Welcome

How to choose a Real Estate Broker.

At Atomic Realty we are biased. We believe working with a real estate Broker will help you sell your house faster, smoother, and usually for more money than if you don’t use a Broker. The difficulty lies in how to choose who to work with.

1. Compare what companies do and charge. Treat the sale of your home as a business  transaction.  It is generally one of your largest assets, protect it. Get the best value for your money. We believe you should check around.
2. Ask brokers "Can you provide me with a list or what your service includes? Most lists should include

a) Market your home on the MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, and others,

b) Take high quality photos. We own professional grade cameras. 

c) Take a 3D video of your property. We own 3D cameras.

d) Provide “For Sale” signs and directional signs. 

e) Market your home on social media.

f) Showcase your home with open houses.

g) Coordinate all showings, with Buyers and Brokers.

h) Schedule and attend all open houses.

i) Present, discuss, and provide insight into ALL offers, counters, disclosures, tax docs, HOAs, etc.

j) Coordinate with Buyer’s and their Brokers following up with all the parties on their side of the transaction to make sure it is timely and working to close.

k) Coordinate private party inspections, appraisals, and the other parts of the transaction. 

l) Atomic Realty will coordinate with all the institutional parties in the transaction, Banks, Title Companies, and other Brokers. 

1. Ask "Do you have another job?" Do they work in this industry full time? Ask “if you have another job how do you expect to service my property adequately?”  You may get a song and dance of how other part timers in the office will "cover" their listing while they are at work but the real answer is they can't, they don’t.  Their loyalty is at their job, not you or your property or your investment.  
2. 4) Ask how many homes THEY PERSONALLY have listed or sold, don’t be misled by “my team sold” or “my office sold”.  What did they sell? How much effort do they commit to you and your investment?
3. Ask them what justifies what they charge and what is unique about the service they provide. If it's not a unique service why not go with the best value?
4. If you hire a Broker merely because they are “a friend” make sure they are a good friend because you may be "gifting" them a lot of YOUR money. If they are truly your friend, ask them to provide a list of what services they provide and to REDUCE their commission. You may find friendship maybe more illusory than you think. 
5. Often desperate Broker’s will imply they can sell your home for more or faster because they have lived here for a long time or are friends with many local people.  Any rational person knows merely living somewhere and the friends they keep does not make their service and work ethic any better or worse, generally it's a diversion from their performance.  That is why most successful Sellers and  employers look at education, and experience as the cornerstones for hiring, not how long you have lived somewhere or the friends they keep.  Why would a Seller's property investment be any less important?

Please don’t confuse lack of  high pressure with a lack of interest.  We would love to service you and your property.  However, you will not get endless emails and unsolicited calls from us.  We believe you are adults and can make rational decisions without high pressure.

To see more on this go to the "sellers" tab on this website and select "Choose you Broker".

 In the State of New Mexico the price that a home sells for is NOT public information. If your neighbor sold their home without listing it with a Realtor (“off market”)  there may be no public record of the sales price. No one, including all Realtors nor Zillow nor anyone else, other than the County Assessor (the tax man) and the parties will know the sales price.
However, If a home was listed with a Realtor on the Multiple Listing Service, the sales price will be available to Realtors to see. The best and most complete information available to a home seller is the competitive market analysis that a Realtor can provide using the MLS sales data. At Atomic Realty we can perform a CMA for you, no strings attached. 

Question -  I am planning on buying a home elsewhere.  Can Atomic Realty get me my loan payoff information and other closing costs while selling my current home to supply the Broker I am working with at my new location? 

 Atomic Realty does not have access to your personal information such as a loan payoff.  However, based on what you tell us we provide you an ESTIMATED proceeds which will include estimated closing costs, commission, and the loan information you have provided. 

Many lender’s websites should be able to provide you the estimated loan payoff based on your anticipated closing date.

 Retirement is a major decision, influenced by unique financial and emotional factors. Seek advice and discuss your plans with your financial advisor, your spouse, your family, and your trusted friends.  Retiring is a process, while there  are many factors to consider when retiring two are most often considered the most important. 

1) What do you want to do when you retire? and 

2) Based on what you want to do, can you afford to retire? 

