Part of being a good real estate practitioner is to KNOW YOUR RULES.   While I sold Albuquerque real estate for years without having served on a committee or visiting a Board meeting, I was probably walking a tight rope when it came to properly practicing real estate.

Some mistakes that I see every day are just plain honest mistakes.  Some are really quite amazing.

The one that is on the top of my mind today is VARIABLE RATE COMMISSION in the MLS menu.

It seems the definition lies more in what it ISN'T than what it is....what is ISN'T is "this compensation I'm offering you, selling broker, could change if my seller/the bank/or a third party decides that it is going to"....NOT!

What this rule specifically means is that the listing broker has a listing agreement with their SELLER (HEY, the owner of the property) that if the listing broker procures the buyer and sells the property, the seller is at an advantage with a change in the commission they are PAYING THEIR LISTING BROKER...that's all...very simple...

The purpose of this rule?  Scenario:  You as a selling broker are writing an offer on the property at 123 Main Street, and listing broker informs you that they are also writing an offer...you read the MLS menu that states "VARIABLE COMMISSION/YES" and you know at that point that the seller may have a financial advantage to taking an offer written by their own listing broker.

I know, rules may seem just like excess baggage -

Rules are kinda fun when you know them.

Met my seller for the first time at closing; she was living out of town when she was referred to me; referred to me by a 'mystery' broker in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I spoke to her at length about her home over the phone (it was listed with another brokerage, but expiring that night) as soon as it expired the next morning.  I sent her an extensive analysis of the market specific to her home's features, not just the 'comps' in the area - an approach I have been using alot once I started putting the 'buyer' hat on.  I realized that not all buyers just look at a neighborhood, so if I am going to snag the next buyer, I have to decide what else they might be looking at...they aren't just looking in that neighborhood....so -

Took some fresh new pictures, new remarks "copy"....and away we went.  New price, new pictures, new placement in the buyer market.

4 days later, received an offer....and closed in 3 weeks.  Yesterday when I walked into the title office I called out her name and up she jumped, hugging me saying "I love you, I love you"....

The best words I have heard in a long time (not that I don't hear them regularly from my best half...but in business this is just great isn't it?)..

What was great about this was that here was a customer who had decreased her price significantly, but like she said to me after closing...it wasn't just the price suggestion, it was how it was presented to her as from a buyer's eyes...once she understood how the house had to be targeted to the right audience, it was clear sailing.

We did find the perfect buyer, a young woman buying her first home - it's picture perfect for her, and my seller left in the moving truck 2 hours after closing with her last bit of possessions...free of her past and giggling all the way into her future.

After the morning I had, this was a great finish to a wonderful transaction...Oh, and did I mention my better half took me to a wonderful dinner out...?

Really - it's just a recipe for the times - but the time is the great green chili harvest season here in New Mexico - and a great harvest it is!  We tried some this last weekend, and the taste is superb!  It's an early drop due to the perfect chili growing weather we have had this year - enjoy!

Green Chile Stew

Courtesy of Santa Fe School of Cooking


Serves 8

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin or pork butt, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups chicken or beef broth
1 pound red or white potatoes, cut in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes
2 to 3 teaspoons salt, to taste
3 cups roasted, peeled, chopped green chile or to taste
3 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, to taste

Heat the oil in a 6-quart pot over high heat and brown the meat in batches. Set aside. In the same oil, saute the onions until golden.
Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. Return the meat to the pan along with any juices that may have accumulated. Add the broth, potatoes,salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, until the potatoes are tender. Add the green chile and the red bell pepper, and cook 15 to 20 minutes more. Add the cilantro, stir and serve.

Side Bar: At the school we use locally grown green chile when making the stew. It is roasted over a fire or gas flame, peeled and chopped. When the chile is not in season, we use roasted, peeled, chopped, frozen green chile. You could also use freeze-dried green chile in place of the fresh. A combination of mild and hot chiles produce a more balanced flavor.

Have fun with New Mexico cooking!

If you get confused about any of this, you really call get in touch with me for the details - I love talking cooking in Albuquerque

We are famous for our "pueblo style" homes - flat roofs, rounded edges, stylish interiors with historical touches.

