Archives for February 2014

Copper Theft Bill Update

February 6, 2014 by mcarristo

Copper Theft Bill – Legislation Update

Because we know all too well how serious an impact copper theft is having on our customers, our community and the grid, PNM has been working with many stakeholders to help craft copper theft legislation that could receive broad support.

We are very pleased to tell you that a bill to create a new state law combating copper theft, SB 21 Disruption of Communications and Utilities sponsored by New Mexico Senator Steve Neville, received unanimous support at the Senate Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

The bill, which is patterned after a West Virginia statue, addresses disruption to communications and utility services or creating a safety hazard, by theft or intentional damage, affecting ten or more households or customers or causing $1,000 in damage to equipment and/or replacement costs.

Sentencing guidelines: First Offense: Misdemeanor Second Offense: Fourth degree felony; no less than six months in jail or more than 18 months and/or not more than $5,000 in fines Third Offense: Third degree felony, one to three years in jail and/or not more than $5,000 in fines.

The Senate Public Affairs Committee review was just the first of several legislative hurdles. The senate bill next proceeds to the Senate Judiciary Committee where it will be thoroughly vetted.

If you support copper theft legislation, and particularly if you have been the victim of copper theft and are willing to share your experience, we encourage you to contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as soon as possible to let them know of your support. If you want to know who your own legislator is, click here.

There is no one solution or one organization alone that can stop this crime. It will take multiple approaches and a coordinated effort, such as the Metal Recyclers bill that passed two years ago and PNM’s partnership with Crime Stoppers to offer a reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of copper thieves. These efforts, along with legislation that reflects the true impact of this crime on our community and that gives law enforcement one more tool, are critical.
View Senate Bill 21

Manuel QuintanaSenior Account Manager
Public Service Company of New Mexico
Main Offices, MS 0605
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87158-0605
Tel: 505-241-4716 Fax: 505-241-4312 Cell: 505-249-3105

February 2014 CCIM Properties

February 5, 2014 by mcarristo

Thanks to all of the brokers, sponsors and guests who attended the February CCIM Deal Making Session. More than 25 million dollars of commercial real estate properties available for sale were presented from all over New Mexico.

	Name	Property	Price
1.	Rosser Knee and Brandon Saylor	409 Edmon Rd. NE	$800,000
2.	Dave Hill	10433 Montgomery Pkwy	$695,000
3.	Tim MacEachen, Bill Robertson, and Tom Franchini	102/106 Rio Bravo Blvd. SE	$895,000
4.	Walt Arnold and Larry Ilfeld	379 NM State 344 Edgewood, NM	$1,450,000
5.	Michael Reneau	6531 Paradise Blvd. NW	$1,400,000
6.	Tim Luten and Chuck Shelldon	1511/1517 Gold Ave. SE	$795,000
7.	Grant Stockdale	3405 Broadway SE	$1,690,000
8.	Barbara Morgan	7801 Academy Rd. NE	$3,500,000
9.	Reese Good-Aumell, MBA	8612 Paseo Alameda Unit D	$224,910
10.	Barbara Morgan	320 Osuna Rd. NE G-1	$799,000
11.	Brett Hills and Calder Conrad	106 W. Frontage Rd. Algodones, NM	$8,500,000
12.	Todd Clarke	1409, 1410, 1520 Girard NE & 1440 Vasser NE	$4,499,000

Foreign Broker Bill Update

February 3, 2014 by mcarristo

Dear CARNM Member,
We wanted to make you aware of a bill that has been submitted to modify last year’s Real Estate Commission Bill. As you will recall, last year’s bill eliminated the concept of Foreign Brokerage – meaning no broker from another state could conduct real estate activities in New Mexico unless they had a New Mexico real estate license.
Senate Bill 124, which is being carried by Phil Griego, amends the prior bill to allow out-of-state brokers (“foreign brokers”) to conduct business in New Mexico on commercial real estate transactions, provided that they have entered into a written, transaction-specific agreement with a licensed New Mexico broker and all communication with parties other than their client are conducted in concert with the licensed New Mexico broker.
This bill was drafted by a RANM Committee chaired by Jim Chynoweth and has the support of CARNM, the Real Estate Commission and RANM. It keeps the position of licensed New Mexico brokers strong, while recognizing a client’s desire for national real estate representation on commercial transactions.
Should you have any questions about this bill, please direct them to Jim Chynoweth, jim.chynoweth@cbre.com, or Ashley Strauss-Martin, astraussmartin@yahoo.com, with RANM.
Click here to view the Senate Bill 124 (aka the Foreign Broker Bill)

2014 Economy Heats Up

February 1, 2014 by mcarristo

Affordability is expected to take a hit next year as home prices and interest rates continue to head up as the 2014 economy heats up.
The upbeat real estate market news we received in 2013 presents some challenges for the year ahead. An influx of buyers last year helped strengthen housing appreciation, which in turn led to greatly improved consumer confidence. The results was 5.1 million home sales, the best year for real estate purchases since 2007.
But 2014 will be different, with sales volumes gains expected to be small at best, because of rising interest rates and home prices, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says. But there’s an upside, too: the continued growth in the economy, which, while, modest, has stayed on track. The resulting addition of more than 2 million jobs each year should provide a boost to housing markets. On the commercial side, rising rent growth and declining vacancy rates bode well for the office, industrial, retail, and multifamily sectors.
Yun says lenders could promote stable markets next year as they look to purchase-money mortgage loans as their next big growth area to compensate for a shrinking body of business from refinances, which will drastically fall as interest rates rise.
By Robert Freeman (REALTOR Magazine)
Click here to read entire article.