1. What do you want to do when you retire?  Have some ideas and make some plans.  Plans can change but start with some ideas of what you think retirement may look like and cost for you.  Generally, once people know where they are going they can envision themselves there and can start the process of letting go and get excited about the change,
2. Can you afford to retire?  Estimate and think about what you believe your monthly budget will be? Consider any savings, pensions, and other retirement vehicles you may have. Is money from selling your home part of the money you will have to work with? At no cost of obligation Atomic Realty can help you estimate what your home is worth.
3. Are you retiring after or before medicare and social security are available to you?  Factor this into your budgeting process.
4. Often retired people spend the same money or even more than when they were working due to having more time to socialize, travel, and recreate. What are the costs of doing the things you would like to do? 

Many people plan on moving when they retire but before you get started, determine why you’re moving and selling your home.  Understand your personal motivation for moving and weigh the pros and cons so that you feel comfortable, as you can be, with the decision.  Perhaps:

1. Perhaps you no longer want to maintain such a large residence,
2. Perhaps you want to travel: Living in an RV is not free either.
3. Perhaps you want to rent, leaving maintenance to the landlord.
4. Perhaps you want to move to a retirement community to be with people of similar age and interests.
5. Perhaps you want a larger residence so you can easily host your extended family and friends,
6. Perhaps you  want  to be closer to family,
7. Perhaps you  want to reduce your expenses.
8. you have experienced the loss of a spouse, In this instance see the stepped up value write up at AtomicRealty.net under the “Sellers” tab “inheritance” menu.
9. Perhaps you had an unexpected financial crisis.
10. Perhaps you want to pull the money out of your home and use it for other things.
11. Sometimes a move is necessary because of your rapidly declining health.

 YES! 

Terms: Does your Buyer have proof of funds, a preapproval letter or a prequalification letter?  Prior to making an offer, Atomic Realty suggests getting a prequalification, a  preapproval, or a proof of funds letter from your bank.  Usually, Sellers will not accept an offer without some sort of assurance they can purchase the home.  We suggest having this in hand prior to wanting to make an offer. 

Terms: Cash vs a loan. Often a Seller will find a cash offer “stronger” than an offer with a loan.  They find more certainty in the cash offer and have less concern that rising interest rates will make the house unaffordable to a Buyer. Terms: In our market some Buyers also waive the appraisal. What this means is that while an appraisal is still done, if the home does not appraise at the loan amount or higher the Buyer will pay the excess up to a cap.    

Terms: Waivers - Many Sellers are doing a pre-listing inspection, and usually they share this with prospective Buyers. This is good for both the Buyer and Seller, The Seller can address any issues, and the Buyer has a better idea as to what they are getting into and make their offer accordingly.  With this already done many Buyer’s waive further inspections. Waiving further inspections makes an offer “stronger” as the process moves quicker and there is less uncertainty to the Seller. This generally means the sale moves forward faster and the Seller doesn’t have to be concerned with a Buyer renegotiating repairs after an inspection. In New Mexico home inspectors are licensed and insured, thus they are unlikely to risk losing their license by lying on an inspection report.

Do you understand the possible outcome of an inspection or appraisal waiver ? Some Buyers will lose their earnest money, some don’t, make sure your Broker has the experience and knowledge to thoroughly explain the ramifications of your offer. 

 Appraisal, in markets where prices are rapidly rising or declining, appraisals often don’t keep up with sales prices, as the appraised value is determined from other prior sales. In a Sellers’ market, to strengthen the offer a Buyer will often waive all or part of the appraisal.  What this means is that if the bank's appraiser does not appraise the home for at least the purchase price, the Buyer agrees they will pay the difference between the appraised value and the purchase price, usually up to a capped amount.If the offer is a cash offer the Buyer may want to strengthen their offer by waiving the appraisal contingency as there is no bank requiring one.Example 1:Buyer X makes an offer of $360,000 on a home waiving the appraisal, borrowing with a 20% down conventional loan.  The home only appraised at $350,000.  The Buyer will end up getting a loan of $280,000 putting down 20%of the appraised $350,000 ($70,000)  and also pay the difference between the offered price and the appraised price ($10,000) in cash. In the case of a conventional loan, if the buyer does not close the Buyer will lose the earnest money, however, if the loan was a FHA or VA and the buyer does not close the buyer would still get their earnest money back.Example 2: Unlike an offer with a bank loan, If the offer is a cash offer an appraisal is not required by a bank.  However, a buyer can still require the property to appraise for the purchase price in the purchase contract.   

