Real Estate Information Archive

When you sell a home, you want it to look it's best. Buyers will judge a home almost instantly based on how it look son the outside. That's why having great curb appeal is so important to a successful home sale. The good new is that you don't have to spend a ton of money to make your home stand out. Here's a few ideas that will help you spruce up the curb appeal on your home and get more money from the sale.

Replace Old Hardware

Replace old hardware, such as door knobs and house numbers, with fresh new fixtures.

Makeover the Mailbox

If your mailbox is next to your home (not across the street), then you can spruce it up to compliments your home. Pick a box that reflects your home's trimmings. You can paint the post or surround it with flowers.

Add Planters

You can place various potted plants on the front steps and patio, complimenting you garden.

Outdoor Lighting

Low voltage lighting along paths and walkways is a striking way to add flare to your home.

Reveal the Architecture

Don't go overboard with plants and landscaping that can hide your home. Keep your landscaping back from the home to let it shine.

Pressure Wash the Exterior

This is a quick and easy makeover that will make your home shine.. A pressure washer can be rented at most hardware and home improvement stores, and are easy to operate.

Display a Wreath

Welcome buyers with a beautiful seasonal wreath on the front door.

Lay Out a Path

You can use pavers to make a curved walkway and add unique flair to your yard.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

A fresh coat of paint can liven up any home, especially if the current coat is fading or chipped, or the color is outdated.

Add Window Boxes and Shutters

Adding colorful shutters with window boxes with matching paint will brighten up any exterior. You can also add colorful flowers to make it stand out even more.

Line Up the Porch Chairs

If you have a porch large enough for a few chairs, make sure they're lined up. If you don't have matching porch chairs, it would be worth investing in a set.

These are just a few ways you can spice up the exterior of your home and drive a higher price on your home for sale.

HOT HOME LISTING OF THE WEEK!

2228 Cebolla Creek Way NW, Albuquerque, NM  $397,000

3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bathrooms (1 full, 1 partial) / 2345 Square Feet

Fantastic Del Webb gated community! Premium lot, wood tile flooring, plantation shutters, garage door screens, artistic landscaping, upgraded light fixtures & appliances, private courtyard w/OJstom gate & stucco wall are just a few!!

Contact the Sandi Pressley team for additional details! 

Get your Morning Inspiration with the Sandi Pressley Team

Money magazine has just come out with their top 50 list of best cities to live in America. Rio Rancho made the list at #30! And it's no surprise to anyone who lives here as to why.

What makes Rio Rancho such a fantastic place to live? The amazing scenery is one big reason. The surrounding desert and picturesque Sandia mountains make for a scenic view that can't be beat. People also find that Rio Rancho is a great alternative to living in Albuquerque, as it also enjoys a wide range of amenities and high quality of life.

Rio Rancho also boast a healthy economy and outstanding schools, along with being one of the safest cities in the state. Intel is the largest employer in the city, with a $2 billion facility located here. You'll also find other major employers such as Walmart and Hewlett Packard. Higher education is provided by the University of New Mexico West Campus and Central New Mexico Community College.

The shopping and dining options are also outstanding in Rio Rancho. You'll find plenty of local stores and artisans that create Southwestern arts and crafts. And just a short drive away is the Cottonwood Mall, with more than 135 retailers.

Since the scenery is such a huge draw, you'll certainly enjoy it in the dozens of parks and bike paths, along with 6 dog parks, 5 maintained trails, and 4 aquatic centers.

Rio Rancho Public Schools atke care of 18 schools. You can chose from two regular high schools and two alternative high schools, plus four middle schools, 10 elementary schools and one preschool.

Rio Rancho Facts

Population: 95,594

Clear Days Per Year: 278

Median Family Income: $72,807

High School Graduation Rate: 81.7%

Median Home Price: $199,250

Average Commute: 27 min

Projected Job Growth 2017–2022: 8.35%

Home Price/Income: 2.7x

If living in Rio Rancho sounds good to you, why not start searching for the home of your dream in one of the best cities to live in America. Search homes for sale in Rio Rancho now!

HOT HOME LISTING OF THE WEEK!

3620 Monte Vista Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM  $330,000

3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bathrooms (2 full, 0 partial) / 1590 Square Feet

Vintage beauty in the heart of NOB HILL!! Vintage feel in harmony with modern elements. This updated and remodeled classic home features a versatile floor plan with 3BDRs/2BAs plus two living areas, an office/study, second kitchenette and second entrance. Desirable URBAN location is close to shopping, restaurants, parks, Nob Hill, UNM and transportation!

