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SHALIZI
REAL
ESTATE
WELCOMES
Gail P.
Samota
I am the
oldest
daughter
of a
career
Naval
officer
dad and
very
savvy,
professional
real
estate
mom, who
was
adept at
finding
houses,
frequently,
and
making
them
into
homes
for my
two
brothers,
my
sister
and me.
Having
lived
all over
the
United
States
and in
Prague, the
Czech
Republic,
I have a
well
embedded
wanderlust
gene.
Born in
Hawaii
and
armed
with a
Bachelor's
from the
University
of
California,
Berkeley
and a
Master's
from the
University
of
Southern
California,
I have
spent 20
years in
national
and
international
high
technology
sales
management
positions.
These
were
successful
years
because
I
listened
to and
consulted
with a
broad
range of
professionals,
from
electronic
technicians
to CEO's
of
Fortune
500
companies,
to find
them
wide-ranging
solutions
and
opportunities,
much
like
what is
required
in the
world of
real
estate.
Lucky
enough
to land
permanently
in Santa
Fe in
1997, my
initial
experience
in New
Mexico
was much
like
Georgia
O'Keeffe's
who
said,
"Well!
Well!
Well!
....
This is
wonderful.
No one
told me
it was
like
this!"
When I
am not
helping
folks
with
their
real
estate
needs, I
volunteer
at Open
Hands,
travel,
give
gourmet
dinner
parties,
enjoy
music
and art
in every
form,
see
independent
and
foreign
films,
enjoy
our
outdoor
life and
share
laughter
with old
and new
friends.
e-PRO,
TRC
(Transnational
Referral
Certified)
& RSPS
(Resort
& Second
Home
Property
Specialist)
Gail P.
Samota
Cell:
505-603-5450
Office:
505-474-4203
Fax:
505-954-4446
E-mail:
gail@gailsamota.com
Gail
joins
Baro
Shalizi
and
Michael
Smith at
Shalizi
Real
Estate
Michael
Smith -
Connecting
People,
Purpose
and
Place
When you
choose
Michael
Smith
for your
real
estate
needs,
you
enter
into a
rare
relationship.
The kind
you’ve
always
hoped
for in a
realtor.
One
based on
attentive
listening,
respect
and
dependable
service.Michael
truly
understands
how
deeply
personal
the
buying
or
selling
of a
house
can be,
how a
home can
be a
sanctuary
as well
as an
investment.
He is an
elected
member
of the
Board of
Directors
for the
Santa Fe
Association
of
REALTOR®s,
where he
advocates
for
sustainable
development,
affordable
housing,
ecological
conservation,
elder
care,
and
community
diversity.
Michael
Smith
Cell:
505-310-4220
Office:
505-474-4203
Fax:
505-471-3132
E-mail:
michaels_mith@msn.com
http://michaelinsantafe.com/
Baro K.
Shalizi
Cell:
505-670-8431
Office:
505-474-4203
Fax:
505-471-3132
Email:
shalizi@aol.com
The
Housing
Market,
the
Economy
and the
Future
by Baro
K.
Shalizi
I
recently
returned
from the
National
Association
of
REALTORS
mid-year
legislative
meetings
in
Washington,
DC. The
first
day of
the
meeting
was a
"Housing
Summit"
from
8:00 AM
- 5:00
PM.
Keynote
speakers
included
Former
Representative
Harold
Ford,
Jr. (D-Tenn.);
political
commentator
Patrick
Buchanan;
Dr.
Robert
Reich,
former
U.S.
Secretary
of
Labor;
Shaun
Donovan,
U.S.
Secretary
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development;
Dr. Alan
Greenspan,
Former
Chairman
of the
Federal
Reserve
Board;
Sheila
Bair,
Chairman
of the
Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corporation,
and
Lawrence
Yun,
Chief
Economist
for the
National
Association
of
REALTORS.
The one
issue
that all
the
speakers
agreed
on was
that the
Obama
Administration
has
stopped
the free
fall to
the
economy.
However,
there
was no
agreement
on how
long it
may take
for the
economy
to turn
around.
The
earliest
estimate
was the
second
half of
2009 and
the
worst
case
scenario
was the
economy
goes
into a
deflationary
cycle
and
takes 8
- 12
years to
recover.
