Homes in ABQ (Albuquerque: transplants, real estate, home owners insurance)

[jrod2828]

Our realtor has been great and answered all my questions but I was just wondering what surprised transplants about buying a home in new mexico..

I know nothing about these types of roofs or the adobe style homes.. are there maintenance questions I should ask in advance?

Property tax and home owners insurance comparable to midwest?

Solar panels expensive?

Is maintenance expense different from type of A/C you have?

Any red flags I should look for when buying a home in New Mexico?

Again, our realtor is great but just wondering if any of you bought a home and then 6 months later thought, "I really wish someone would of told us about that."

The homes and the bugs and the different ways the homes are heated and cooled are just so different than homes in Indiana that I want to catch the red flags when buying a home.

Thanks!

[mortimer]

jrod2828 now moving at full speed on the move asked:

> ... roofs or the adobe style homes ... maintenance ... ask in advance?

By all means get a roof inspection no matter what.

Flat roofs come with additional maintenance, but it's not bad enough that you need to factor it in when considering your purchase. Check ceilings for either signs of leaks or recent patches.

[Note(*)]

> Solar panels expensive?

Probably no different than any place else. There is a local firm that uses many used components so that might be more economical. Here is an article from the Albuquerque Journal site:
affordable home solar system, one recycled solar cell at a time

Here is the thread I originally posted the link to that article:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/albuq...buquerque.html

[Note(*)]

> Is maintenance expense different from type of A/C you have?

It depends on if you do it yourself or not. Refrigerated air theoretically can go for a long time without maintenance, but it is wise to check it once a year.

Evaporative (Swamp) coolers require twice a year service - no option. It only takes a few simple tools to do all the work yourself - if it's running. Some of the thermostatically-controlled swampers can have issues with the electronics. It's best to go with a two-switch/on-off setup.

Operating costs are very different, but people coming from 'back East' tend to not like Evaporative cooling as much as they like Refrigerated Air cooling.

[Note(*)]

> Any red flags I should look for when buying a home in New Mexico?

Sagging roofs, holes in the walls, garbage strewn about, smell of very strong cat urine or rotten eggs, stuff like that.


[(*)] The topics marked above have been extensively discussed in other threads, so I advise some exercising of the search function for much better advice than mine above.

[ABQ in 2008]

Jrod, I have enjoyed reading your threads and your posts, and have learned alot from the replies. I am a fellow Midwesterner beginning my search for our new home in ABQ. In the real estate listings I have seen where they show the property tax, I find it is much cheaper in Albuquerque than here in the Chicago suburbs. Not sure how Indy compares, but for example on 3 ABQ homes,
listing price of:
$250,000 tax was $1200
$275,000 tax was $1817
$342,000 tax was $2684
On a listing comparable to the price of our current N. IL home, the taxes were HALF of what we pay here per year.

Best wishes for your home search!

[Towanda]

YES! Get a roof inspection. VERY IMPORTANT. The sellers of our house had to pay for some (minor) roof repairs.

One thing that surprised us was the noise our house makes. We have ceiling vigas in every single room (even bathrooms and closets) AND I love the look ... but the house can be noisy - mainly at night when the temperature falls and all those vigas react to the change. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this or not - but it was not something anyone mentioned to us ahead of time.

[mortimer]

ABQ in 2008 researched:

> ... property tax,... example on 3 ABQ homes, ...
>
> $250,000 tax was $1200
> $275,000 tax was $1817
> $342,000 tax was $2684

Something to keep in mind is that in NM there was a law written that held property tax rates to less than 3% per year no matter what.

However, the purchaser of a property will have their rate 'adjusted' to what it would have been had the 3% cap not been in effect.

People have been getting surprise bills twice what the former resident was paying.

If the current owner is a long-time resident, be prepared for a big increase over what they were paying.

Note: There are efforts afoot to change this law to the benefit of new buyers.

I assume that current owners are not generally in favor of new buyers getting a break.

[EnjoyEP]

Jrod - I hope I can be of help here:

Originally Posted by jrod2828

I know nothing about these types of roofs or the adobe style homes.. are there maintenance questions I should ask in advance?

The house I bought / owned in ABQ was a home built in the 1960s - 1200 sf - and adobe style (flat roof). Thus it was an *old* home for sure, built with not incredibly high standards for quality building. The roof had been re-"paved" 2 or 3 years before I bought it - tar and gravel - and in my 3.5 years in that home, I never had an iota of a problem. Not one. It was great.

And, I lived there through almost the wettest/rainiest monsoonal summer in the record keeping history of ABQ (summer of 06), and the 2nd snowiest - by far! - winter of ABQ in record keeping history (winter of 06-07) including the largest (by far!) one day snowfall...having goen through those, still, not one issue.

Why do I share that? Basically, to note that even if it is old, if it is WELL DONE, flat roofs in Albuquerque are nothing to be afraid of. In the Midwest, we have this built-in natural (and rightful) fear of flat roofs, thus often people freak out in ABQ when they see them.

