Real Estate Information Archive

Albuquerque Real Estate is changing some development from Commuter to Urban. Urbanization is the density of dwellings. This means bringing residents closer to their neighbors as well as businesses. These types of dwellings can include condos, lofts, and town homes. Real Estate in Albuquerque is very diverse, and with this brings many types of living. It is a life designed around walking to various locations instead of driving everywhere.

Condos are very low maintenance. It is almost like owning an apartment. You have your space and then you are allotted access to all the amenities of the complex. Sometimes this type of Albuquerque Real Estate can include summing pools, exercise rooms, tennis courts, volley ball courts, and on site security. Condos usually run lower in price then single family dwellings but will almost always come with HOA (Home Owners Association) dues (Check out listings so you can compare prices). These are monthly payments you make that go toward the upkeep of the grounds and amenities. These HOA’s can become very complex. If you are interested in the purchase of one of these be sure to look at the CC&R’s (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions Document) Condos are now being developed all over Albuquerque.

Lofts are the same idea of a condo with a different feel to them. This Real Estate tends to be renovated buildings. A good example of this is the old Albuquerque High School. It is a historic building that has been recently renovated into lofts. Lofts tend to have high ceilings and an industrial feeling.  Most are one big room with areas designated for living, kitchen, and bedrooms.

Town homes are more closely thought of as single family residence. These are usually two stories and will share either one or both side walls with their neighbors. With town homes you will usually loose amenities but you will gain ownership of land on occasion, including a front yard and back yard.

Rio Rancho residents no longer will have to travel to Albuquerque to see their favorite movies. Cinemark Holdings Inc. is scheduled to open a 12-screen Century Theatre in the Village at Rio Rancho development next summer.

Cinemark said Thursday it plans to open the Century branded movie complex, with the option to add four more screens, in time for the “2011 summer blockbuster season.” The movie theaters will feature stadium seating, digital projection and sound, concession stands and a Cinemark XD “extreme digital Cinema” auditorium. The company says the XD auditorium will “exhibit the newest movies every week, including 2D and Real D-3D pictures.”   

“After many years of planning and working with the city of Rio Rancho, we are pleased to see the grading and infrastructure work having begun, and the announcement of Cinemark as the theater operator sets the tone for the first class Life-Style center at The Village,” said Robert Geringer, president of Geringer Capital, the developers of the commercial site at Unser and Westside boulevards in southern Rio Rancho. 

The Village at Rio Rancho is being planned around a Main Street-themed, pedestrian-friendly retail center adjacent to the under construction Presbyterian Hospital.  The company also will feature online, print-at-home ticketing, to make it easy for patrons to purchase tickets in advance of shows, bypassing lines at the box offices.

People often wonder when they should buy their first home. Asses your situation. Are you renting? Often times renting an apartment could be costing you the same as buying a home. How much are you spending in rent? If your rent is close to $1,000.00 then you could easily be in a home.  Know your budget and how much you are willing to spend. Think about what you would want in a home and if you can afford it. What type of area do you want to live in? This can changed the cost of your home drastically. The same exact home in Albuquerque could differ in price in Rio Rancho or Los Lunas. Then you will have to decide if you can become a commuter- sometimes it is cheaper to commute but with gas prices these days it might not be.

These are some things everyone needs to think about before purchasing a home. Utilize your Realtor, he or she will be able to help you filter through thousands of homes that are currently available. It is your Realtors job to understand what you want and need in a home and then help you find it. You should only view 4 to five homes at a time, any more them that and it becomes hard to remember what you've seen.  Looking at an endless amount of homes is usually not effective, think quality not quantity.

Make sure to take notes when you viewing homes. Take a camera and at the beginning of viewing the home take a close up picture of the address so you will be sure about what home you are looking at. Then if you do find a home that you are interested in be sure to drive around the neighborhood. Return to the homes at different times of the day so you can see what the traffic and people are like.

Buying your first home can seem scary but a good Realtor will be there to walk you through every step and ensure you make the best decision for you.

