Today I am going to talk to you about what home owner equity is, why it's important, and the 3 ways you can create equity in your home! What is Home Equity? Equity is the difference between the value of a property and what is owed on the mortgage. In terms of sellling, equity is the amount of money a homeowner receives when he sells the property and pays off the mortgage. So if the homeowner wants more money, building equity is a way to go. You will be astonished about the distribution of wealth in this country and how much of YOUR Net Worth / Wealth is in your Home Equity. The top 20% of the population controls 80% of the wealth of this country with a minimum Net Worth of over $16 Million dollars. Of the 80% of us that are left we have a mean Net Worth of about $200,000. 50%-60% of ou... 05/29/2013

Welcome to this week's Buyer's Market. If you haven't already, check out our previous blogs in this series! Last week's blog covered Equity and Force Savings! This week we will take a look at mortgage interest and how it affects you. You can deduct interest charged on a your initial home loan or any secondary loans you took to improve your principal residence. In the early years of a loan, most of your monthly payment is interest, so this can really add up. If you are in a 28% federal tax bracket, this can have the effect of lowering your borrowing costs by almost a third, depending on which state you live in. In addition, you can deduct interest on an additional $100,000 of mortgage debt, which can be used for any purpose. This is called the "Home Equity Loan" exception, and it allows... 05/15/2013

Last week we went over Appreciation and the cycles of the Las Cruces Real Estate Market. Before we get into the meat of this weeks Buyer's Market topic, let's backtrack a bit and add one more bit of food-for-thought to last weeks topic. Warren Buffett appeared live on CNBC's Squawk Box with Beck Quick not too long ago. He started off by saying that along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now. In fact he said he would buy "a couple hundred thousand" single family homes if it were practical to do so. Why would he? He went on to explain that if held on for a long period of time and purchased at low rates (now), houses are even better than stocks. Not bad at all. Now for this weeks topic. Your Mortgage payment that you are forced to pay each month is... 05/08/2013

Last week we started talking about the financial benefits to owning your own home! This week we will take a look at appreciation! Although Las Cruces real estate moves in cycles, sometimes up, sometimes down, but over the years, Las Cruces real estate has consistently appreciated. This consistent appreciation makes your investment in your home a hedge against inflation. So how does it compare to other investments? First is the fact that in the very long term over a period of 20-30 years Real Estate appreciation rates are lower than many other investments (i.e. stocks other equity instruments). They are more equivalent to the rates of return on Government Bonds. But, there are periods of great appreciation which can be taken advantage of if one is fortunate enough to not being in a situ... 05/01/2013

Welcome to the first of a seven part series We will provide the details the current ‘buy vs rent' climate and the reasons why now is the perfect time to own your own home! Learn the advantages of homeowership, all the details of how to find your dream home. Let's start out by watching this 90 second video** and start our journey off on the right foot. Now that we are all on the same page let's talk specifics. What does home ownership have to offer your family? Freedom from nosey and noisy neighbors. In many cases, your own home provides you with more privacy than rental living. For some people this translates into a quieter living environment, for others it's the ability to have a garden or a garage for the car. The ability to change your home as you like. Always wanted a yellow kitche... 04/03/2013

Cleaning your home is a fairly complex, tedious process and we all tend to cut corners to save time. However, every once in a while a good, deep clean of all those places we skipped or overlooked the first time is a very good idea. Not only does it give your home that extra sparkle but it can also help maintain the value of your home! Let’s take a look! The Light Fixtures It’s not the most fun thing in the world. Are you afraid of heights? What about bugs? If you’ve said yes to either or both of these, then you probably haven’t cleaned your light fixtures in a long time! Time to suck it up (or delegate) and clear out those bug burial grounds that you have everywhere. Just turn off your lights and let it cool down. Carefully remove the fixture covers, dump out the contents, and then was... 04/01/2013

AMAZING one bedroom w/ loft is completely remodeled with modern Eco features. Great Downtown location. An artists paradise. Call 617-413-0617 for your appointment today! 03/28/2013

