What are Rancho Viejo and Eldorado really like? (Santa Fe, Las Vegas: sales, HOA)

[solovino1]

Couple more things about Rancho Viejo that are more in line with the questions Orangina asked. It is quiet here and dark at night with adjacent open space and no street lights. We have been told by the sheriff that we are the safest community in the county. We have a strong neighborhood watch and at least on my street, we take care of each other. I can't verify this on other streets but my impression is that it's the same. There is a nice school nearby (Amy Biehl) which is currently graded at C. We have a charter high school in the neighborhood with an A ranking. An indian art institute is across the street from the school. The community college is a mile away. The GCCC is 5 miles away (think of it as super recreational facility)...haven't seen anything like it anywhere else. Stores are a bit farther, about 6 to 7 miles. A small market is available in the neighborhood. A taqueria written up in Sunset Magazine (Parasol) is about 4 miles from my house. The income level factor here goes from affordable housing to estate chichi. Association dues are about $265.00 a quarter unless it's a town house, that's more.

[GreatSantaFe]

...."the land owner in question owns much more property than what we have addressed here and I cannot think that there is no other intention but to develop it. Prospective buyers need to know this."
True solovino - just like prospective buyers need to know that Rancho Viejo is not fully developed yet so, at some point in the future, there'll be hundreds more homes built there. You might also note that Rancho Viejo's newest development, La Entrada, added -when fully built-out - 1200 new homes (compared to the 39 in Spirit Wind West that you brought up). That's in addition to Rancho Viejo's original 550 homes and the additional 761 homes. It's interesting to note that Rancho Viejo extends all the way to the western boundary of Eldorado.
Anyhow, that's what developers do - develop. There's no reason to think that the owners of Rancho Viejo won't try to develop their land if they perceive a market for it, just like there's no reason to think Mr. Miller won't try to develop his property if he sees a financial incentive to do so. That's why it's important for citizens to elect representatives that have a respect for the land and an abiding belief that we must protect our natural resources. There is such a thing as environmentally-conscious development (e.g. The Commonweal's Galisteo Basin Preserve) and that's what we need to see more of.
In short, solovino, I agree with the gist of what you're saying - I just think we need to look at the whole picture rather than a piece of it.

[solovino1]

GreatSantaFe. Clearly we are on separate sides of this issue. That's good for readers that come to this forum seeking information. Owners of land will develop as you state and it is in fact their right to do so. Being a carpet bagger from somewhere else it would be utterly hypocritical of me to say that I want the wall to go up now that I got mine. The economy of this area depends in large part on construction and so the construction will proceed. My point was that because Rancho Viejo water comes from a public utility, it's supplies nominally are in better shape than common wells in the Eldorado area, many of whose residents contest the report regarding supplies by the county. Ground water supplies are fundamentally at greater risk from residential and industrial pollution than those coming from a public utility although long term supplies from both sources are at risk.

[GreatSantaFe]

It's your point that "My point was that because Rancho Viejo water comes from a public utility, it's supplies nominally are in better shape than common wells in the Eldorado area...." that I could argue with. Santa Fe gets its water from city wells, the reservoir and the Buckman Diversion Project. It is a municipal water system as you say. Eldorado gets its water from community wells and, because of an agreement signed with the county last year, there will also be a pipeline to provide water, if needed, from the Buckman project. It, too, is a public utility. So if you believe that Rancho Viejo's supplies are better because they come from a public utility, why are you condescending to another public utility?
All of us in this area pretty much pump water from the same aquifer and get water from the Rio Grande. The city also enjoys water from mountain rains and snow melts that feed its reservoir.
So give me a break. Rampant development like the kind we've seen in Rancho Viejo doesn't serve the water interests of Santa Fe. And to compare that with the effects of a proposed 39 house subdivision - whose owner/developer had to transfer his wells to the Eldorado Water District - is ludicrous. We've got to take a cumulative-effect view of development, not a piecemeal approach that pits one one project against another. You kid yourself if you think that Rancho Viejo's water situation is better than Eldorado's because you get your water from the city utility and they get theirs from the community facility. Our whole region will need to think as one when it comes to conserving our precious natural resources. We're all drinking from the same tap.

[solovino1]

A few other areas you may look at are, Pueblos del Sol which has a standard suburban feel, no views, close to shopping, etc. Aldea off of Highway 599 is very nice with great views but higher prices and a pretty stiff HOA fee. If you like to be close in, Nava Ade may work because you can walk to the mall, grocery stores, but it 's right off the main commercial street through town. Lots tend to small, houses tall, not many views. There are a couple of Centex developments also but I don't like em. Construction does not seem too good, that's an impression of course. Once you fit out your house with options it gets expensive. All of the preceding are on city or county water, HOA or city or county sewer. I think all of these are in city of SF, with possible exception of Aldea. Others can clear that up and determine differences in property tax rate.

