A  private master bedroom, graced with a large fireplace, continues the theme of  stunning mountain views. His and Hers closets, a master bathroom with an infinity tub, dual sinks, and stand alone shower complete the master suite. The remaining two guest/kids bedrooms and bathroom are located in their own wing, adjacent to the large laundry room. 

Every detail of this home has been perfectly and beautifully planned, and every finish is of only the highest quality.

Located only 10 minutes from downtown Santa Fe, but with a distinctly rural feel, this home could make a great equestrian estate, family home, or New Mexico retreat!

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Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

A Classic Betty Stewart Home nestled in the lush Tesuque valley, this home with plaster walls, brick floors, a two-way fireplace, & vigas truly exudes charm & elegance. The wrap around portal provides venues for entertaining or relaxing in this serene setting. With a detached artist’s studio, the home is perfect for artists in residence or accomodating visiting guests. Recent updates to the kitchen, bathroom, and electrical system make this home move in ready. All of this conveniently located close to the Plaza, miles of hiking and biking trails, and the Tesuque Village Market.

When sitting in any one of the portals you feel as if you a entrenched in the beautiful country setting,  yet you are only 3.5 miles from the Plaza and everything Santa Fe has to offer. Within walking distance from this home is the Windsor Trail (a favorite running/hiking/biking trail for Ryan and Matt) and the many other trails leading into the National Forest. The Tesuque village center is also very close to the property, providing a great place to grab a pint of ice cream late at night, or a great dinner close to home.

This home is in immaculate condition, and would be suitable for a full time residence, a manageable Santa Fe reteat, or for use as a short term rental. 

Check out a video tour of the property below.

Give us a call if you or someone you know would like a personal tour of this exceptional home.

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

1. Go for the long haul
When looking for a home, search for one that you could see yourself living in for several years — at least five to seven years is ideal. Buying — and moving — to a new home takes a lot of time and effort, and can add up significantly in closing and moving costs, etc. Staying in place longer will help you avoid those added expenses. Plus, the extra time spent in your home could be just enough to help you ride out a downturn in the real estate market.

2. Leave room to grow
Aim for a home that can adapt to your needs as your life changes, say, if you have a new baby, or Junior moves back in after college. If you can’t afford a place that’s large enough to meet your anticipated future needs now, look for one that will allow you to build on later on.

3. Be flexible
Consider a place with rooms that can serve multiple functions, so the home remains highly functional for you through the years. For example, an open-floor-plan-style home is very adaptable. A kitchen that overlooks a family room is helpful when one’s children are young (you can cook while watching the kids), while such a kitchen is also great for entertaining your friends once the kids leave the roost.

4. Go for your type
Think about what style of home fits you best — house, condo, townhome, etc. — they’re not one size fits all. For example, a single-family home — which sits on its own lot and must be maintained by the homeowner — may be great for a person seeking privacy, but not so wonderful for somebody who doesn’t want to worry about mowing the lawn, fixing the plumbing, etc. Meanwhile, a condo might be perfect for somebody who wants a “lock ‘n’ leave” lifestyle, but not for somebody who doesn’t like sharing a wall with his neighbors.

5. Check the surroundings
When you purchase a home, you not only get a house, you also buy into a neighborhood. Think about whether that neighborhood will suit you. Sure, you might love the house itself, but will the loud neighbors next door or the school across the street become too bothersome for you? Also, do you like the feel of the neighborhood and does it offer everything you need? It’s best to find a place in a community that you’ll enjoy.

6. Buy what you can afford
It’s easy to shoot for the sky and overspend when buying a home — you understandably want the best your money can buy. Examine your finances, keeping in mind current and future expenses, and don’t exceed your means. It’s smarter to buy a home you can easily afford than one you have to stretch to get into. Stay down to earth, and you’ll be better prepared should unexpected financial commitments and problems arise later down the road.

7. Think “home” first
When purchasing a home, don’t imagine the dollar signs you’ll see the day you sell it. A home is just that — primarily a “home,” and not an investment. So, buy a place that’d be great to live in first and think about its resale value second. Predicting real estate cycles and home appreciation is tough enough for the experts — and much more for the average home buyer. Plus, while home renovations tend to add value to a residence, they rarely recoup more than what was spent on them.

8. Look at both old and new
It’s nice to move into a place that’s brand-new. But, new isn’t always better. Consider both old and new. While you might not like a previous homeowner’s decorating decisions, you might like the owner-installed upgrades — like a finished basement and a backyard deck — that a new home might not have.

