Why the Home Is Where the Heart Is

Buying a house means more than just a transfer of property. A house is a home, and home is where the heart is.

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What’s the best thing in life?

To me, it’s spending time with my family. That’s why a home is so important. It’s not just about the house—it’s about where we live, what we do there, and the love that we invite inside it.

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A house isn’t just a house—it’s a home.

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As you can see in the video above, I have a brand-new granddaughter named Olivia. She can’t quite talk yet, but she’s a natural around the camera, and I have feeling she’s trying to either say “Grandpa’s the best” or “Call my grandpa so he can find you a home that you can spend time with your family in.”

Sound like a good idea? If so, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. We’re well connected, and we get the job done. I look forward to helping you!

We Highly Recommend Black Belt Movers

Black Belt Movers is a great local vendor that we use. They have done great work for us in the past and will do great work for you too.

Looking to buy a home? Search all homes for sale here.
Looking to sell your home? Click here to use our home evaluation tool.

You guys ask me all the time what vendors I like to use, and I want to highlight one of them today. Black Belt Movers is a company I have worked with for a while now. As a matter of fact, they just moved a piano for me. 

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We highly recommend 
Black Belt Movers.

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If you need help moving, you should give these guys a call. They are talented, hard-working, and they do a great job. Give them a call at (402)-709-0970 today if you have any moving needs. They even play the piano, as evidenced in the video above.

If you have any other questions about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to help you out!

One Shortcut Can Create a Huge Headache

This simple mistake on my roof repair had serious consequences. It just goes to show the importance of being able to trust a contractor.

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I put a new roof on my home a few years ago and I thought I had hired a contractor that was going to do a great job. For the most part, they did. However, one person made a crucial mistake that is causing some big headaches now.

As you can see in the video above, somebody got lazy and didn’t mention that the flashing on the roof was about two inches short from the end of the trimboard. What happened is that this created a hole where water could freely move through. Now the roof, roof sheathing, and the rafter beneath it are rotted.

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This contractor’s laziness had bad consequences.

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What we have to do now is get back in there and replace everything just because one person didn’t do their job. We don’t want this to happen to you.

If you have any questions about what you should be doing when it comes to making improvements on your home, give us a call. We can recommend a number of contractors that we know will not cut corners like the one who replaced my roof did. I look forward to hearing from you.

You Need a Contractor You Can Trust

I have made the mistake of hiring the wrong contractor for a job before. I don’t want you to have the same problem, so I have a list of my most trusted contractors to share with you.

Looking to buy a home? Search all homes for sale here.
Looking to sell your home? Click here to use our home evaluation tool.

In the past, I have made the mistake of hiring the wrong contractor for a job. I don’t want you to make the same mistake, so I’ve got something to share with you.

The people that are working on my house now are trusted contractors. They are trusted because they have been around for a long time and they know what they are doing.

I have an entire list of trusted contractors.

I have an entire list of trusted vendors from my own experiences and the experiences of other respected Realtors. If you need a contractor of any kind, I can help you out. There are electricians, plumbers, roofers, general handymen, and more. Give us a call or send us an email and we will send you the list.

If you have any other questions or know of a great contractor we should add to our list, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Do Well Landscaped Homes Sell for More Money?

Should you expect to get a good return on investment from extensive landscaping on your home? Here’s what you need to know.

Looking to buy a home? Search all homes for sale here.
Looking to sell your home? Click here to use our home evaluation tool.

I’m joining you from a beautiful backyard that has been extensively landscaped with a beautiful water feature, patio, and fire pit.

It may seem like doing this kind of elaborate landscaping is a good way to add value to your home, but as nice as all of this looks, spending a lot of time landscaping or adding a pool does not typically add much value.   

Extensive landscaping doesn’t always add value.

Wondering what kinds of landscaping you should do on your home? Give your Realtor a call so that they can help you determine which kinds of additions to your yard will get you the most money back when selling it in the future.

Of course, you can do what you like with your own landscaping, but just know that you’re sinking your dollars into your enjoyment and your enjoyment only; don’t expect to get a major return on investment from these kinds of renovations.  

If you have any questions about the kinds of additions or improvements you can make to your home to get a good return on investment, or if you have any other questions related to Omaha real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to point you in the right direction!

Tips on Flipping a House

People love to think about the idea of flipping a house. They’ll dream about it, pencil out plans, watch HGTV, and think that flipping looks like a great way to make some extra money. Today I’d like to talk to you about what to look for in a house that will get you a good return on investment.

