Bigger Projects

1) Re-stucco your home: Nearly every home in Santa Fe has a stucco exterior, and ALL stucco exteriors need routine maintenance.  Parapets need re-stuccoing often, and cracks all around the house should be repaired when needed.  For a larger project you can re-stucco your entire home. This will certainly add value to your and keep pesky leaks and drafts out.

2) Remodel your kitchen: O.K., this isn’t the easiest task, but it will increase the value of your home significantly.  It will take a bit of a budget, and it will take a bit of time, but if needed, it is well worth it. If you do enter into a kitchen renovation project upgrade as much as you can.  Home buyers don’t like to see a brand new kitchen will all new appliances, except for the beige fridge from the 1980s.

3) Remodel your bathroom(s): See kitchen (above).  Another good “bang for your buck” project.

4) Install new windows: Green is in, and even if you’re not into that, saving money is! Windows continue to get more and more efficient, saving significant amounts of energy and money in the winter and summer time.  If your budget is low, consider doing this one room at a time.

Smaller Projects

1) Landscape: It is incredible what improvements to the outdoor spaces can do for a home.  Often times just adding a few plants, a few pots, and a tree can make a huge difference.  This is a great way to add significant value and curb appeal without breaking the bank.

2) Maintain your roof and canales: At 7000 feet the sun really can take a toll on your roof. Every year clean debrit off the roof of debris and unclog canales. Repairs on both of these items should be addressed immediately as well.

3) Install a water catchment system: This can be easier than you think.  All around Santa Fe you can buy water catchment cisterns at reasonable prices.  Full blown water catchment projects require burying cisterns and installing pumps, but it is also possible to find portable ones that a hose can be hooked up to.  This is a great way to conserve water, provide irrigation, and add value.

Happy Spring!

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

Contact us for THE Highest Level of Service

Real estate loans strike at banks’ bottom lineLos Alamos National Bank chief sees values stabilizing, buyers emerging
Bob Quick | The New Mexican
Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010          

Los Alamos National Bank, the largest bank in Northern New Mexico, may have suffered setbacks in the real estate market, but bank chief executive officer William C. “Bill” Enloe is confident things maybe looking up.

“Our income (in 2009) was down, which was due to larger than normal transfers for bad debts,” he said. “We’re experiencing everything every other bank is, which is more loans with problems. That affects our income.”

Los Alamos Bank has $1.87 billion in assets. That compares with $719 million for First National Bank of Santa Fe and $499 million for Century Bank.

LANB’s most recent call (quarterly) report indicates LANB’s income for the year was only $10.8 million after the bank wrote off $24 million in nonperforming loans.

“We felt very fortunate that we had income,” Enloe said. “Our peer group average was a loss of 0.4 percent. We were certainly below expectations, which was disappointing, but it was encouraging we have been able to address the issue.”

Enloe doesn’t think the bank’s expansion, the newest branch is on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe, is bad for the bottom line. He said the three branches now form a triangle that covers all of Santa Fe “pretty well.”

In a news release, Enloe said although values have begun to stabilize and buyers to emerge, “we remain concerned about how general economic conditions in the nation and in New Mexico have affected and potentially could affect our customers and markets, and we have taken measures to properly manage these risks.”

Those measures included doubling the bank’s provision for loan losses and bringing in a federal regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to work with the bank on its problem loans.

In a FDIC report, the bank’s ratio of equity capital to assets was 9.61 percent. Banks like to keep that number at 10 percent.

The call report indicated LANB added $30.4 million in loans on nonaccrual status during the past quarter.

Enloe sees that trend slowing down. “It peaked around August of last year,” he said. “Since then our substandard loans have decreased 20 percent, but it is still at a much higher level than we consider normal.”

The problem loans are primarily residential real estate loans on properties in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Enloe said.

Despite the tough times, the bank has maintained a staffing level of 316 people, Enloe said.

Enloe added that the bank’s pre-reserve earnings were “very strong” and that the bank has “a lot of equity.”

As of Dec. 31, 2008, LANB had equity capital of $121 million, the call report indicates. That amount came to $153.1 million by Dec. 31, 2009, an amount bolstered by an injection from LANB’s holding company, Trinity Capital Corp., of $35 million.

Trinity Capital also received $35.5 million in funds from the federal Troubled Asset Relief program, Enloe said, adding that the bank is in no rush to pay the money back.

“We don’t have the incentive the large banks do to return the money,” he said.

LANB has a rating of 3.5 stars, or “good,” by Bauer Financial Ratings, a bank analyst. Bauer’s highest ranking, five stars, is “superior.”

Trinity Capital has about 3,000 shareholders, 8.5 percent of them members of an employee stock ownership program.

On Monday, Los Alamos National Bank announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its primary regulator, “to further solidify our financial soundness against the uncertain consequences of a deep recession,” a statement said.

The agreement came after an on-site examination of the bank by the OCC and is intended to reduce the bank’s classified loans and reduce its loan concentration in commercial real estate.

“The bank has made measurable progress in addressing the requirements to date, including an approximate 18 percent decrease in classified loans since June 30, 2009,” the statement said. “The bank already has programs in place addressing most of the provisions of the agreement.”

According to the statement, LANB still enjoys a “well-capitalized status” and remains “strongly capitalized,” with more than $252 million in liquid funds. The bank also has an additional $8.5 million in reserves for loan losses not included in capital.

Another bank with a large presence in Santa Fe, First State Bancorporation, parent company of First Community Bank, has reported a loss of $28.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. For the year, First State reported a net loss of $110.5 million.

