Hwy 14 South of Santa Fe (crime, houses, buying)

[hoppybunn]

I have been looking at houses around this area and some of them are really appealing to me (lots of acreage, more home than in town) but I was just wondering if anyone knew how safe it is compared to being in the nicer parts of town? Does anyone also know the general type of person who lives out that way? The houses I'm looking at are around 10-15 miles south of the intersection for I-25

[PaddyMac]

I believe that just south of I-25 on Hwy 14 you'll find a state penitentiary. Zoom in on Google maps and you'll see it. Of course, they should be safely locked up...<G> But if they did escape, I imagine they'd run north to the freeway...

[Dancingearth]

I never hear anything negative about the area even though there is a prison closer to town. A couple people at work live out there--a single older woman has acreage and horses and she loves it. Another woman and her husband built out that way and like it. When I get back to work next week I can ask them more if no one else posts. If I could afford to build on acreage, it's one place I'd look.

[santafescribe]

You're right of course in that you get more acreage on H 14, and big views. The quality of home out there is very mixed - certainly no cute "Santa Fe Style". Broad mix of people - some self reliant types who raise their horses and chickens and want to be left alone, others who are neighborly and will help out.... San Marcos Feed store is the local hang out.
Across the road from the State Pen, the area is part of the Community College District, and the plan there is to set aside 65 acres for the new Santa Fe film Studios. That is going through the county at the moment. So make sure if you're buying land on H14 you don't get too close to the proposed studios, because they'll have trucks, arc lights and, well, Action, all hours of the day and night.

[Devin Bent]

I think the area is safe. I would check the water situation out there before I bought.

The coming of the studio will bring greater traffic of course -- and that short little hop to the interstate may take a lot longer. There will be construction and eventually the roads will catch up.

If you are willing to ride it out, then a purchase out there might be a good investment. IDK -- just speculation.

[hoppybunn]

Thanks for your responses guys, yeah the jail doesn't really bother me (though the sign not to pick up hitchhikers because there's a jail on the road made me laugh) plus the areas I'm looking at are at least 5 miles south of the jail. In terms of water what should I be looking for, private wells?

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by hoppybunn

Thanks for your responses guys, yeah the jail doesn't really bother me (though the sign not to pick up hitchhikers because there's a jail on the road made me laugh) plus the areas I'm looking at are at least 5 miles south of the jail. In terms of water what should I be looking for, private wells?

I am just guessing, but I'd suspect that south on 14 with some acreage, it is almost bound to be dependent on a well. (Anybody correct me if I am wrong.) IMO you would be wise to test the well for flow and purity. Then when you buy you need to establish ownership of the well through a chain of titles just as you establish ownership of the property.

If there is no well -- then you should make sure that you can get a permit.

[santafescribe]

Originally Posted by Devin Bent

I am just guessing, but I'd suspect that south on 14 with some acreage, it is almost bound to be dependent on a well. (Anybody correct me if I am wrong.) IMO you would be wise to test the well for flow and purity. Then when you buy you need to establish ownership of the well through a chain of titles just as you establish ownership of the property.

If there is no well -- then you should make sure that you can get a permit.

All great advice, to which I would add, even after all that, talk to the owner of the adjacent parcels to get their water experience. Nothing like anecdotal evidence to get a sense of the issue beyond the raw data.

[Dancingearth]

I talked to the woman I work with that lives down there (about 10 miles from I-25 and she said there generally aren't water problems to the right -west of 14 but are problems to the left-east. Crime is pretty much like anywhere--not higher. She loves living out there.