  It's unfortunate, but there are people out there looking to take advantage of just about everyone. Right now we all know that there are thousands, if not more, home owners who are concerned about foreclosure. And sure enough, foreclosure related scams have popped up.  The following items should serve as a warning that a mortgage relief service is not legitimate (this is just one section of the foreclosure reports that we offer for free on our Avoid Foreclosure Website): 1. Upfront Fees Always avoid any mortgage relief company that charges upfront fees. Not only is it illegal, it's certainly a sign that the relief is fraudulent. POINT BLANK: Do not pay for the promise of results ... pay for the results themselves. 2. Guarantees Be suspicious of anyone who guarantees mortgage relief. A... 03/27/2013

If you want to sell your home there needs to be a written listing plan. This detailed plan should include: Pricing, Staging, and Marketing your home – especially substantial exposure online! The first price you set is the most important as it position’s your home as the best value among its competition. Equally important is properly staging your home to outshine the competition. It is a fact that staged homes sell faster and for more money. There must be marketing plan should include a comprehensive online marketing program that includes email, social media, blogging, and syndication. You should be sure that the agent who represents you has the knowledge, experience, and references so that they can accomplish your home selling goals.   03/21/2013

We think every first time home buyer could use this information to make sure they succeed in buying a home. However, not every first time home buyer is the same so if these steps aren't for you, visit our first time home buying websitefor more information.   1. Keep detailed records for your spending Keep track of every single purchase you make. Then take this list and create general categories like food, transportation, rent and utilities, etc. Once you have this list you can find ways to improve and ways to save, and the more you save, the sooner you'll be able to buy your new home. 2. Develop of financial plan As you move forward in this process it is just as important that you develop a financial plan as it is to work with a budget. The difference is that your financial plan will ha... 03/13/2013

It’s inevitable. The second you finish installing your brand new wood floor you walk in to survey the product of your genius. Right behind you, barreling through the door, is the dog slipping and sliding and then come the kids on their skateboards. To get your wooden floor refinished professionally will cost around $1 to $4 per square foot. You could do-it-yourself for much less! We’ve compiled, just for you, some inexpensive and easy ways to remove wood scratches and even repair deep gouges! Let Out Your Inner Child An easy way to hide minor scratches is to rub crayons and sharpie pens. There are hundreds of colors to choose from and by combining the colors you can find a matching color to almost anything. You can also use wax sticks, such as Minwax Stain Markers, that are specificall... 03/12/2013

Today we want to pick up the conversation with some alternatives to foreclosure. This list is just part of our overall Foreclosure Resources that are available for free on our website.  Other Alternatives to Foreclosure Short Sale If you owe more on your property than it is currently worth, by negotiation with your lender you can sell the property for a price less than you owe and consider this as satisfying your debt. This a common solution.The Short Sale Process Government Home Owner Assistance Programs The rising number of foreclosures in this country is simply too big to ignore. That is why a number of government-backed program have been created that aim to streamline foreclosure avoidance options.Available Government Programs Reinstatement A reinstatement is the simplest solution ... 02/21/2013

April 15th is sneaking up on us day by day. That means it’s time to start gathering your tax documents now! Just remember that being a homeowner qualifies you for certain tax breaks. You will need to itemize your taxes to be able to grab these deductions and take advantages of them. This means you’ll need to take some extra time with your taxes but it will be worth it in the end. Let’s take a look at some of the tax breaks we’re talking about: Mortgage interest paid at settlement Let’s take a closer look at your closing statement. An item that’s generally listed there is home mortgage interest. On a mortgage of up to $1 million, you can deduct the interest that you pay at settlement if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). This amount should be included in the mortgage... 02/14/2013

The U.S. is started off the new year with good news from CoreLogic! Home values are on the rise thanks to 8.3% year-over-year increase in home prices last December! CoreLogic explains that December homes prices have grown the most annually since May of 2006, six years ago! From November, home prices, including distressed property sales, declined ever so slightly by 0.4%. However, when you exlude those distressed properties, home prices have risen 7.5% over December 2011! According to Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, “December marked 10 consecutive months of year-over-year home price improvements, and the strongest growth since the height of the last housing boom more than six years ago. We can expect price growth to continue in January as our Pending HPI (Home Price Index) ... 02/06/2013

