Retirement in NM....Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Albuquerque?? Need input (Rio Rancho: real estate, modular homes)
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My husband and I are looking to retire in NM, problem is I luv the pueblo style homes in Las Cruces and the prices (Budget $160,000 max). He loves Albuquerque. So what is the happy medium... we are looking for a nice pueblo style home over 1700 sq ft. with mountain views.. Def not a fixer upper. He as just in Albuquerque and fell back in luv, an ole hippie 60's. I was looking at Stonegate and also Pueblo III. We have an 1 acre now and luv our privacy but if we can get somethiing new, pueblo style and a private back yard with a view of the mtns than life would be good. Not asking for too much am I Basically want a safe, eclectic, laid back retirement.. any suggestions would be great.. We are in the Poconosof PA now, so not looking for a foot of snow... ya know the usual mild winters w/a bit of snow and a warm up for the day....
Judging by the places you're looking at in Albuquerque, I'd recommend Las Cruces to you. There is a definite difference in weather, and IMO the winters are much colder in Albuquerque than the summers are hot in Las Cruces. Las Cruces also retains more of its college town vibe than Albuquerque does.
In the end though it depends on what "a bit of snow" amounts to in your book. It also depends on which mountains you think are prettier (Organs vs. Sandias).
Hippie culture flourishes far more in Northern NM than Southern, in general. Places like Silver City are exceptions.
Am i crazy to think i can get a adobe for under $160,000? Luv both mtns..the views of either mtns are absoultely beautiful.. I am leaning towards Las Cruces... Checked out Silver city, seems like alot of modular homes...def want an eclectic house...with its own character.. We just got 10" snow past wkend...so a bit is under a foot. your input is greatly appreciated...keep it coming.. would luv to find a house in Santa Fe, just a bit expensive. cant have it all..
I luv the pueblo style homes in Las Cruces and the prices (Budget $160,000 max). He loves Albuquerque. So what is the happy medium... we are looking for a nice pueblo style home over 1700 sq ft. with mountain views..
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Originally Posted by lamessino
Am i crazy to think i can get a adobe for under $160,000?
Please do not confuse Pueblo style homes and adobe construction.
Quote:
The Pueblo Revival style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of New Mexico.
Pueblo style architecture seeks to imitate the appearance of traditional adobe construction, though more modern materials such as brick or concrete are often substituted. If adobe is not used, rounded corners, irregular parapets, and thick, battered walls are used to simulate it. Walls are usually stuccoed and painted in earth tones. Multistory buildings usually employ stepped massing similar to that seen at Taos Pueblo. Roofs are always flat. A common feature is the use of projecting wooden roof beams (vigas), which often serve no structural purpose.
Sooo...it looks like you are indirectly telling me do not go with adobe. Too much maintenance... So i should be looking at pueblo style... I saw a few homes by GL Green however i cannot even touch the asking price... luv the detailing..any other places i should be looking? again thanks for all the info.
Sooo...it looks like you are indirectly telling me do not go with adobe. Too much maintenance...
Finding builders who use "authentic adobe" today is not only difficult, but very expensive if you do. Whether or not adobe requires any greater maintenance than other materials is dependent on the design. Maintenance-free adobe construction is more practical/possible today than it ever was before. And there are plenty of examples of older adobe homes that have been renovated and upgraded to today's standards.
That having been said, the faux adobe that is being referred to here as "pueblo style" is largely nothing more than stucco over some type of siding - chip board, etc. Stucco is NOT maintenance-free by any stretch and is no more water tight than authentic adobe that has been stuccoed. I'm seeing a real surge lately where I live in houses built in the last 20 years that are being totally re-stuccoed after having suffered extensive cracking with subsequent underlying water damage. I watched many stuccoed homes being built originally when construction was booming and stucco was being applied in the daytime only to have temps drop well below freezing overnight while the stucco is still wet.
Sooo...it looks like you are indirectly telling me do not go with adobe. Too much maintenance... So i should be looking at pueblo style... I saw a few homes by GL Green however i cannot even touch the asking price... luv the detailing..any other places i should be looking? again thanks for all the info.
The decision is yours.
I wanted you to understand what adobe was. It is a building material. It is basically sun dried mud, possibly mixed with some material to bind it together.
You can build a "pueblo style" house out of adoble, or oven baked bricks. or wood studs with sheathing, metal studs with sheathing etc. They are commonly covered with "Stucco" which looks a bit like "adobe"
Stucco is basically a plaster or mortar, the difference is the actual use, there are slightly different manufacturing processes. If you add gravel, then it is basically concrete. It is a more modern construction material.
Some facts, some Famous Stucco Buildings:
Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt)
The Alamo (San Antonio, TX)
Uzer (Sumerian city from 4,000 BC)
Dana House (Yale University)
Want to reassure yourself? Call or E-Mail homes by GL Green, and ask them if they use adobe in any of their construction. I have not dealt with or contacted GL Green. But I do own homes, I have been a licensed contractor in another state (in what I call my previous life), etc.
I think what you want is a pueblo style house, or something similar, perhaps "Southwestern" style.
I have been researching houses in NM, mostly in smaller cities and towns, for a couple of years and most of the "real" adobe building available are quite small (frequently under 1,000 ft sq) but often very low priced. I can only assume they need a lot of retrofit to meet most current owners’ expectations. You might also consider the "territorial” architecture that is very similar.
I own an adobe house and love it. Stable temps, quiet as a churchmouse, solid and secure. Built in 1996, a few years before I bought it, so it's up to date though it looks ancient.
But I wouldn't build one. What used to be the cheap way to go, mud brick, is now among the most expensive. If I was building today I'd do perform wall Performwall Panel System. fireproof, high r value, can easily look like adobe and it's cheaper and much faster to build.
You can find a Pueblo Revival style house in or around Las Cruces for less than 160k, easily. You'll have your choice of many, some better than others for a variety of reasons.
Old, historic adobe tends to have small rooms, is expensive to restore and remodel, and often has quirks that can't easily be corrected. A friend of mine re-did a historic place in Dona Ana and it turned out beautifully, if expensive. But he still had two interior doorways with 5' 6" headroom. Ouch!
Good luck in your search. Get a good, professional full time real estate agent to help you, they'll save you lots of time and trouble.
I own an adobe house and love it. Stable temps, quiet as a churchmouse, solid and secure. Built in 1996, a few years before I bought it, so it's up to date though it looks ancient.
But I wouldn't build one. What used to be the cheap way to go, mud brick, is now among the most expensive. If I was building today I'd do perform wall Performwall Panel System. fireproof, high r value, can easily look like adobe and it's cheaper and much faster to build.
You can find a Pueblo Revival style house in or around Las Cruces for less than 160k, easily. You'll have your choice of many, some better than others for a variety of reasons.
Old, historic adobe tends to have small rooms, is expensive to restore and remodel, and often has quirks that can't easily be corrected. A friend of mine re-did a historic place in Dona Ana and it turned out beautifully, if expensive. But he still had two interior doorways with 5' 6" headroom. Ouch!
Good luck in your search. Get a good, professional full time real estate agent to help you, they'll save you lots of time and trouble.
Do you have a specific recommendation to the original posters (lamessino) question?
Rich
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Basically want a safe, eclectic, laid back retirement.. any suggestions would be great.. We are in the Poconosof PA now, so not looking for a foot of snow... ya know the usual mild winters w/a bit of snow and a warm up for the day.... 
your input is greatly appreciated...keep it coming.. would luv to find a house in Santa Fe, just a bit expensive. cant have it all..
