Integrity

Good Neighbors are REALTORS® and Affiliates that dedicate themselves to volunteer service. They donate gifts, money, and most importantly, a lot of time to their charity.

REALTOR® Myra Herrmann has been recognized as a Good Neighbor recipient because of her contributions to Cloud Dancers Therapeutic Horsemanship Program. This local non-profit has provided hundreds of disabled individuals the opportunity to therapeutically interact with horses to address cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well-being.

Those who respond to therapeutic riding include individuals with Down Syndrome, Autism, MS, paralysis, amputations, ADD, ADHD, developmental delays, Cerebral Palsy, brain injuries, strokes, drug or alcohol abuse, hearing and vision

The New Mexico Association of REALTORS® has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the REALTORS® Relief Foundation to be distributed to victims of the Wildfires that are affecting New Mexico, destroying more than 800 residential properties to date.

Funded through donations from REALTORS® and REALTOR® organizations and administered by the New Mexico Association of REALTORS® and the REALTOR® Relief Foundation, the grant will provide eligible applicants up to $2,000 of assistance per household impacted by the recent fires. Funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants, victims of the New Mexico wildfires who have been displaced from their primary residence, based upon certain qualifications.

The funds must be

REALTOR® Belinda Franco was selected as a Good Neighbor recipient because of her contributions to Luggage for Kids, a non-profit administered by Red Mountain Family Services.

 
Red Mountain Family Services provides Treatment Foster Care and Home Placement for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Luggage for Kids provides new luggage to foster children with the hope that this small kind act will provide a sense of being cared for and respected. 

Belinda was an older foster child and understands the indignity a child feels when provided a trash bag for their belongings. Her determination to bring awareness to this issue by holding suitcase drives has inspired other brokers to pitch in. This effort has resulted in

Gavin Bigger is a REALTOR in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Gavin organized volunteers and donations to help local residents affected by the McBride and surrounding fires in the small community of Ruidoso, New Mexico. Watch the video below to hear his story.

We wanted to recognize the Las Cruces Association Of REALTORS® for their outstanding community efforts in Southern New Mexico! They raised over $13,000 last October (2019) at our Annual Golf Tournament and Charity Auction. The 2019 raised funds are for donations for 2020 to local non-profits in Dona Ana County.

The Community Service Committee of the Las Cruces Association of REALTORS ® made donations to the following non-profit organizations in March:

$500.00 – Alzheimer’s Association of New Mexico, Las Cruces Chapter
$750.00 – Dyslexia Institute of Southern New Mexico (pictured)
$1000.00 – Casa de Peregrinos (pictured)
$250.00 – Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces
$250.00 – Battle of the Books
$750.00 – Down Syndrome Families of Las Cruces (pictured)

It’s a confusing time, but lenders are putting remedies, like forbearance, in place to help homeowners.

Mortgage lenders, and the federal agencies that regulate lenders, are putting coronavirus mortgage relief measures in place to ensure homeowners have options if they're unable to make payments.

Your first stop in the face of financial hardship is your lender or bank.

Just keep in mind lenders are working to figure out and implement the new mortgage relief polices outlined by the regulatory agencies. So you might read one thing from the FHFA, a federal regulator, but your bank might be doing something else.

In addition, due to the number of homeowners affected by the pandemic, lenders are dealing with a crush of calls and online

REALTORS® are community leaders – That’s Who We Are®. You shape and help build neighborhoods that thrive. By promoting diversity and inclusion you unlock access to opportunities that transform lives and boost business. Thriving communities mean:

• A strong economy = more jobs, more income, more business
• Healthier people
• A cleaner environment
• Higher-achieving students
• Safer streets

Fair Housing Month is Here. So is Coronavirus.

April is upon us. This time of year is usually a flurry of spring market activity. It’s also a time when we reflect on the ways people are shut out of the housing market, and commit to expanding housing opportunity, with our annual observation of Fair Housing Month. This year is different. Because of

Good Neighbors are REALTORS® and Affiliates that dedicate themselves to volunteer service. They donate gifts, money, and – most importantly –  a lot of time to their charity.

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Congratulations to Michael Skolnick, one of five GAAR Good Neighbor recipients for 2019. Michael is an integral part of the Del Norte Rotary Club raising thousands of dollars for their non-profit Foundation. Each year, Michael raises an average of $40,000 which has culminated to over $500,000 throughout the years. These funds are then distributed to a variety of local charities throughout Albuquerque. In addition, Michael has volunteered his time to chair the Del Norte Rotary Club Golf Tournament for 23 years! GAAR members are proud to recognize Michael Skolnick as a

Successful burglars have lots in common — home owners who unwittingly give invitations to robbery. Here’s how thieves thank you for your generosity.

You come home to an open front door, a ransacked house, and missing valuables. How did a burglar know you’d be gone? How did they get in?

In these 10 thank-you notes, your friendly neighborhood burglars share advice on how to stop lending them a helping hand.

1. Thanks for the Ladder!

Call me a social climber if you will, but I did discover a ladder in your back yard. Thank you for leaving it where I could lean it against your home and easily reach a second-story window. I really love it when upper story openings aren’t wired to a home security system! 

So, if you want to keep me out, store your

The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, are not only here to help you buy and sell a home, they are constantly working to build better neighborhoods and communities in the Albuquerque area.

Each year the GAAR Good Neighbors program recognizes four Realtors in our community that go above and beyond in volunteer service to a local charity. This program is designed to help showcase how Realtors help build the community. We were able to meet a couple of the recipients of this year’s program from the Southwest Women’s Law Center.

2016 Recipient:

Jackie Bregman, Bregman Real Estate

The  Southwest Women’s Law Center's vision is to harness the power of law, research, and creative collaborations to change these realities and to create