ARTICLE

Time to Storm the Castle?
by Nick Timiraos and James R. Hagerty

Daniel Horowitz is ready to bargain.

The 55-year-old trial lawyer is trying to sell a four-bedroom villa with marble imported from Italy, a winery and a fruit orchard on 14 acres in Lafayette, Calif. Mr. Horowitz already chopped the price to $3.2 million from $4 million, the amount he estimates having spent on the land and construction. “We thought it would sell right away,” he says. But it hasn’t, and he is willing to consider lower offers, he says.

Three years into the housing bust, steep discounts are emerging in the market for high-end homes, which had been the real-estate industry’s last redoubt until now. Despite the budding economic recovery, demand for pricey properties is falling as potential buyers struggle to come up with money for big down payments and find it difficult to qualify for large mortgages. With buyers dropping out and homes languishing on the market, sellers are beginning to capitulate, cutting prices to move their properties.

The result: Buyers with lots of cash, or access to it, can find great deals. Not all million-dollar homes are castles, especially in coastal markets. But price drops and relatively small bumps in budget are landing shoppers the kind of amenities—kingly bathrooms, stables, gates—that were once beyond reach. Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, says it is a “very good time to be a buyer at the high end.”

In some markets, houses that are more than twice the size of others are on the market for less than twice the cost. Shaun Rawls, a broker at Keller Williams Realty in Atlanta, points to two homes with similarly desirable locations in that city’s wealthy Buckhead district. The smaller home, with 3,060 square feet, is priced at $765,000, or $250 a square foot. The larger home, with 7,612 square feet, has an asking price of $1.2 million, or $158 per square foot.

Though larger homes often have lower square-footage costs than smaller homes, the gap today is often greater. In Mill Valley, Calif., a 1,127-square-foot three-bedroom listed at $898,000 just went under contract. Its per-square-foot cost: $797. A four-bedroom home five minutes away—and nearly three times the size at 3,077 square feet—is being listed at $1.5 million. Its square-foot cost: $486.

Similarly, in Scottsdale, Ariz., one four-bedroom home lists for $1.2 million while another lists for $1.48 million. That additional $280,000 buys a 5,400 square-foot home, 46% bigger than the cheaper house.

Room to Drop

The million-plus market seems ripe for falling prices. Until now it has been lower-end homes, which saw the sharpest run-up during the boom, that have borne the brunt of the housing bust. Though there aren’t national statistics that track the million-dollar market, local markets show that prices for top properties have room to drop. For example, the bottom third of the Los Angeles area market—currently homes under $300,000—has seen prices fall by 52.5% since the market peak in 2006, returning to April 2003 levels, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller indexes. Prices for the top third of the market—currently homes above $510,000—have fallen by 27.3% from the peak, to March 2004 levels. While prices at the bottom of the market gained 5% over the last quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter, high-end home prices dropped 0.5%.

Home sales across the board remain sluggish. Sales of existing homes fell 0.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.02 million units, while new-home sales fell by 2.2% last month to lows last seen in 1963. But the mismatch of supply and demand is now widest in the seven-figure market. In the most coveted Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, for example, supplies are fairly tight up to about $900,000. But it is a buyer’s market between that level and $2 million, says James W. Nellis II of Re/Max Allegiance, a local broker.

That makes for some deep discounts. In Mill Valley, Calif., the price on one four-bedroom home was reduced March 11 to $2 million from $3 million. The house has 2,500 square feet of decks overlooking San Francisco Bay, says the listing agent, Suzy Doyle. On Ranch Gate Road in Chula Vista, Calif., a foreclosed home with six bedrooms is being offered at $675,000. In 2006, when it was new, the home sold for $1.3 million.

Few people consider million-dollar homes cheap, of course. Stretching to buy a big home comes with obvious risks. Prices may be falling, but no one knows where the bottom is. Marc Carpenter, a real-estate agent in San Diego, cautions buyers in that battered market that, “If you buy now, [you should] plan on prices reducing over time.”

Another potential pitfall is that higher-end houses are much harder to value than lower priced cookie-cutter dwellings. Often, high-end homes are unique, and the prices they fetch may have to do with such intangibles as an ocean view or an address with more snob appeal than those just blocks away. That makes it much harder for buyers to find comparable sales indicative of true market value.

