Round Rio Rancho

4 BR  4 BA   Approx 3700 Sq Ft   3 Car Garage   Built 2007

This is probably the nicest home currently for sale in Rio Rancho! Everything in this home says luxury and quality. You’ll love the gleaming cherry wood floor in the unique octagonal living room; the way the chocolate chip granite contrasts with the dark knotty wood; The high end Jenn Aire appliances; the soaring family room with the granite fireplace surround; and the walls of windows with the best Sandia Mtn view in town. The huge Master Bedroom Suite is downstairs. You’ll love it!

For more info and photos, go to MarkandSheilaTeam.com .

(This property is no longer on the market.)

3 BR 2 BA 1700 Sq Ft

This was already the nicest home in the neighborhood when the Sellers bought it a few years ago…. Since then they have added Gorgeous Crown Molding, Wood Laminate Flooring in the main living area, New French Doors, New Light Fixtures and Ceiling Fans. Out back they built a Beautiful Wood Pergula over the patio. Do you have more than a couple cars? They also poured a 3rd Car Pad on the driveway. With quick access to Hwy 550, you can be in Albuquerque or Santa Fe in minutes. Come take a look!

For more info and photos, go to MarkandSheilaTeam.com .

The City of Rio Rancho was named #51 in the Top 100 Places to Live and Launch (a business) by Money Magazine in their latest issue. In 2006, Rio Rancho was #56 on the list, and was #83 in 2008. While there is some controversy about the magazine’s methodology in selecting their top 100, there is no denying that many things have been going right in Rio Rancho in the past few years…. Economically, Rio Rancho has been attracting a number of new and well known companies to settle here. Housing prices have remained moderate compared with much of the country, and the ups and downs of the national economy have had a lesser effect locally. You can see the statistical results for the latest rating below.

The chart above shows the trend of list prices of homes in Rio Rancho for a year (ending May 31, 2010). As you can see, the Southern half of the city (87124) was slightly worse off than the Northern half (87144), with the average price being down about 10% year over year.  My guess for the reason that prices in 87144 did not drop as much, is that they had already dropped a lot more in the previous couple years due to a much higher inventory, and they are nearer to hitting bottom than the Southern half of the city.  Most home owners, when they see numbers like this would not consider this a good time to try and sell their home.  However, our analysis shows that we are probably 18 months away from hitting the bottom price-wise in Rio Rancho, or on the West side of Albuquerque. Although the exact number is hard to predict, an additional slide of 10% in market prices over the next year and a half in those areas would not surprise us.

Once we hit bottom, we believe the market will linger there for about a year. From then on, we predict modest increases in prices of 2%, 2.5% or 3% max per year for the following 4 years. If you were to graph that trend, it would look like a valley, with our current prices on top on one side, and prices just reaching the same level on the other side in 5-6 years! So, when trying to decide if it’s time to sell (or time to buy), you really have to look out several years. In many cases, the best time to Sell would be right now, vs another time in the next 5 years! It may seem counter-intuitive to sell when prices are down from their peak, but it’s still the best time we’ll see for some years to come….

Recovery in the  Albuquerque / Rio Rancho Metro area residential real estate market continued during April. The 678 sales of single family detached homes closed during the month were a seven percent increase from March. The April sales performance represented a 25% jump from April 2009 and the best April sales figure since 2007. The number of pending sales was 1,271 during April. This was an 18% improvement from March and a 52% increase from April 2009. The 1st Time Buyer Tax Credit expired April 30, providing an incentive for buyers to get offers in place by that date. We believe that the tax credit may have increased April sales by as much as 30% over where it might have been without it. 

