New Mexico Home Pros Blog

It is with great sadness I make this final posting.  

Mary Marcilla, the heart and soul of New Mexico Home Pros, Inc., passed away on November 25, 2008.   I was a member of Mary™s team for over a year.   She was a friend, a mentor, and an accomplished real estate broker.   She treated her clients and her team with honesty and compassion.   Her sense of humor and anecdotes always seemed to help with whatever situation that would arise.   Mary touched a lot of lives, helped a lot of people, and made a difference.   Thank you Mary for making the world a little better place.  

On a personal note, I™m no longer selling real estate.   My Associate Broker license is œInactive and resting quietly at the New Mexico Real Estate Commission.   I™m also no longer affiliated with Keller Williams Realty.   I enjoy writing and have gone back to my previous profession as a Technical Writer.   If you™d like  help with writing for your website or blog, I™m available for hire.   My email and cell phone contact information is still valid.  

Thank you for visiting this Blog.  

A professional home inspection prior to buying an existing home is highly recommended.   Even if a buyer is handy with tools and home repairs, it™s a good idea to have an impartial, third-party opinion before buying.   Having some idea of the condition and issues of a property helps the buyer make a more informed decision whether or not to buy that property.  

In New Mexico, professional home inspectors are not required to be licensed.   However, they must have a business license and be bonded in order to conduct any business.   Many home inspectors complete course work to earn a certificate in home inspection.   Not all inspectors are created equal.   Some are more thorough than others.   Some miss simple items that should have been detected and documented.   Some are so thorough they write up findings immaterial or irrelevant to the property™s condition.

Most Realtors have a list of home inspection companies and inspectors they™ve work with in the past.   If a buyer doesn™t already know of an inspector he wants to hire, ask  a Realtor for a recommendation.  

The cost of a basic home inspection can range from $200 to $600, depending on what is inspected and the size of the house.   Generally speaking, the party that pays for the inspection selects the inspector or inspection company.   On occasion, a buyer will ask the seller to pay for the home inspection and request a specific inspection company.   If the request and cost is within reason, it may be within the seller™s best interest to agree.   If the buyer is not satisfied with the inspector, the buyer made the choice not the seller.

Some sellers choose to have a home inspection done prior to listing their property or receiving an offer.   This can be a good approach to resolve problems early on and help avoid deal-killing surprises.   A seller can decide to fix a problem or just disclose and sell the property as is.   Most inspections are valid for a limited amount of time, usually 30 to 60 days.   If a property stays on the market over this amount of time, it may cost additional money for a reinspection. This is especially true if they buyer wants a home warranty.  

A home inspection is not a panacea.   It™s merely an additional source of information about a property.   This information can help a buyer make an informed decision to either purchase a specific property or keep looking.

As Realtors, it™s our job to communicate with our clients.   This includes both good and bad news.   Almost everyone takes good news well.   Some folks take bad news poorly.   The worst kind of news is no news, which leaves everything to the client™s imagination.

In any type of real estate market, good and bad news is part of the job.   Good news is almost always easy to relay and can be a lot of fun.   Bad news can be much more challenging to deliver and sometimes down right scary.

Bad news can evoke powerful emotions.   Especially when a seller learns their property is not valued at what they feel it should be, or the deal falls apart due to circumstances beyond their control.   Their frustration can manifest in essentially œshooting the messenger because you delivered the news.   They may have some choice words for you or other parties involved.   They may even cancel contracts without thinking through all the consequences costing them and you time and money.

Some Realtors may try to deliver as little bad news as possible and soft pedal what must be relayed.   Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn™t.   Most folks really appreciate honesty.   They need to know what™s going on to make informed decisions.   They get over the bad news and deal with it.

Some Realtors may just not communicate bad news.   No communication can cause the most problems.   Leaving things to your client™s imagination is a bad idea.   Most folks have the tendency to imagine the worst if they don™t know what™s going on.  Rarely are things as bad as imagined.  

Real estate transactions are full of details.   Not all details are relevant to all parties.   Your client doesn™t really need to know your brokerage firm needs a copy of the purchase agreement.   However, you client does need to know the outcome of an appraisal.  

Communicate with your client regardless of the type of news.   Be professional and honest.   Help your clients make informed decisions.   Good communication helps build trust and confidence with your clients that they have the right person working for them.   For clients that may react a little more dramatically to bad news, sometimes it helps to remind them not to shoot the messenger.

Real estate auctions seem to be gaining popularity in the current market.   Two of the most common types of auctions are sealed bid and open air.   Regardless of the type of auction, buyers need to be aware of the potential downside of buying a house at auction.  

Auctions are nothing new.   Government agencies such as HUD and VA regularly use sealed-bid auctions to sell foreclosed property.   To bid on a property owned by HUD, buyers need a HUD-registered real estate professional to submit the bid and navigate the purchase process.   In sealed bids, bidders have one chance to offer the best bid.   No counter offers and no contingencies.   Properties are often sold œAs-Is with no warranties expressed or implied.   It is common for these properties to have extensive deferred maintenance and often in need of many repairs.   If you want to buy a HUD house, know your limitations.   This is not a good option for buyers that can barely scrape together a down payment with no money for repairs.