Bargain hunters also need to be realistic. They aren’t likely to get a steal on the best-preserved homes in the nation’s top neighborhoods—places like Central Park West in Manhattan, Santa Barbara, Calif., or the exclusive parts of Boulder, Colo. Supply is permanently constrained in such areas because there is little room to build. And lots of people with money are eager to move in, so prices are likely to come down only slightly.

The best deals will be on high-end homes that might need work or aren’t in the most highly sought-after locations. That leaves plenty of coveted neighborhoods with good schools and amenities to choose from.
Despite the risks, the mortgage market might be suggesting that shoppers buy sooner rather than later. Many forecasters predict that interest rates will rise from today’s unusually low levels, in part because the Federal Reserve this month is ending its heavy purchases of mortgage securities. Even if waiting another year might bring lower prices, at least some of that advantage could be wiped out by an interest-rate spike.

Interest rates play a huge role in affordability—and even more so in high-end markets. A $1.2 million home today might require a 25% down payment, says Lou Barnes, a mortgage banker in Boulder. At today’s rate of about 5.75% for a 30-year “jumbo” mortgage, that would mean a monthly payment of $5,252. But if rates were to rise to 6.5%, the monthly payment would rise to $5,688. The home’s price would have to fall $1.1 million to keep the monthly payment at a comparable $5,215.

On the demand side, the technicalities of the mortgage market are thinning the ranks of million-dollar home buyers more than usual. Most buyers need a mortgage and would much prefer a cheaper, mainstream one backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the Federal Housing Administration. But loans that meet the government’s criteria can be no larger than $417,000 in most of the U.S.; in higher-cost areas like New York and San Francisco, that limit stretches to $729,750.

Loans above those limits are considered jumbos. While rates on jumbos are way down from a high of about 7.9% in October 2008, they remain well above the 5.1% found on conventional loans guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie, according to HSH Associates. What’s more, lenders also require heftier down payments for jumbo loans—in some cases 25% or more of the home’s value.

The shrinking pool of potential buyers is giving people of means unusual bargaining power. The inventory of all listed homes in February was enough to last 8.6 months at the current sales rate, according to the National Association of Realtors, a trade group. For those priced above $1 million, the supply was enough to last nearly 32 months.

Perfect Time to Buy

For these reasons, “this is the perfect time to buy,” says Eric Awad, a neurologist in Atlanta who thinks market conditions are forcing sellers of high-end homes to knuckle under. He and his wife, Nachwa Jarkas, an assistant professor at Emory University, are eager to trade up from their town home and buy a four-bedroom house in Atlanta’s posh Buckhead district. They are looking in the range of $1 million to $1.2 million, though Dr. Awad hopes to “knock the price down” below $1 million.

Like many potential buyers of high-end homes, the couple has a big hurdle to clear: Before buying, they need to sell their town home, which is on the market for $575,000, and they have no idea how long it will take for them to find a buyer. In this still-troubled real-estate market, success favors buyers who don’t have to sell first.

Link to Original Article

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Santa Fe New Mexican Article:

By: Dennis J. Carroll

Four historic homes associated with the city’s artistic and creative past will highlight Sunday’s annual Mother’s Day Historic House Tour.

One was once occupied by a Santa Fe Trail merchant, another by an architect and preservation activist, another by one of the founding members of city’s vibrant arts community, and the fourth was the home of a master wood-print artist and marionette maker.

All the homes have been through various incarnations depending upon the vocations and idiosyncrasies of the owners or renters at a particular time, said Elaine Bergman, director of the Historic Santa Fe Foundation, which is conducting the tours.

Another reason the four particular homes were selected, Bergman said, is because, “the artists who lived there maybe 70 years ago could walk through the front door today and still recognize the building as their home” because of the special care given to their preservation.

The organization has been conducting the tours on a Sunday in May for more than 40 years. In 2003, the group initiated the event as a Mother’s Day tradition. “There were generations of mothers, daughters and granddaughters who were coming through the homes, so we thought it would be a fitting Mother’s Day event,” Bergman said.

Sunday’s tour homes include: the James L. Johnson house, also known as El Zaguan, a collection of artists’ apartments and studios at 545 Canyon Road; the Gustave and Jane Baumann house and studio at 409 Camino de Las Animas; the Irene von Horvath house and studio at 728 Canyon Road; and the Sheldon Parsons House and studio at 3 and 5 Cerro Gordo Road.

Bergman said the Parsons home is of particular interest because the public has not been allowed inside for at least 20 years.

