You might be tempted to save some money by trying to sell your home yourself.What you might not appreciate is that this approach is fraught with serious risks, including your home remaining unsold or selling for significantly less than true market value. Perhaps the most startling statistic to consider is that almost one third of all home sales come from real estate agent to real estate agent contact or past referrals. The simple math is that by not partnering up with an experienced Realtor®, you've already reduced the likelihood of selling your home by over 30%. But it really doesn't end there. Selling a home is very much a full time activity - taking time almost no "DIY" seller can dedicate to the purpose. It involves people like us remaining in constant contact with our database of ... 02/24/2016

 One of the biggest challenges in buying a home is often the need to have enough money put by for a down payment.A down payment is made by the buyer at the beginning of a home purchase to show commitment to the transaction. It's usually a percentage of the total price of the home and is paid through a wire transfer. This payment is immediately applied to the buyer's equity position in the property.The general rule of thumb is that buyers need to find 20% of the value of their desired residence. In practice, there are a wide range of alternative options, especially for first time buyers. However, many home buyers are in the fortunate position of being able to pay at least the minimum down payment requirement.Those who find themselves in this enviable position need to carefully evaluate t... 02/24/2016

 It is nothing more than common sense that the better your home looks to prospective buyers, the more likely they are to want to make you the right offer.Curb appeal is an absolutely vital element of home presentation and staging. It's true to say that it sets the scene for the rest of a viewing 100% of the time.The condition of your external decor needs close examination if your goal is to maximize the selling price your home will achieve. Simple steps like revitalising wood surfaces, paintwork and attention to detail in every aspect of how the home looks to the outside world can pay for itself many times over.It's reckoned that money invested in home improvements to properly stage your house can result in as much as a 2% higher sold price. To illustrate that, $250 dollars spent on imp... 02/24/2016

 What if you could hire someone to protect your interests at no cost to you?You can do just that by engaging a buyer's agent in your house search.That's because the selling, or listing, agent splits his/her sales commission on a property with the buyer's agent, thus providing you with a completely free service!Perhaps surprisingly, then, not everyone hires a buyer's agent and this is widely viewed by real estate experts as an unwise decision.To explain why this is so, consider some of the other key advantages of this approach: Access to current and past price data for the area in which the desired home is based. Immediate knowledge of houses coming on to the market, getting your viewing organized ahead of the crowd and putting you in pole position to make an offer. Deployment of establi... 02/24/2016

While the Albuquerque real estate scene is predominantly full of good news these days, one aspect never seems to improve and steadily worsens - low inventory of available homes for sale.For sellers who are on the market in times of such short supply, this represents a truly golden opportunity.Less choice means that buyers may be forced to pay more for a home and concerns over ever reducing supply of homes in the area means they are also more likely to make a fast purchasing decision. This increasingly results in the home seller's utopia of multiple offers being received, often above asking price.With extremely high buyer demand, an improving economy and the continuation of very of low cost mortgages, it is rather surprising that a shortfall in supply could occur at such a fortuitous tim... 02/23/2016

Catch up with all our latest property investment related blogs.  ORIGINAL POST 02/22/2016

We naturally hope you're a regular follower of our blogs here. If you are, you'll probably have noticed that we've featured no less than two video blogs of great new listings in the area this week. If you missed them, please click here and here.At Everest Peak Realty, we have a consistent commitment to promoting listed homes with video tours. These are professionally filmed and edited in high definition and we then go a crucial stage further by writing an entire blog feature around them. It's a complete approach to home marketing that we believe cannot be beaten in and around Albuquerque.This is a key differentiator for our level of service to sellers and gets new listings off to a great start, with comprehensive exposure on this website and then across our multi-faceted social networki... 02/19/2016