9. Location, Location, Location
You’ve heard this tip before, but a home’s location does matter. A house that’s located on a busy, noisy street may be less enjoyable to you as a homeowner than one situated on a quiet, secluded cul-de-sac. Plus, a home on a cul-de-sac is likely to be worth more than a poorly located one when it comes time to resell. So consider a home’s location before you’re smitten by a spectacular interior.

10. When it comes time to sell
While you want to think of your place as a home first and not an investment, it doesn’t make sense to purchase a white elephant, either. You should put at least some thought into how easy — or difficult — it’ll be to resell the home one day. If a home is so unlike other nearby homes in terms of size, style, price, etc., you might want to skip it and look elsewhere — it could become a burden should you want to someday move on.

Source: Trulia.com

“It appears our Association has been the target of a large-scale embezzlement scheme, involving tens of thousands of dollars carried out in a two-month blitz,” Eldorado Community Improvement Association President Ed Benrock wrote in an undated letter to Eldorado residents.

Debby Padilla, who worked for the association for more than 14 years, has been arrested in connection with the theft — which apparently involves passing forged checks, according to Benrock’s letter.

Benrock said Albuquerque police contacted the association last week and told them something was “going amiss” with ECIA accounts and that the organization suffered “a substantial theft.” He said he wasn’t sure what prompted the call and declined to specify how the theft occurred.

“It’s not appropriate to comment on that,” he said.

In his letter to homeowners, Benrock said Padilla, who also served as the association’s office manager, allegedly forged checks drawn on ECIA accounts “to systematically steal from the Association.” Padilla, who was also the association’s office manager, is suspected of having “several accomplices” not associated with the ECIA in the scheme, Benrock’s letter states.

“There also appears to have been alteration and destruction of financial records, possibly complicating the Association’s ability to carry on its business for the next few weeks,” Benrock’s letter states.

Benrock said he’d ordered an audit of the association’s accounts and didn’t know specifically how much money Padilla allegedly stole. He said he didn’t yet know why the theft wasn’t discovered by the association itself. The association has insurance against such a loss, according to Benrock’s letter.

“This appears to be a serious breach of the trust that the staff, board and members had placed in Debby over a 14-year period,” the letter states.

The incident is being investigated by Albuquerque police and state police, the letter states.

Padilla came to the attention of Albuquerque police after a man tried to cash a check at a Wal-Mart that looked “weird” using a driver’s license that also was suspect, said Officer Nadine Hamby, an Albuquerque police spokeswoman. Officers took the man into custody and he told them he received the checks from Padilla in Santa Fe, she said.

That prompted an officer to call the Eldorado homeowners’ association and warn them that they were likely being ripped off, Hamby said. Hamby didn’t have the man’s name, didn’t know any details about the check the man tried to cash and didn’t know the date of the incident. She said the case involving the Santa Fe theft was turned over to state police, while APD only handled the Wal-Mart incident, Hamby said.

Padilla was charged with fraud, forgery, tampering with evidence and two counts of conspiracy in relation to the Wal-Mart case, according to online Albuquerque Metropolitan Court records. The charges occurred on Nov. 17, the records say.

Online Santa Fe County jail records indicate that a Debby Padilla, 47, was arrested Nov. 20 on an unspecified state police warrant. She was released on bond three hours later, the records state.

Lt. Eric Garcia, a state police spokesman, said Albuquerque police called state police when they discovered the theft crossed jurisdictions. He said that agency is taking the lead on one case related to Padilla, while state police officers have discovered evidence of further criminal activity by Padilla and are investigating a second case against her. Garcia had no details about that case, but said he thought it had to do with passing forged checks.

Jason Auslander | The New Mexican

The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent this week, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce borrowing costs.

The rate, published Thursday by Freddie Mac, is the lowest since the mortgage finance company began tracking the data in 1971. The previous record of 4.78 percent was set during the week ending April 30 and matched last week.

The Federal Reserve is pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to bring down mortgage rates, but that money is set to run out next spring. The goal of the program is to make home buying more affordable and prop up the housing market.

Despite the government support, qualifying for a loan is still tough. Lenders have tightened their standards dramatically, so the best rates are available to those with solid credit and a 20 percent down payment.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders across the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often tracking yields on long-term Treasury bonds.