Open-air auctions are typically auctions held near or onsite of the property.   An auctioneer calls out the bids as bidders offer increasing amounts of money for the property.   A professional auction company commonly charges a 5% bidder™s premium.   That means the winning bidder pays an additional 5% of their winning bid to the auction company as commission.  Also, some auction companies require an up-front deposit or fee for the privilege to bid at their auction.  

This year in the Albuquerque market, one major new home builder used the open-air auction process to sell some inventory.   The houses were new and in good condition.   Some houses went for substantially less than what buyers paid only a few months prior to the auction.   We have yet to see other new home builders use the auction forum to sell excess inventory.

Within our Keller Williams Realty office, an Associate Broker has organized  sealed-bid auctions for vacant lots.   He has several clients with vacant land that are willing to participate in an auction.   Some reserve amounts were established slightly below market value to inspire interest.   So far, these auctions seem to be well received with increasing success.   Sales have been made and some bargains enjoyed.   If you want more information on the next one of these auctions, send me an email with your contact information and I™ll forward the next announcement to you.

Auctions can be a good way to buy real estate. However, always do your research before participating.   Inspect the property with someone who can help you estimate the possible costs for repairs.   Know what the property is worth before you bid.   Research the costs for bidding and the necessary requirements to participate.   Find out who pays the closing costs, title insurance and all the other costs that go along with buying real estate.   Establish a budget and maximum amount to bid and stick to it.   Hire help when you need it.   An attorney can help you with contracts.   An accountant can help you with tax considerations.  A Realtor can help you with real estate market value information.  

Be informed and prepared before you buy is always good advice.   Happy bidding.  

Sometimes a Buyer will make an offer with the contingency that he sells his property.   The Seller has the option to accept, reject, or counter that offer.   If the Seller chooses to counter the contingency, he may use the Buyer™s Sale Contingency (Right of First Refusal).  

Terms and conditions for the Buyer™s Sale Contingency are defined in a three-page addendum.  This addendum identifies and specifies certain items and timelines.   These items include the Buyer™s property, how soon it must be sold, and notification to the Buyer that the Seller will continue to market the property while the contingency is in effect.   During this time, if the Seller receives another acceptable offer, the Seller must give the Buyer the stated amount of time to remove the contingency.   If the Buyer cannot remove the contingency, the Purchase Agreement is terminated and the Buyer gets his earnest money back.  

It sounds like a complicated process, and it can be a little confusing for the first-time user.   While the Buyer™s Sale Contingency may be more common in a seller™s market, certain circumstances may make it useful in any type of market.   If the Buyer™s property is already under contract for sale, it might be wise for the Seller to accept the contingency with definite deadlines.   If there™s a lot of inventory on the market, and the Buyer has not yet placed his property for sale, it may not be in the best interest for the Seller to accept the contingency.  

Unless the Seller™s property is  highly desirable, most other prospective buyers will not make an offer on a property that already has an accepted offer despite the contingency.   Think about it.   If you were a Buyer, would you make an offer on something you may not get, especially when you have other properties from which to choose?  

If you™re a Seller, consider the possible factors.   How soon do you need to sell?   Are you willing to wait?   How much inventory is on the market?   Are you aware that the contingency could make your property less desirable even though it™s still on the market?  

If you™re a Buyer, think about your offer as if you were the Seller.   The less complicated the offer and the fewer the contingencies, the more attractive it is.   Everybody™s circumstances are different.   If you must make an offer contingent on the sale of your property, make it as attractive as possible, and be prepared for the possibility that the Seller might counter your offer with a Buyer’s Sale Contingency.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Land of Enchantment to everyone out there in the blogosphere. May you enjoy good company, good food, and be where you want to be.

How a house smells is equally important as how it looks. Our sense of smell can evoke memories unlike any of our other senses. Sometimes we may not even be aware of what we™re remembering, but we react to that memory.    

What a house smells like matters.   Probably more than what most people realize. Pet or cigarette smoke odors can really repel buyers.   Buyers with allergies to pets or smoke may not even be able to go into your house to see it.   Cooking odors can also repel.   Think fish or cabbage.   Deep-fried foods can leave a lingering smell.   At a state fair, that smell may inspire the purchase of some deep-fried treat on a stick, but most folks don™t want that smell in their home.    

Be aware that certain types of furniture can emit a strong smell. A model home was staged with furniture like the type you might find in stores like Cost Plus or Pier 1 Imports.   The whole model home smelled like one of those stores.   It didn™t evoke the feeling of welcome home, but more of that of a retail establishment.  

Certainly some smells are favorable.   Fresh-baked bread or cookies are popular favorites.   It can be difficult to maintain the fresh-baked aroma. Some food-aroma room fresheners can help maintain the fragrance of home, but be careful to not over do it. Stick with spice aromas and avoid the flower medleys.  

