Thursday, January 21, 2010

Home Staging for Albuquerque Real Estate Sales


From Ambiance Home Staging & Interior Design, LLC

You've decided on your price, listed your home on the Albuquerque MLS, and now you wait to find a buyer. Whether a home is lived in or vacant, it will benefit from "staging" before being placed on the market. When a family has lived in a home for awhile, they are so used to it that they can't see some of the problems. A fresh set of eyes (or, in the case of Ambiance, TWO sets of professional fresh eyes!) can quickly spot things that might be a deterrent to a quick sale. Sometimes it is a need to remove clutter, freshen up things such as bedding, re-arrange furniture and wall hangings to better show off the space, etc.

Out latest staging was this week in a beautiful large expensive home in Albuquerque. It is a gorgeous home with almost no clutter and just the right amount of furniture. However, there were almost no accessories, ambient lighting or accoutrements to soften up the space and make it look comfortable and livable. Being super bargain shoppers, we were able to purchase just a few things such as new bedding, pillows, throws, lamps, candles, etc. which made a world of difference in this space. The homeowner had no time, interest or knowledge of what was needed and welcomed our shopping service.

Check out our website below and look at the Facebook page at the bottom for before and after photos of this job. (Or, go directly to Facebook and search for Ambiance Home Staging and Interior Redesign. Our website also features a before/after gallery of other Albuquerque interior redesign we've done!)


A vacant house offers different challenges. We bring in just enough furniture and lots of accessories to set up interesting pockets of interest, or "vignettes" to bring the rooms alive and interesting. It is a proven fact that potential buyers will spend more time in a staged home than one that is vacant. We direct the buyers eyes toward the home's interesting features and provide a sense that the house would be nice to live in. Ambiance brings in all the furniture, accessories and any props necessary to accomplish this goal. For the reasonable cost of our service, the client gets our expertise, information concerning any other things that should be done to the home/property, staging materials and their set-up for a period of 90 days.

After that period, if the house is still on the market, our staging props may be retained on a month-to-month basis for a small fee. The client/homeowner is responsible for our materials while in the home, but we only had a problem once where a house was broken into. Fortunately, the owner had homeowner's insurance, which covered our stuff, as well as the appliances, etc. that were taken! (We, of course, carry general business liability insurance.)

If you are thinking about putting your Albuquerque home on the market, call Ambiance Home Staging and Interior Redesign, LLC first! Carefully staged homes will sell faster, get more Realtor traffic and will usually be priced higher than those that are not staged. Our service is a small price to pay to have your home look its best for potential buyers! Check out our Albuquerque Home Staging Website at www.NMAmbiance.com and call us for a quote or consultation!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Of Fish Men and Men Who Fish...

Dennis Fish - Catching the big one!

It was in the north western part in NM on a ranch called Vermejo Park, owned by Ted Turner. The very first thing we saw when entering the park was a herd of Elk.  I rolled down my window and actually heard them bugling, which I guess is pretty rare.

We kept driving toward the main lodge and then saw a herd of deer. When we pulled up to the lodge we got out of the car and immediately entered the wrong building - and I'm glad we did. The building we entered was Ted Turner's personal lodge and it looked like something you would find in Europe. The ceilings were high and arched with amazing detail and in every corner was a some kind of stuffed animal...even a lion!  I could go into much more detail, but just imagine rich wood and marble everywhere.

When we finally figured out we were in the wrong building, we went to check into the right one. It also was impressive. Very clean and massive logs made this lodge. Jumping forward about two hours, we went to the "Fish House" and got a few coolers - one for drinks and one for fish - then headed to the lakes...

Tim Fish - Catching Another big one!

We finally found the lake we wanted to fish, and the very first thing we saw were two bears drinking from the lake. The lake was situated in the middle of a open, grassy area and about 100-200 yard away were pine trees. The view from the lakes was the Colorado mountains. It felt like we stepped right into some sportsman's magazine.

The rest of the day was amazing. We caught several FAT trout and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. One of the men fishing with us was a very good friend of my father's (and mine), Jim Padon, who was suffering from terminal brain cancer.  This was one of his wishes - to finally fish the legendary Vermjo Park.  I feel very fortunate to have spent that time with my father and Jim. Jim passed away several months later.

I will never forget those couple of days and will some day take my sons (and daughter if she wants to go).

A memory as told by Tim Fish. Photos are: Top - Father Dennis with one of those "fat trout", and Middle - Tim and his prize trout
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Visit our Albuquerque real estate mls website and let our 30 plus years of experience help you find your dream home in Albuquerque, NM.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Investing in Albuquerque Real Estate

Why real estate? Well I like it because:

I can buy it leveraged. Instead of paying dollar for dollar as with stock, I can usually purchase a rental home in Albuquerque with 30 % or down, or less - depending on the financing.

Real estate in Albuquerque typically appreciates, while also providing excellent tax advantages for me. Currently, I can deduct interest, property taxes, and improvements.

When I decide to dispose of the real estate I may postpone the taxes owed by exchanging. If I must sell the property outright I may be able to spread the tax liability out over a period of time depending on the terms of sale.

I know what you're thinking - the real estate market is down!

I don't purchase real property for the short term, I buy it for the long haul.

I am confident that just as the value of real property has decreased over the last several years, the value of homes and condos in Albuquerque will increase once again.

So today I am looking to acquire additional property. It just fits my investment strategy, along with stocks and mutual funds. And there are some bargains out there!

Visit our website and browse through the Albuquerque MLS.

Let us help you get started on your road to real estate investing.

Posted by Dennis Fish, The Albuquerque Real Estate Group