“The net loss for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2009, resulted primarily from the significant provision for loan losses due to the level of non-performing assets and charge-offs and write downs of other real estate owned,” said H. Patrick Dee, president and chief executive officer of First State, in a statement.

The pain may not be over yet.

“While overall classified loans remained stable for the second straight quarter,” he added, “we experienced another increase in non-performing loans,” Dee added.

Here is a link to the original article.

When you are ready to Buy or Sell, contact us.

This house is conveniently located in the Bishops Lodge Hills and Villas. It is a short (5-6 minute) drive to Historic Downtown Santa Fe. The house is perched on the highest point of this 2.5 acre lot. On a clear day you can see to Colorado and the neighboring green space protects your view of the Santa Fe Ski area.

The house itself is the work of one of Santa Fe’s more exclusive “boutique” builders. This Kitchen will satisfy even the most discerning Chef…. Subtle Green features abound.

The amenities will make this a great vacation home or a full-time residence.  Included are a private pool and clubhouse for homeowners, and discounts at Bishops lodge resort, Spa, and Restaurant.

The Price is $999,000. 3 Bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 3470 square feet, on 2.5 acres. Please contact us for a private tour or more information.  

Otherwise Enjoy:

Most of Santa Fe’s Realtors will tell you that historically January and February have been the quietest months of the year. However, 2010 has started out well for us. 

I also remember that in 2006 that we started the year off with about 12 million worth of property under contract in January.

With interest rates at historic lows, the homes buyer tax credits, and prices at or near the bottom, we choose to be optimistic about 2010.

Bruce Krasnow | The New Mexican

 When Realtor Lois Sury went to buy her first home in Santa Fe some time ago, there were about five houses in her price range and she was competing against other buyers. That “hyper market,” as she called it, was not good for consumers, who had few choices to consider and a heavy burden to overcome to get into a first home.

Those days are gone in Santa Fe, perhaps for a long time. Market data indicate that the number of residential home sales in 2009 was at the lowest point in decades, in terms of the number of transactions and the price volume of those sales.

The statistics have been compiled by Alan Ball, a title agent who publishes a monthly newsletter on the Santa Fe real estate market. They show that the real estate meltdown is more about the industry and Santa Fe’s economy than the habits or wishes of individual homeowners.

Median prices for instance, have held up considerably well in Santa Fe, starting in 2001 at $296,000 and ending in 2009 at $447,000. That’s a more than 50 percent jump.

But the total dollar amount of residential sales shows that volume peaked at $1.2 billion in 2004-05, then tumbled to $540 million in the year just ended, a decline of 56 percent. The dollar volume of all sales in 2009 was even less than the $578 million generated nine years ago.

“That’s money not circulating in the community,” Ball said. “If you look at local Realtors, lenders, surveyors, appraisers, insurance agents — if you just start piling up all the things that directly relate to the sale of a home — it’s money not changing hands. And that affects anybody that sells goods or services. There’s less discretionary income.”

In terms of charting sales numbers, the last nine years shape a modified bell curve. Total residential sales in 2001 ended at 1,955. They climbed to 2,800 in 2005, but by 2009 had tumbled to 1,200 — significantly less than the number at the start of the decade, Ball said.

But turn over a troubling bell curve, and you get a smiley face. Ball and others see opportunity in that option.

Michael Halsey, an economic consultant and owner of Business Futures, said Santa Fe’s housing market has always been unsustainable, like an upside-down pyramid, and now there is a chance to right the foundation.

Everywhere else, communities build housing from the bottom up, with young or first-time buyers getting into less expensive homes and trading up as needed for more amenities or space. And there should be more less expensive homes being built than luxury properties.

Not so in Santa Fe, Halsey said, where the market for luxuries and second homes had long been driving the construction market. Craftsmen, builders, architects — and the labor they hired — were so busy with new high-end products, there was nothing else being built. The result was a small selection of homes for people living and working in Santa Fe who could not afford million-dollar and up houses.

“The community was supporting an industry that I felt was top-heavy as far as top-end products,” he said. “We are just now starting to fulfill the demand for entry-level housing, that hasn’t been met in past years.”

Halsey cited the more affordable new homes in Rancho Viejo as an example of how the market has adjusted. The houses are being constructed with basic finishes, but leave room for expansion and upgrades as families need them. The cost of new construction, Halsey said, has dropped in Santa Fe about 20 percent.

Sury, president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, said the homebuyer tax credit is already helping to expand the pyramid and is bringing out new buyers who, in the future, can trade up as their homes increase in value. A whole new generation of Santa Fe residents have a chance to get on the escalator of home appreciation, she said.

And though it’s been a slow year for sales, Sury said consumers are far more confident now than a year ago, when the stock market crashed and financial institutions were failing.

“At this time last year we were in a much worse situation than we are now. It was much bleaker. Consumers seem to have more confidence now,” she said.

Adding to the confidence is the fact that the federal tax credit for home purchases has been extended until mid-2010 and is also available to repeat buyers who want to move. In Santa Fe there are now plenty of affordable homes all over the city and not just in certain neighborhoods.

“Five years ago, we were seeing multiple offers and homes under contract in two or three days. Buyers had little or no power,” Ball said. “Now we’re seeing more balance on the lower end.”

There needs to be a solid year of sales and price gains before anyone can call an end to the housing recession. But people still want to move to Santa Fe, and many people already here want to move to a different house or change neighborhoods, he added.

“I cannot escape the attraction Santa Fe has for so many people, Ball said. “We’re going to warm up faster than other markets. I don’t know if we’re out of this thing or not, but there are promising signs.”

The National Association of Home Builders has information about the homebuyers tax credit at federalhousingtaxcredit.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

See Full Listing Information Here!

See Full Listing Information Here