 One of life's few virtual certainties is that at some stage you're very likely to outgrow your first home.There can be a wide range of reasons for moving and, who knows, you may identify yourself in the following list of common signs that a change is in the air: -Job promotion/relocation - This is of course one of the most common reasons for upgrading. You've been promoted and your salary has improved to the point you are now capable of qualifying for a bigger mortgage. The home of your dreams may finally be a realistic prospect. Just make sure it's truly affordable for you.Relocation, on the other hand, may mean that you simply need to find a home similar to what you currently own but is nearer to the office/factory etc.As the US workforce becomes ever more mobile, these are trends we... 02/18/2016

 In recent blogs, we've looked at the superb opportunities for investment property at the moment.Another great benefit you may not have considered is how renting out your property can improve your tax efficiency.Look at these examples of rental property expenses that can be tax deductible: Mortgage Interest Lawncare Insurance Many repairs Even some travel  You may well be surprised at how many associated costs of being a landlord can be legitimately defined as business expenditure.The bottom line here is that these kinds of deduction can improve your rental income. But that's not all, because there is a clear tax incentive in upgrading your property portfolio to make it even more desirable for renters, potentially driving up your rental levels. Property investment is very much a busines... 02/18/2016

In our last blog we argued that real estate is a better investment than gold and here's some more evidence that we mean exactly what we said.Let's say you put down 20% on a $100,000 rental property and the value goes up to $110,000. That works out to be a 50% return on investment (ROI). That's because your ROI is calculated on the value of the entire property, not just your downpayment. That kind of leverage is impressive on any level.Looking at in those terms, it's not hard to argue that property investment is still pretty much unmatched as maybe the best and most reliable way of watching your money grow.With property values steadily increasing in our area and interest rates remaining so low, it's entirely possible to see an instant ROI and don't forget that the currently expanding ren... 02/17/2016

 Gold is generally perceived as a great hedge against inflation. Its value usually rises when the dollar goes down. But in order to make money you have to sell it.A real estate investment, on the other hand, can make money while you hold it and when you sell it. You can even borrow against it.That's why it's perfectly true to say that real estate is, in many respects, a better investment than gold. What's even more relevant at the moment is that property investment is arguably at a point where it has rarely been more attractive. Although still extremely realistic, prices are rising, which means that you are very likely to see a profit on your investment on the day you receive the keys.As we are often pointing out in this blog, if you need to borrow money for your investment, mortgage ra... 02/16/2016

 Start to do your homework on how to sell a home the right way and you will soon come across lots of advice about staging, or presenting, your home in its best light.What might be even more useful,however, is to know exactly what a positive difference this is likely to mean in financial terms. Well here goes...  Staging can result in 2% higher sold price. To put some figures on this, if you spent $500 on home improvements and upgrades on a home that sold for $300,000, you'd be looking at a $6000 return on your investment! Not bad at all.Some home sellers are strongly resistant to spending any more money on a home they are about to vacate, but the above example demonstrates the big gains that the savvy seller can obtain by investing in the sale, as it were.Don't forget, though, that stag... 02/16/2016

 Time flies by so quickly and we rarely get a chance to stop and think about how many things have changed in the past few years.Consider these contrasts with 1990:- A loaf of bread cost 67c. Now it's $2.22.- Gas was less than half of today's price back then.Sobering statistics, but some things really stack up well against what was the norm almost a quarter of a century ago.Mortgage interest rates are a case in point. Right now they are less than half of what they were in 1990, even though home prices have risen considerably since then. That means more of your dollar goes toward your equity.It would therefore be true to say that there has rarely, if ever, been a better time to invest in a home of your own.So far in 2016, mortgage interest rates have stayed near to historic lows, despite ... 02/16/2016

 One of the most recurrent theme in our blogs is the importance of realistically pricing your home "in the market".It's crucial to recognize that generic online home searching websites are not always accurate and up to date! Therefore the quoted price of your home may well be less, or even more, than the true market value.Unfortunately, when sellers reference this information, they often get an unrealistic vision of what their home is worth. Realtors, if they are doing their job properly, will often have a contrasting view of a home's true worth.This is because a quality realtor will study local markets on a day to day basis and know what the selling price is at all points in the market, from the most basic starter homes to luxury mansions.Sometimes, of course, this experienced appraisa... 02/15/2016

