What Will You Give Me?  One of the 1st questions an agent will ask a Broker if they are asked to join them is what will you give me?  Thats' a fair question, but the wrong approach to success.  One of the best business books of all time offered the best advice I've ever read "You Can Give a Man a Fish, and He'll Eat For a Day" or "You Can Teach a Man To Fish and He'll Eat For A Lifetime". Don & Valerie and The Producers joined RE/MAX in 2006 and The Producers have become the fastest growing RE/MAX office in the Omaha Area. We believe our growth is due to our understanding of the needs of real estate agents, since Don has been a successful agent for over 32 yrs.  Now Don is taking his experience in sales and marketing and combining it with the power of RE/MAX and sharing with their agent... 03/21/2008

Have you ever been in a home and noticed a crack in the wall of the foundation in the garage?  This is typically caused by a phenomenon known as "street creep."  What is street creep?  Street creep is when the concrete expands and pushes on the driveway which subsequently pushes the floor of the garage against the wall of the garage which then causes causes the wall to crack.  Are some homes more prone to street creep?  Yes, homes that are located on the bottom of a hill on a curve or homes at the bottom of a T intersection.  Why do these homes see street creep?  Concrete is just like anything else it flows downhill.  It is also important to remember that concrete expands and contracts with the weather and this also can effect the amount of street creep.Can you prevent street creep?  So... 03/20/2008

Before you put your home up for sale you should first make sure it is in the best condition possible. Often times that means hiring someone to do work that you are not qualified to do - after all your home won't sell for as much if it looks like a do-it-yourself project. Hiring the right contactor is time consuming and inconvenient. It requires calling to get multiple offers and then arranging a time to meet each of them to show them the work.Now in Omaha there is an easier way to do it with Innovative Bidding. Innovative Bidding will review your project needs and select qualified contractors. The contractors will submit proposals. Innovative Bidding then sends you all of the proposals for you to review. Best of all there is no charge for using Innovative Bidding's services and there is... 03/17/2008

     JUST COMPLETED NEW CONDOMINUIMS       4404 S 16th St # 3, OMAHA, NE 68107 View Map                 New Condos.  All appliances included in this large dining and living room, spacious kitchen, covered balcony, two bedrooms, built in garage, storage space in basement and storm shelter. Easy access to downtown, Rosenblat Stadium, Spring Lake golf Course, Creighton University and across from Spring Lake Park.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------                       Details     Asking Price:      129,900 STARTING     MLS:      20805266                                    Bedrooms:      2      Bathrooms:      1      # of Floors:      1      HOA/Maintenance Fees:      75            Subdivision:      SPRING LAKE      Year Built:      2008        ... 03/17/2008

     AFFORDABLE LIVING CONDOMINIUMS       4404 S 16th St # 4, Omaha, NE 68107 View Map                 Spacious dining/living room combination. Nice kitchen with all appliances included and laundry room off the kitchen with washer and dryer. Private covered balcony. Easy access to stadium, golf course, downtown,university, and zoo. Units are available now. . Call Jose for more details at 680-7179                       Details     Asking Price:      132,900     MLS:      20805268                                    Bedrooms:      2      Bathrooms:      1      # of Floors:      1      HOA/Maintenance Fees:      90.00            Subdivision:      Anzaldo 2nd Addition      Year Built:      2008                    Property Amenities               - Range/Oven- Sink Disposal- Full Refrigerator... 03/17/2008

There are currently over 5000 active listings in the Omaha market for sale.  When you home is on the market it means that you will get showings at times that are inconvenient.  You have to make your home available in-order for agents to sell your home.  Sometimes you get only ONE shot at a buyer - make your home difficult to show and the buyer WILL move on.  Many buyers are looking at more than one home and they are on a tight schedule so they do not want to come back at a later time.  This time-frame also means that buyers size up a home rather quickly and are unforgiving when it comes to small items that need to be fixed.  When you are selling a home it means you are in competition with the 5000 other homes on the market.  The homes that are selling are the ones that are priced compet... 03/16/2008

