve got a few more tricks up our sleeves (and some fun success stories) but this is the basic lay of the land. Let us know if you are a move once or move twice client and then “start packing”!

Webster defines opportunity as a favorable combination of circumstances. The sun is shining, the snow has fallen, the weather is crisp and there is an opportunity once more to make it a great day. The opportunity to jump out of bed early in the morning and go for it!

Maybe it’s a great day to buy a house and today may be that day that your special home comes on the market. Today is the day, to purchase a home of your own!

Today, there is a combination of favorable circumstances in the housing market, an opportunity!

1. Lowest interest rates ‘ever’
2. Inventory of properties ‘the best’
3. Loan programs ‘the most’

“Home ownership has a significant impact on net worth, educational achievement, civic participation, health, and overall quality of life. And, home ownership helps create jobs—lots of them—right here at home”, according to Houselogic.com (2/11/11)

Another quote from Realtor.org news article: “Broadly speaking, the very middle of the country from Dakotas and Nebraska to Oklahoma and Texas has experienced very stable home price trends because of stronger job creation in those areas”. WOW, you alone could be helping our community and economy just by purchasing a home. Let’s make the community we share STRONG through home ownership.

Begin your search today! Start with a two column paper with wants and needs. It will help you organize your thoughts about what is really important. If you think you don’t have the money, explore the possibilities. Maybe family will help? There are many sources of down-payment funds. You be the one who says it’s time to get going. It’s time to seek out the home of my dreams. Attend some open houses, start the search today! Create your own opportunity! Your new home is waiting for you!

We live small and we love it.

We never meant to move so many times. Life just kept coming at us. The family grew, and then grew up, the jobs changed, the lifestyle changed. We wanted to be near this school and then near that school. We wanted a two story then a ranch seemed like just the ticket. What seemed like forever turned out to be just a stage and was gone in the blink of an eye.

A few years back we downsized in a big way. It was hard. Moving is never easy but can be particularly challenging when your beloved “stuff” now needs to fit in a space half the size.

This was the first time we moved to a smaller home. As with any move, the hardest part can be simply that it is not your old home. It is not the yard where you planted the trees, it is not the kitchen where you shared countless moments and memories, and likely your neighbors are not packing up and moving with you either.

But home, no matter the size, really is where the heart is. Home is where your loved ones are. Home is where your “stuff” is. We found we didn’t need, or even want, as many square feet as we thought we did. Having fewer things can mean less to take care of, to store or to organize (can you say house cleaned in 30 minutes!). Having a smaller home means learning to be more organized and efficient. ( If you need help with this there are some wonderful professional organizers who would love to help). Having fewer square feet and fewer things can create more time to enjoy the things you do have. In our case, time to plant a new garden and hop on the bike trail right out our door.

So if you are ready to downsize it may not be easy, but I can’t wait for you to discover your new “upside”. Call a Nebraska Home Sales agent when you are thinking about your next change.

It’s time to buy the home of your dreams. Easy, right? Wrong. Buying a home can be as stressful as selling. OK, maybe not as stressful, but it does demand a lot of attention.

The first step is finding that home. Once you have found that home, it’s time to negotiate a contract. Do you want some closing costs paid? How about a home warranty? While we are at it, why not include the washer and dryer? Once the contract is accepted, you’re off to home inspections. Using a good home inspector is important. We can’t expect him to see through walls (most will tell you that during the summary anyway) but we do expect them to thoroughly inspect the home. Any recommendations they suggest, and back to the negotiating table we go. Then it’s on to the appraisal. Get past that stage and you are in the final stretch: Final walk-thru and closing. It is important to note that buying a home can be more or less complicated depending on the situation.

I recently was the buyer. I must say it is very different putting on the buyer shoes. Once we had found a home I went through the place with a fine-tooth comb. Any issue I found I wrote down and made a note for the home inspector. Once we got to the home inspection hurdle I had a page of things I wanted him to pay extra attention to. Was I being too critical… maybe? I just know I didn’t want to buy a money pit.

A home is a huge investment and unless you are looking for a property that needs substantial work (for all those handy people out there) I wanted to make sure it was in great shape. Luckily, after a few scares, the home passed our approval and the rest is history. Sure it needed some cosmetic work, but most lived-in homes do. It’s time to sip a glass of wine and sit back and enjoy our investment.

Looking for ways to reduce your water usage and waste, while saving yourself some green? Here are some helpful hints and tips for that money wise and eco-friendly homeowner.

Undoubtedly, the toilet is the biggest water hog in the bathroom. Those made prior to 1993 use up to 8 gallons per flush, which is approximately 5 times the current toilet use.

If you’re unsure of the age of your toilet, check under the lid. According to the “National Geographic’s Green Guide”, the toilet’s manufacture date is usually stamped under the lid. Plumbing leaks account for 14 percent of total water usage in the average American home. Toilets are the main source of this leak. An inexpensive but effective test to check for a toilet leak is to use 5-10 drops of food coloring in the tank. Do not flush. Check the toilet 15 minutes for colored water leakage into the tank.

Another source for water waste is the shower. Older shower heads were not low flow rated. You can test your shower head efficiency with this simple test. Turn the shower and catch the water in a bucket for 2 minutes. If the bucket overflows, your shower head is a wasteful model. Consider replacing it with a low flow shower head. It’ll save you money and reduce water waste. You can find shower heads for as little as $15 at any hardware store. That’s a great return on your investment because you’ll save money and water with every shower. If you really want to be frugal and eco-friendly, turn the shower off while soaping up.

EarthEasy.com reminds us that even with a new shower head, even a moderately short shower uses between 20 to 40 gallons of water, while a bath can use 50 to 60 gallons of water.

When checking for leaks, be sure to inspect your pipes and faucets. Although these may require a professional to assist in the inspection or repair, the long term benefits will save you money.

Online dating: what possibly does that have to do with buying a home? There is a plethora of online dating sites. And you can learn an awful lot about a person by their online ad. Or can you? Is all the information accurate? I read by the time someone goes on a first date it’s like the third date because the pair has emailed, Facebooked, Googled the other person, and the like. You think you know what you’re getting.

Buying a home is like dating. The large majority of buyers, over 90% are searching online. Decisions are made on the homes personal bio and the alluring photos. Oh, the photos! Dating photos will, of course, show someone in their best light. The same with some listed home photos. The buyer reads the home bio, looks at the photos. Is it a match? YES! The buyer has fallen in love. Call your Realtor now! Gotta get in that house! This is The One. But once inside, and this happens all the time, a buyer will look at me and say, “Is this the same house is saw in the photos? But the photos were so good and the bio said the home was updated and move-in ready”.

Here’s a recent example. I just listed a home that had been on the market for a year before the seller called me. The location is excellent, the price was a little high, and the condition was quite good. The wood floors were refinished, brand new kitchen, new electrical, and this all brick home was as solid as they come. Did this home need some elbow grease? Absolutely. In 1 hour I had found the perfect buyer and the home was purchased. I think that makes me a matchmaker.

When romancing the home, you may have to look beyond skin deep. You just might fall in love with a home that surprises you.