 Question - I added a solar system or an ac unit or another thing (goods previously not attached to the property -personal property)  to my house. I am selling my house, the Buyer’s bank wants proof there is not money owed on the goods. If you installed  “personal property” on credit, the way a tradesman generally protects themself is to file with the county a UCC filing. This protects the tradesman as recording a UCC filing with the county gives all future creditors notice there is a lien on these goods, separate from the house. This should show up on the title commitment once under contract  and will generally have to be paid at closing. If your bank or title person asks about it, ask them if a UCC filing for it showed up on the title search, be ready to find your receipts, if paid off.

   GRT- Think of the GRT as New Mexico’s sales tax on services. So a Seller will pay tax on the Services a Broker provides.  The percentage varies from county to county but it’s usually a 7-8% tax of the commission you pay. At closing it is added to the sales commission and the Brokerage pays it to the state for you. Generally, this is paid by the seller.

Second to real estate commission this is often the most expensive line item in closing.  In general, title insurance is an agreement to indemnify against damage or loss from a defect in title as evidenced by a policy of title insurance to a specific parcel or real property. Following a search and examination of public records and in exchange for a premium paid, title insurance companies will assume the risk that title to a parcel of real property is as stated to be in the policy of title insurance. 

Homeowners insurance pays for damage and loss caused by outside forces such as fire and weather — or even vandalism committed by a burglar. If any of these events damage or destroy a portion of your home, insurance would help you rebuild and replace your lost and damaged belongings.

For example, if a tree falls and crashes into your kitchen, your homeowner’s policy would help you replace your damaged appliances. However, if your oven range quits working, repair and replacement would not be covered through a home insurance policy.

A home warranty covers the cost of repairs and replacements of certain appliances and systems in your home caused by everyday wear and tear, or from old age. Examples of appliances and systems that may be covered in a home warranty plan include:

• Washers
• Dryers
• Oven ranges
• Furnace
• Hot water heater

There are other parts of the home that a home warranty covers, but every specific plan is a bit different. The bottom-line difference with regards to warranty vs. insurance is that insurance covers unexpected events that lead to damage, while warranties cover events that are somewhat expected, such as the aging and ultimate breakdown of appliances and systems.

Understanding an escalation clause

There are many factors to consider in an offer to purchase; one factor can be an escalation clause. What is an escalation clause? As a Seller do you want to consider escalation clauses and as a Buyer do you want to offer one?

An escalation clause is part of an offer that increases the offer up to a certain level. Usually, in a multiple offer situation, this  increases the Buyer's chance of getting an accepted offer and generally increases the Seller’s sales price.

As an example: Seller Y lists their home for  $350,000 dollars indicating they will consider escalation clauses.  

Seller Y receives 3 offers 

1) Buyer A offers $350000 with no escalation clause, 

2) Buyer K offers $375000 with an escalation clause that will pay $5000 over any other bona fide offer , with a maximum of $390,000 and 

3) Buyer X’s offer of $345,000 with $2000 over any other bona fide offer with a maximum of $380,000.

In this example, with all other terms in the offer being equal  (inspections, appraisals, lenders, etc) We would recommend Seller Y :

Not to accept Buyer A, Buyer A’s offer was $350,000 with no escalation. It is not the highest offer nor does not escalate to above asking price. In this case Buyer A “tops out” at $350,000

Not to accept Buyer X because  it starts lower than asking, but  it does escalate above asking price, but not above Buyer K’s top price or $390,000. In this case Buyer X tops out at $380,000.

Accept Buyer K’s offer, Buyer K would get the home for about $385,000, This is $5000 over any other highest offer (Buyer X’s $380,000), capping at a possible max of $390,000

SELLERS: what are the advantages and disadvantages of considering escalation clauses?  

1. Advantage: if the right buyer is in the market you could net far more than your asking price.
2. Disadvantage: Generally if a seller is accepting escalation clauses  the offers will start lower and escalate to somewhere above the asking price.  In hopes of getting a bargain if no other offers are tendered the Buyer’s will often not bring their “highest and best” offer.

BUYERS:  What are the advantages and disadvantages of making an offer with an escalation clause? 

1) Advantage - Rather than starting with your top price, you can start your offer lower knowing where your top price is and hopefully not have to pay the absolute top.

2) Disadvantage - An escalation clause puts you into a bidding war, if you really want the home that's okay, but you will often pay more than it may be worth.