 During April, 1,869 single family homes were newly listed for sale, a 10% increase from March and up 28% from April 2009. The total number of single family homes listed for sale was 5,069 during April, down 6.1% from a year ago. Even as the number of new listings has increased, the total number of Albuquerque / Rio Rancho area homes offered for sale has declined during each month of 2010. For townhouses and condominiums, the number of new listings, pending sales and closed sales increased over April 2009. The increases were by greater percentages than for detached homes. A home sold during April was on the market an average of 74 days. That was two days less than during March and 11 days less than April 2009. Average and median sales prices for detached homes held steady as compared to April 2009. For April the absorption rate was 7.9 months, the lowest of the year. This means that at the present sales pace, it would take 7.9 months to sell all the homes currently offered for sale. The April 2009 absorption rate was 9.3 months.  The West Side of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho still have the most inventory.

If you have had credit problems, discuss them honestly with your mortgage professional. Responsible loan officers and underwriters know there can be legitimate reasons for credit problems, such as unemployment, illness or other financial difficulties. Unfortunately, if you’ve had these problems recently, lending guidelines won’t let them approve a mortgage for you. However, if your problems have been corrected, and your payments have been on time for a year or more, your credit may be considered satisfactory.

If you currently have an excessive amount of debt, there are four ways to control it:

1. If your credit is not in awful shape, you can reduce your other expenses, even if it means making hard choices or changing your lifestyle to fit your income. Consider any or all of the following:

Selling that second car;
Taking equity out of your home;
Applying for a non-secured signature loan at a credit union(they may have different lending standards);
Obtaining a loan from a relative;
Selling your home, paying off your debts with the proceeds and then renting;
Cashing out your 401K/retirement benefits or selling family heirlooms, jewelry;
Selling a kidney…  (well, maybe not the last one…).

2. If your credit is already damaged or one of the above isn’t an option, contact Consumer Credit Counseling Services or another credit repair service. Check your yellow pages for the local number. CCCS may be able to help you pay off your debts as if you were in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but you don’t actually file for bankruptcy. (Be sure to check them out with the local Better Business Bureau, especially before giving them any money.)

3. If  a credit repair service is not a good match for your situation, you may want to consider bankruptcy. Claiming Chapter 13 bankruptcy takes longer than a Chapter 7, but your credit will end up in a little better standing. Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives you up to 5 years to pay off your debts. The disadvantage is that you’re in bankruptcy for up to 5 years plus your credit report shows your bankruptcy for 7 more years after you have finished paying off your debts.

4. If you are so far in debt that you can never repay it, then the best solution may be a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the least desirable from a credit standpoint, but you are typically out of bankruptcy in 6 months and you don’t have to repay any debt. The disadvantage is that this shows on your credit report for 10 years from the date of filing your bankruptcy. Lenders are starting to tighten their credit requirements, and you may have a tough time getting future financing.

If your situation dictates that you choose from items 2, 3, or 4 above, you can probably forget about getting a mortgage anytime soon. Lending requirements have gotten much stiffer lately, and even 1 or 2 “lates” on a credit record can derail your loan application today. However, if things really are that bad, the more drastic measures may be needed as a first step to getting back on track for the future. (Be sure to talk with a CPA and an attorney specializing in such matters before making your choice.)

If you’re debts are under control now, but want to improve your bad credit history, the most important step is to START PAYING YOUR BILLS ONTIME! There is no substitute for this simple, basic practice.

Remember, it’s the day your payment is received that counts, not the postmark date. Give the post office sufficient time (five business days-at least) to deliver your mail. Late payments may mean late fees, higher interest, and/or a negative mark on your credit report. If you’ve already filed for bankruptcy, and even after being relieved of your debt you still pay your bills late, lenders will probably not consider giving you new credit, let alone a mortgage.

Taking money from your retirement account or tapping the cash value of your life insurance policy to pay bills or living expenses may have serious implications you haven’t considered, so again, get advice from an expert before you take any major financial actions.

This information was supplied by Chris Russo, Loan Officer with Legacy Mortgage in Albuquerque. We highly recommend Chris. You can reach him at the Legacy Mortgage Website.

So you’re a 1^st Time Homebuyer who has played by all the rules, made sure you were under contract before April 30^th, and you’re scheduled to close before June 30^th of this year. By following the rules, you’ll be receiving the $8000 1^st Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit. Everything should be perfect, right????  Not necessarily…

 A client of mine in the Albuquerque area went under contract March 3^rd to buy a Menaul Villas condo.  This condo is currently being built and is on track to be completed in time to close before June 30^th.  So what’s the problem?

