Moving from Wisconsin - Need advice for place to live near Bandolier National Monument area (Santa Fe: RV park, houses)

[santafescribe]

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

Thanks for the info everyone.

I was looking at the homes for sale in Pojoaque & Tesaque areas, the majority of homes on the market, in those two areas, appear to be mucho $$$$$$.
How is the Railyard in comparison?

One thing I forgot about.....Property tax?

Tesuque's got to be one of the most expensive parts of Santa Fe - firstly because it's "land locked" surrounded by Tesuque Pueblo and secondly because it's ruggedly beautiful and is indeed where the beautiful people like to have their Santa Fe homes.

[santafescribe]

Originally Posted by santafescribe

Tesuque's got to be one of the most expensive parts of Santa Fe - firstly because it's "land locked" surrounded by Tesuque Pueblo and secondly because it's ruggedly beautiful and is indeed where the beautiful people like to have their Santa Fe homes.

One thing I forgot about.....Property tax?

Yes. We have it ;-}
On a $500,000 house it's around $2800 annually.

[Xavious Orgus]

Taxes are very favorable indeed.

What is your opinion of the Railyard area?

[santafescribe]

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

Taxes are very favorable indeed.

What is your opinion of the Railyard area?

The Railyard is probably the most exciting part of Santa Fe right now. New ideas are being tried in design and live/work mix, and I think when it's opened officially in the Fall, Santa Fe people are going to be very impressed. The live/work at the Railyard itself is quite expensive (but, hey, you can walk to REI!) - however within a mile or so of the development, there is a good mix of properties.
The other area scheduled to come up I'd say is around Second Street, anchored by the Cloud Cliff Bakery. There are some cool developments there.

[Xavious Orgus]

what kind of a price range, am I realistically going to have to be in, to get into a decent middle class area?

What is you opinion of the Santa Fe market in the next 9 months? Up / Down / Stable? In other words....The best time to buy?

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

what kind of a price range, am I realistically going to have to be in, to get into a decent middle class area?

What is you opinion of the Santa Fe market in the next 9 months? Up / Down / Stable? In other words....The best time to buy?

I couldn't give prices because at this point prices are soft and you should probably pay less than the asking price. A realtor or a recent buyer would have a better feel. Should you wait for cheaper? -- I don't know. We didn't go through the price boom in New Mexico -and not much funny money financing-- and unemployment is still VERY low -- so maybe no bust. I follow foreclosures in the areas you are looking at -- not much activity. It is 87506 zip code if you want to try RealtyTrac. The low price places they list are undoubtedly small lots without homes and too small to build on.

One thing to understand about the NM market is that neighborhoods are often something of a mix. Tesuque is the wealthiest CDP in New Mexico, but it has two trailer parks. In the Pojoaque Valley you can find a trailer on a small lot next to a 100 acre estate. Incidentally, the small areas in the Pojoaque Valley are Nambe, Pojoaque, Jacona, Jaconita, El Rancho going from east to west with Nambe generally the most desirable and some sellers in Pojoaque saying they are in Nambe.

My neighborhood in Nambe (in the Pojoaque Valley) is in a small valley of its own with all 30 homes on five acre lots, but we are kind of an exception. A 2,000 square foot home on a five acre lot I would guess around 500-600K. But that is a guess -- none are on the market.

If you want a uniform neighborhood, you might look south to Eldorado. The Las Campanas area in the NW is solidly rich and very pricey. Tesuque is astronomical.

[Devin Bent]

Property tax?

In the County (I don't know about the city) there are limits on the annual increase until the house changes hands. So when you buy, the seller might be able to show you a low tax bill.

But the tax assessor will catch up with you once you buy. You can be hit by higher taxes because of rising prices and because of improvements that the previous owner made.

Then you will see a bill on the order of that suggested by SantaFeScribe.

[Xavious Orgus]

Devin,

Thanks for the info and insight. I owe you dinner and a drink!

As of now, my plan is to visit Santa Fe this summer (July) and check things out.

I will be taking a bit of a risk financially with this move. Therefore, I want to try and keep things as simple as possible. I am not crazy about oweing money and would like to keep a home price in the $250,000 range. However, It looks as though I am going to need to be prepared to spend up to $350,000?

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

Devin,

Thanks for the info and insight. I owe you dinner and a drink!

As of now, my plan is to visit Santa Fe this summer (July) and check things out.

I will be taking a bit of a risk financially with this move. Therefore, I want to try and keep things as simple as possible. I am not crazy about oweing money and would like to keep a home price in the $250,000 range. However, It looks as though I am going to need to be prepared to spend up to $350,000?

I will take you up on the offer for a drink and dinner -- and I will be here in July, so no excuses.

Up to $350,000 it all depends on what you are looking for. It is the acreage that drives up prices in the Pojoaque Valley -- if you are not looking for acreage, then you will be able to find choices. Places are moving slowly -- so make an offer below asking price and see what you can do. I'll keep an eye out. Some of the realtors let you search MLS -- Pojoaque Valley as I remember is 16.

[Xavious Orgus]

You are on!

Costs considered equal, using the same price range. How would you rate Pojoaque Valley Vs. Eldorado vs. Santa Fe city limits?

Also, are there any fitness clubs in the Pojoaque area?