Sheldon Parsons was a successful New York portrait painter whose work included studies of President William McKinley and suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

According to the Historic Santa Fe Foundation, he moved to Santa Fe seeking relief from tuberculosis in 1913 after the death of his wife, photographer Caroline Reed Harris. In New Mexico, his creative endeavors turned toward landscapes.

He was a founding participant in the creation of Santa Fe as an artist community, and his presence drew other artists to Northern New Mexico.

When Parsons and his daughter, Sara Parsons Higgins, bought the property in the mid-1920s, the site consisted of three adobe buildings on three parcels, Bergman said.

Parsons connected the buildings and built a second story where his studio was located. The property is in the Pueblo-Revival style, identified by its thick adobe walls, narrow, roughly hewed vigas, long portals and narrow interior doors.

The 3,000-square-foot home, which has an adjacent guest house, was most recently purchased in 2000 by John and Linda Dressman, owners of the Santa Fe Indian Trading Co. and Dressman’s Gifts on the Santa Fe Plaza.

The James Johnson home is named after the Santa Fe Trail merchant who bought the Canyon Road property, which included a house and a corral, in the mid-1850s.

The house at 729 Canyon Road, built between 1839 and 1856, was home to Irene von Horvath, an architect and water colorist who purchased the property in 1954 and lived there for 30 years.

Von Horvath is credited with conceiving the idea of the “ring road” that became Paseo de Peralta.

As did the other artists, Von Horvath did much of the carpentry and brickwork for additions to the home.

Gustave Baumann designed his home in 1923 to serve as his studio, home and gallery, according to the foundation. He was known to entertain other artists and family friends at the house with plays he produced for his delicately crafted marionettes.

The foundation acquired the Baumann home in 2008 and has been restoring it for the past year.

Foundation docents will conduct tours of the four homes from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at any of the houses for $5.

Link to Original Article Here

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The following is an article that was just published in the New Mexican. It outlines sales numbers and prices, and provides good information on where/why the market is moving.

Article:

Santa Fe home sales sputtering back in 2010

By: Bruce Krasnow; The New Mexican

Home sales bounced a bit in the first quarter of 2010, with sale volumes increasing across all sectors of the Santa Fe market, according to several measures.

The Santa Fe Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that the total volume of city-county detached home sales increased 16 percent from a year ago to 205. While the median sales price in the unincorporated area fell, prices of homes sold inside the city were up some 50 percent to $464,000.

The numbers are year-over-year comparisons, and 2009 was the worst year for home sales in at least a decade. The number of sales in the first quarter is still down more than half from its peak in 2006.

But considering Santa Fe’s cold, snowy weather in January, February and March and that overall prices lifted, the statistics show the market has come off the 2009 bottom.

“All segments of the market at moving,” association president Lois Sury said. “It seems to be across the board.”

Like elsewhere in the United States, the federal government’s homebuyer tax credit — up to $8,000 for new buyers and $6,500 for current owners buying again — helped first-quarter sales, though it will be months before anyone knows the number of buyers in each state who have claimed the money.

Homes must be under contract by April 30 to qualify for the tax break — and that sent March sales up 34 percent in Albuquerque and 54 percent in Rio Rancho, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly. In Santa Fe, the quarter was more even, with volume increases all three months.

In Santa Fe, the incentive has helped many empty-nest couples who may have wanted to sell a larger home and move into a smaller house, condo or townhome, said Sury, as sales of those units more than doubled from a year ago.

“I’ve helped families like that,” said Sury. “They want something small here. We’ve seen those buyers come back into the market.”

Alan Ball said the March sales numbers in Santa Fe are “kind of a big deal” because the 2010 number beat both the 2009 and 2008 sales numbers. He also said the high-end market showed momentum for the first time in two years, with 18 sales over $1 million.

Some of it is the homebuyer tax credit, said Ball, who publishes a monthly newsletter on the Santa Fe real estate market, but it’s also a sign the market is righting itself.

“What some people wanted last summer (in asking price) is now even lower,” Ball said. “That’s what buyers are seeing and acting on.”

There were some wide fluctuations in the county’s median prices. Some of that is because the new homes in Rancho Viejo are being targeted to first-time buyers, with some selling for under $200,000, to take advantage of the tax credit.

The other big decline is Las Campanas, where luxury home prices have reset.

Sellers are more realistic, said Kay Sutt, a real estate appraiser. “The closer to balance our market comes, the quicker we’ll recover,” she said.

