Lauritzen Gardens

Lauritzen Gardens is a living museum of unique four-season plant displays, maintained to the highest standards consistent with environmental stewardship. It provides memorable educational and aesthetic experiences for all.

Escape to an urban oasis of beauty and tranquility to experience the glory of the garden. Discover a hidden sanctuary in the heart of the city. Relax while cultivating your mind in this living plant museum, conveniently located in the beautiful riverfront hills.

Lauritzen Gardens has several educational programs and tours as well as a summer camp and you can have a birthday party of wedding there.  Become a member and get special perks.

Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary

The arboretum and Oberman Bird Sanctuary is a four-acre site with seven regional plant communities: prairie, savannah, oak hickory forest, maple linden forest, farmstead windbreak, marsh and flood plain river margin.

The word arboretum literally means “garden of trees.” In this area, they planted many different species of trees and shrubs appropriate for a Nebraska landscape. They used both native trees and shrubs as well as plants which have the ability to adapt to our harsh environment. It will take many years for this garden area to mature due to the slow growth habit of the plants. The site, however, is a relaxing place to stroll and enjoy the young trees and the beautiful vistas to be seen from this vantage point. This area along the Missouri River corridor is a natural flyway for migratory birds. There are feeders and nest boxes located throughout the sanctuary so the arboretum provides a unique area to observe the birds.

In the spring, keep your eyes and ears peeled for polliwogs, tadpoles and frogs in the marsh area!

“End of Day” Sculpture

The arboretum and bird sanctuary is the perfect setting for this bronze sculpture of sand hill cranes. Artist Dee Clements, a member of the National Sculptors’ Guild, captured the grace of these magnificent native birds. He was commissioned to design this original sculpture for Lauritzen Gardens from his studio in Loveland, Colo.

“Sunflowers, Snowbirds & Lizards” Sculpture

This round bronze sculpture near the arboretum and bird sanctuary entrance beautifully depicts snowbirds as they prepare to dine on the seeds of sunflowers. It was sculpted by Sharles for the city of Palm Desert, Calif. His deep appreciation for birds, fish and reptiles is reflected in his art.

Children's Garden

No other garden better illustrates their educational focus than the children's garden. It is the site of many of the children's activities including school tours, youth organization projects, and garden children’s programs.

Children have the opportunity to engage in hands-on gardening as well as receive a formal tour and presentation by education staff. Children are involved in the planning, planting, maintaining and harvesting of this garden area.

Adults enjoy visiting the garden as well to see bright colors, unique artwork and unusual plants not found elsewhere at Lauritzen Gardens.

“Dina”

Ronald Weise, a welder from Dunlap, Iowa, created this friendly dinosaur, “Dina,” using scrap metal and old farm equipment parts. Dina has an oil-pan head and antique hay rake tine ribs.

English Perennial Border

Opened in 2006, the English perennial border is located between the Victorian garden and Garden in the Glen. The English perennial border is a plantsman’s dream come true. More than 300 different plant species and cultivars are displayed amongst the thousands of individual sun and shade-loving perennials. They all are organized as a traditional English border would be.

English gardens are known for their masses of colorful plants and informal design style. Early English gardeners were plant enthusiasts and collectors. They enjoyed filling their gardens with as many different plants as possible.

For more information on Lauritzen Gardens click here.  For more information about the Priority Group or Sallie Elliott click here.

Taking a Peek at the Atlanta Market

Coming this July 13 – 19th is the Atlanta Market, the Premier Gift, Décor, and Lifestyle Market. Housing the nation’s largest gift product mix complemented by a broad selection of home décor. Atlanta Market features more than 8,000 brands across all categories including seasonal, gourmet, tabletop, outdoor and more.  Explore a thoughtfully curated environment where trends are revealed and where product is personal. Experience the irreplaceable feeling of seeing the varied hues of your next bestseller and feeling its weight and texture in your hands. This event is a big one in the design world.  It’s a trend setter and a place to get the most magnificent ideas for future projects as well as buy some design treasures.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Who Will Be There?

