Hey, have you missed us? We haven’t blogged for a couple of days, because three of us have been on the road, and once we got to our destination, we actually took a vacation and didn’t work!
Here’s the “cabin” we rented, Bear Cat Crossing. They have a lot of bear things.
While Carol and Russell are holding down the fort with their family, Lee, Anita, and I drove to Ruidoso, New Mexico, in hopes of experiencing a white Christmas. But, it’s unseasonably warm up here in the mountains, so the only substantial snow we see is on ski slopes and the sledding park. Nonetheless, the forests and mountains are beautiful, as are the huge deer and huger elk.
Are There Any Properties to Investigate?
Why, yes, of course there are. We always have fun analyzing the real estate market and looking at available properties wherever we go. This is an interesting place, since the economy primarily is driven by tourism.
Ruidoso is a pretty small place, and not someplace most people have heard of, but it’s very popular as a getaway for people in Texas. It’s the closest skiing location for most Texans, and it is significantly cooler here during the summers. I’ve been here in the summer, and it is NICE.
Because there are so many people visiting or living here only part time, the real estate market is chock full of rental condos, small cabins, and for the more well off, gated communities where your yard is maintained for you.
Lot for sale right behind our rental. In a forest!
Money to Be Made
There are a lot of companies here that rent out properties by the day, week, etc. We used the Condotel company to find the house we’re in, but there are lots of others. I’m sure the owners of the house make a nice profit on renting it out when they are not here, and then get to enjoy the place when they want to. It looks set up for the summer, since there’s a nice pond, and a path to the woods. But, there’s a fireplace and a pool table for winter fun!
The houses where we are appear to be mostly modular homes from the 80s or 90s, well kept up, but nothing fancy. The newer condos are the way to go if you want luxury.
Here’s a beautiful home you could buy in the neighborhood where we are staying. It has a huge deck and so many trees.
We figure a lot of people are doing quite well with the rental properties. Others own groups of tiny cabins to rent out. As with every place we go, Lee and I think, hmm, should we invest here? Before doing that, though, we would need to talk to some people who have property here and see how it works out.
Where Do Regular People Live?
From what we can observe, most of the people who live and work here are in mobile homes, some quite ancient, but nicely maintained. There are way more mobile home parks here than in the parts of Texas we frequent.
There are also a lot of large horse properties on the outskirts of town, especially before you get to the mountains. That’s explained by the quarter horse race track in the area. Horses are very popular (I saw some beautiful stud horses on the way in; these are not the pet quality steeds we have).
This is the view from that for sale lot. Wow.
The houses for the well off people tend to be way up on a mountain, on roads I assume you need 4-wheel drive to get to a lot of the year. There are some fine views!
Prices?
When we looked over the real estate magazine that is found on every street corner, the prices really varied. You can get a place like where we are staying for prices much lower than an equivalent house in Austin, but those homes up on the hills are in the millions.
It definitely looks like a place one could get a vacation home in without breaking the bank. Anita and I love the shopping, the proximity to the rest of New Mexico (and its jewelry, textiles, and pottery), and the friendly atmosphere everywhere you go. This is a laid back place, with fun things to do that aren’t so glitzy and touristy that it seems fake. So much nature! So, we’ll see if we end up with a place here in the next few years.
Until then, there sure are a lot of places to rent.
We will share more discoveries later in the week, and hope for some updates from the rest of the team.
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