Is Ruidoso the place?

[JDTH]

We use:

CONDOTEL CORPORATION[/font][font=Arial]
1103 Mechem Drive Ruidoso
New Mexico 88345
Toll Free: 1-800-545-9017

They have been very good to us. They get a pretty steep price (approximately 30%), but I don't have to do anything. I live in Tempe, AZ and visit Ruidoso about 4-5 times per year. My 70% still pays the mortgage, utilities, etc. It gets well cleaned between every visit. There are many other property management companies in town, but Condotel has been doing it for almost 25 years. They are very good.

Lately we have had a problem with a bear getting in our hot tub. Hopefully that will be solved soon. There are deer everywhere.

http://www.ruidosoreservations.com/RDF21.htm

[hogfarmer]

Wow, thanks for the good info. That does seem like an attractive idea if one finds a great property-rent it out and let someone else make the payments. But I suppose there are restrictions on rentals, short term (like the Upper Canyon cabins) vs. a house. I'm really impressed you can get that high of occupancy, and paying 30% doesn't seem bad if they handle all the cleaning-and screening of clients. Damage to property an issue? I assume you have to furnish the place and have a TV, DVD, etc-how do you keep that stuff from walking out the door? How about tax implications-can you depreciate the property decently, or do you end up paying it all back in cap gains when you sell later? What happens if you rent out for say 5 years, then turn this into a private home (non rented?). Sorry if these are dumb questions

Thanks. We're going to Rui/Zozo last week of September. Last year we went October for the Cowboy roundup at the track-whcih was great. Anything special we need to take in either there or around the area then? Didn't make it to the missile range last year, but did poke around the white sands. To us, it is so weird, looks just like huge snow drifts we sometimes get here, but you can walk barefoot and without 10 layers of clothes on!

Appreciate it everyone!

[JDTH]

We never visited Ruidoso until August 2006. We couldn't afford anything in northern Arizona (Flagstaff, Show Low, Greer, etc.) My wife had a real estate agent within 1 1/2 days of our arrival. We had some rental property in Tempe that we sold and bought the place in Ruidoso. It is a small place (2 bedrooms, 1 bath, full kitchen, fireplace, hot tub) and it goes from anywhere between $100 to $150 per night depending upon the season etc. I would definitely check with the property management companies before purchasing to make sure your place will fit into their pool of houses/condos. Condotel has over 100 properties it manages, anywhere from 1 bedroom to 7 bedrooms.

I am sure there will be some tax implications if we decide to just use it for ourselves, but in the meantime they are paying my mortgage and the property value is going up. To me it is a win/win situation, but everybody has different needs and goals. The best thing about the Ruidoso area is that it is a summer and winter destination. April is always going to be slow, because skiing ends at Easter and school doesn't get out until May, and sometimes October and the beginning of November are a little slow. In July 2008 we were booked 26 out of 31 days.

As for some things walking out the door, it happens a little. We have lost about 20 DVD's but as far as I am concerned it is a part of doing business. 99% of the stuff stays in place and the same people clean it all the time so they notice if anything major is missing and will bill the customer. It hasn't happened yet. We are still rookies at this, but it seems to be working out well.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Ruidoso is a very beautiful place and by the way we were at the Cowboy Cook Off last year also. It was pretty windy when we were there. We will be in Ruidoso the first two weeks of September.