Financial Planning to Help Pay off Your Mortgage

The Omaha area has an excellent variety of homes within a vibrant market of both buyers and sellers. If you're considering purchasing property in Omaha, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're thinking about selling your property, CLICK HERE for a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding current market trends or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to call me at (402) 614-6922, or email me at adam@brileyhomes.com.

Today, I wanted to talk to you about when to aggressively start paying off your mortgage. There are a few things you'll need to take care of first:

1. Pay off all your cards with high interest rates. Your mortgage interest rate is probably substantially lower than your credit card interest rate, so this is an important step.
2. Build up an emergency fund. There are a few different rules of thumb for the emergency fund, but generally, you'll want six months in reserve.
3. Build up for retirement. It's never too soon to start planning for retirement. We are a great resource for you if you need a financial advisor.
4. Start a college fund. Whether you have kids already, or if you plan on having kids, this is a big one. College is expensive, so you'll want to put some money away for that.
5. Put money away for long-term health care. Again, planning ahead for this is extremely important.

Once these five things have been taken care of, you can take a look at your mortgage and make a plan for paying it down.

If you have any questions on today's video, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Should You Avoid When Buying a New Construction Property?

The Omaha area has an excellent variety of homes within a vibrant market of both buyers and sellers. If you're considering purchasing property in Omaha, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're thinking about selling your property, CLICK HERE for a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding current market trends or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to call me at (402) 614-6922, or email me at adam@brileyhomes.com.

Many buyers are unsure of what they're getting themselves into when buying a new construction home. Today, I share some of the most common mistakes new construction buyers make so you can take the steps to avoid them.

One of the biggest mistakes that can be made when looking at new construction properties is failing to hire an agent to represent you. An agent who works for you will do the necessary research and talk you through the process. They'll help you figure out what kind of home you want and what builder you want to use.

An agent is also going to help you read the fine print in the new construction process. You'll have a better understanding of the warranties included and whether the building is going to be there for you if something goes wrong. They will also ensure that the quality of the home is up to snuff. There may be certain problems that aren't clear on the surface, and an agent will be able to help with that.

An agent will also help you to get a list of references who have worked with the builder in the past. Giving some of them a call and asking them some questions will give you a good idea of what to expect from a builder. Most builders have no problem giving you past references and success stories. This is a great way to set expectations and find the builder who is right for you!

If you have questions about this or any other real estate topic, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm always available to help!

Winning Strategies for Omaha Bidding Wars

The Omaha area has an excellent variety of homes within a vibrant market of both buyers and sellers. If you're considering purchasing property in Omaha, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're thinking about selling your property, CLICK HERE for a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding current market trends or your own home's value, please don't hesitate to call me at (402) 614-6922, or email me at adam@brileyhomes.com.

Although we're not seeing as many multiple offer situations as we were a couple months ago, they are still fairly common. So today, I want to discuss how to make your offer more attractive.

First of all, always make sure you have your pre-approval letter. We have great contacts with loan officers, and we can certainly get you in touch with them. 

Cash is always king, but if you can't pay cash, a conventional offer is the second most desirable in the seller's eyes, especially when you're putting 20% down.

A lot of buyers want to start with a low offer and negotiate their way up, but you really can't do that in a bidding war. Skip the lowball offers, and put your best foot forward.

Finally, keep contingencies to a minimum. Some things, like home inspections, are common, and you can keep that sort of contingency. However, if you're in a bidding war, consider skipping the radon inspection. That's something you can do later on your own time, and it will make your offer look cleaner.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. Each multiple offer situation is different, and we'd be happy to find the strategy that works best for you.