The fact that sales volume was strong despite terrible weather is another plus, Sutt said about the first quarter.

She is not seeing a “a magical healing” of Santa Fe’s market from the federal tax credit, but a lot of things going on are positive, including low interest rates, cheaper land and labor costs.

On that point, Donna Reynolds, chief executive of the Realtors Association, said the number of inquiries coming into the association office were the highest they’d ever been after The New York Times published a travel story about Santa Fe style reinventing itself and a large image of the new Railyard Park.

Sill, longer-term numbers compiled by the Realtors indicate how far sales tumbled from earlier years.

The number of single-family homes sold countywide in 2009, for instance, was 966, which was less than the 1,437 sold in the year 2000 and half the 1,996 sold at the 2005 market peak.

Likewise, the total sales volume in 2009 was $540 million, slightly higher than the start of the decade, but a huge decline from the $1.2 billion in 2006.

Median sales prices started the decade at $235,000, peaked at $425,000 in 2007 and stood at $356,000 at the end of 2009.

New single-family home permits in the city of Santa Fe were flat in the first quarter, 48 in the period, up from 44 a year ago, said city planner Reed Liming. Eighteen of the 2010 permits were for multifamily attached homes, he added, with six of those going to a new complex at Paseo de Peralta near Washington Avenue.

 BY THE NUMBERS

• City of Santa Fe: Sales totaled 110 single-family homes in first quarter, up from 95 a year ago. Median sold price $464,000, up from $308,000.

• Unincorporated area: Sales of 95 single-family homes in first quarter, up from 82. Median sold price $318,224, down from $440,000.

• Condo/townhome sales: 62 in first quarter, up from 27. Median price $286,500, up from $248,000 a year ago.

• Total sales volume for homes stood at $92.1 million in the first quarter of 2010, up from $81.6 million last year.

Link to Original Article

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This 2 bedroom condo in the Cielo Grande complex is priced to sell!

Property Description:

Beautifully remodeled Cielo Grande condo located only a mile from downtown Santa Fe. Stroll to the DeVargas mall for groceries, to catch a movie, or to shop a one of the many boutiques.  Walk a bit farther and you’ll be in the heart of Santa Fe at either the Plaza or Railyard district.

This single-level, 2 bedroom, 3rd floor unit is easily accessed by either an elevator or stairs and has been thoroughly upgraded with newly remodeled kitchen and baths, and new tile floors. The entire home has been recently painted as well, adding to the value and charm of the home. The open  floorplan has a wonderful portal with southern exposure providing great natural light and a beautiful outdoor dining area during the warm months. During the cooler months you can warm your toes by the  kiva fireplace that graces the living area. The bedrooms are well proportioned, and the updated bathroom(s) have great storage and a washer and dryer.

With low HOA fees, this condo, previously priced at $219,000, is a steal at $214,900.

These condos are solid commercial grade construction, not apartment conversions.

Stop by on Sunday to check out this great listing or give Matt or Ryan a call to set up an appointment.

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Made of all adobe, quality construction is evident throughout this home. As you enter through the front door you are greeted by a kiva fireplace and warm plaster walls.  To the right is a very well equipped kitchen with a large pantry and nice finishes. To the left is the spacious bedroom wing with a full bathroom and ample closet space. Off the bedroom is a private courtyard area, perfect for morning tea/coffee, or an afternoon drink.

What really makes this place special is the location.  Located on classic Alto street, the Plaza is a 5 minute stroll away, the Railyard is just around the corner, and the DeVargas Mall is only a hop, skip and jump away.  This is truly a centrally located condo where many of Santa Fe’s amenities are at your fingertips.

548 Alto Street: Unit B, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Listing Description:

Located in the Guadalupe Historic District, this beautifully remodeled condo is only a couple blocks from the Plaza, Railyard District and Sanbusco Center. An upgraded kitchen, large master bedroom, and private patio area add to the charm of this warm and inviting home. The unit will make a great Santa Fe escape and can also be rented short term. A furniture package is available.

The warm and inviting living room with Kiva fireplace:

Click Here for More Information on 548 Alto Street

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ARTICLE

by: Kay Bell on Bankrate/Yahoo

Over the last few years, lawmakers have created new housing tax laws and tweaked existing ones to give beleaguered homeowners some relief at filing time. Even non-property owners who aren’t in financial straits get some breaks, such as help in buying a first home.

