In these days of low funds and needed home repairs, I came across this today (On Christmas Day) and fixed my own dishwasher. I'm one to have expensive home appliances. I like my kitchen looking like those that you see on Food.tv and so my budget is usually spent on the appliance with nothing left over for repairs after the warranty runs out. Last night before the big dinner my dishwasher started smoking and quit. Phhht. I scheduled a service call, but couldn't get one until Monday. Today I found a website called www.applianceguru.com and paid $5.00 for the membership (lifetime) and asked the question on the forum. In 15 minutes I had a suggestion to open up the kick plate (easy it's on the front and lifts up) and look at the wiring. Shazaam, it had shorted out. Through two more easy instructions I was able to fix it myself with some things I had saved in the garage, some old 'end clips' for the wiring (never throw anything away that can be stored and reused la...

Just had to share this with you - a holiday message I just received from one of my great "Cyberstar" colleagues

I'm so excited about this, I just had to share - having a home in Chama, we are so proud of this new store and I'm so excited to get up there and shop! click this link to see the news story!

Good for Albuquerque real estate - energy savings and taking advantage of our wonderful sunshine!

Something occurred to me yesterday - do price reductions really work right now? We see pricing easing down in increments. I understand this - sellers are just relucant to give away the farm. It's an emotional decision. We always hear in business we can't put emotion into it, don't we? Isn't this a business decision at this point? Yesterday one of the brokers in my office sent out an on-line promo for a BIG price reduction - and I mean big. It was so big that it got my attention. Why did it get my attention? It was a large luxury home on 1 acre that had been reduced from 1.2M to 855K - wow! And...it's a gorgeous house, nothing wrong with it, but apparently the seller has better things to do than wait for the market to catch up with his price, maybe he wants to set the price to sell. When it got my attention - what did that mean? It meant that I talked about it! What does that mean? It means that the price reduction mattered! You need to give them somethin...

a wonderful concept - what will really be "luxury" in the coming times? Maybe not the "right" address, but the right "feel" of a home, the decor, the furnishings, the enjoyment that you feel IN the house, not WHERE it is. Maybe we can expand this to say "maybe location isn't exactly the trifecta of real estate; let's concentrate on the accessories, the fit and finish of the home. Expand the possibilities, buy an affordable property , and make it amazing. check out this TRENDS idea to find the best in Albuquerque real estate

...working together to enhance energy efficient projects in the Mesa Del Sol community. Mesa Del Sol is a new community being planned in the Southeast area of Albuquerque, with an Albuquerque real estate master planned community with a long term plan of commercial, recreational and residential properties. See the story here

You might wonder, in this time of declining home values, why your property taxes continue to climb or, in the very least,not go down? It's because the same laws that protect taxes from increasing in high velocity market periods, are the same laws that keep taxes from adjusting downward in a declining market. To determine whether this is the case in your area, contact your local tax assessor's office and get familiar with your local laws regarding your tax assessments. In Albuquerque contact The Bernalillo County Assessor's office for Albuquerque real estate tax information.