  One of the best pieces of advice we can offer any prospective home buyer is to obtain pre-approval for a home loan.Let's start off by clearing up the fundamental differences between two often commonly used terms that are often mistaken for one another - pre-qualification and pre-approval.Prequalification is the lender's best guessed estimate of what you can afford. Crucially however, it doesn't guarantee that you will obtain finance.Pre-approval, on the other hand, is a firm commitment from the lender based on your actual finances. Here are some key benefits it provides: -A better relationship with the sellerAlthough you might think the seller is the person doing the "selling", it's also true to say that you need to sell yourself to the seller. You'll stand a much better chance of bei... 02/15/2016

FIND ALBUQUERQUE AREA FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES HEREDid you know that almost a third of all investors are buying distressed properties? This may be an unsurprising statistic when you consider that short sales and foreclosures can present a fabulous opportunity to the savvy buyer.These types of sales can represent a real find, as homes very often sell for a considerably lower price than the current market value. This is counterbalanced by the time and bureaucracy involved in securing such a property, as there are usually more complex than normal factors affecting the viability of the sale from the seller's viewpoint.As always in life, there's no such thing as a free ride and it pays to have the patience of Job in these transactions. Red tape can sometimes mean it is many months before a sal... 02/12/2016

There are many key terms associated with real estate. One of the most common ones you will hear is inventory - but do you really understand what its relevance is to your home sale?Let's first of all define exactly what inventory means. Essentially, it is a snapshot of the amount of properties for sale, usually measured in terms of months. This figure is obtained by dividing the total number of houses for sale by the current rate of sales. For example if there are 500 houses for sale in a specific market and those homes are selling at a rate of 100 per month, there are five months of inventory.As will probably already be clear, inventory is a vital statistic for realtors and home sellers alike. It gives instant and incisive insight into how the market is fairing.It is this performance me... 02/12/2016

As an existing home owner you deserve full credit for your commitment to the American Dream and your recognition of fabulous long term investment potential and the peace of mind of having a place you can truly call your own.And yet, somehow, you are still not 100% happy.That's very possible because your current home lacks some of the features on your ideal house bucket list. Maybe it's a swimming pool, a huge garage for all your vehicles, a larger yard, horse property or something really basic like more bedrooms for your expanding family.There are, of course, a million and one motivations behind a desire to upscale.But whatever the reasons, here's the really great news - right now is a superb time to make a home move.Mortgage rates are still very low, meaning that you could quite concei... 02/11/2016

You want to buy a home. There's no question it makes sense as an excellent long term investment that's going to be far cheaper than renting. Yet you still harbor concerns over what hidden costs may lie ahead.Unexpected major repairs, such as total air conditioning failure at the height of summer, can indeed present a severe and unavoidable financial challenge - but there is a simple solution.Smart buyers can often negotiate to have a home warranty included at the seller's expense, taking the headache out of any future repairs and allowing them to relax and truly enjoy the overwhelming benefits of home ownership.There is an extremely wide selection of home warranty products on the market, offering different levels of coverage according to your needs. Indeed, even if your seller isn't abl... 02/11/2016

It seems like everywhere you go now you hear the word "cloud" if you're a real estate agent. Cloud storage, Cloud CMA, and of course if you are with eXp Realty, Cloud Office is a term you hear everyday.What is a cloud office? It's the new and improved office of the future that's virtual and which exists in the cloud.I love the cloud office! It's so much better than the old brick and mortar office that I used to have. Here's a two minute video I made about working in eXp Realty's cloud office. Please watch! That explains some of the benefits of the cloud office, but if you really want to see what it looks like, check out this video:Do you remember life before scanners and electronic signing? I remember when fax machines were how we used to do business. I recall how I used to drive across... 02/10/2016