And some homeowners have more options when it comes to selling. Plus tax breaks for energy-efficient home improvements also made it back onto the books.

But not all the changes help homeowners save money. The law affecting vacation-home sales was designed to put a bit more cash into the U.S. Treasury. This new tax money source was created primarily to pay for other home-related tax breaks.

As with most taxes, whether the residential tax law changes will help or hurt you depends upon your individual circumstances. Check out these seven recent real-estate-related tax measures to gauge their possible effects, for good or ill, on you.

1. Cancellation of debt income

One of the first housing-related tax relief measures was the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. Enacted Dec. 20, 2007, the law’s main provision allows taxpayers to exclude debt forgiven on their principal residence when the mortgage is restructured or the property goes into foreclosure.

Previously, when a homeowner renegotiated a home loan and convinced the lender to reduce the amount of principal owed, the homeowner owed taxes on the amount of forgiven mortgage debt. A similar canceled debt situation occurred in foreclosure situations.

So that these financially strapped homeowners wouldn’t face taxes on top of their property debt problems, the law now enables them to exclude the mortgage debt from their taxable income. Up to $2 million in forgiven debt is now untaxed.

As the scope of the housing crisis expanded, Congress modified the original debt forgiveness law. The latest change came in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the bailout bill enacted in October 2008. Now, mortgage loan debt canceled in 2007 through 2012 is not taxed.

Your lender should send you a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, showing any forgiven debt. You need to report the eligible canceled mortgage debt on Form 982 and send it in with your personal tax return.

2. First-home buyer credit

Washington has worked overtime on this tax break. Since it was created in 2008, it’s been modified several times and now is available to more than first-time buyers.

What began as an interest free loan from Uncle Sam is now a true credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homeowners as well as a possible $6,500 credit for folks who’ve previously or now own a residence.

This tax break also was extended. Under the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, signed into law Nov. 6, 2009, you have until April 30 to buy or sign a contract to buy a principal residence. You then get two more months, until June 30, to close on the property.
You also get the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 tax return or waiting until you file your 2010 taxes next year. If you want to use the tax break on your 2009 return but your home purchase isn’t completed until after April 15, you can file for an extension and then finish your taxes, including the credit, from the comfort of your new home.

In addition to the purchase deadlines and taxpayer ownership qualifications, income and home price limits also apply to the credit. You can find details in Bankrate’s story, “Home tax credit extended, expanded.”

3. PMI deduction

Typically, if your home down payment is less than 20 percent, your lender will require you to buy private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This policy protects the lender if you default, but you must pay the premiums, usually as part of your monthly mortgage payment.

However, on certain home loans issued since 2007, these premium payments have been deductible as an itemized expense. This tax break is in effect for eligible new home loans issued through the 2010 tax year.

The Form 1098 or similar year-end statement you get from your lender should show the amount of PMI premiums you paid during the tax year. Enter that figure in the “Interest You Paid” section (line 13) of your Schedule A.

The amount of PMI you may deduct is limited if your adjusted gross income is more than $100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately). You’ll get no deduction if your adjusted gross income is more than $109,000 ($54,500 if married filing separately). A work sheet on Page A7 of the Schedule A instruction book, or your tax software, will help you calculate your exact PMI deduction amount.

4. Property tax addition to standard deduction

Another popular home-related tax break, the property tax deduction, also has been expanded.

Previously, real estate taxes were a welcome tax deduction for homeowners who itemized. These annual payments to county and local governments could be claimed on Schedule A to increase the taxpayer’s deduction total.

Now, however, homeowners who do not itemize will get to claim at least a portion of their real estate tax payments as part of their standard deduction. Up to $500 for single homeowners, double that for joint filers, can be added to the taxpayer’s standard deduction amount. This year, you’ll also have to complete the new Schedule L to claim this amount as part of your standard deduction. You can find details on doing so in “2 big home ownership expenses to deduct.”

5. Surviving spouse home sale tax exclusion

A widow or widower has many difficult decisions to make soon after losing a spouse. But a provision in the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 now offers surviving spouses some tax relief in connection with one of those decisions, the sale of the family home.

In most cases, a seller can exclude up to $250,000 in profit from the sale of a primary residence. The tax-free amount is $500,000 when the home is sold by a married couple filing a joint return.
Under previous law, when a spouse died, the surviving husband or wife could take advantage of the full $500,000 sale exclusion only if the home was sold in the same year the spouse died. If the sale took place after that year, the surviving husband or wife was entitled to only the $250,000 exclusion amount.

