If you’re looking to buy a home in Rio Rancho, or anywhere in New Mexico, the first thing you need to do is prequalify for a loan. Without this piece, we won’t know what kinds of homes to look at. If you have a personal lender already, that’s great. Or, if you want a referral for a mortgage lender that we know and trust, we’re happy to connect you. Once you’re preapproved for a loan, the fun part of looking for a home begins.

There are lots of options when it comes to loans, many of which are between 3-5% down. Some conventional home loans require that you put 20% to ensure that you don’t have to pay mortgage insurance. When you share your financials with your lender, they’ll be able to give you a clear idea of what loans you qualify for and how much you will need to put down.

It is possible to buy or sell a home without a real estate broker in Rio Rancho. But, these situations are rare, have a lot of potential risk, and require that you organize all the details that a realtor would take care of. When you work with a realtor, they’ll take of all the logistics including paperwork, coordinating with the title company, negotiations, home inspections, and more.

Yes, as a Rio Rancho real estate brokerage, we have a lot of experience working with certain lenders that we trust implicitly and we would be happy to connect you. Just reach out and ask! We don’t get any monetary gain from working with these lenders, we just trust the process with go smoothly and we already have a good working relationship with them. You’re also more than welcome to use your own lender in the home buying process as well. We also have a vast network of real estate attorneys, CPAs, general contractors, and tradespeople we can connect you with that can make the home buying and selling process as smooth as possible.

Yes, you can, and investing in real estate is something we specialize in. There are a number of ways you can take equity out of your home to purchase an investment property. As a Rio Rancho real estate brokerage, we have preferred lenders that can help you figure out the best way to get into real estate investing with the assets you have currently. There are also options like hard money lending owner finance contacts that we can explore.

When getting ready for an appraisal in Rio Rancho, the first thing we recommend you do is create a list of things that make your home special. Make sure you highlight features of your home that are upgrades, features that are new, or other things that set it apart from other homes in your area. Also, make sure your home is picked up and tidy so you can create a good first impression with the appraiser.

Before a home inspection, sellers in Rio Rancho might be tempted to worry. But, don’t stress. Just prepare your home as best you can by fixing anything that’s obvious and within your control. Touch up any paint that needs a touch up, fix cracks in that walls, make sure all your light switches are working, clear out any leaves and debris from the gutters and the roof, and keep you home picked up and key areas accessible like the AC unit, water heater, etc.

The real estate market is always fluctuating. Sometimes homes are flying off the shelves, other times they sit there for a few months before the right buyer comes along. Both situations are normal depending on the current market. By setting up an appointment with our real estate brokers at Absolute Real Estate, we can help you get an updated idea of what it looks like to sell your home in the current market.

As a real estate brokerage in Rio Rancho, we will provide an estimate of your home’s value based on closed sales within the immediate proximity of your home. New Mexico is a non-disclosure state, meaning that the selling prices of homes are not public record. So your Zestimate isn’t based on data from sale prices of comparable homes. These estimates can only compare list prices in your area and data that it gathers about your home like square footage, year built, etc.

It is possible, and legal, to sell your home without a real estate broker. It’s called FSBO or “for sale by owner.” However, the risks are certainly higher and there are many details to keep track of that are best handled by professionals with experience. A real estate broker markets your home for you, deals with all the paperwork including contracts, handles negotiations, and more. If you want to learn more about how a real estate broker can help you with the sale of your home, please give us a call!