This week drop reflects a rush of investors into the security of government debt after concerns about financial trouble in Dubai drove investors to safe harbors. But rates climbed back later in the week, and analysts say they are likely to remain volatile.

“There are no guarantees that mortgage rates are going to stay at these low levels,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

And millions of American families have not been able to take advantage of them, particularly in the areas where home prices have fallen the most.

About 11 million households, or 23 percent of homeowners with a mortgage, owe more on their home loans than their house is currently worth according to First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company.

That makes refinancing difficult.

While the government has launched a program designed to help these “underwater” borrowers, only about 140,000 homeowners have used it so far.

In Orlando, mortgage broker Chris Brown says the low rates are a boon to first-time homebuyers who can qualify for a loan. But he says he isn’t getting much business from homeowners looking to refinance.

“Most of the people that could refinance probably have” done so, he said. “Rates have been artificially low for quite some time.”

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low of 4.27 percent, from 4.29 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.19 percent, up from 4.18 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.25 percent from 4.35 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 points for 30-year loans. The fee averaged 0.6 points for 15-year, five-year and one-year loans.

Buyers and homeowners who want to refinance are picking up their phones. Mortgage applications rose 2 percent last week from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday, driven by a more than 4 percent increase in purchase applications and a nearly 2 percent increase in applications to refinance existing loans.

By Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer

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The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 6.2% last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000, from an upwardly revised rate of 405,000 in September. It was the sixth time new home sales had risen in the past seven months.

The October increase far surpassed industry expectations. A panel of expert forecasts compiled by Briefing.com had predicted new home sales of 404,000.

“The evidence continues to show stabilization in the housing market,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. “It’s not a huge new bull market, mind you, but an end to the relentless flood of bad news we had [in previous years].

“The conditions are in place that will enable prices to begin stabilizing,” he added.

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New houses sold in October for a median price of $212,200, up from $204,800 in September. The average sales price was $261,100.

Larson was especially positive about the reduction in inventory. There were 239,000 new homes on the market at the end of the month, a 6.7 month supply at the current sales rate.

“Construction has been cut to such low levels that the absolute number of homes on the market is at its lowest level since 1971,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist with Barclays Capital. “The supply has been reduced significantly and is calibrated better with demand.”

There has been some rise in demand for those few homes on the market but, compared with recent years, sales are still very modest. At the height of the market in July 2005, new homes sales peaked at an annualized rate of nearly 1.4 million. That puts October’s rate about 70% lower.

The sales report followed a release last week from the National Association of Home Builders revealing that home construction fell to a six-month low during October.

Some of that decline probably stemmed from a reaction by builders to the impending end of the first-time homebuyers tax credit, which had been due to lapse Dec. 1.

The credit has been extended, however, and expanded to include existing owners. That should provide a boost for new home construction again.

Residential construction is a large part of the economy. During the third quarter, the home building and remodeling industry added about a half percentage point to the 2.8% rise in the gross domestic product, according to Meyer.

“Home construction often has a big impact on quarterly growth,” she said.

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The Trust for Public Land signed contracts late Wednesday and paid a nonrefundable deposit to buy about 23 acres that had been proposed for the Mirasol subdivision. The same night, the City Council accepted nearly half the land as publicly owned open space.

“We’re in,” trust director Jenny Parks said Thursday morning, showing off a two-inch stack of real-estate paperwork. “We are guaranteeing public access to the top of Sun Mountain, which has never been there before.”

The property known as the Watson Estate, where the late John T. and Jane Watson raised their family, has long been a popular hiking spot with that family’s blessing. Although access to the trails has not been broken to date, development could have changed that, Parks said.

The trust worked to broker the deal this summer after being approached by an ad hoc group of area residents who conducted a fundraising drive. Next month, the trust expects to completely close on the deal, she said.

Remaining steps include paying the rest of the $3.2 million purchase price to developer Doug McDowell as well as selling a historic home on the property, creating a new lot for another large tract that will stay in private hands, and formally deeding 11 acres to the city of Santa Fe.

McDowell originally planned to create 13 lots on the property and build homes there, but agreed to sell the land instead.

Funding for the deal was complicated, including $1 million from a donor who wants to remain anonymous and $264,500 from more than 100 other private donors. About $1.4 million came from Los Angeles residents Steven Lipscomb and his wife, Miranda Viscoli, who until Thursday were called “an anonymous conservation buyer.”

