About Otero County, NM

Each year our hot air balloon weekend continues to be so much fun. Everyone has the opportunity to get an up close view of the balloons or even help crew for some of the balloon pilots. The skies held back the rain and the winds were mild... nothing short of perfect weather for a perfect day of ballooning. Click on the links below the pictures to see photo videos of both days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnlBn0v-hU4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQS56Yd0ls

Well, it was another great weekend in Alamogordo. There were so many things to choose from, the wine festival, the White Sands Balloon Invitational, high school football games and more. My family and I have had a tradition of attending the Balloon invitational for many years now. We always wake up early, early on Saturday morning and either head out to White Sands or pick a local park to view the take off of the hot air balloons. I am so grateful to the organizers of this wonderful event. We get to enjoy the beauty of these giant balloons right here in our own Alamogordo.

This year we chose to park our blankets and lawn chairs at Washington park and were treated to 20-25 different balloons lifting off in and around this beautiful park. Our favorite was probably the giant cactus...you just can't help but smile when you see him! Here are a couple of pictures for you to enjoy too, incase you missed it. Keep in mind the middle of September next year and you can enjoy this event yourself.

I went to a REALTOR luncheon on Tuesday and heard about some really great stuff going on at Holloman AFB. Did you know that Holloman has a $1.3 million dollar impact on Otero County every day?

WOW that is a lot! The base is busy inprocessing about 90 people every two weeks right now. These are the airman coming to us for the Predator and Reaper missions. Holloman is authorized to receive 865 people. Cool.

Holloman has 15 of the F22's on station right now and we are still on track to receive all 40 aircraft.

What does all this mean? It means our real estate market is GREAT and my inventory is sold. Do you have a house for me to sell? I need to share my marketing plan with you to show you my SUCCESS. Call or text Debbie Alton 575-430-8101.

I just got back from our RANM (Realtors Association of New Mexico) Fall Conference in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Board of Directors at RANM has voted to not raise our dues for 2010. They decided to re-allocate funds to the operating account so that dues will not have to be increased. This is good news for all realtors in New Mexico.

We had our regular Legal Update from our RANM attorney, Ashley Strauss-Martin. She does such a great job keeping us informed of all the legal requirements regarding forms and such. She emphasized the importance of the FIRPTA forms, the new Tax Levy information forms and the new TILA/RESPA changes that have occurred and are set to take place January 1, 2010. RANM really works hard to keep us informed.

Some real estate agents look at FSBO's as scary, mean ogres who want nothing to do with nasty real estate people! Most of the time, in my experience with FSBO's, these are the do-it-yourself'ers who think they can save money by selling their home themselves. These are the same people who think they can hang a door, install carpet, change their own oil, etc. After futile attempts at some of these tasks they realize that they need a professional. According to NAR statistics, the same is true with FSBO's. After weeks and months of advertising their own home with a simple yard sign, placing an ad in the local real estate magazine or newspaper or on a FSBO web site, they come to the hard reality that they need a professional, someone who can screen buyers for pre-approval, someone who knows the right places to advertise their home, someone who has contacts not just locally but world-wide. Sometimes the agent they choose is the one who approached them when they had the FSBO sign up and offered to help with information and knowledge of the local market.

So instead of viewing them as the enemy, maybe we should start viewing them as an opportunity. If not listing their home at least as an opportunity to help someone in the community accomplish their goal of selling their home and moving on.

Vistit my web site: www.lebronlittle.com