Knowledge

The Good Neighbor Award Program not only recognizes individuals and their charities for their good work but also helps the public understand the positive impact of REALTORS® in our community.

REALTORS® Ida Kelly and Channing Kelly were selected as GAAR Good Neighbor recipients for their contributions to the Food Pantry at SY Jackson Elementary School. 

The Food Pantry provides meals to students and their families who are experiencing food insecurity. Six years ago, when Ida and Channing took over the program, they established relationships with neighborhood groups, churches, and retailers who became partners with the school. They scheduled an annual food drive at the beginning and end of each school year and hosted a "Foodraiser". To sustain the

Sometimes trying to save will actually cost you more. Here’s when that happens.

You've got all the loyalty apps (free burrito after you buy 10!), you shopped around for the lowest rate on your mortgage, and you never go to the grocery store when you're hungry. You're frugal, and the rising amount in your savings account is a testament to that.

Since saving cash is never a bad thing, you've got nothing to worry about, right?

Unless, of course, you venture so far past frugality you enter the world of cheap. And cheap homeowners always end up paying more in the end when quick fixes and half-solved issues become big, pricey problems. 

Here are six things homeowners do when they're trying to be frugal, but instead they're really being cheap

To manage your biggest asset, create a financial plan that covers repairs, upgrades, mortgages, insurance, and taxes.

Do you pay each home-related expense as it comes? If so, you’re missing opportunities for upgrades, or much worse, heading into a financial crisis when a slew of surprise maintenance items hit. So take a holistic look at what it costs to operate your house and set up a home financial plan.

Use our home financial plan budget worksheet, and start by writing a list of expenses, such as:

• Mortgage
• Taxes
• Home insurance, including liability
• Repairs and maintenance, such as new furnace, roof, painting
• Voluntary upgrades, such as a swimming pool, a premium range, a new powder room.

What Will You Learn From This Home

Get personal finance tips to help you reduce monthly expenses -- and meet your #housegoals. In partnership with: That's Who We R®

Source: "5 Tips to Save Money for a Down Payment"

Ugh. Mold. It’s ugly. It’s tenacious. It’s the uninvited guest that keeps visiting — no matter how rude you are to it. But, unwittingly, you may be setting up the perfect conditions for mold’s return: a food source, lots of moisture, and a pleasant temperature.

“You’ve got to eliminate one of those three legs of the stool so mold won’t grow,” says Pete Duncanson, director of system development for ServiceMaster Restore. “And it’s always easier to prevent than to remediate.”

Assuming you like warm showers and a comfy thermostat setting, there’s not much you can do about the temperature mold loves. But you can get rid of mold — and permanently prevent it — by controlling the other two factors: food and moisture. Here’s how.

Starve It Out

Mold is

A messy environment is actually good for your psyche.

Breaking news: Humans like stuff. Stuff they have. Stuff they like. Stuff they need.

But stuff just gets everywhere. Hence the trendiness of uber-organized spaces, hyper-cleanliness, and Marie Kondo-like thank-your-stuff-for-its-service-then-toss-it attitudes. But living in that state of constant tidying is exhausting.

Enough.

It is not a moral failing to have a slightly cluttered home.

And you know what? Life can be better with slightly more stuff. Here are seven reasons why:

#1 A Messy Environment Is a More Creative One

Being too tidy will stifle your imagination. Science says so.

There’s a lot of research showing messy surroundings encourage you to break the rules of

Buying a home is one of the largest financial investment you will ever make.

When else do you spend around over $200,000 on a single item?

Like other large investments, it makes sense to have an expert that is looking after your best interest. Because of the complexity of real estate transactions, rising number of home buyers are using REALTORS®. In 2013, about 88% of home buyers nationally purchased their home through a real estate broker. That’s up from 69% in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Here are a few of the ways it helps to have a REALTOR in your corner:

REALTORS® know the process

1. As your client advocate, your REALTOR® is your market expert and master negotiator in one.
2. They are more that just

It’s not just whether you pay your bills on time that matters.

Like it or not, your credit score is one of the most important numbers in your life, ranking up there with your Social Security number, date of birth, and wedding anniversary. This three-digit number is your financial report card, except there’s no getting rid of it after college.

Your credit score shows lenders just how trustworthy you are when it comes to managing your finances, and it can either save or cost you thousands of dollars throughout your life. 

If you’re in the dark about just how significantly this number can impact you and the details behind your personal score, here’s an overview of what you need to know before hitting the mortgage application process.

How Your

The Grande Open House Weekend is now a statewide event where members can showcase their best properties. Access the New Mexico Home Search Toolkit to promote your real estate business and your listings during the largest open house event in the state.

How to Participate

Participating in the Grande Open House Event is FREE for NM REALTORS®! Enter your open house in Flexmls by Friday, September 30th  so it will populate on New Mexico Home Search website.   Download this PDF for more information.

REALTOR Open House Weekend How To Video

Download Video

Grande Open House Weekend
Saturday, October 1st & 2nd

How to participate in the Grande Open House Weekend:

Step 1:  Enter your open house details into the mls by Friday, September

From finding an inspector to dealing with surprises — this is your guide to getting a house checked out.

The first thing you need to know about home inspection: You’ll feel all the feels.

There’s the excitement — the inspection could be the longest time you’re in the house, after the showing.

Right behind that comes … anxiety. What if the inspector finds something wrong? So wrong you can’t buy the house?

Then there’s impatience. Seriously, is this whole home-buying process over yet?

Not yet. But you’re close. So take a deep breath. Because the most important thing to know about home inspection: It’s just too good for you, as a buyer, to skip. Here’s why.

A Home Inspector Is Your Protector

An inspector helps you make sure a house isn’t