I often use a vanilla or cinnamon oil fragrance diffuser  while hosting an open house.   Visitors  comment that œsomething smells good.   Rosemary is also a good choice, and a few fresh sprigs can make an attractive decoration.   Aim for a subtle fragrance.   Too much of anything can trigger an allergic reaction or asthma attack.    

New construction usually has that new-house smell.   Unfortunately, that smell is not necessarily healthy.   Most likely, those new house smells are the out gassing of adhesives and solvents in carpets and paint.   Realistically, the less you smell of that the better.    

Odor and fragrance management can play a key role when selling your house.   People react to what they smell.   It could be a deal maker or deal breaker.   When you™re ready to sell your property, get an objective opinion on how it smells.   Your Realtor can help you.   Make sure your house smells clean and fresh, and keep all fragrances and aromas subtle.   Even though buyers may not see what they smell, they will react.   Consider it smellivision.

Good communication is the life blood of a successful business.   Poor communication can result in misunderstanding, anger, or even a lawsuit.   The bane of all Realtors is no response from clients, customers, prospects, and especially colleagues.   We™ve all experienced no response to voicemails, emails, letters, or other methods of communication.   Some forms of communication, like email, can have a return receipt feature, but most other methods do not.   We may never know what became of our message.

If you™re a Realtor, return calls in a timely manner.   The sooner the better, and if possible, respond within the hour.   A timely response speaks well of you.   It shows that you are organized, professional, and focused on good customer service and the success of your business.  

If you™re a client, customer, or prospect, even a very brief response is OK.   We contact you because we have information and services to help you with your real estate transactions.   If you don™t need our help, tell us that too.   It doesn™t hurt our feelings.   Even a short email is sufficient.  

Good communication is essential.   It doesn™t have to lengthy, but it does need to be timely.   Let us know you™re out there and you received our message, then you can go play some mean pinball.

The recent firestorm in Southern California once again shows us how fast life as we know it can change forever.     Every place is subject to some type of natural disaster.   In case of an emergency, a little preparation goes a long way.

Some natural disasters may allow more warning and time to collect what you need and evacuate.   In other cases, critical decisions must be made in seconds.   Nothing is guaranteed, but a little forethought can make a big difference.  

I have friends and family that survived the Oakland Hills firestorm in the early 1990s. Before then, none of us gave much thought about what to do if we only had minutes to evacuate the area.   Like many Californians, we were prepared for earthquakes.   However, fire fueled by high winds and a prolonged drought requires  very different preparedness.

Some folks believe you can never be too prepared.   Google search disaster preparedness to find a wide variety of websites with extensive information on what to do.   At a minimum, a few things should be given some thought and preparation.   If you had only 15 minutes to grab what you can and leave your home, what would you do?   Here are a few things to consider:

People and Pets “ Get you and your family members to safety.   For many, pets are their family.   Get them to safety too.  If there is only enough time to do one thing, put people and pets first.  

Documents “ Collect important documents like your passport, titles to assets, licenses, diplomas, birth certificates, etc.   Yes, all these documents are replaceable, but it can be a long and onerous process to get new ones.   If you don™t already have these documents in a fire-safe container or location, at least put them in a place where you can get to them quickly.   You may also want to grab a copy of your property insurance policy.   It will come in handy should you need to file a claim.

Photos “ Think about what photos matter most to you.   Consider what is irreplaceable.   You may also want to gather or group those photos in a single or special place where you can get to them quickly.   Of all the things that people lose in disasters, often what they regret the most is losing memorable, irreplaceable photos.

Data “ Any electronic information that is not located elsewhere is at risk.   Think about information on your computer, (desktop, laptop, or any other medium) and how much it would cost to recreate.   Mobile computing devices are easy to grab and take with you.   If you have a desktop computer with valuable data on it, grab the tower or CPU.   Monitors, printers and other peripherals are replaceable for relatively little expense.   Replacing an extensive database can be very expensive.  

I sympathize with those who have lost in any natural disaster.   No amount of planning will bring back what is lost.   Giving some forethought on what to do prior to an emergency can help during and after the event.   It can also help with the transition to rebuilding one™s life.

Ever wonder if that new home you™re considering has a nefarious past?   How can you find out if crimes were committed or if someone died in the house?   What can you do if this type of disclosure is not required by state law?

New Mexico is a state that does not require disclosure of crimes, deaths, or certain illnesses occurring on a property.   The Real Estate Disclosure Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature in May 1991, relieves all participants in real estate transactions from the liability and duty to disclose such events.  

So how do you find out what went on with a house when none of the parties are required to disclose crimes, deaths, or illnesses?   Ask the neighbors.   Most neighbors know what™s going on in their neighborhood.   Collect information with an open mind.   Use your own good judgment to determine whether the information you™re getting sounds reasonable, speculative, or embellished.  

As a Realtor in New Mexico, I disclose what I know if a property has a ghoulish history.   I do not conduct extensive historical research.   If a buyer is concerned about a possible ghoulish history of a property, I recommend talking to the neighbors and researching  on the Internet.   Just because something happened in the past does not always mean it will happen in the future.   A house that was a ghoulie in the hood in the past could turn out to be a nice home in the present.