    Some of the best ways to build credit is to open a credit card and little by little spend and pay of your balance in full. Some people get caught up and end up spending to much or making payments late and this starts to eat away at your score. So here are some dos and don’ts of using your credit cards responsibly.
    Don’t use your credit card to make everyday purchases. This includes buying all your items like food, gas, and clothing. Using your credit card in place of cash can get out of hand. You can go over your limit or loose track an be unable to pay off the full amount at the end of the month.
    Don’t only pay the minimum for your credit card statement. You will just incur more interest. It will give you till the next month, but more than likely your balance will continue to get higher and higher.
    Don’t use your credit card to buy something you can not afford. Everyone knows if they can or can not afford something. So draw your line and don’t pass it. You will end up paying more for the item, this can go all the way up to double the amount.
    Don’t cancel a credit card thinking it will help you. If the credit card you are closing has contributed highly to your credit score then all your good credit can be erased. Also if you close out a credit card that has a balance it will reflect negatively on your credit score.
    Do take your purchases into consideration. Decide if you want or need the item. And if you decide you need the item take a look at it again and see how much you need it. So many times we think we need an item  when we can’t afford it. Think if you could afford going into debt.
    Do let your creditor know if you are going to be late on your monthly payment. In some situations creditors will be more willing to work with you if you let them know before hand instead of thinking you just decided to forgo paying.
    Do stay within 30% of your credit limit. This will affect your debt to credit ratio. Creditors will frown on a person using the full credit amount that  is allotted to that person.
    Do try to negotiate with creditors. Make sure you are receiving the best interest rate you can. If you are receiving offers with a lower interest rate than you have on your current card then contact your creditor. Also periodically check to see if you can get a better interest rate because these can easily change.
    These are just rules to follow that will help you to increase your credit score. Getting out of debt is harder than using your current credit responsibly. So make your choices wisely and use your credit cards responsibly.

    With jobs  being at a low and foreclosures being at a high- your credit score is what could postpone your purchase on a home. Being educated on your credit score will help to avoid bad credit scores.  A credit score is calculated at credit bureaus to determine your creditworthiness. Lenders will use your credit score to determine the risk they will take lending a person money. This will determine your acceptance of a loan, your interest rate, and credit limit. Credit scores are not only a factor when it comes to buying a home, but could affect a potential job, insurance, and even purchasing a cell phone.
    Some thing everyone should know is that everyone has a right to receive a free credit report from a credit bureau every twelve months. The factors that you will find on your credit score are: Identification, Payment History, Inquires, and Public record information.
    Your information that will be included in the Identification  section will include your name, birth date, Social Security number, employers, and spouse’s name. It will also include your employment history, home ownership, income, and previous addresses.
    Your payment history will list your accounts you have with different creditors. Your report will also show your credit limits and if you were successful on making payments on time. And if you have not paid on time here is where you will find accounts that have been sent to a collection agency.
    Inquires are anyone who has pulled your credit in the last year. This would included inquires if you have applied for anything in which your credit could be pulled. This could be as simple as purchasing a cell phone or asking for a line of credit from a furniture store. Inquires could also come from an application of employment. These types of inquires could be traced back two years.
    Public records would include any event that are a matter of public record. This can include bankruptcies, foreclosures, or tax liens.
    Everyone should be aware of their credit score and what there credit report looks like. This could help you in situations where a incident is accidentally put on your report. Also this is a sure fire way to prevent you from severe identity theft.