First, be aware that location, location, location is the key to a good flip. If you can’t get a good location, you’ll want to be sure you get a good price on the house. Sometimes, a cheap house might better help you meet your goals, and sometimes a more expensive house might be better for you. It all depends on what your goals are.

Location and price are key when flipping a house.

The house in the video above is a perfect example of a house with flipping potential. This is a $500,000 house that I believe could be worth $100,000 to $150,000 more with some upgrades. It’s stuck in the 1970s a bit and needs new carpet and new floor coverings, but the bones and structure of this house are unbelievably valuable, as is the location.

If you have any questions about flipping houses or anything else related to real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

Helping Loved Ones Transition into a Retirement Home

Today I’m at Peace Haven Retirement Home to help out a client. This is a tough part of life, and it’s what I call the “ministry” part of my business. We help a lot of elderly people transition from their family-owned home to either a no-care, limited-care, or full-care retirement facility.

When it comes to real estate, issues can sometimes arise regarding the nursing home’s ability to tap into a retiree’s hard assets. This includes their house. They can go back as far as five years and lay claim to the property.

As a professional real estate consultant, I surround myself with trust attorneys, elder care attorneys, and accountants that know how to deal with this kind of situation. It’s a complicated issue that you don’t want to walk alone. I’ve been through the process hundreds of times with clients and several times within my own family.

It’s a complicated issue that you don’t want to walk alone.

Make sure that you give us a call before your parents or loved ones have to enter a nursing home so that we can help you in any way you need.

Assisting Senior Citizens in Their Move

We work with lots of elderly people and when they move, they often have a lot of stuff to get rid of. It’s a tough path to navigate in the real estate world. It’s a tough sell.

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Helping seniors downsize is a challenge on many levels.

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We moved my folks out of their home and we moved my wife’s folks out of their home, and I’ve been with three people this past week who are helping their parents move out. Give me a call and let’s talk about helping the senior members of your family into that next phase of housing. It’s easy to go up in size, but when you have to come down on the other side to a smaller place, it’s really tough.

Give me a call if you need a hand.

Want to See the Best Views in Omaha?

Today, I’m just enjoying the view of the river and downtown from the top of the penthouse of the Riverfront Plaza building. There is a lot going on in this part of town, and this is the perfect place to watch it all happen!

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This tool is useful for buyers and sellers.

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If you want to enjoy this scenery, give me a call or log on to 555Omaha.com to find out everything you need to know about the penthouse. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to see Omaha from a unique perspective!

How the Bill Black Team Gave Summer a Great Experience

“We officially moved into our house today. It took a little while to find a house. This market was insane. We offered on a total of 7 seven houses. Sometimes we were offering over asking price and getting outbid or a cash offer would come in. Sometimes it got a little discouraging. It was an awesome experience with Bill. He would pray with us, get excited with us, he was very patient. I never felt like he was getting annoyed or anything. I’m sure if I was in his shoes, it would be a long process and exhausting to keep going through house after house. It was a great experience; we would totally do it again with them. Bill would meet with us every time we saw a house that we liked. He was always showing us homes and the most convenient times for us. There was one weekend when he was out of town, he had Joanie open the house for us. It was just very easy; we were always able to see houses whenever we wanted.”

-Summer

How the Bill Black Team Helped Paula Find the Perfect Home

"How many times do people buy a house that the escrow lady, the banker, the realtor, the wife and the buyer all hold hands, bow their heads and thank Jesus? I would recommend them to the world." - Paula

We’re at the Forefront of New Technology

Here at The Bill Black Team, we are always striving to be out in the forefront of new technology and ideas in real estate. 

We were the first team in Omaha to get on the QR code bandwagon. Although it didn’t last long, it’s just another example of how we were ahead of the curve when it comes to marrying real estate and technology. Today we wanted to tell you about our latest technological innovation, something that sets us apart from most Realtors.

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This tool is useful for buyers and sellers.

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We have a system set up where if you text one of our numbers that you see on a particular listing, it will instantly send you all the information about the home via your mobile device. This is going to be not only a useful tool for potential buyers, but for sellers as well. As soon as these people log in to get information about a home, we get their information.

We used to do flyers, but realized there was a better way. With this, we can track buyers, find out who they are, and get them to buy your home.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to reach out by giving us a call or sending us an email. We would love to hear from you!

