There are indeed many kinds of critters in and near the desert, have personally seen scorpions, snakes, centipedes and a HUGE tarantula that reared up and hissed at us!!! No real threat, just a warning. If you live next to or near the desert you'll see them at times...it's just part of the 'enchantment' of living in this area. There are also coyote galore and an occasional mountain lion / cougar just for extra amusement! There's usually fewer insect problems here, although areas near the Rio Grande river are quite mosquito-prone. At times - mostly after substantial rains following a dry spell - you'll probably see swarms of winged buggers which are usually either flying termites or ants. Harmless, but they make for an interesting evening walk at times!
Sonoma Ranch is a very good n'hood - but beware that the current building techniques throughout the area include using a material that LOOKs like real stucco, but ISN'T. It goes by various names, but they're all basically fake or artificial stucco or EIFS (External Insulated Finishing System). It's very thin and has a bad habit of cracking severely if not applied just right and then kept moistened during curing...which few builders seem to do...especially during the hot/dry summer.
My reason for noting this is that within a few short years you'll likely notice numerous cracks of varying width and depth which will require some substantial work to the entire stucco surface. Our appx. 2 yr. old Son.Ranch home had 'em too...reputable builder...who called 'em normal. They're NOT. Have even noticed these cracks on BRAND NEW HOMES put up within the past 6 months!!!
Not saying that every home will have this problem come up, but we've seen so many that it's safe to say the typical house will have it. Seems to take about 2-5 years - and if neglected, will eventually cause huge problems within the home itself from rain intrusion and perhaps critters?!?!
(biggest problem is probably when the parapets and/or the stucco around windows cracks) Not talking about the hairline cracks commonly seen in the older, traditional 3 coat, inch-thick stucco typical in So. Calif and elsewhere...but seeing substantial 1/2" or wider GAPS in the 'stucco' finish.
A friend's Son.Ranch home just had the stucco 'redone' (aka - recoated with elastomeric paint products) and it cost over $6,000. It can cost much much more. Have no idea how long this elastomeric paint fix will last in the desert climate.
Also noticed a smaller number of homes that have serious issues with the cement foundations settling & seriously cracking. We've seen quite a few homes in Las Alturas have that problem, but also noticed quite a few in the Son.Ranch area with the same complaint...home valuation seems to have little to do with the stucco or the foundation crack issue. (Nor did the builder's apparent level of quality matter - we saw them in $700k homes as well as $200k).
If questions - do a search on artifical or fake stucco or EIFS problems and issues. You'll soon learn more than you ever wanted to. Supposedly EIFS finishes CAN be properly applied to minimize such issues, but have yet to see a builder follow the instructions sufficiently to avoid them.
Another issue related to the EIFS problems is that for at least a few years, many builders chose not to fully SHEATH the houses with OSB or other material. Instead, they used FOAM BOARD of varying thickness and rigidity. This lead to some rather interesting "rubber walls" that easily deflect inwards when gently pushed. The problem seemed much worse in some Green Valley, AZ homes than here, but still the problem exists in Las Cruces as well. Currently, it seems most builders have reverted back to sheathing all or most of the walls - which makes for a much more substantial product. The reason for not sheathing was that the price of OSB went nuts - well into the double digits for a 4 x 8 sheet of the stuff. Easy to test for - simply gently push in on the walls at various points and if they 'give' too much, you might consider looking elsewhere. (OSB = Oriented Strand Board - often used to 'stiffen' up the framing part of a home before an exterior finish is applied)
You'll also notice a lot of older (translation 2 years or more) stone walls in varying states of disrepair. That happens because those putting up the walls typically insist on using a 10 to 1 sand to cement mix. That's a terribly weak mix that's almost guaranteed to disintegrate over time. We're currently repairing our multi-decade old walls - and using a 3 to 1 mix that should stand up a bit longer. When one considers the multi-century old stone walls in other parts of the country (New England?) these here simply don't compare well...but you can do something about it.
Currently living in an older area that has somewhat sturdier exterior finishes - brick and slump block. They 'seem' much more substantial - especially when the winds blow hard here - as they sometimes DO.
PS - we noticed a few comments about La Purisima. We lived fairly close to that area and would suggest caution in living that close to the arroyo. Nothing 'bad' may ever happen there from water flows, but there's no guarantee of that. As some suggest, that particularly applies to the arroyo side of the street. The newer part of La Purisima, to the East is apparently all being built on FILL. IIRC, there were some substantial problems with erosion last year in that area - altho' most of the evidence of that has since been removed. Be careful Out There.
The homes and plots on the other - HIGHer - side of the arroyo are often much higher priced than on La Purisima. It may well be for a good reason!
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