   There are many  companies out there that say if you hire them you will be on the way to good credit. The truth is that they are not doing anything that you can’t do yourself. First you will need to order a credit report. Make sure to order a report from all three credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). You will want to do this because some of your credit could have only been reported to one or two credit bureaus. You will need to identify all negative reports listed.
    Take any information that is incorrect. This will include accounts that are not yours. Also you could find payments that are incorrectly reported late. With these types of incorrect reporting you can simply dispute these matters and the credit bureaus will remove them from your credit report. Make sure when disputing anything on your credit to include a copy of your credit report with the disputed item highlighted.
    Accounts that are past due will appear negative on your score. If these accounts have been sent to collection you will need to contact the collection company. Make arrangements with the company to pay off the account in full or a promise to make monthly payments. If you take the time out of your day to call the collection company you will have a better chance at lowering the fees that have been applied to your account.
    Maxed out accounts that are over the credit limit also need to be addressed. This can be fixed by making a payment large enough to take you under your credit limit. Debt to credit ratio will take up about 30% of your credit reporting. If the credit bureau sees that a person has used all, or almost all credit that has been allotted to that person, then this will have a negative affect on your score.
    While you are working with many companies to improve your credit score make sure that they are noting all positive items on your report as well. This will show that you are working to resolve your bad credit issues. Don’t make the mistake of pulling many credit reports to see if items have been corrected because many pulls on your credit will affect your credit score. Instead contact the companies themselves to make  sure the items were resolved.  
    Sometimes you will need to open a new account to pick up your credit score. Try to open a department store card. If this does not work you might need to open a secure credit account. But be sure to recognize what got you in a bad credit situation and don’t let it happen again.

Determining a list price for your home is extremely subjective. Different people can look at the same information and honestly have distinctly different assessments of market value, especially when considering homes that are unique. It is a different situation altogether if the house is in a subdivision filled with homes of similar size and floor plans. In this type of situation pricing the home becomes much easier and more precise. 

Unfortunately some real estate professionals are willing to "buy your listing". What this means is that the agent knows that the market can't support the home at such a high price but is willing to wait it out for awhile if it means he gets your listing. Then after he has secured the listing he will gradually convince you to lower the price until it reaches the correct selling price, wasting valuable time and money. A less then ethical agent is able to benefit from this type of bate and switch. Real estate agents receive much of there business from prospective buyers who call for information on your listing, even though your home is overpriced the agent is still able to earn a commission by taking the buyer to another house that is priced to sell.

It is perfectly natural to want to get as much as we can from the sale of our home. In order to achieve that it is crucial to price your home correctly.  Statistics from the National Association of Realtors clearly show that on average, homes that are overpriced net much less then homes which are priced correctly up front. The bottom line is when the listing price sounds to good to be true, it probably is. The best thing to do is use common sense. Have every agent you interview support there suggested listing price, whether it be high or low. Real estate agents have a wealth of information available to them. Ask your agent for comparable sales, absorption rates, and any other pertinent information to ensure that your home is priced correctly.

House staging is quite an elusive creature.  How exactly do you stage a home?  What are all the items in the home you need to look at?  How much does it really cost to stage a house?

The area containing the Village of Los Ranchos has been settled by humans for at least 2500 years. During the Spanish Colonial period, there were a series of adobe villages scattered throughout the North Valley, including a community settled around a small plaza called San Jose de Los Ranchos. After New Mexico became United States territory, this community was actually the Bernalillo County seat from 1850 to 1854. Curious about where these old plazas and communities were located? Check out the map of Historic Areas.

Los Ranchos and the North Valley were historically agricultural settlements. By 1920, however, much land was out of production because of recurrent flooding and poor drainage. In response to this problem, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District was formed in the 1920's to implement drainage and flood control improvements in the area. A vast system of levees, ditches, laterals, drains and canals was created. Besides improving the situation for agriculture, this opened the area to increased development. Thus, when World War II and its aftermath brought a population explosion in the Albuquerque region, the Los Ranchos area became ripe for development associated with the growth boom. Concern over this growth on the part of local residents helped lead to the incorporation of the modern Village of Los Ranchos in the late 1950's. 

The Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico (pop. +/-6000) is located in the heart of the North Valley region of Bernalillo County, just seven miles from downtown Albuquerque, its urban neighbor. With the Rio Grande River to the West and the Sandia Mountains to the East, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque enjoy's rural quiet living with an abundance of wildlife and great vistas.  Our main north/south streets are Rio Grande Blvd and 4th Street (our village main street). Rio Grande Boulevard winds its way along the Rio Grande River and bosque and provides an excellent view of our agricultural heritage. Fourth Street has been designated a scenic byway due to its historic Route 66 and El Camino Real roots.

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.