There are three buildings of exhibitors so you will want to plan your day.  Downloading their app is important which you can find at https://www.atlantamarket.com/Attend/App. It will help you find your way around and be strategic about your route.  You can find a list of exhibitors as well by clicking here. You can also join Market’s community of influencers, retail experts, store owners, designers, media and manufacturers for an array of educational seminars, demos, industry networking events, tastemaker parties and more.  These are offered both in person and by webinar.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Home Décor

My personal favorites are in the home décor area located in building 1 on floors 1-15.  Included is lighting, linens & textiles, wall décor and rugs and let’s not forget all the other wonderful accessories. If you want to find items to complete your design projects, this is the area that I recommend.  There is a lot of fabulous stuff here.  My favorites are the wicker and rattans and some of the new upholsteries I find at this market.  Designers will often take their whole team with them to this market because it’s such an inspirational place.  I’m excited to find out the summer trends for 2021 and incorporate what I learn into my new construction designs.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

For more information on the Priority Group and to see homes designed by Sallie Elliott visit us at one of our online locations here https://linktr.ee/omahaprioritygroup.

2021 Real Estate Market Check In

2021 Real Estate Market Check In

Well, the new year is well underway and 2021 is showing signs of becoming an even stronger real estate market than 2020. In addition to design work, I help my clients buy, sell, and build homes in Douglas county all the time and it’s a good benchmark county to compare to for the Nebraska metro area. The median household income for Douglas County is $67,133 and the average age is 35. Overall median closed prices for homes have steadily increased since 2011. To put it shortly, Douglas county is a thriving county in Nebraska.

New Construction

Closed sales for new homes are up throughout Douglas County compared to last year February year to date with an increase of 33.3% which means that people are building more this year at this time compared to last year. Additionally, the average closed price February year to date this year is up 15.5% compared to last year with a price of $384,351 this year over last year’s $332,740. Inventory for new homes is 185 this year compared to last year’s 366 which is up 49.5%. That means that demand is much higher than supply. With existing home sales being so competitive, more people are building and builders don’t have as much in inventory. In other words, they’re being sold as quickly as builders can build them.

Existing Homes

Closed sales for existing homes are down 4.7% February year to date this year versus last year. Days on the market for a home in February 2021 is 14 and in 2020 it was 25. Homes are selling faster. The average closed price of a home at the same point in this year compared to last year to date is up 13.8% for an average price of $245,830 and list price received is 100%. In my experience, homes sales have been extremely competitive and selling about 20 – 30K above listing. This February we have 290 existing homes in inventory compared to February 2020 when we had 672 home in inventory. That’s a decrease of 60% which is impressive. So…demand here is also much higher than supply.

The saving grace is that mortgage rates are still low which is giving buyers the ability to afford a more expensive home and they can afford to compete in this market. The challenge is finding a house to buy. Incredibly important to being successful when you’re a buyer is finding a real estate agent that has been in the business long enough to have a strong network of other real estate agents and can find you a home before it is on the market.

Ask us how the Priority Group can help. Reach out to us at www.omahaprioritygroup.com or call Sallie Elliott at (402) 630-5953.

Mortgage Update with Jack Shotbolt from Shotbolt Mortgage

A few weeks ago, we had an opportunity to interview our preferred mortgage brokerage, Shotbolt Mortgage. In fact, we were lucky enough to interview Jack Shotbolt himself. Overall, the real estate market, from a mortgage standpoint, is expected to stay largely the same in 2021 as it was in 2020 which is positive. Specifically, here’s what Jack had to say.

Rates are great!

There’s always a lot of political noise in an election year so you’re hearing a lot of it since it’s the beginning of the year and a new president has taken office. The stock and bond markets don’t like unrest so very early in the year, when the new president was about to take office, we saw a lot of uncertainty in the markets. The new presidency will calm things down. Overall, rates should stay low through 2022. We’ll have a good interest rate environment especially for home buyers. The bond market effects interest rates because they are the retreat from the stock market when it’s too risky for many participants. Bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and treasuries are all in the classification. Janet Yellen, the new United States Secretary of the Treasury shouldn’t make much of a difference in terms of being newly appointed. She’ll want to keep things the same given that the new administration is largely in favor of low interest rates. Not a lot of negative impact expected.

What does that mean?

Purchasers will continue to have more buying power. You’ll be able to buy more home than you previously might have been able to. Consequently, the inventory of home for sale in the real estate market continues to be low however if you’re looking to be a competitive buyer, then you will need the extra buying power that low interest rates will afford you. 2021 will be a strong year in real estate and more so if you are a seller. As a realtor, I’m looking forward to it.

Check out our video with Jack and see for yourself what he has to say. To see available homes in the greater Omaha area, go to https://omahaprioritygroup.com/buying and search for a property. I’m happy to answer any questions. Contact Sallie Elliott at 402-630-5953.

Top 10 Things to Do Before Selling Your Home

1.      Find a Great Real Estate Agent

Find an agent that you have a good rapport with.  Then check their qualifications like number of homes sold in the last 12 months and get referrals. Also, find out what they will do to market your home. Will they put it on the internet, social media, and the Multiple Listing Service?  Will they take professional photos? Do they answer their own listing appointment phone calls? Ultimately, no matter how qualified they are, you want them to take the time to listen to you and be able to treat you the way someone should be treated when making one of the largest decisions of their life. Selling and moving are emotional circumstances.  Make sure your new realtor can be empathetic when it’s needed.

2. Consider Your Curb Appeal

Believe it or not, buyers do tend to judge a book by its cover. Painting your front door, cleaning up the front yard and some inexpensive landscaping can go a long way, like colorful flowers.  If you have a front lawn, make sure it gets mowed regularly so that the home looks well kept.  People will decide how well you take care of your home based on that first impression. Pressure washing your concrete can also be a good thing if you want to go the extra mile.  For tips on how you can maximize your curb appeal, speak you your real estate agent.  After all, they’re the professionals with lots of experience on what helps and what is unnecessary.

3.      Declutter Living Areas

Removing items that aren’t necessary from your living spaces is important for a few reasons.  It helps prospective buyers to envision their own things in that space rather than being overwhelmed by stuff.  Additionally, it makes those spaces look bigger. This is important since more square footage is always desirable.  Especially in today’s work at home environment. If you have a pantry, organize it. It will go a long way to making everything look appealing. And lastly, a more orderly space is going to be more aesthetically pleasing.  Buyers want to be looking at the home, not the clutter.

4.      Depersonalize Your Space

Removing things that are specific to you will help buyers to see themselves and their family there.  Taking down family photos may seem excessive to some but it will help if their envisioning their own family in the home instead.  Put away pet items. Not everyone wants pets, and some may consider it a turn off if you have one in your home.  You never know how personal someone may consider your pets to be.  Put away toys.  Toys are not esthetically pleasing, and they can be a trip hazard.  Let people enjoy how nice your home looks rather than look at your kid’s toys.

5.      Repaint Walls to Neutral Tones

The bright colors in your home may be appealing to you but remember that you’re wanting to appeal to the masses. Neutral tones give potential buyers a blank canvas so they can imagine their favorite colors on the walls. Also, a neutral pallet will make the space look bigger and brighter. Today’s trends are light greys with white trim but that’s another great question for your realtor.  Or you can find tips online for paint colors. Regardless, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to make your home feel more updated and freshly painted walls are a draw.

6.      Touch Up Any Scuff Marks

Scuff marks on trim, doors and walls can make your home look worn down.  Make sure you match the touch up color well and freshen up anywhere you see them.  Especially in high traffic areas and areas that will draw the eye like entry ways or large empty wall. This is also an inexpensive way to give buyers the impressions that the house is well maintained.  Plus, it’s something you can do yourself in very little time.

7.      Fix Any Loose Handles

Again, loose handles on doors and cabinets give the impression that you don’t maintain the home.  Tightening those up takes little time and effort and you can do it yourself. Virtually nothing is off limits when someone is viewing your home and you can bet; they’ll open doors so make sure everything feels solid.

8.      Conduct a Smell Test

This one sounds funny, but smells can be a deal breaker.  Musty smells make buyers think that there’s been water where there shouldn’t be.  Food smells can be a deterrent and cigarette smoke is a big one.  Buyers may think that it will be impossible to remove an odor and decide, based on the smell test, that they don’t want to purchase your home.  You may have gone nose deaf to your home’s particular smell so invite a friend over who will tell you the truth about the way your home smells.  This is a big one people.  Stinky is not good!

9.      Clean, Clean, Clean

Another biggie is the cleanliness of your space.  Some sellers will hire professional cleaners to clean their house regularly while showing their home.  The pros know what people see often and they’ll ensure that those things always look good.  If you’re going to clean it yourself, no problem, just make sure that it’s done thoroughly.  Do one really deep cleaning before your house goes on the market.  Have your carpets and windows cleaned so they look and smell fresh and people see the sun shining through, not the dirt on those windows.  Most buyers won’t buy a home if it doesn’t look clean to them.  Another potential deal breaker.

10.      Consider Staging

I can’t speak about this one enough.  Professional stagers will make your home look like just the perfect space by putting in furniture which is specifically designed to make the rooms look larger and accessorizing to make spaces look more appealing.  Some realtors even offer this service for free.  Making sure that there isn’t too much furniture in a room or that the size of the furniture doesn’t overwhelm the room can make a world of difference.  Blending colors and using colors and styles that are up to date make a difference.  The way your house is staged can make it more appealing to more buyers rather than only appealing to the buyers who like your specific style.  It will also freshen up the spaces and, if done correctly, looks great in the photos shown with your home listing.

Reasons Why FSBO Sales Fail

Marketing Your Home Isn’t as Easy as You Think

By marketing your home on your own you may not get as much exposure to the right audiences as you will need. Realtors have access to the Multiple Listing Services which automatically ties into many of the online real estate websites. Imagine trying to get onto every one of them, even the most common one, by manually adding all your listing details and photos. That ties into professional photos. Taking your own is not as effective as having them professionally done, which can be pricey. Professional real estate photographers know exactly how to photograph your home in the right lighting, with professional equipment and what to highlight like tall ceilings, attractive finishes and, with their experience and expertise, they can make the home look more spacious. Additionally, a realtor knows just how to present your home to the public by writing a good listing description with the most important and impressive things about your home highlighted. Let’s not forget that the right realtor will have a network of other realtors and potential clients to present your property to. Giving your home exposure to a much wider market of buyers.

Homes For Sale By Owner are Typically Priced Wrong

Most For Sale by Owner properties are priced too high or worse, too low. Pricing your home at a value that is too high for the area will exclude you from consideration the moment a potential buyer buyer’s realtor looks at the listing. When a seller lists their own home, they tend to have an emotional investment in the property that influences the listing price. A good realtor will research comparable homes in your neighborhood and help you to determine what the correct price of your house should be. Today’s market is a seller’s market, and you can easily sell your home in a couple of weeks depending on its price range. Additionally, if your price is incorrect for the area, your home may languish on the market for a long time, making buyers wonder what might be wrong. Listing price is key and a professional will not only help you get the best bang for your buck but help you sell quickly

You Could Overestimated or Underestimate How Much to Spend on Updating Your Home

Updating your home is important so that it will appeal to more buyers, but you have to be careful about how much to spend on your upgrades. Things like fresh paint and updating your curb appeal go a long way and they are budget friendly. If you decide to renovate your entire kitchen and spend $50,000 on doing so, there are no guarantees that you’ll recuperate that money in the sale of your home. New carpet and flooring also go a long way if you want to make a more substantial investment in selling without breaking the bank. Real estate agents have experience helping their clients to prepare for a sale. They look at your home and tell if you need to declutter, clean and may suggest things like staging. It’s not always good to spend a ton of money to renovate when selling.

Showings are a Drag

FSBO sellers don’t realize what a drain showing your own home can be. On top of scheduling potential buyers, you’ll have to deal with looky-loos, people who have no intention of buying and sharks, investors looking to flip your house for a profit. You’ll quickly be inundated with calls from real estate investors looking to save on realtor commissions and who typically low ball you on the price of your home and don’t result in a sale. An agent will schedule and staff tours of your home and weed out unsuitable buyers. They’ll also ensure that potential buyers are qualified to finance a home at your price. They’ll also solicit feedback from people who have seen your home that they might otherwise be hesitant to share with the owner of the home. And lastly, people don’t want to look at a home when the buyer is there. You may think it’s helpful to tell a buyer all about your home while they look, but some may find it intrusive and it may make them uncomfortable taking a good look at the home.

Preparing Your Own Paperwork Can Be Tricky

Unless you have a background in contracts or law, you may want to leave the paperwork to the pros. Not only is the sale of a home paper intensive but most realtors use electronic documents whose software you may not be familiar with making it difficult for you to transact. Also, there are disclosure requirements like lead-based paint addendums which a legally required. A realtor will know what paperwork need to be including in the transaction and also help to keep you out of legal hot water as well as ensure that you are protecting your own interest in writing during the transaction. And lastly, your agent is a professional and experienced negotiator. The right realtor will have years of experience and know just how to present counter offers and help you determine what’s fair to offer in terms of repairs to the home etc. Avoid opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit during the contracting process and hire a pro.

For more information on how we can help, go to omahaprioritygroup.com