 The Listing Broker for the Condo Development informed me yesterday about a potential glitch that has come up.  Sometime after our contract was written (around the April 30^th deadline for being under contract), the federal government changed the rules for condo phase approvals for FHA Mortgages.  This approval process used to take 2-3 weeks through FHA, but now they have decided this approval process will be handled by HUD (the Housing and Urban Development Dept.).  Now for the glitch…. The new process will take 4-6 weeks! How does this affect my client?  By doubling the approval time, my Client will most likely not close by June 30^th, losing the $8000 Tax Credit.

 I’ve decided to write NM Sen. Tom Udall to explain our dilemma. I am asking him to look in to this situation to see what can be done. My client has played by the rules, but the rules were changed in the middle of the game!  This doesn’t quite seem fair to me.  Interestingly enough, this only affects Buyers of condos.  If you were purchasing a Single Family Home, this change has no effect whatsoever.

 Why would I go to these lengths to help my Client?  As a Realtor who works specifically with Buyers in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area, I am an advocate for my Buyers.  I am looking out for their best interests. Many times potential Buyers will walk into a new Home Builder’s Model and write an offer with the person behind the desk  – who works for the Builder! So if you’re looking for a new home, take your Realtor with you.  That way you’ll have someone there on your side!

 I’ll keep you posted about my progress on this situation in my next blog!

    We came across this video today and just had to share… In May of 2007, Sony opened its Imageworks Animation Studio in Albuquerque to take advantage of state offered tax incentives and to participate in the burgeoning local film production industry. (Probably as a recruiting tool), this video was created to tell the story of the first 40 employees, who for the most part were moving to an unknown community.  The sentiments shared by the relocated animators, production staff and technicians mirror those of most people I meet who have moved here from out of state – they are pleasantly surprised and newly enthusiastic about their new home once they experience it. 

The film is 25 minutes long, but if you are considering relocating to the Albuquerque area, what’s 25 minutes of research vs the good information to be received?

(To play the clip full screen, click on the icon just to the right of the volume control.)

#3 in a Multi-Part Series…

A family put their home up for sale and left town. I had advised them to do some touch up painting, and to replace the vinyl flooring and carpet in the home, as it was worn. They agreed to the touch up painting, but did not have the funds to replace the flooring. Over the next 4 months, that home had at least a dozen showings each month, and 2 offers. The price was $149,000. Both offers were around $125,000. When we countered them to get the price up, both Buyers had walked away, rather than negotiating further.

I finally found a way to finance the flooring for my clients, and they agreed to have it put in. We spent $2800 to do the entire home. Within 10 days of the new flooring going in, we received another offer. It was for $140,000, and after negotiations, we settled on $145,000!

During the inspections I asked the Buyer what had attracted them to the home. Her response was that on the day she first saw it, it was the last home on a tour with 15 others, and when she walked into it, “it was like a breath of fresh air” compared to all the others. She “could tell that the prior owners had taken great care of it.” Little did she know that the prior owners had actually “ridden the home hard, and put it away wet”. Her reaction to what we had done was exactly what we were striving for.

Next:  Another example of the effect of Preparing a Home For Sale…

#2 in a Multi-Part Series…

When I first walk into a home that a client is thinking about selling, the previously listed items are just some of the first things I look at. The reason is that all of these things make a big impression on potential buyers when they walk through, and they are all cosmetic items. Without exception, if the condition of any of these items is not good to excellent, they should be brought up to that standard prior to the home being put on the market.