It was
very
clear
listening
to the
speakers
that the
robust
real
estate
market
that we
saw in
2005 -
2006 will
not
return
in the
near
future,
if at
all and
that the
$8,000
tax
credit
for
first
time
home
buyers
in the
stimulus
package
is
starting
to turn
the
lower
end of
the
market
around.
Studying
the
MLS
statistics
from the
Santa Fe
Association
of
REALTORS
for the
months
of April
2008 and
2009 we
clearly
see
the impact
of the
economy.
In April
2007, a
total of
67 homes
sold
within
Santa Fe
City
limits
of which
36 were
in the
lower
price
ranges.
As
credit
tightened
up by
April
2008,
only 29
homes
sold
within City
limits
of which
13 were
in the
lower
price
ranges.
As a
result
of the
$8,000
tax
credit
for
first
time
home
buyers,
we see
the
number
of
lower priced homes
sold in
April
2009
jump
from 13
to 21, a
50%
increase.
Most of
the rest
of
the market
has
either
remained
stagnant
or has
gone
down as
is the
case
with the
sales of
condos
in the
City and
County. They
went
from 33
to 29 to
18 respectively
for the
years
2007,
2008 and
2009.
Due to
the
credit
crunch,
sellers
of homes
in the
lower
price
ranges
are not
moving
up to
pricier
homes as
was the
case in
the
past,
instead
they are
moving
into
rental
properties.
As a
result,
the
stimulus
is not
having
the far
reaching
impact
expected.
In
November
of this
year,
the
$8,000
tax
credit
program
will
end, the
National
Association
of
REALTORS
is
pushing
to have
it
extended
for at
least
another
year,
however
it is
too
early to
tell
whether
Congress
will
agree.
In my
opinion,
the
future
is still
shaky,
though
steps
are
being
taken to
help
improve
the
housing
market.
With
prices
down and
interest
rates at
a
historic
low,
this is
a great
time for
Buyers,
who can
qualify
for a
loan, to
buy.
Renting
or
Buying:
Advantages
and
Disadvantages
If you
are
considering
buying a
house,
one of
the
first
decisions
you need
to make
is
whether
buying a
house
instead
of
renting
one is
the
right
direction
for you.
Since
owning a
home is
the
"American
Dream",
many
people
simply
assume
that
it's
always
to their
advantage
to buy a
home,
and for
most, it
is. Take
a moment
to
review
the
following
table to
see how
your
situation
fits in.
Items in
the
green
boxes
are
advantages
and in
the red
boxes
are
disadvantages.
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Renting |
|
Buying |
|
Advantages |
|
Disadvantages |
|
More fixed costs for the
term of the lease |
|
Variable costs |
|
Not gaining equity,
but not losing it either |
|
Equity may go up, down, or stay stagnant |
|
When the lease is up,
you can just move |
|
If you want to move, home generally must be sold |
|
There is generally less work in maintaining a home or apartment |
|
Work needs to be done by you--or paid for by you |
|
Smaller amount of "up-front" cash |
|
Generally a larger initial investment--the downpayment |
|
Disadvantages |
|
Advantages |
|
No matter what happens with the value of the home, you will never gain equity |
|
Over time, the mortgage balance decreases and equity builds, even if the value of the home does not increase |
|
Limited--or no--ability to personalize
your living quarters |
|
The ability to remodel and redecorate the home to match your needs and desires |
|
No tax advantage to renting. Your landlord gets any and all tax breaks that are available |
|
There can be tax advantages attached to home ownership. Consult competent legal and/or accounting advice for details for your situation |
NEW
MEXICO
FUN
FACTS
AND
TRIVIA
-
Roswell,
the
state's
4th
largest
city,
was
founded
in
1869
when
a
professional
gambler
established
a
lone
store
on
the
cattle
trail.
-
Moon
rocks
can
be
found
at
the
International
Space
Hall
of
Fame,
located
in
Alamogordo.
-
Tens
of
thousands
of
bats
live
in
the
Carlsbad
Caverns.
The
largest
chamber
of
the
Caverns
is
more
than
10
football
fields
long
and
about
22
stories
high.
-
Taos
Pueblo
is
located
2
miles
north
of
the
city
of
Taos.
It
is
one
of
the
oldest
continuously
occupied
communities
in
the
United
States.
People
still
live
in
some
of
the
900
year
old
buildings.
-
New
Mexico's
largest
city,
Albuquerque,
was
founded
in
1706
as a
Spanish
farming
community.
It
was
named
after
a
province
in
Spain.
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