Now, however, a surviving spouse can exclude up to the full $500,000 as long as the sale occurs within two years of spouse’s date of death. The surviving spouse still must meet the regular ownership and use requirements; that is, the widow or widower must have lived in the property as his or her primary residence for two of the five years before the sale.

There is no sunset date for this tax law. The surviving spouse home sale exclusion relief is permanent.

6. Energy-saving home improvements

Tax breaks for making a home more energy efficient first appeared in the 2005 energy bill. In 2009, those tax benefits were expanded.

For qualifying improvements made to your home between Feb. 17, 2009 — the date the latest stimulus act in which they were included became law — and the end of this year, you can claim a tax credit of up to 30 percent of the product’s cost. There is, however, a maximum credit cap of $1,500 per homeowner for all improvements combined.

Taxpayers who take advantage of common energy upgrades, such as installing storm windows and doors, adding insulation and buying a new energy-efficient air conditioner or heat pump, should be able to take this $1,500 credit. Others who install more elaborate energy-saving options, such as fuel cells, wind energy and geothermal and solar heating equipment, will get even bigger tax savings.

Tax credits in 2009 and 2010 for energy-efficient home improvements

Product category Product type
Windows Exterior windows and skylights and storm windows
Doors Exterior doors and storm doors
Roofing Metal roofs, asphalt roofs
Insulation Insulation
HVAC Central A/C
Air source heat pump
Gas, oil, propane furnace or hot water boiler
Advanced main air circulating fan
Water heaters Gas, oil, propane water heater
Electric heat pump water heater
Improvements must meet or exceed specific energy-saving standards. Additional product and tax savings guidelines can be found at the U.S. government’s Energy Star Web page.

For all tax years and all types of home energy improvements, you’ll need to file IRS Form 5695 to claim your credits.

7. Second-home sale limits

In order to help pay for many of the new housing-related tax breaks, the tax law affecting second-home sales was changed beginning in 2009.

Thanks to a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the U.S. Treasury now should make more money off second home sales. Previously, owners of multiple properties could move into one of their other homes, live there as their primary residence for two years and then sell the house and pocket any gains tax-free, up to $250,000 if single, $500,000 for a home owned by a married couple who files a joint return.

Now, however, the time that the property was a second home or investment property must be taken into account. The owners now will owe tax on part of the sale money based on how long the house was used as a second, rather than their main, home.

As with the surviving spouse home sale exclusion change, the taxation of second home sale profit also is a permanent tax law change.

Of course, “permanent” doesn’t always mean forever on Capitol Hill. Neither is there any guarantee that temporary tax breaks will be extended.

So keep an eye on all these home-related tax changes. If any can help you, be sure to take advantage of them while they still are on the books.

Link to Original Article Here

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Today, Stamm houses are still desired for the very same reasons  they were in the past. However, due to the relative small size of some of his houses, people in modern time have wanted to remodel/add on.  Sometimes this has posed no problems, but at others it has sparked controversy. 

Case in point; read the following article in the New Mexican. The neighbors are citing a “no two story” rule. I think that they may also be disenchanted with the “style” of the addition.  You be the judge.

ARTICLE

Second-story addition in Casa Alegre prompts lawsuit

Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican

Battles over architecture are common in Santa Fe’s historic east-side neighborhoods, where building styles are closely regulated by city ordinance.

But a resident of an unregulated post-World War II neighborhood on the city’s near southwest side is unhappy with a neighbor’s remodeling project, accusing her of violating deed covenants by building a modernistic second story.

Catherine A. Coulter of 1811 San Felipe Circle last week filed a complaint in state District Court against Samantha Fergason of 1816 San Felipe Circle.

Their houses, across the street from each other, present a contrast in a quiet corner of the Casa Alegre neighborhood.

Coulter lives in an unadorned Pueblo Revival house with an old pew and a few yard tools sitting on the front porch. From the street, it appears that the only major alteration was conversion of the garage into a den — a typical change to many of the tract homes built by developer Allan Stamm in the 1950s.

Fergason’s Territorial-style house also has had its garage remodeled into part of the living space. But last fall, she added a metal-clad second story that looks somewhat like a pre-fabricated home or storage building has been dropped on top of the house and left protruding over the driveway.