Let’s say that the carpet is in poor shape. Very often I get asked by the Seller if they shouldn’t just offer a carpet allowance, rather than pick the color and the type of new carpet for the potential Buyers. The answer is NO! If the carpet (and therefore the home) looks shabby, that assessment is applied by visitors to the entire home. Who wants to buy a shabby home? The result is that very few Buyers will consider buying that home. They cannot imagine what the home would be like with new carpet, so they just move on to the next one. If they DO make an offer, they reduce it by $10,000 AND take the $3,000 carpet allowance you offered. This is rarely a good thing for the Seller, who could have installed an inexpensive grade of new carpet (with good padding) for about $14/sq yd or about $2200 for an average 2000 sq ft home, saved the difference of $10,800, AND probably gotten their home sold a LOT faster.

After working in the Albuquerque / Rio Rancho area for over 12 years, we have developed a list of vendors that are well priced and provide quality products and services. They also show up (unlike a lot of contractors). Our wholesale flooring products supplier usually beats Home Depot or Lowes by 25-35% on identical products.  Putting the carpet on a credit card and paying $75/month until the house sells is a great way to cash flow getting the work done, and make another $10,000 on the home sale. 

The above scenario pretty much applies to anything cosmetic that might need doing in the home. $1000 spent making cosmetic repairs or improvements will usually return a $5000 increase in the sale price, and will DECREASE the time on market. When I advise a client about things to be done, that’s my goal – to get them a 5-to-1 return on any investment. Rarely is it to Seller’s advantage to offer their home “as is”, because they don’t want to deal with its flaws. The result of that decision is that the Buyer makes the 5-to-1 return on their improvements after buying the home at a heavily discounted price.

Occasionally I receive pushback from a Seller who doesn’t want to spend the money on a home they are leaving, or does not have the money to spend until the house sells. They may have also received advice from friends, relatives or even from other Realtors to the contrary of what I advise, but my advice is based upon the examination of hundreds of past home sales, and it works.

Next:  Examples of the effect of Preparing a Home For Sale…

#1 in a Multi-Part Series…

There are 3 pieces to the puzzle of consistently getting a home sold. Although our team works in the Greater Albuquerque / Rio Rancho NM Metro Area, I don’t believe that things are significantly different in any other market…

The first step is to Prepare the Home for Sale:

Almost every home I visit needs some kind of attention. Sellers need to take a look at their home with fresh eyes, as if they were a potential buyer making a ten minute visit to the home during a day of visits to a dozen similar homes with their Realtor. Look for the following items:

1. Examine the paint in every room: Are there scuffs on the walls from pets or children doing what they do? Are there areas where the paint is thin? Are there some dings at the corners which need patching and paint? Are there dents in the walls from a door knob where the doorstop fell off last year? Did someone touchup a wall with semi-gloss paint where the rest of the wall was flat? Are there splotches of colored wall paint on the white ceiling where the paint roller strayed too close? How carefully was the cut-in work done near the ceiling or at a corner where there’s a change of color? Do the baseboards need a fresh coat of paint to cover dings from vacuuming? What’s the condition of the trim paint around all exterior doors, especially the garage door?
2. Is there a clean bead of caulk around every sink, bathtub and shower pan in the house? What’s the condition of the counter grout or tub surround grout?
3. Has the backing on a bathroom mirror started to break down near the bottom edge? 
4. Does the carpet look clean and new throughout, or has it seen better days?
5.  Are the kitchen and bath cabinets dry and pasty-looking, or have they been recently cleaned and oiled to rejuvenate them?
6. How does the house smell when you first walk in? Has the family pet been marking territory in a corner of the living room?
7. If there is vinyl flooring in the kitchen and baths, are there cuts, stains, or dull areas in the flooring? If you have tile, what’s the condition of the grout?
8. Is the yard neat and trimmed? Is it landscaped at all?

Next:  What to do when you’ve answered the above questions …

On April 8, 2010, the Federal Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) published a decision in the form of Mortgagee Letter 2010-14, wherein they are now accepting digital signatures (e-signatures) on real estate documents, including contracts. DocuSign Inc., a leader in the e-signature field has been leading the charge to get e-signatures accepted by more agencies and for more purposes, including broad usage by real estate brokers.

