Consider the following:
20% down payment
80% financed at 6% for 30 years
Rental income potential that will cover mortgage payments, tax, insurance, and misc. fees.
Turn key condition
A location that has had reasonable appreciation historically
A floor plan and features that are most saleable by todays life style standards.
Locations that have sold well in the past.
A reasonable projected yield on investment based on conservative estimates of appreciation.
Make a non emotional choice in your investments. There are a lot of ’sexy’ so called investments in Santa Fe, but they don’t pay for themselves. If you are interested in buying a ’sexy’ Santa Fe investment for the highly speculative potential appreciation then the best justification for it is to also make personal use of it. Another sensible justification would be if you can get it for a price so low that there is already equity in it in the current market. These are rare even in today’s market conditions.
I recommend investing in real estate and include a conservative projection on appreciation in addition to meeting all the above listed criteria, maybe even a little positive cash flow. In my opinion a well thought out investment in real estate is the best place to put one’s money and effort. Everyone needs a place to live, god’s not making any more of it, and the population isn’t getting smaller. Add to that the relative stability of the Santa Fe market, and the “buy low sell high theory”, then now is the perfect time.
Regarding the oft heard fear of the market dropping further I dare say what difference does it make if you are not selling your investment short term and you have bought a property that pays for itself. It doesn’t matter what you buy for it matters what you sell for.
You may contact me for a list and a preview of my top ten picks for single family investments around Santa Fe. Or keep checking my blog for the list later in the week. I will also be posting a list of short term rental and condo investments in the future. Please feel free to call for more information.