Fergason’s front yard also has been decorated with a piece of moveable, modern abstract sculpture and a carved wooden sign for her business, Artwork, which helps artists promote their work.

In an interview this week, Fergason called the dispute with Coulter “unfortunate,” but said she had no trouble getting a building permit for the second-story addition.

“An architect did it,” she said. “Everything was done by the books, for sure. …

“But before I say anything more, I really would like to get some advice because I don’t know the situation I’m in. … I can say, though, I don’t have a business that has people come to it, so there’s no traffic in and out.”

Coulter, who did not respond to messages asking her to comment on her lawsuit, was described in a 2004 article in The New Mexican as a Jemez Springs educator. She and three family members authored Winging It: A Beginners Guide to Birds of the Southwest (University of New Mexico Press, 2004).

According to her pro-se complaint, the subdivision’s 1955 covenants say no house should exceed one story and prohibit outside walls of “unpainted metal,” as well as ban “business conducted for commercial purposes.”

The city Home Occupation Ordinance adopted in 1995 allows home-based businesses in areas zoned for residential use, but only if that doesn’t conflict with private covenants.

Coulter’s complaint says the subdivision’s covenants give homeowners like herself the right “to prosecute any proceedings at law or in equity against the person or persons violating or attempting to violate any such restrictions or covenants, and either to prevent him or them from doing so or to recover damages or other dues for such violation.”

Link To Original Article Here

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•Conduct a “draft check.”  Your heating dollars could be going out your windows, doors and electrical outlets. Check for air leaks throughout your home; check around doors, windows, fixtures, electrical outlets, wiring, plumbing and fireplace dampers.  Turn it into a family activity. Draft-proofing is the least expensive energy efficiency investment with the biggest payoff.

•Plug those air leaks. Seal leaks between doors or windows (and their frames) with weather stripping and between window frames and walls with sealant or caulk.

•Install door sweeps on the insides of exterior doors.  Cold air can seep in under doors. Solution: Door sweeps are cheap and keep the draft out. No sweeps available? Even a rolled up towel or blanket will help. And consider twin or dual draft guards on both sides of doors where you feel drafts.

•Open curtains and other window treatments on your west- and south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to make it harder for warm air to escape. If you are purchasing new drapes, consider an insulated lining, which reduces both heating and cooling bills.

•Freezing by your windows?  If that’s the case, and you’ve already plugged those window leaks and can’t afford new high-efficiency windows, consider purchasing a kit containing sheets of plastic film to tape over the insides of your windows. Use a hair dryer to create a tight fit.

•Consider insulating drafty electrical outlets. Use light switch foam insulation pads and wall jack foam insulation pads on outlets on colder exterior walls.

•You’re not in the South Seas.  Don’t turn up the heat so high that you can be comfortable dressed in a T-shirt and going barefoot. Even when indoors, dress for winter weather and layer clothing so that you can keep the thermostat at a reasonable yet comfortable temperature. It’s a good time to wear those holiday sweaters!•Consider a space heater for the room where you spend a lot of time.  But keep in mind that this makes sense from an energy standpoint only if you reduce heating in other rooms.•Keep furnace filters clean.  Check and change your filter every month during heavy-use winter months to assist air flow, so your system doesn’t have to work harder to keep you warm.

•Seal your heating and cooling ducts. In a typical house with a forced air system, about 20 percent of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts.  Sealing and insulating ducts increases their efficiency, lowers home energy bills and can often pay for itself in energy savings. Insulate ducts in unheated areas such as attics, crawlspaces and garages with duct insulation that carries an R-value of 6 or higher. Also, a well-designed and sealed duct system may make it possible to downsize to a smaller, less costly heating and cooling system that will provide better dehumidification.

•Let a programmable thermostat “remember for you” to lower the heat while your home is empty and/or overnight to reduce heating costs by up to 10 percent – and allow you to come home and wake up to a toasty, comfortable house.

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

Rancho Calabasas; an immaculate, private, & unrestricted compound consisting of a main house, 2 guest houses, & your own private spa! An ideal property for a family compound or retreat. Perfect for entertaining w/separate guest suites for family or staff. Lushly landscaped grounds, a stream, waterfall, & Koi pond, & multiple outdoor entertainment areas, all on 5 filled acres. This Santa Fe oasis can be available turn-key including art, bronze sculptures, antique wagons, & furniture

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 Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond