Kearney, Nebraska — an introduction, not a pitch

Three steps, and what each one commits you to

Florida to Nebraska: what is genuinely different

• Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in Nebraska, and a Nebraska licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
• Leaving Florida means picking up a state income tax in Nebraska. Model it against the housing number before you settle on a price range, and take the actual arithmetic to a tax adviser rather than to any real estate agent, including me.
• Closings in Nebraska generally run through a title or escrow company rather than requiring an attorney as a matter of course — structurally closer to what you are used to in Florida than not.
• Neither the homestead exemption nor the Save Our Homes cap travels with you out of Florida. Nebraska sets its own assessment rules, its own exemptions and its own limit on how fast a bill can rise — confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority rather than assuming a Florida analogue exists.

The honest position, stated up front

People sometimes ask me what they should offer in Kearney, and I will not answer. Not because the question is difficult, but because answering it is the advisory half of brokerage, and doing that where I hold no licence is the precise thing this page says I do not do. It is also a protection for you. A number from someone who has not stood in the property and does not work the area is worth nothing, however confidently it is delivered.

What this page is not offering

I will not answer a legal, tax, insurance or appraisal question in any state, including my own. I am a sales associate, not an attorney, a CPA, a lender, an appraiser or an inspector, and an honest version of this job includes knowing where its edges are. What I can usually do is tell you which of those people you actually need, which is a cheaper question to get right early than late.

If Florida is the other half of this move

There are two possible orders and they carry different risks. Sell first and you know your number but may need somewhere to live; buy first and you have somewhere to live but two sets of carrying costs until the Florida property closes. Which suits you is a conversation for you, your lender and me, and it is far better had before you are emotionally attached to a particular house in Kearney than after.

Use the first call properly

• How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Nebraska, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?
• If I am buying before I have seen the property in person, what will you do on my behalf and what will you refuse to do? A clear answer to the second half of that question is worth more than the first.
• Do you work alone or as part of a team? If it is a team, ask who writes the offer, who attends the inspection, and who I will actually be speaking to at nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning.
• What is on the survey or title work here that a Florida buyer would not think to look for?

Other cities in Nebraska

• La Vista
• Fremont
• Papillion
• Grand Island
• Columbus
• Bellevue
• North Platte
• Lincoln
• All of Nebraska