Real Estate Information Archive

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No matter how you slice it, moving is exhausting. Packing up, moving, and then unpacking an entire house is the worst.

Yet there are ways you can cut down on all that aggravation, effort, and anxiety. Here's a few pro tips that can help during your next move.

Do a Pre-Pack Photo Shoot

Here's an idea that can save your memory and sanity. Trying to remember where all those cords go and how you had your bookshelf looking so good can get mind-numbing when you mix it in with the rest of the process.

Save yourself some grief by taking pre-packing photos of all those things that were hard to arrange int he first place, so you won't have to figure it out again. With photos in hand, you’ll be able to recreate it all in record time.

Corral Cords With Toilet Paper Rolls

There's nothing more frustrating than not being able to find extension cords when you need them during a move. You know you've seen them laying around, but where?

When you pack, wind up each cord in a 6-inch coil, then insert it in a toilet paper roll. You’ll have lots more room in the box, and no tangled mess to unpack later. Just remember to clearly label the box!

Create a "Moving Toolbox"

Keep all your moving tools, such as your Sharpies, packing tape, box cutter and such together in a “moving toolbox” that you can take from room to room as you pack. This will keep you from misplacing small essential items when your house is full of boxes.

Tape Appliance Cords to Their Homes

You could be exploring your new neighborhood, but you're too busy trying to find the right power cord for your appliances.

You can save more time by taping the plug to the appliance it belongs to. Then go get a taco on the corner with your reclaimed time.

Use Your Towels, Blankets as Packing Materials

Another way moving day gets frustratingly extended? Your third trip to the store to buy more bubble wrap.

Kudos on treating your breakables with care, you don’t need the store-bought stuff. Pot holders, oven mitts, and even those old paper and plastic grocery bags you were planning to recycle make great packing materials. Also consider towels, pillows, blankets, the kids’ stuffed animals — whatever’s soft!

Color-Code Boxes

If you’re paying movers, really get your money’s worth by making it easy for them to deposit every box in the right room.

Assign a color to each room, then mark that color on the outside of each box. Before movers arrive, add the correct color label to each room’s door. They’ll love the simplicity, and you’ll love not having to haul everything that was supposed to go in the office out of the playroom.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Do you know all the places where you waste energy? We may think we know where all the energy wasting hot spots are, but have you thought about dirty light bulbs?

Dirty light bulbs and fixtures not only waste energy, but if you're selling your home in Albuquerque, they can detract from the cleanliness of your home when it's being shown.

True, cleaning light fixtures isn't everyone's favorite job. You need a stepladder and a steady hand. But it's a necessary task that should be done at least every few months.

Dirty bulbs shed 30% less light than clean ones, says the U.S. Department of Energy. Add a dusty, dead-bug riddled cover, and you’ve got an automatic dimmer, whether you want one or not.

Light Bulbs

Light bulbs have much longer lifespans than they used to, thanks to LED and CFL technology. So obviously they'll get dirtier and need cleaning from time to time.

Wipe bulbs with a dry cloth, not wet. Water can get into crevices and damage electronics. Also, don’t spray cleaning solutions directly onto the light bulb, which could damage the bulb. Turn off the electricity to the fixture before messing with the bulbs.

Ceiling Fixtures

Bugs and ceiling fixtures go together like PB&J and is just as messy (and far less tasty). Remove fixtures and soak in a sink with soapy water. Dry and shine with a microfiber cloth.

Don't put glass fixtures in the dishwasher. The glass is not designed to be dishwasher safe and can damage both the fixture and the dishwasher.

Recessed Lights

Dust with a long-handle duster, such as a Swiffer, that traps dust and cobwebs. For a more thorough cleaning, wipe the insides of canisters and the bulbs with a microfiber cloth or a slightly damp rag.

Before cleaning, make sure the electricity is off and the bulb is cool.

Ceiling Fans

Dust the lights on ceiling fans when you clean the fan blades. When a bulb goes out and you have to climb a ladder anyway, clean globes and bulbs with a microfiber cloth. If the globes are really dirty, take them down and clean with soapy water or a cleaning solution.

When removing or returning globes or bulbs, be sure not to steady yourself by grabbing fan blades, which will turn if touched.

Tricks of the Trade

1. Dryer sheets are low-cost alternatives to microfiber clothes. They’re great for dusting bulbs.

2. Wear goggles when dusting or spritzing overhead fixtures to prevent dust or cleaning solution from hurting your eyes.

3. If you’re having trouble removing the bulb in a recessed light, cut a 12-inch strip of duct tape, and fold it over the bulb so that the ends act like handles that are easier to grip than the glass.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Are you buying a home for the first time in Albuquerque and trying to figure out how to save for that crucial down payment? You're certainly in good company. Saving for a down payment is a struggle that many first time buyers have. But younger buyers have been getting creative, suing modern methods to help save money.

One creative way that young buyers have been using to save money is crowd sourcing. This method is really starting to gain traction, and it's a great way for family and friends to help you buy your first home in Albuquerque.

Here's how they do it. When the young couple gets married, instead of a wedding registry or buying traditional gifts, they invite guests to contribute to a “Down Payment Fund." The new couple may already have the things they need to start a new life. What they really need is a new home to put it all in. It's the perfect collective wedding gift!

When you do the math, it works out, since most weddings average about 120 guests. The average gift costs about $186. That would give the new couple over $22,000 for a down payment! Of course this figure could vary greatly. But as any newly wed couple knows, anything helps. And those who contribute to the fund know it's going to be used wisely.