The beauty of a pueblo home is that you can decorate with just about any interior fashion that you desire.  I have seen old world antiques, French style furniture, contemporary finishes - they all take on a new character.

The flooring is often made up of saltillo tiles, wood, or brick.  The interior wood finishes add architectural character not found in other styles of homes.

Check out these lovely examples of pueblo style homes in the Albuquerque area SEARCH FOR ALBUQUERQUE HOMES

According to the NM Biz Journal, the Forest Service is going to add 140 new jobs by January '10.

These are going to be jobs that pay between 40-70K annually.  They will be looking for new property fo house their facility, and they will be needing up to 100,000 square feet over the next few years.

If they can't find what they are looking for, there is a possibility they will build their own facility.

Great news for our economy, both in the new jobs and the potential for new building projects to house them!

The Forest Service will discuss employment opportunities with interested applicants at a job fair Sept. 9. The fair will be held at Albuquerque's Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center at 501 Elizabeth St. SE

On January 30, 2009, the Public Service Company of New Mexico divested itself from the gas service portion of the utilities service, and now you are the unfortunate customer of Gas Company of New Mexico.

Please know that you retain the same account number for BOTH services, even tho they are now separate entities.

Countless individuals (and some that you can count if you want to) have had issues with their billings because of this change.

If you pay your Gas Company bill you stand the chance of having your payment go to the wrong utility - both of which will wash their hands of the customer service issue at hand.

Many of my customers have been experiencing this problem, and it seems that neither customer service processors are really interested in correcting the issue.

My advice is to double check and triple check your bills.  Use on-line bill paying systems with your bank whenever possible so that accessing the cancelled checks is an easy process.

Please know that GAS COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO does not have it "set up" for emailing your cancelled checks, you need to fax them in, and by their admission "only a few people are ever overseeing that fax machine"

Kind of gives me a warm feeling of a room full of monkeys, but then that would be insulting monkeys.  They, after all, have helped us in the space program.

Good news, just in! Stats for home sales: Home resales posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years last month as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall.

This is the fourth straight increase on home sales.  Although the median price is down, the good news is still there.  Again, it's a great time to buy if you are in the market.

In Albuquerque, I have felt sales and activity is up, consumer confidence seems to be stirring.  If homes are priced right and are packaged nicely, homes are selling.

Sellers have to be realistic about what they expect to net from their home sale, but take the advice of your broker and price right, clean up and take advantage of buyers getting more excited about buying.

I've had 3 new listing appointments this week alone, so I don't think that the winter will be the 'slow' season, we might just be seeing the bounce!

Albuquerque homes are gorgeous and grab those views!

Amazing how different each appraisal "issue" is turning out to be.

In one instance, for instance, yesterday had an appraisal done on a 2 bedroom property, unique for the area.  Appraiser saw the subject property at 11:00, and the appraisal was finished and delivered back to lender, meeting purchase price, at 4:30 p.m.  No issues, no problems.

Then we had an appraisal done for a VA loan - appraiser required carpet/paint be installed before closing as a condition of the appraisal which came in 26K lower than the purchase price.  The bank owned property, of course, is not allowing for any work to be done to the property before closing (which if course no seller should) so deal is killed in process.  And since nobody can talk to anyone about the logistics of this type of 'requirement', nothing can be worked through.

Then, another appraisal is done on a lovely newer townhome, and we get 'alerted' to the fact that the appraisal may be "coming in low" by the lender!  WHAT?  I'm not supposed to know this - nuts, and I don't even want to talk about this....

So, for one seller life is happy - and for two buyers here we go back out to the drawing board!

This a great area to buy, home prices have dropped a bit and now you can have something in this exclusive community in the 200's!

Gorgeous views, great hiking/biking trails - you will love this area for it's closeness to nature and an ever changing landscape.

SEARCH FOR HIGH DESERT HOMES IN ALBUQUERQUE

Recycling getting easier and easier.  Today I delivered to the Smith's store at Tramway/Montgomery 3 bags of glass bottles.  It's a quick trip to the dumpster, and even handier they have other bins for junk mail, boxes and plastic.

It's getting easier and easier to stay GREEN.

I even try to run my real estate business as green as possible with fewer pieces of paper, everything electronic