Contact the Sandi Pressley team for additional details! 

Get your Morning Inspiration with the Sandi Pressley Team

The Sandi Pressley Team has taken great care in making our website, www.albuquerquehomesolutions.com, a useful and powerful tool for anyone looking to buy or sell a home in Albuquerque. Our website is full of useful features and tools that will help you start your home buying or selling journey. If you plan to buy or sell a home soon, why not a take a few moments to see how our website can be a valuable resource.

Here's a few main features to look for on our website.

For Home Buyers

Featured Properties

Our Featured Properties page showcases our own premium listings in the Albuquerque area. You can sort listings by a number of factors, such as price, type, and open houses.

Property Search

This powerful property search tool lets you find the perfect home in Albuquerque that fits your exact needs. You can refine your search using a wide range of parameters, such as price range, sq feet, construction, schools district, and much more. By clicking on the Map Search tab, you can even draw a map around the area you want to search in.  It makes find the right home in Albuquerque even easier!

There is also a list of neighborhoods in the main menu under "Search MLS" which will let you search for homes in that specific neighborhood, along with information about that neighborhood.

Property Detail Pages

Selecting any property in the Featured Properties or Property Search pages will bring you to a comprehensive detaile page for that property. In addition to detailed information about the property itself, you can also view information about local schools, walks scores, and use a convenient mortgage calculator.

Email Listing Alerts

Be the first to know of new homes that meet your search criteria as soon as they hit the Albuquerque real estate market. It's a free, no obligation service that will help you stay in tune with the local real estate market.

Community Pages

Want to learn more about the communities that make up the Albuquerque area? These community real esatet and information pages will give you the run down on each community, along with being able to search homes for sael in those communities.

Buyer's Resources

This section features a number of useful articles to help home buyers with a variety of topics.

For Home Sellers

Home Valuation

Get an instant market valuation for your Albuquerque or surrounding area home. It's free, and no obligation.

Seller Resources

Just like the Buyer's Resoruces section, this section also features a number of useful articles to help home sells with a variety of topics.

These are just a few of the helpful tools and resources avaiable to our current and future clients. If we can offer any additional help in buying or selling your home, please feel free to conatct us.  We're always happy to help.

HOT HOME LISTING OF THE WEEK!

3620 Monte Vista Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM  $330,000

3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bathrooms (2 full, 0 partial) / 1590 Square Feet

Vintage beauty in the heart of NOB HILL!! Vintage feel in harmony with modern elements. This updated and remodeled classic home features a versatile floor plan with 3BDRs/2BAs plus two living areas, an office/study, second kitchenette and second entrance. Desirable URBAN location is close to shopping, restaurants, parks, Nob Hill, UNM and transportation!

Contact the Sandi Pressley team for additional details! 

Get your Morning Inspiration with the Sandi Pressley Team

If you're planning to buy a home in Albuquerque, or already live here, no doubt you want your home to reflect the spirit of the Southwest. The Southwest is home to unique artwork and décor found nowhere else. What area some of the essentials you need to make your home a Southwestern haven?

Wall Art and Decor

Adding a Southwestern rug or art to a bare wall is a great way to add rustic beauty to any room. You might try mounting tapestries or rugs with rustic wooden rug hangers that clamp to protect the rug. Your room acoustics will also be softened with rug hangings, especially in rooms with tile floors.

You can also mount terra cotta Kokopellis and gecko lizards, wrought iron suns, rabbit fur mandellas, framed Southwestern paintings and laser-cut metal designs finished in rustic hues.

Southwestern Pottery

For any Southwestern home décor, pottery is a must. You can put pottery anywhere – tables, bookcases, floors, cabinets, you name it. Southwestern pottery tends to get expensive, so you may want to go with Mexican pottery. Mexican pottery is almost the same quality as Southwestern potter in may cases, and it works great with your southwestern décor.

Rugs, Blankets & Throws

You can add a great range of colors to your home with Southwest rugs and blankets, as they come in a variety of striking colors, sizes, and textures. Like pottery, imported rugs and blankets can be more affordable that ones made in the Southwest. You can display them on a wooden kiva ladder for a striking affect. These ladders look like the ones used in the ancient civilizations of the Southwest. You can use blankets and throws as table rugs, on furniture, or as a colorful tablecloth.