We Really Want To Know... ...What do YOU want? What are you looking for online?What content should a Real Estate Professional provide you? What would you like to see here? Comment below or on our page! 02/04/2013

Photo Credit: NickNguyen/Creative CommonsEvery once in a while we all find ourselves in a situation when we need to quickly clean the bathroom! Last minute guests that need a place to stay? You’re such a nice person for letting them stay at your place! You would prefer to completely clean out the bathroom but you don’t have the time! No worries! Here are a few hints that I’ve collected over the years that will save you time and still get the job done! Bleach and Water – This one is a bit obvious. Equal parts bleach and water in a spray bottle is as easy as it gets. Spray the mixture on any grout and grime and then let it set for 20 minutes while you move on to the rest of the bathroom. After the time is up just rinse away! Baby Wipes – I’ve used baby wipes to polish bathroom surfaces. ... 01/31/2013

THE TOP 10 REASONS THAT 2012'S REAL ESTATE MARKET IS GREAT   click here for full market analysis   1 - Number of Residential Homes Sold for the first 6-months of 2012 has increased over number sold the previous month. This trend has not been seen in the past 5-years.   2 - 2012 is notable in that the number of home sold every month of 2012 was greater than the number of homes sold during that same month in 2011. A consistent month over month increase 2012 vs.2011.   3 - Total Home Sales for 1st 6-months of 2012 were 631. This is 13.3% greater than the 557 total sales for 2011. This is the first time since 2006 that the total number of homes sold increased rather than declined   4 - The Overall Absorption Rate (*Definition Below) for all SFH’s the fell from 13.4 months to 11.3 Months. Th... 07/26/2012

Golf Communities in Las Cruces   There are many reasons Las Cruces, New Mexico is repeatedly named as one of the top retirement communities in the United States. One reason for the high ranks is the great golfing in the area.  Las Cruces and golfing go hand in hand! Four courses are available to while away those sunny New Mexico days. Golfing in the desert is a unique experience that is heightened by the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Right in the heart of the city is the Las Cruces Country Club. This course has 18 holes, a pro shop, bent grass greens and open bent grass fairways. Add to that the paved cart paths, a driving range and putting greens and you have the makings for a great golf outing. If you want to mix business with pleasure, Las Cruces Country Cluboffers a 600 squar... 06/25/2012

  Lt. Delos Bennett Sacket commander of local U.S. Forces used rawhide ropes and stakes to conceptualize what would become residential lots, a plaza and a church in a town known as Las Cruces when the nearby settlement of Dona Ana become overcrowded. This original site is now known as the Mesquite District. Many of the buildings still remain from the early days of the settlement of Las Cruces. The Nevarez House was built in 1913 by Jesus Nevarez, a county clerk. It became a popular destination for eloping couples from Texas seeking marriage forms. Another surviving building it the Santa Rosa Rico house. It is a territorial style adobe house built by a freighter who had survived a wagon train massacre a few years before. In his later years he worked in the county sheriff's office. Elsewh... 06/15/2012

Homes for Sale in Sonoma Ranch, Las Cruces.  Sonoma Ranch is a well establiched master planned community in Las Cruces, offering a variety of beautiful neighborhoods with amazing views of the Organ Mountains and a wonderful Las Cruces laid-back lifestyle.  In Sonoma Ranch, there is a wide variety of homes to choose from.  Currently there are over 200 homes for sale in Sonoma Ranch, ranging from a one bedroom, one bath condo in Casas de Soledad, right next to the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course (for $75,000), to a 6,000 square foot luxury home in the exclusive, gated, Sonoma Ranch Estates community for $999,000. To view a complete list of homes for sale in Sonoma Ranch, Las Cruces, CLICK HERE. One of the most unique homes for sale in Sonoma Ranch is this lovely Spanish villa, with an authentic ... 06/08/2012