E-signatures have been legal in the U.S. for over 10 years now, but only recently have they become more commonly used for real estate sales.  The Mark and Sheila Team has been using the DocuSign e-signing system for just under 2 years now. (We were one of the first brokers in the Albuquerque / Rio Rancho Metro Area to adopt it.) Now, getting signatures on time-sensitive real estate sale contracts, disclosures and other contractual agreements is quick, easy and convenient for our clients – especially since about 40% of our clients are living out of the area while they are buying or selling a home with us.

The e-signing process is so quick and simple, anyone with an internet connection and an email account can affix their initials, signatures and dates to a document electronically in about half the time it takes to do so with a pen. A client of ours who used the system for the first time today to sign all the documents needed to list her home, actually said it was “fun” to use. I’ll take that reaction to one of our systems anytime….

Although about 98% of all mortgage lenders, banks, brokerages, title and relocation companies accept e-signatures on real estate sale documents, most lenders still want wet-ink signatures on paper forms to create notes and mortgages. Once they have them, what do most of these companies do with the signed paper documents? They scan them to electronic form. (Insert scratching of head here.) Then they file (lose) the papers in warehouses.

Several companies, including Stewart Title, offer a complete E-Signing Room system for closing of real estate transactions and paperless signing of notes and mortgages. Only a few mortgage lenders, and even fewer New Mexico County Recording offices are prepared to accept electronic filings at this time, but within a couple years we may be able to sell a house without cutting down 3 trees for each transaction.

So you’re buying a home….  Here are some tips you need to know about purchasing homeowners /hazard insurance:

When purchasing a home it’s important to secure your insurance as soon as possible.  This will help you avoid any surprises or last minute decisions.  Even if you’ve found a home you like but it’s not yet under contract you can get a homeowners insurance quote from an agent.   Checking with your current auto insurance company is a good idea but it’s also recommended that you get comparable quotes from other agents.  Not all insurance companies or agents are created equal nor is the coverage they quote.  Remember this is your home we’re talking about don’t risk working with someone you can’t look in the eye and voice your concerns.  You want to find an agent (and staff) you can feel comfortable with because this could be the beginning of a long business relationship.  You’ll want an advocate who is willing to go the extra mile on your behalf.

An insurance agent can also check the claims-filing history of the home you want to buy.  Some insurance agents will give you a copy of the home loss history report, also known as the CLUE report, just for asking.  A claim may increase the premium of your prospective home insurance by up to 30% for as long as three years.  It’s also a good way to find out if there have been any water or roof issues, even if they’ve been repaired.

By: Aprilyn Chavez Geissler, our favorite Albuquerque Area Farmer’s Insurance Agent. For more information you can reach Aprilyn here.

Mortgage interest rates have been at historic lows for years now…. Well, prepare for them to climb for a while. Most consumers are not aware of it, but as part of the economic recovery in the financial market, the Federal Reserve has been purchasing mortgage-backed securities for about a year.  The sub 5% rates we have enjoyed for the past year have been artificially held down by this $1.25 Trillion investment. If market forces had been at work, rates would have been much higher. That program by the Fed has now ended, and every indication points to a steady, protracted rise in mortgage rates.

30 year fixed rates have climbed almost a half point in just over 4 months, and are currently about 5.3%. Projections for the next couple years by the Mortgage Bankers Association predict rates at 5.8% by the end of 2010, 6.3% by the end of 2011, and 6.6% by late 2012.  Other financial authorities are proffering slightly different estimates, but pretty much all of them see significant increases coming.

The moderate recovery in the real estate market may stall or possibly even reverse somewhat as rates increase. By one estimate, for every 1 point increase in  mortgage rates, 1 Million potential Buyers are priced out of the market. This could mean higher inventories, longer time on market, and additional downward pressure on prices.  For those thinking that they should wait to buy until prices decline further (unless they are paying cash), the increase in interest rates will more than offset any savings in purchase price.  If you’re thinking about a home purchase in the Albuquerque / Rio Rancho Metro area and want to know the specific numbers, give us a call and we’ll do the math for you.