Lipscomb, founder of the World Poker Tour, already owns several acres and a home on adjacent land and will own 10 acres with a limited development right for two home sites. The couple closed the deal on their house and guest house just weeks before McDowell announced his subdivision plan.

Although the couple is eligible for tax credits because much of their new 10 acres will be in a permanent conservation easement in the care of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, Parks called the agreement “generous.”

The private landowners will allow continued public use of trails that branch off a driveway on the property, and Lipscomb said late Thursday that the couple has no intention of developing the home sites or stopping access any time soon.

“To the credit to those on both sides of the equation, the Save Sun Mountain group and Doug McDowell said ‘We’ll not make this a fight,’ ” Lipscomb said. “And I think that’s a huge reason of why we are here.”

In the meantime, the property that will come into the city’s hands already has a trail that leads to the foot of the mountain and up toward its summit before crossing onto other open space.

City Parks Division Director Fabian Chavez said the city will have to undertake its own process to ensure the new public land is available as a safe place for recreation. Trail maintenance, development of a trail head, signage and a parking area could be on the list, as well as evaluation for possible fencing, he told city councilors this week.

Sun Mountain neighbor Deborah Post was one of a more than a dozen people who worked to raise funds.

“We started out pretty innocently to minimize the impact of development on the mountain,” she said, which “took a turn and became a much grander objective.”

Husband Steve Post also helped rally support. “I think it’s an amazing community effort to save an important part of Santa Fe’s setting for everyone to enjoy,” he said. “We’re just elated.”

The trust plans to hold a public auction soon for the home already located on the Watson estate. One buyer has already offered $536,000, which will be the opening bid, Parks said.

Closing costs and maintenance money will also be needed, she said, so the fundraising effort continues.

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

WASHINGTON — Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.

The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers but is set to expire at the end of November. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell 3.6 percent in September, and some industry representatives blamed uncertainty about the tax credit.

Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, according to a summary of the legislation being circulated among lawmakers.

Senators were still negotiating the expansion of a separate tax credit that lets money-losing businesses get refunds for taxes paid in previous years, providing them with an immediate source of cash.

Senators in both political parties were hoping to add both tax provisions to a bill that would give people running out of unemployment insurance benefits up to 20 more weeks of federal aid. The Senate could vote on the overall bill as early as Thursday, but lawmakers were still haggling over several unrelated amendments Wednesday evening.

Popular bills like the one to extend unemployment benefits often attract amendments that would have a difficult time passing on their own.

Republicans were demanding that they be given a chance to offer amendments to restrict federal aid to the beleaguered community activist group ACORN and on requiring that people receiving unemployment insurance be processed through E-Verify, an Internet-based system that employers use to check on the immigration status of new hires.

Majority Democrats have refused to add the amendments.

If the Senate passes the bill, it would go to the House, which passed a similar bill extending unemployment benefits last month. House leaders have also said they support extending the tax credit for homebuyers.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has been negotiating for several weeks with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to craft an extended tax credit for homebuyers that would pass the Senate.

Lawmakers didn’t release a cost estimate for extending the tax credit, though similar proposals were projected to cost about $10 billion.

Industry representatives said uncertainty about the tax credit is hurting new home sales. September’s decline was the first since March.

It takes 45 days to 60 days to close on a house, making it unlikely a sale made today would be consummated by the end of November, said Lucien Salvant, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors.

“Buyers right now have an incentive to hold off, not knowing whether the credit will be extended,” Salvant said.

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

The tax credit for money-losing businesses is a favorite among Republican lawmakers. Businesses could get tax refunds by using losses from 2008 and 2009 to offset taxable profits made in the previous five years. Under current law, they can only offset profits from the previous two years.

The provision would help a variety of industries, including retailers, manufacturers and home builders, though it’s expensive.

“It’s clearly a way to put cash in the hands of some major economic players,” said Clint Stretch, a tax policy expert at Deloitte Tax.

A similar proposal that was ultimately dropped from the economic stimulus package enacted in February would have cost nearly $20 billion over 10 years. Lawmakers are working to reduce the price tag.

Because people are so strapped for cash, this is a good way to get refunds when businesses need them for operating expenses, said Rachelle Bernstein, vice president and tax counsel for the National Retail Federation.

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: 3:32 pm MDT October 28, 2009
UPDATED: 5:56 pm MDT October 28, 2009