2007 market recap for Whispering Ridge in Elkhorn, NE.  The recent annexation of Elkhorn by the city of Omaha, means that Whispering Ridge is now apart of the city of Omaha.  One good thing for property owners in Whispering Ridge is a lower mill levy of 2.15983, down from 2.67, which means most likely lower taxes.   The following is Sold data from the Omaha MLS from January 1, 2007 to March 15, 2008, and does not include Omaha For Sale By Owner transactions or private sales.MLS #StatusPriceAddressStyleBRBTHTSqFt$/Above Grade SQFTSP % LP20723184SOLD$209,000 3015  N 170th St2 Story433155$66.24 97.2520723092SOLD$213,000 3011  N 169th Street2 Story433552$59.97 97.8120715080SOLD$214,000 3110  N 171st Ave2 Story433161$67.70 99.5320620181SOLD$225,000 17230  BEDFORD Ave2 Story432656$84.71 96.32... 03/15/2008

In support of the conclusions of the Stinson baseball stadium committee, the Chamber board of directors approved the following statement today. The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce supports the effort to keep the NCAA men's College World Series in Omaha for the long-term. Our interest in this stems from the fact that each year, the CWS generates nearly $40 million in economic activity throughout the entire Omaha community. The importance of signing an unprecedented 20-year contract represents close to a $1 billion economic impact. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Omaha - no other city has been given this type of opportunity. Throughout the process, we have supported the work of the Stinson committee to determine location, funding and design of a community ballpark. We suppo... 03/14/2008

In support of the conclusions of the Stinson baseball stadium committee, the Chamber board of directors approved the following statement today. The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce supports the effort to keep the NCAA men's College World Series in Omaha for the long-term. Our interest in this stems from the fact that each year, the CWS generates nearly $40 million in economic activity throughout the entire Omaha community. The importance of signing an unprecedented 20-year contract represents close to a $1 billion economic impact. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Omaha - no other city has been given this type of opportunity. Throughout the process, we have supported the work of the Stinson committee to determine location, funding and design of a community ballpark. We suppo... 03/14/2008

ATTENTION OMAHA REALTORS:On Friday 3/21 from 11:30 to 1:30 there will be an agent tour of homes in the Candlewood subdivision. There will be food, drink, and a $150 giveaway.  Thank you to Karen Jennings at CBSHome and Sandy Turner at NP Dodge for assisting with this event. A special thanks to Brenda Stuart with Service 1 Warranties for providing food and drinks at 1018 N. 127 Cir.Trumm Team - Alliance Real Estate, Omaha, NE Your Home Sold within 120 Days or I will Buy It! 03/14/2008

People by nature are adverse to change.  The larger the change, the larger amount of resistance you can expect.  And if the change requires money to be spent, take cover.People tend to look at the short term effects of a change as a higher priority than any long term effects that might be beneficial.  Any decision that could have long term effects on your business is worth serious analysis, but that shouldn't deter you from making timely changes as necessary.We recently added another assistant to our team; an administration assistant to help with day to day tasks.  We were long overdue for this change, and needed it greatly, but it still took us over a year to agree on how to go about it.Part of our hesitation stems from previous assistants who didn't work out for us.  Painful memories ... 03/13/2008

Just completed new condominium 4404 S 16th St # 5, Omaha, NE 68107 View Map Spacious dining/living room combination. Nice kitchen with all appliances included and laundry room off the kitchen with washer and dryer.Private covered balcony. Easy accessto stadium, golf course, downtown,university, and zoo. Units are available now. . CallJ ose for more details at 680-7179 Details Asking Price: 132,900 MLS: 20804843 Sq. Feet: 960 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 # of Floors: 1 HOA/Maintenance Fees: 90.00 Subdivision: Anzaldo 2nd Addition Year Built: 2008 Property Amenities - Range/Oven- Sink Disposal- Full Refrigerator- Microwave - Washer/Dryer- Dishwasher- Basement- Balcony - Central A/C- Tile floor- Living room- Laundry area - inside Community Amenities - Garage Parking - Secured Entry - Addition... 03/10/2008

GREAT NEW CONDOMINIUM 4404 S 16th St # 6, OMAHA, NE 68107 View Map New Condos. All appliances included in this large dining and living room, spacious kitchen, covered balcony, two bedrooms, built in garage, storage space in basement and storm shelter. Easy access to downtown, Rosenblat Stadium, Spring Lake golf Course, Creighton University and across from Spring Lake Park. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details Asking Price: 129,900 STARTING MLS: 20714891 Sq. Feet: 960 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 # of Floors: 1 HOA/Maintenance Fees: 75 Subdivision: SPRING LAKE Year Built: 2008 Property Amenities - Range/Oven- Sink Disposal- Microwave- Dishwasher - Basement- Deck- Central A/C- Central Heat - Tile floor- Living room- Dining Room- Laundry are... 03/10/2008