And as you've already no doubt guesses, there's online services to do this, such as HomeFundMe. These services make it easy for friends and family to contribute. Plus the ones contributing can decide if their gift is  ‘conditional’ or ‘non-conditional’ on the beneficiary buying a home.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article report, “about 400 borrowers have used HomeFundMe to help buy homes since the program launched in October and on average, they raise about $2,500.” The article goes on to show that these funds are used by the borrower along with their own savings to help them reach the down payment.

The other major factor helping new home buyers is programs that let first-time buyers make a down payment of as little as 3% such as with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan programs. Also, FHA programs require as little as 3.5%, and VA Loans are often approved with 0% down!

Gone are the days when you had to come up with a whopping 20% down. And with this creative solution, now even more first-time buyers in Albuquerque can make owning a home a dream come true.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Landscaping is an important part of your Albuquerque property’s value. Great landscaping can actually raise your home value by up to 11%, sometimes even more.  And the good thing about landscaping is that even though it has such a big impact on your home’s value, it’s one of the easiest home improvements you can make. Here’s a few tips to help you make your landscaping a valuable asset for your home.

Match the Style of Your Home

If you want to get the most return on your investment, your landscaping should fit the style of your home. You wouldn’t, for example, put in a Japanese garden if you have a Victorian style home. For this style of home, a cottage style or country landscape would work best, as it fits in with the formality of the home.  On the other hand, modern style homes benefit from landscaping that has greenery and natural looking beds that blend in with the contours of your property. For these homes, formal landscaping would definitely be out of place.

Have a Plan

Have a design laid out and a plan in mind. You should try to have a balance between too many high maintenance plants and just plain grass with no landscaping. A good foundation planting with a few points of interest is the best way to go. Your plants should have diversity, but not too much. Don’t go bonkers at the garden center and get every type of plant.  You should aim for a uniform look that has just enough variety to make your landscaping interesting.

Trees

Some people may feel that trees are too high maintenance.  But they can actually add significant value to a home. According to one study, homes on streets lined with trees had a 10 – 15 percent higher sale price compared to similar neighborhoods with fewer trees. Trees have many advantages beyond removing carbon dioxide and pollution from the air.  They also keep your home cooler and relieve stress.

Edging

A well maintained lawn can look even better when it’s edged. An edged lawn gives the appearance of being easy to maintain since there’s fewer weeks. It’s also a great first impression for buyers, as it shows that you take meticulous care of your lawn and property.

Focusing on your landscaping will be one of the best ways to improve your home’s value, as long as you have a plan and keep it from getting too complex.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Looking for something to do with extra cash? If you own a home in Albuquerque, you could pay off your mortgage. Or you could invest your money in something else. Which option is better?

There's been no shortage of debate on this matter, with great arguments on either side. But in the end, it's a decision that will have a huge impact on your finances.

Which way should you go?

You need to consider these variables:

• Your home’s current market value
• Your mortgage interest rate
• Home appreciation in your area
• Your income tax rate
• Expectations for inflation
• An assumed rate of investment return

A certified financial planner named Justin Goodbread analyzed these variables by sung national averages in order to compare various scenarios between investing and paying off a mortgage.

As it turned out, the math favored investing. But the math isn’t the only thing you should consider. It also depends on your own situation. Goodbread offered two rules of thumb to decide:

You should pay off your mortgage early if you’re a conservative investor, in a low tax bracket with a high mortgage interest rate.

And you should invest if you’re a more aggressive investor, in a high tax bracket with a low, 30-year, fixed mortgage interest rate, and if you’re younger than 50.

What are some reasons to keep your mortgage?

• Maintaining liquidity.  Paying off a mortgage will leave you without a cash cushion in an emergency.
• Your home’s value isn’t affected by a mortgage.  The value of your home will increase over time. But this will not affect how much you owe on your mortgage.
• Mortgage interest is inexpensive. Your mortgage is secured by your home’s value, and this keeps interest rates much cheaper than credit cards and personal loans. Even better, the interest is tax deductible.

Of course, in the end, the choice of investing vs paying off your mortgage is one you should make carefully.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Whether you're moving to or from Albuquerque, it can be a very stressful and exhausting time, even if all goes as planned. And since things rarely go perfectly when you move, that stress can go through the roof. Even though you can't expect everything to go as planned, there are mistakes that can be avoided that will make it worse.

Try to avoid making these following mistakes during your move:

Not Planning

Planning for your move is realy key to avoiding stress. The moment you know you're moving, start planning. The more time to plan, the better. When it comes time to move, then you should be ready for the unexpected. If you fail to plan, this can lead to disaster. Sure, there are times when you have to move suddenly. But in most cases, you should have enough time to plan.

Moving Everything

You don't have to take verything you own to your new home. Most people accumulate items they don't need over time. So take this opportunity to declutter and get rid of extra things you won't need in your new home.

Separate those items into donations, items to sell, items to recycle or dispose of, and items to move. Then when moving day comes, you'll have less to deal with and more room on the moving truck.

Spending Money on Packing Material

If you're trying to save money, there's no good reason to spend a ton of money on packing materials that will only be used once and then disposed of. If you need boxes, check with local stores to see if they have any that haven't been broken down. If you can find newspapers laying around, that makes for great padding. You may still need to buy some materials, but you won't need as much.

Not Making a Moving Survival Kit

If you're moving a long distance, it's a good idea to put together a survival kit with a change of clothes, toilet paper, snacks, medication, water, and other essentials you may need.

Not Keeping Track of Expenses

You can write off your move from your taxes, so make sure you save receipts, bills of lading, and estimates to use on your tax return next year to deduct your moving expenses.

Keep these tips in mind, and hopefully you can relieve some stress during your next move.

Search for your dream home in Albuquerque with our easy to use home search. Check back on our blog every week for more real estate advice and local articles about living in Albuquerque. And make sure to follow us on Facebook for up to date real estate news for Albuquerque and surrounding areas.