Boy, has Ruidoso ever changed and grown!!! (Tularosa, Mescalero: condos, construction)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 6/3

As for Alamo i really like the ''Los Lomas'' subdivision over looking the city along South Florida Ave. Those houses and the view of the valley below is beautiful.

Oh, you and me both.

French Brothers....I talked to them about buying a lot and building....even the lowest-priced plan and just basic items with nothing special (as my house is here, just plain and basic, but nice and neat, with no frills) would run me close to $400K.

Septic systems are required, no city hookups other than water, no DSL...no Baja Broadband (at that time)...satellite (sp?) required.

Ouch. But I do love it out there, LOL!!

[Pintada Kid]

500 000 for a home with a lot Wow here i was trying to Buy a Farm with 70 acres House and Barn and sheds with Fruit trees and Sprinkler systems in the Country with Great Views of the Mountains a few years ago for 70 000 dollars. No way i would spend half a Million on home next to other people in traffic and Smog and living alone in a Big House seems so Cold to me both summer and winter for that amount of money you can buy a small ranch or farm.>>>>>> I hope to be a Millionaire someday Im just a Million Short right now but theres no way i would throw my money away on a House in Hot Weather Country more or less isolated from Albuquerque and Santa Fe where everyone goes a few times a year. Sure you have L.C. and El Paso 100 miles away but its not the same as Albuquerque and Santa Fe. pintada kid at webtv.net

[6 FOOT 3]

First off i agree $500,000 is way to much for the average Alamogordan as these home owners are probably either Retirees from up north or those moving out of Southern Arizona. However i believe the east mountain homes around ''Pa ko Ridge'' Golf Course are around that price also....... We have many inexpensive rural areas around Alamogordo as you do in the east mountain area.

Secondly we don't have smog or traffic issues like the big cities so a certain poster on here shouldn't assume that about Alamogordo especially since they do not live here. Those in the east mountains should worry about themselves and not us as you have your own traffic and possibly smog issues with a major interstate splitting it in half (I-40) with thousands of Semi's and Auto's traveling thru that area daily.


6/3

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Oh, you and me both.

French Brothers....I talked to them about buying a lot and building....even the lowest-priced plan and just basic items with nothing special (as my house is here, just plain and basic, but nice and neat, with no frills) would run me close to $400K.

Septic systems are required, no city hookups other than water, no DSL...no Baja Broadband (at that time)...satellite (sp?) required.

Ouch. But I do love it out there, LOL!!

Thanks for all the info on Los Lomas.....Cathy .

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 6/3

Thanks for all the info on Los Lomas.....Cathy .

I want the grand tour of your house when you get it built out there....!

There are some huge places north, off of bypass road, behind the new theater.....and prices there start at around 600K and go on up from there.

A small town could live in the living area.....

[rruff]

Originally Posted by hogfarmer

Hi folks,
We're looking for Ruidoso/Alto property (at least 5 acres) and amazed at the huge differences in property costs. Obviously downtown Rui is a whole lot more valuable than Val De Sol stuff, but can anyone share any insight as to a good way to figure out what a location is really worth? Is there an independent appraiser/purchaser one could hire to try and get a handle on this for us? Frankly while we would love to spend the time in the area to fully research, a couple of weeks a year vacation there doesn't give us time. Thanks! (Cathy, 70 degrees and beautiful in Central Minnesota today. Just don't ask me on January 29th what the weather is)

I've gone through this whole thing recently enough that I could probably help. Valle Del Sol is flat, ugly (IMO) land near Carrizozo. It would take ~1hr to get to Ruidoso from there... maybe a little quicker to Alamogordo. If you want to be close to Ruidoso and have a limited budget, look off Airport Road, and the roads towards Capitan and Nogal. Plenty of good options there that are 30 minutes or so to town.

Some other important variables are:

Roads, access, steepness of the lot, etc. Some roads are quite steep and most will be dirt. If you want to get out on a daily basis (ie even when it is snowy and icy), then you don't want to live on an access road with a 20%+ grade... especially one that isn't maintained or plowed. Unless it is a shaded north facing slope, the snow melts pretty fast... but I wouldn't bother with difficult access. I wanted paved roads, and that wasn't too hard to find. A lot of properties require a sizeable culvert/bridge to get across a ravine (or ravines) that are in between the good house-site and the road.

Power, phone, cable, DSL, gas, water, sewer. Most places for sale will have power and phone available. Water requires a well (usually), and the water quaility and the depth you need to go to varies hugely. Definitely research this before you buy. Septics tanks are fine on any 5 acre property AFAIK.

Noise... usually a highway that is too close. I didn't want to hear trucks going by.

Golf course... which I view as a negative, but many don't.

Trees. Most people prefer the tall pines, but I like it more open with mostly pinion and juniper.

River or stream frontage. We actually have a little spring-fed stream that goes through our property, but usually you have to pay a lot for such luxury.

Views. Mostly of Sierra Blanca, and/or the Capitan range.

Solar exposure. I'm probably the only person in the area who cares about this but it is pretty important to me. The winter sun is reliable enough that if you site and design your house properly, you can use free passive solar to provide over half your heat. If you have plenty of trees on your land, then you can be self sufficient (heat wise) with a small wood stove.

All I can think of for now...

-------------------------------------

This is the best site I've found for researching property for sale in the area... but do NOT use this realtor!!!
http://joezagonerealestate.com/defau...&this_format=2

If you want to get a realtor, I was happy with Frank Reed at C21. He won't BS you... but I wouldn't trust any realtor to give you important info. You must do your own research.

I bought property in this place before they raised the prices:
Ruidoso Properties

I think lot #20 is the best one left for the money. They're asking $100k, but they'd probably take $80k for it... it's 10 acres.

There are some good ones that pop up in the Ranches of Sonterra also. I think this one is a good deal... $50k for 5 acres. Paved road, electric, gas, phone, DSL. Fairly shallow well (probably).

http://joezagonerealestate.com/defau...12758&sortby=2

It has a big ravine going through it, but there are good places to put a house between there and the road. Unfortunately the lot is narrow and most of the land is on the other side of the ravine... but then, that is why it's cheap.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I want the grand tour of your house when you get it built out there....!

There are some huge places north, off of bypass road, behind the new theater.....and prices there start at around 600K and go on up from there.

A small town could live in the living area.....

Just incredible on the pricing!! Again i believe they are catering to wealthy retirees and are trying to turn Alamo into Sun City and Green Valley Arizona as some examples.

Good to see some road improvements like South Florida being totally reconstructed and i read in the paper that the state will widen North Scenic starting in March.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 6/3

Just incredible on the pricing!! Again i believe they are catering to wealthy retirees and are trying to turn Alamo into Sun City and Green Valley Arizona as some examples.

Good to see some road improvements like South Florida being totally reconstructed and i read in the paper that the state will widen North Scenic starting in March.

Yes! It's good to finally see some improvements coming.

[mrgoodwx]

RRUFF's wrtie-up is excellent IMO. I also own land off Airport Road (in Ranches of Sonterra). The lot RRUFF posted a link to is probably one of the best-priced in the area for a relatively-level, easy-access lot. If you want to appreciate the value of those 5 acre (some larger) lots, go across Airport Road and price things at Rainmaker Subdivision. But then...that's for people who don't mind paying a lot more for golf and a social setting...and...of course, you get community water (and sewer, I think).

A couple of developers in the Ruidoso area told me nearly 15 years ago that future growth would mainly be out Airport Road. I think that's happening, which is good for property values but not exactly not what I had in mind 13 years ago when I bought my first lot there.

[hogfarmer]

Originally Posted by mrgoodwx

RRUFF's wrtie-up is excellent IMO. I also own land off Airport Road (in Ranches of Sonterra). The lot RRUFF posted a link to is probably one of the best-priced in the area for a relatively-level, easy-access lot. If you want to appreciate the value of those 5 acre (some larger) lots, go across Airport Road and price things at Rainmaker Subdivision. But then...that's for people who don't mind paying a lot more for golf and a social setting...and...of course, you get community water (and sewer, I think).

A couple of developers in the Ruidoso area told me nearly 15 years ago that future growth would mainly be out Airport Road. I think that's happening, which is good for property values but not exactly not what I had in mind 13 years ago when I bought my first lot there.

Thanks a lot for these excellent comments, and RRUFF, thanks so much as well. We've always been on a well and septic so not scared off by those (and we had a deep water well on the farm that smelled so bad we called "pig water"). Sorry, golf courses are a waste of good water in my humble opinion-just give me a trail to ride. We're going out in a couple of weeks, and plan to meet with some folks. You guys are so cool to share all your thoughts, and I really appreciate it.