   Don't miss out on the BEST VALUE in Coyote Run! This is a BEAUTIFUL Pottery Barn home with HUGE Kitchen. Picture yourself living in this beautifully decorated home & finally having all the kitchen counter top & cabinet space you desire. The kitchen & living room are great for entertaining with the open floor plan & vaulted ceilings. Just think, if you live here, you would already be relaxing in the front of the living room fireplace on these cold winter evenings. No worries for first time home buyers. All appliances, including washer & dryer. AMA$126,500NOTE  This home does NOT back up to Q Street  03/09/2008

In Real Estate Marketing for a Fast Sale in Omaha, NE I explained what to look for in an agent's marketing plan. Now I thought I would turn the issue around and tell you what does not constitute a marketing plan, even though it is all many agents do.First the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). (What is the Omaha MLS? Part one) Is it important? Yes. Does it sell homes? Yes. Should it be both the beginning and end of an agent's marketing plan? No. In the last seller's market many agents did nothing more than list homes in the MLS and it worked - homes sold. That was then. Now we are in a buyer's market. If your home is only listed in the MLS and not advertised elsewhere, then I hope you have luck on your side.The yard sign. This is another staple in a real estate agent's marketing plan but a... 03/07/2008

The Omaha Area Board of Realtors is having a FREE meeting for Omaha Realtors to learn more about structural engineering issues and how that affects real estate in Omaha. The class will be Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 9:30 am -11:00 am.  The session will be held at the Omaha Area Board of Realtors office; however, reservations are required. to confirm your spot, please call 402-493-7189. Cookies and coffee will be served.   When you are looking to buy or sell an Omaha home, it’s important to hire a REALTOR® who knows the market. If you are considering selling your home in Omaha and you would like a FREE comparative market analysis, give us a call at 402-880-9027 to set up an appointment. If you are interested in buying an Omaha home, start your home search now: Search all Omaha Homes fo... 03/07/2008

Choosing a Broker is tough...or is it?You go to classes, you study, you take a big test. Then what? You have to choose a Broker to work for/with. How do you do it? And how many new agent really put as much energy into interviewing Brokers as they did prepping for the test? I put a lot of time and preparation into choosing a Broker. What did I do? Web sites: I looked at company web sites of Real Estate companies in my area. I wanted to see how easy the site was to navigate, could I see all MLS listings, could I find information I was looking for, and was the site a source of community information? Phone interviews: I called brokers and conducted phone interviews. I asked the standard questions they tell you to ask in school and added a few. One question I asked everyone, if I had a listi... 03/03/2008

Below is a summary of the real estate market in Omaha for the month of February, 2008.Total Number For Sale 5938Total Number of Accepted Offers675Total Number of Closed Sales539  % of sellers that accepted an offer11.37%Absorption rate in months8.80These numbers encompass all residential listings in the Omaha Area Board of Realtors Great Plains Multiple Listing Service.As you can see about 11% of sellers that had their home on the market accepted an offer in the month of January. 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 this rate of sales it would take just under 9 months for all the homes for sale to be sold.If you compare this ... 03/01/2008

I want to thank Tim Miers who is the Trumm Team's buyer agent. Yesterday the sale of my listing at 3335 Summit St. in the Florence Field subdivision of northeast Omaha closed. It sold in only six days. The amount and quality of marketing that we do is responsible for bringing in many interested buyers very quickly but without a buyer agent like Tim working for me I would not have the time to handle all of the business that comes my way. Thanks, Tim!  Trumm Team - Alliance Real Estate, Omaha, NE Your Home Sold within 120 Days or I will Buy It! 02/29/2008

A lot of agents will make empty promises that if you list your home with them that it will sell quickly and sell for the price you want. They do this just to get the listing. They don't give you any guarantee in the event that they are wrong. I, on the other hand, guarantee that if you list your home with me that it will sell within 120 days at a price acceptable to you or I will buy it myself. This is something that no other Realtor in Omaha is doing. I do it to show just how serious I am about marketing your home and how much confidence I have in my marketing plan. I not only give you the guarantee, I will also extend the guarantee to someone that is interested in buying your home. I will guarantee that their home will sell in 120 days or I will buy it myself so that they can purchase... 02/29/2008