Good Luck

[Sour53]

This is great information! Just put an offer on a home in RV this week. Now I am in a holding pattern as our property inspector found major roof problems. As I have researched this issue, I have discovered that the roofs in RV are horrible. Guess I will have to wait and see if the sellers will take care of this.
I had looked and found some great homes in Eldorado but have had several people tell me that there is a terrible rodent problem in that community. Guess it does not matter where you live, you have to deal with issues.
Glad to hear that RV is a safe community.

[GreatSantaFe]

Sour53 - Unfortunately the roofer who worked with the developer on the original RV development apparently did a poor job, but that can be fixed - albeit at a price. There are higher-priced developments around town that have had similar issues but, again, that can be and was overcome.
As for "a terrible rodent problem in Eldorado" - say what? Eldorado homes are on at least 1.25 acres and are in the "country". Rodents were there first. My home is on 12.5 acres. Do we have rodents? Sure - but not in our house. A monthly pest control service takes care of that issue; the rodents stay outside where they need to be, and we haven't seen a mouse inside since we started that service. But they are cute.... And, having lived back east for a good spell, one pest I'm glad never to see (or even hear of) is a roach!

[solovino1]

Yup the original roofs were a done badly, very badly. The original foam sprayed on the roofs was the wrong kind. It absorbed water rather than hating it. The company hired to do warranty repairs was not much better. Add to that the super heavy snow storm experienced here in 07. It put 3+ feet of snow on the roofs. If you didn't get up there or hired someone else to get up there and shovel off, you had leaks. My impression is that deals fall through here all the time because of the roof issue. Our original offer on another house did. If you are buying here the roof must be good or expect to pay for getting it good, or make the original owner take that into account. This is not an unique problem to RV. It's an endemic issue here in flat roof country. So where ever you look for a house, take the roof into account. Also the parapets need to be looked at. That's the wall above the roof that hides and provides wind protection for your swamp coolers, AC, sat. dish, etc. The top of the parapets will wear and allow water in. This allows a freeze thaw process that causes damage. Latest codes have changed and require a metal strip under the parapet tops. La Entrada is subject to this code. So...back to roofs. I would not buy a town house in RV because the HOA fees are much higher (roughly $500.00). They take care of everything with this fee but, and this is a big but, the roof FAILED on the town house behind us during a heavy rain storm we had in September. Easiest fix is removal of bad foam, replace with good foam, and put an inch or 2 of gravel. This makes a big difference in longevity because the gravel absorbs water and then allows evaporation. It prevents birds from picking at the roof and provides for protection from solar radiation. Pick your vendor carefully, get more than one inspection, and you will be fine. We have lots of good, honest roofers here. One more thing...some of the houses here did not get warranty work done because the owners foreclosed or sold short. The roofs were/are original and were left in that condition.

[solovino1]

Rodents, bugs, etc. Because Eldorado and RV both are at the suburban/open land interface, there are more critters. That's part of the deal. We get used to seeing spiders, crickets, even centipedes (which I hate) on a regular basis. To some extent you just get used to it (except centipedes). First thing I learned is to stop killing spiders, especially when they are free range. They really help keeping the bug population down. Why so many? Well it's warm in here and cold out there. Food and water too. If you were to pull off a piece of dry wall and insulation in any room and look down, you will see a gap and day light. Plenty of room to get in. It could have been easily fixed during construction by spraying expansion foam in that gap. Costs a few bucks too much I guess.

[beezle1]

I just had the stucco completely redone on my home in Rancho Viejo. My home is less than 4 years old. We kept having stucco issues with cracking and lifting up in places, and while it was under warranty they would come out and patch it. But as time went by, I noticed additional places with the same issue. It was no longer under warranty and I did not want to continue with patching again and again so I decided to just pay to get the whole thing redone. As I understand it, the theory of what went wrong was that the stucco was applied during a freeze and it was not able to cure properly. According to the stucco company, this is a common issue (and not just in Rancho Viejo), as many builders use the cheapest stucco they can get, and they are under tight schedules to get the work done on time. Also, the stucco guys said my roof is in good shape so I guess I dodged that bullet!

Aside from that, I really do like Rancho Viejo. My home is up in the Windmill Ridge area. Its a great neighborhood for walking or biking - I love the trails and the open areas. The Neighborhood Watch is very active and helpful. And the HOA really keeps the common areas in good shape.