My trip to Santa Fe (Raton, Alamo: for sale, real estate, houses)

[Towanda]

6 FOOT 3 asked me on another thread to report on my trip to Santa Fe in early October...

We drove out to NM from Kansas, and entered NM through Raton Pass, which is our usual place of entry and a place of incredible scenery. Love the views there!

We headed down to Cedar Crest in the Sandia east Mountains, where we met with yet another builder, a really nice man who showed us a large home addition he is working on up on one of the mountains in Cedar Crest. The quality of his work looked good, but the problem we have had with every NM builder we have met was apparent here too: high constructions costs, and a laid back attitude about timing. He seemed proud of his work, but he viewed his work as an art and said he "took his time" and is a perfectionist. The addition he had been working on had been in progress OVER A YEAR and was nowhere near done. We need a house built much faster than that! And ... he told us he would get a bid to us in a week ... that was almost a month ago and we are still waiting.

The next day, we met with a real estate agent up in Santa Fe, who showed us 14 houses in Eldorado, where we want to live. (*whew* that is a lot of houses to see ... we took pictures and good notes....) We saw some beautiful wonderful homes that are just what we are looking for, move in ready and that give us a lot more for our money than building a home would in this economy.

So. We spent the rest of the weekend and the trip back home pondering our two options....and have decided purchasing an existing home is a better deal all around for us.

We didn't have a lot of time for fun, but we did enjoy the drive down I-25 to I-40 through Villanueva and other wonderful picturesque little towns.....and the drive back up to Santa Fe through Madrid and Cerrillos, and a detour to Galisteo. We had one day to do a little shopping in Santa Fe, not the pricey places but Jackalope, etc. We got a couple of chile ristras from a vendor on a street corner.

(We ate at some great places, which I will post over in the New Mexican restaurant thread....)

Being in the state for just a few days made me long for the day when we can move there permanently. Being there in the fall is especially enchanting ... crisp fall weather, brilliant blue skies, chamisa in bloom and red chile ristras for sale everywhere. Up on the mountain in Santa Fe the aspens were just starting to turn golden.

Back in Kansas, we continue to plan for the move. We will probably look for a house to buy in early spring and are targeting our move for May 2008. SANTA FE OR BUST!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Towanda

6 FOOT 3 asked me on another thread to report on my trip to Santa Fe in early October...

We drove out to NM from Kansas, and entered NM through Raton Pass, which is our usual place of entry and a place of incredible scenery. Love the views there!

We headed down to Cedar Crest in the Sandia east Mountains, where we met with yet another builder, a really nice man who showed us a large home addition he is working on up on one of the mountains in Cedar Crest. The quality of his work looked good, but the problem we have had with every NM builder we have met was apparent here too: high constructions costs, and a laid back attitude about timing. He seemed proud of his work, but he viewed his work as an art and said he "took his time" and is a perfectionist. The addition he had been working on had been in progress OVER A YEAR and was nowhere near done. We need a house built much faster than that! And ... he told us he would get a bid to us in a week ... that was almost a month ago and we are still waiting.

The next day, we met with a real estate agent up in Santa Fe, who showed us 14 houses in Eldorado, where we want to live. (*whew* that is a lot of houses to see ... we took pictures and good notes....) We saw some beautiful wonderful homes that are just what we are looking for, move in ready and that give us a lot more for our money than building a home would in this economy.

So. We spent the rest of the weekend and the trip back home pondering our two options....and have decided purchasing an existing home is a better deal all around for us.

We didn't have a lot of time for fun, but we did enjoy the drive down I-25 to I-40 through Villanueva and other wonderful picturesque little towns.....and the drive back up to Santa Fe through Madrid and Cerrillos, and a detour to Galisteo. We had one day to do a little shopping in Santa Fe, not the pricey places but Jackalope, etc. We got a couple of chile ristras from a vendor on a street corner.

(We ate at some great places, which I will post over in the New Mexican restaurant thread....)

Being in the state for just a few days made me long for the day when we can move there permanently. Being there in the fall is especially enchanting ... crisp fall weather, brilliant blue skies, chamisa in bloom and red chile ristras for sale everywhere. Up on the mountain in Santa Fe the aspens were just starting to turn golden.

Back in Kansas, we continue to plan for the move. We will probably look for a house to buy in early spring and are targeting our move for May 2008. SANTA FE OR BUST!

Thanks for the report, Towanda. Things very often have a way of falling into place once firm decisions have been made. Good luck....and I hope it works out for both of you, even if it is not what you had originally planned!

[6 FOOT 3]

Nice story about your road trip Towanda. Its good to be in the HOME Territory as thats how i felt when i turned south at Carrizozo and headed to Alamo. Glad you had a safe journey and i'm sure it will work out for you.

Villanueva always makes me think of Anton Chico where Billy the Kid used to go visit one of his Hotties err.... girlfriend