No Equity No Problem

No Equity No Problem

Today many homeowners are faced with a negative equity position.  The contributing factors were the slow down of the market and the inflated sales price at which they purchased. Sometimes unexpected circumstances arise.  A death in the family, divorce, loss of job/income.  Also a reset on the interest rate from an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM's) and an increase in Property Taxes raises the monthly mortgage payment significantly.

Homeowners find themselves in a position where they are unable to pay their monthly expense's, which a bulk of the expense is their mortgage.  When they attempt to refinance the loan, they find that they are unable to do so due to no value in the home.  They find it difficult to make the payments or cannot…

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New Mexico Making Progress

New Mexico has created the Renewable Energy Transmission Authority.  This Authority can plan, finance, build and operate new electric transmission lines and power storage facilities.

I find this a great step forward for the State of New Mexico.  With our wide open spaces our capability for wind and solar seems endless.  What we lack is the electricity transmission grid to transport the renewable energy to the cities that need it.  With this new Authority that problem may soon be solved.

To me I thought that the Western States, with so many days of sunshine and endless desert, were ripe for Solar and Wind Technology.  I feel that society is fully ready and capable to embrace this type of energy as we are more concious as ever about our footprint on the…

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Mesa Del Sol Charter School

In September 2008 The New Mexico Public Education Commission approved the International School at Mesa Del Sol's Master Planned Urbanist Community.  The school was to serve grades K through 8 and would be the first public school located at Mesa Del Sol.

With the recent economic downturn and the delay to build homes in Mesa Del Sol the Charter school may possibly be moved to the Albuquerque Uptown area.  Shiela Duffy the Founder of the school said that she is continuing with the charter school because "the school was so far along; it was such a great team, (and) it was too far (along) to give up on."

Homes were to start being built early 2009 and now the first homeowners are not expected until late 2010.  So we will have to wait and see what the fate of…

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Questions and Answers for Borrowers about the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

     Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a reformatted version of questions and answers on the Obama administration’s housing plan released today by the U.S. Treasury in Washington.

Questions and Answers for Borrowers about the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Borrowers Who Are Current on Their Mortgage Are Asking:

1. What help is available for borrowers who stay current on their mortgage payments but have seen their homes decrease in value?

Under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, eligible borrowers who stay current on their mortgages but have been unable to refinance to lower their interest rates because their homes have decreased in value, may now have the opportunity to refinance into a 30 or 15 year, fixed rate loan.…

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Albuquerque First Time Home Buyer Credit

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First Time Home Buyers Strike it Big!  In the ecomonic stimulas bill recently passed, first time homebuyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the homes value, whichever is less on their 2008-2009 taxes.

This is a fully refundable credit, meaning that tax payers that purchase a home can see a refund of $8,000.  Below are some questions and answers to help you better understand the tax credit.

"I will qualify as a first-time home buyer, and I am currently set to get a small tax refund for 2008. Does that mean if I purchased now that I would get an extra $8,000 added on top of my current refund?"

The short answer? Yes, Billings would get back the $8,000 plus what he'd overpaid. The long answer? It depends. Here are three…

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Its NOT a Buyers Market, Its a First Time Home Buyers Market

First Time Home Buyers represent approximately 40% of the buyers in the real estate market.  So there is no wonder why recent legislation has added significant incentives for First Time Home Buyers. 

Right now it is already a Buyers Market!  Here is what makes a buyers market, interest rates today hover about 5% for FHA/5.5% for a Conventional Mortgage, high inventory and motivated sellers, this is as good as it gets. 

When you couple that with an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home Tax Credit, MFA Grant money for Downpayment assistance and loser lending restrictions for FHA you get a First Time Home Buyers Market.

note: This tax credit will only last until the end of November 2009.

With that said, this could be the best time in history…

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MLS Maps

Below is a link to a recent report on the Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Surrounding Area.  The report shows the supply of homes per area, price range, and closed sales for each.  With this available data the absorbtion rate (home supply) can be calculated.

Pricing a home in todays Albuquerque Real Estate Market can be tricky.  Anticipating downward trends in an area is crucial to pricing ahead of the market. The report is a great tool for home sellers due to the ability to see where your home needs to be priced for the area it is in.

MLS Area Codes - See Below for Map

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Introducing Our New Website for The Carlos Martinez Realty Group

I recently made a leap of faith and purchased this new website.  I did it with my clients and customers in mind.  I was looking for a site that would allow buyers and sellers to search for property with ease.  What I ended up with far exceeded my expectation. 

Real Estate Webmasters has provided a Website with buyers and sellers in mind.  There are tools that help visitors Search for Homes For Sale in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, East Mountains, Los Lunas, Belen and everything in between.  Here you have six different search options available, Search City, Area, School, MLS Number, Zip Code and one the most intuitive tools our Map Search.

 While you are here, enjoy your stay, register and visit often for the latest information.  Search Now!

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