Lamps & Lighting

You can use lighting to enhance your Southwest scheme. You can use laser-cut Southwest themed lamps, or chili pepper light strings for a warm glow. Or you can replace switch plates with ones that have a Southwestern theme.

Accessories

You can round out your Southwestern decorating with all sorts of accessories. The options are only limited by your imagination. You can use candles, throw pillows and bedspreads, or a chili pepper canister set in the kitchen. The possibilities are endless.

With these few basics, you can bring all of the beauty and style of the Southwest to your home in Albuquerque.

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.

HOT HOME LISTING OF THE WEEK!

6108 Eagle Eye Drive NW, Albuquerque, NM  $210,000

3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bathrooms (2 full, 0 partial) / 1781 Square Feet

 Pride of ownership shows thru-out! Single story Pueblo style home delivers an open concept floorplan with tasteful updates thru-out; featuring 3BDRMS/2 Full Baths(Both with double sinks) & 2 Car garage! Backyard features covered Patio & ample space-Perfect for relaxing or Entertaining!

Contact the Sandi Pressley team for additional details! 

Get your Morning Inspiration with the Sandi Pressley Team

It's a nightmare scenario: You've been saving to put down a payment on your dream home. You're about to close the deal, but instead, you're deceived into wiring your money to an account outside of the country. You lose it all – the money, the new home, and possibly your life savings.

This may sound exaggerated, but it's not. It's the classic "business email compromise" scam, but this version targets people buying a home. The problem is that this scam is claiming more victims than ever.

It's a devastating scheme. The victim not only loses all the money they saved for a down payment, but it destroys their dreams and lives as well. Some who have been victims of this scam have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, their dream home, and even their life savings.

The FBI reports that this kind of scam is on the rise. A company known as Proofpoint is also tracking these schemes.  According to Proffpoint, email schemes have reached a level 14 times higher than last year.

How does it work?

It doesn't take much for scammers to make this scheme work for them. They send emails to lawyers and real estate agents, who unwittingly click a link in the email and their malware is installed, compromising their email account. The scammers now have control of the email and can monitor the account for upcoming transactions. And the real estate professional has no idea this is occurring.

Then the time arrives to close the deal. The scammer will email the buyer from the hacked email account. The email seems perfectly normal, as the email address it's sent from is familiar and the email content looks official. The emails will claim that plans were changed and that the buyer needs to wire money to the seller's bank account.

And once you send the money, that's it. The scammer has it in their account in another country where it can't be touched by U.S. law. Scammers are stepping up their game, following up with a phone call to the buyer. They usually claim that they represent the title company or seller's law office to further convince the buyer that the wire transfer is legitimate. This extra step pays off for the scammer, as the payout is immediate and far higher than other types of scams.

Long Gone

As we know already, the money is gone for good once it's wired.  And the bank is not responsible to reimburse the sender, since the sender is the one who initiated and authorized the transfer. This differs from someone you didn't authorize just stealing money from your accounts. And since the funds are sent overseas, there's basically nothing U.S. law agencies can do about it.

How Can You Protect Yourself?

First of all, don't panic. All you need to do is apply some basic common sense and caution.

Be vigilant: Verify any suspicious emails regarding your transaction. Be alert. It's better to be overly cautious than to lose everything.

Voice verify: You must follow up any emails with a phone call to the sender if the email asks you to sign a document, log into a new website, send money, or give them any financial information. Yes it takes a few minutes, but it's well worth the time.

Talk to your bank: Check with your bank to see if they will place restrictions on wire transfers from your account in the form of a voice verification or other checkpoint.

Don't immediately respond to email: If you get an email that requests some kind of action, regard it with suspicion and follow up with a phone call to the individual sending the email.

We can all protect ourselves from these form of scams if we use care. You can always feel free to contact our office if we are helping you buy a home with any questions about emails you receive from us or anyone involved in the buying process.

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.

HOT HOME LISTING OF THE WEEK!

6108 Eagle Eye Drive NW, Albuquerque, NM  $210,000

3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bathrooms (2 full, 0 partial) / 1781 Square Feet

 Pride of ownership shows thru-out! Single story Pueblo style home delivers an open concept floorplan with tasteful updates thru-out; featuring 3BDRMS/2 Full Baths(Both with double sinks) & 2 Car garage! Backyard features covered Patio & ample space-Perfect for relaxing or Entertaining!

Contact the Sandi Pressley team for additional details! 

Get your Morning Inspiration with the Sandi Pressley Team