However, the ABQ climate and conditions are VERY FAVORABLE to flat roofs. However, they - even in ABQ - certainly *can* be an issue or worry...but it is more if they aren't don't well or have issues that need attacking.

As others have said here, get a roof inspection for sure.

I was young and naive when I purchased my home and didn't have one done, so I got lucky with my no problems. However, in retrospect, I was a fool.

Yet, to me, an adobe style / flat roof is part of the NM look / experience (even though that gringo-ish northern-trasplant-ish attitude I know chagrins many of the natives) and thus, I think it is worth it. (Plus, working up on your roof if you get a nice roof with few problems is SO MUCH EASIER on a flat roof).

Originally Posted by jrod2828

Property tax and home owners insurance comparable to midwest?

HOI is comparable. Not much different.

As for property taxes, I don't know what yours are like in Indy, however, compared to ours in Milwaukee, they were SO MUCH CHEAPER IN ABQ I almost cannot describe. Seriously, on the property we owned in ABQ, our property taxes would've been probably about $2300 more in MKE annually. This was SUCH A GREAT DIFFERENCE. ABQ's property tax rates are very good, very favorable.

Now, I don't know about Indy. But MKE's / WI's property tax rates are some of the highest in the nation. I know our friends to the south in Illinois are largely the same if not worse. To me, this was such a huge deal, as I could afford so much more of a house in ABQ because I paid so much less monthly in payments for taxes...people don't fully comprehend or understand just how much property taxes impact relatively new homeowners.

Bottom line: ABQ's are very good / competitive.

Originally Posted by jrod2828

Solar panels expensive?

No clue about that, sorry.

Originally Posted by jrod2828

Is maintenance expense different from type of A/C you have?

You'll find many homes with A/C, and many homes with swamp coolers.

I owned a home with a swamp cooler. It worked well enough. I could get enough fodder here for a whole seperate thread (and we've had a few in our day here in the NM forums as "AC v. Swamp Cooler" type of threads). However, bottom line:

Ideally, I would prefer an AC. Really, most any kind as long as credible should do. Why would I prefer AC? A) Much less manual maintenance (the whole lazy, "pain in the butt" factor), and B) many natives to ABQ or transplants from the deep/low southeast or the Sonoran Desert will tell you that ABQ's summers are a breeze, however, to this upper Midwesterner, ABQ's summers are dang hot, and especially when humidities are up a bit, it is so nice to have AC.

However, swamp coolers (especially newer models with their new technologies) are definitely workable too. The nice thing about them is that they don't blast you with frigid, "refrigerated" cold air and feel a bit more natural in their coolness, and, they are definitely less expensive to operate (minimal electricity and a water charge, but not terribly a bad one).

If you have the choice, I would say go AC, but honestly, either option works. I had too many nightmare stories of me having to do repairs / buy parts / try to install parts on my non-functioning swamp cooler in 99 degree heat (making the house miserably hot and me, on the roof, extremely hot, sun burnt, angry/frustrated, etc.), to me be comfortable with swamps, however, I admit I had (and like do have) bad luck with that stuff. I am though, admittedly, not a "handy" guy and for those that are, things like this might be not too big a pain.

Originally Posted by jrod2828

Any red flags I should look for when buying a home in New Mexico?

Just be always thinking about resale / the neighborhood (just like anywhere).

The roof is a biggie. But honestly, NM housing is a fairly straight-forward thing. Things like water damage / basements, etc., much less of a concern than you'd get in the Midwest (no basements! ).

[ksbyndsea]

Just a warning on the property tax - I will say that I purchased my home for $135,000 in 1995 and my property taxes have gone up to over $1,800. When a house is sold - it is reappraised at current values and the property taxes will be raised. So the price the current homeowner pays is really not relevant - cause your not gonna see that. I have nosily looked through my neighborhood and now see that some of the houses are paying $3,000 - $4,000 a year in property taxes and think that is those houses that sold at the top of the Albuquerque bubble, when houses were selling in a week. As long as you stay in your house - they will only raise the appraisal by 3% a year. Those original owners still around - or the houses in trust are paying like $500-$600/yr in property taxes (in my neighborhood)

[jrod2828]

Lots of great info. The taxes concern me a little but I'll talk to my agent about that. Great info on the AC systems and roofs. This is another post I'll be printing and keeping for future use.

[abqsunport]

jrod2828, here is my opinion on AC v. Swamp.

AC are more expensive, but they will do a better job. However, Swamps are much much much more cost effictive, and they allow you to keep your windows opened, your screen doors open, etc. with out a loss of cool air and money. Also, Swamps are fairly easy to maintain, whereas if an AC craps out, you will need to call a repair man. Swamps are really easy designs: a motor, pump, some cooling pads, and a belt. So I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor when buying a house.