How The Bill Black Team Worked with Sarah’s Schedule to Sell Their Home

“They were amazing. They had everything organized for us and we signed the papers to get it on the
market and then the next day they had someone coming out to take all the pictures for us. They immediately had it lasted. We were just totally impressed with how organized they were. Within a week we had an offer and then by the second week, I can’t even remember how many offers we got. We were at the end of the season and I was amazed by how much they pushed to get an offer and get everything organized and taken care of for us. We really didn’t have to do anything. Bill and Tracy both worked on it together and we got an offer right away. They came in really late one night because my husband is a police officer so he works really long shifts. They met us at the office one night, I think it was almost 8:00 at night and they made sure to get us there and the papers were ready for us so, we walked in to sign to accept an offer or to counter-offer. By the time we walked out, we were done and I just thought it was amazing that they were willing to work with our schedule since it’s kind of unpredictable. “

-Sarah

What’s the Current State of the Omaha Market?

We’ve recently shot some commercials down at the studio, and the big thing we’re trying to promote is that it’s a seller’s market.

We feel it is our duty to keep you up to date on current market conditions so that you can make informed decisions when buying or selling in Omaha. Reach out to us if you’re interested in maximizing the rate of return on the investment you made in your house, apartment complex, or land. We’ll do a walkthrough for you in order to determine your property’s condition before helping you put an effective price on it.

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Right now, we’re in a very strong seller’s market!

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If you would like our assistance, or if you would like more details about our hot market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Virtual Reality Is Here to Help Your Omaha Home Search

Jesse Merriman is here with an exciting new product. We’re the first Realtors in Omaha to present it to the Omaha real estate market, and we’re pretty excited about. 

This is a 360 degree video camera, also known as a 3D modeler. This camera can film an entire room, and this allows you to look in every nook and cranny. You can simply take out your smartphone and look at everything as if you are standing in the property. You can look up, down, sideways, back and forth, or whichever direction you prefer. It really is amazing technology.

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You can see the entire property as if you were really there!

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Grab your smartphones and give us a call. We’ll let you know how to upload the virtual reality video of this beautiful home in Cheyenne Country Estates. You’ll be able to see everything as if you were standing right here with us! 

We look forward to hearing from you!

We’d Love to Support Your Ministry

Here at the Bill Black Team, our passion is with supporting ministries in the metro area. As our business has increased and we are faithful in what we do, we want to be generous to others.

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Our passion is with supporting ministries in the metro area.

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We currently support some great organizations in the area like Youth for Christ, Child Evangelism Fellowship of Omaha, and other local ministries in town. Our team is full of people who want to do their part to help in the community.

If you have any real estate needs, or you have a ministry that you’re passionate about, give us a call or send us an email. We may even write a blog about it. We look forward to hearing from you!

Where Can You Turn for Reasonable Discourse on Current Events?

Today, Greg Vogt, General Manager of KGBI, joins us today to discuss a new station here in Omaha. KGBI currently has three stations, and they’re proud of their latest: KOTK, which is now called The Answer. If you have a question, this new conservative talk radio station has the answer!

In the mornings, you’ll hear Hugh Hewitt, a regular contributor to the CNN and the Republican debates. Mike Gallagher will also be heard on this station, in addition to Dennis Prager, the smartest guy on the radio. Clint Bellows, a local who used to be on KFAB quite a bit, will also contribute to the station. These are just a few of the many insightful guys that will be heard on The Answer!

All day, they’ll talk about politics. With the debates between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, and the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, there is a whole lot to discuss right now! Unfortunately, the presidential race has turned into a reality TV show; the goal of KOTK is to provide some reasoning to the sometimes crazy political race we have going right now.

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The Answer is the place to turn for reasonable discussion of current events.

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On The Answer, you won’t hear people yelling at each other. You’ll hear reasonable people sharing reasonable opinions and viewpoints in order to better the conversation. Hopefully, it will be a place for you to get in-depth analysis of the issues in a way that really connects to you and how you think. That’s why it’s called The Answer! 

Tune into FM 94.5 or AM 1420 if you’re looking for an answer! It’s the best resource if you’re looking for good conservative talk radio here in Omaha. Of course, if it’s real estate you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time. We would love to hear from you!  

Avoid this Big Mistake When Selling Your Omaha Home

Today, I’m here with an important message: Do not pass up a showing under any circumstances!

I’m coming to you now from one of our listings. The owners are gone on vacation, and they weren’t expecting a showing while they were out of town. However, we came in and prepared the home for the showing.

We cleaned up a bit, got the lights on, and cooked some delicious treats. Before a showing, I recommend baking some bread or cookies so the house smells good. You want your house to be inviting for the people that are walking in. 

If you’re going to list your house, or if you have any real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!