All Forum Posts by: Emilie Adamovic

I own short term rentals in Taos and live in Taos. I just want to warn you that if an agent tells you there is reliable property management they are lying to get you to buy something. There is not reliable property management here and if you find someone who tells you what you want to hear, they are going to end up getting your place booked maybe half the time, take 25% and you will get mediocre reviews because of cleanliness/customer service. I lived in CO when I purchased my rentals and now have lived here for 4 years because it is not possible to run successful vacation rentals here long distance. I also now have a property that’s been on the market almost a year because Taos was a Covid boom town. Just don’t want others repeating my mistakes! 

Thank you so much for all this information and it makes a lot of sense. I know for a fact in NM there is no right of redemption period after tax sales BUT there is the 2 year period that they can reclaim if they can prove they were not properly notified. I am definitely going to go to the tax sale and see how it goes and at the very least I can talk to other people locally who go to them and pick their brains a bit. 

Hey BP I am an investor in Northern New Mexico and have a tax deed auction question. In my county they post the list of properties that will be up for auction at the tax deed auction ahead of time. I have been using deal machine to look up the properties on the list to find information about the properties, owners etc. I am finding properties that are not in that much tax debt that are completely paid off (this matters in NM because other liens like a mortgage are not erased with a tax deed auction like many other states). Basically, is it possible that all these paid off properties with not a ton of tax debt are going to be sold at these auctions? It seems insane to me that someone owning a 500k+ property that is in less than 10k of tax debt would let that happen... Am I missing something or are these properties really being sold at tax deed auctions and the owners with hundreds of thousands of equity have no recourse? 

Hey Ryan,

Yes I do all the management and cleanings myself, which is truly the only way I am able to cash-flow as well as I am. That being said it is almost a full-time job and I don't know if I would recommend it to others who have options to make more money with other full time jobs. From airdna you'll see that occupancy in much better in Taos than Angel Fire because Taos is less seasonal. There are always things happening year long in Taos and really the only slow months are January and April. That being said the nightly price range in Taos is all over the place which is why I will come back to the point of a more luxury accommodation in arroyo seco you will get the best of both world of the high nightly price and the year round occupancy. 

I am not as familiar with Angel Fire's market. I have personal opinions as why I think Taos Ski Valley/Arroyo Seco is a great investment from an appreciation standpoint. (Feel free to private message me if you'd like to know more about that) One thing I will say though, I do not think Angel Fire is as versatile or, frankly, as beautiful as Taos/Taos Ski Valley (just a personal opinion). Yet the market remains extremely strong in Angel Fire. Every time I check the MLS and see what houses are selling for in Angel Fire, I am shocked.

I'd be happy to set up a call if you are interested to know more about my opinions of the area and if you are potentially interested in considering some properties. Feel free to message me!

Hey everyone, I thought I’d chime in here since I have a bit of first hand knowledge. I have 2 airbnbs in Taos and finding reliable workers is NEARLY impossible. I lived in Colorado when I bought the property (2 houses on one property) and would regularly have to drive 5 hours at the drop off a hat because cleaners bailed, couldn’t get but back up cleaner to do it, something went wrong and no handyman available for 2 weeks etc. eventually I moved to New Mexico because it was not possible to self manage from a distance. Additionally the few property management companies in the area charge 30% so I would have ended up making about the same in an ltr as an str if I had gone with a property management company. 


northern New Mexico as a whole is experiencing a HUGE growth for the lack of resources and tradespeople. Now that I live here and completely self manage, my properties do well (grossing between 5-8k every month and netting 3-6k and that’s both properties combined) I think if you want to own a vacation home in Northern New Mexico and have a property management company take care of it just know, 1) it will not cash flow but that’s ok if you want it more for personal use and an appreciating asset 2) the property management company won’t do a great job because they also have just as hard of a time finding reliable workers

If I was going to give advice on how to cash flow in this market, I would really only go for high end properties in arroyo Seco or TSV that can sleep 10+ and fetch 500+ a night. I think these properties are actually a bit easier because you can buy something in the 1.2 range that will meet this criteria, whereas something in the 600 range (which is average for the area) will probably only fetch around 180 a night and be in a much less desirable location so it won’t be booked as much. 

Awesome and accurate article. Taos and Santa Fe are some of the best “under rated” appreciation markets in the Rocky Mountain region. Additionally, new builds in Northern New Mexico have reached about $450 per square foot. With severe lack of inventory, If you are a builder looking to make some money, get to northern New Mexico ASAP! 

@Spencer Moore I am an agent in Santa Fe and am currently doing a flip in Santa Fe. I'd be happy to talk to you about my experience. Residential prices have continued to go up here, but have tapered just like the rest of the country due to interest rates. That being said, Santa Fe and all of northern New Mexico, for that matter, is much lower on inventory than the demand and this has been an issue now for years. Any house in Santa Fe priced under 450k will go under contract in a few days, the 600+ price range finally has some room for negotiating with the market changes. There is a HUGE lack of builders and tradespeople in the area and that alone, I believe, will keep driving prices indefinitely. Northern New Mexico is the next front range of Colorado (unfortunately for locals, but fortunately for investors) this is a great appreciation market, but you will not find a Cash flowing rental unless you are willing to put in the work for an off market BRRRR. Santa Fe short term rental licenses are hard to obtain, that being said there are areas around Santa Fe that you don't need an STR license that do shockingly well.

I know this thread is a bit old, but if anyone needs help with remodels I am doing a flip in Santa Fe with partners that are not general contractors, so they cannot pull permits, but they can do ANY cosmetic work you can think of (and off the record, any work that would need a license as well) we will be finishing up the flip in June, so they would be available after that.

Northern New Mexico, especially Taos or Santa Fe is an amazing place to flip houses if you can do the work yourself or if you have a GC friend who wants to go in on a deal. Freshly remodeled houses sell for $3-400 a square foot or more depending on the neighborhood. They are vacation areas so they are also immune to big market downturns. Since I have moved here I am constantly seeing wealthy people from California, Colorado, New York and Texas looking for nice properties but there are not enough workers in the area. GCs here will charge $300 a square foot for a remodel so flippers who aren't connected here cannot get started because your margin is crushed even on a good deal. It has created a unique environment where skilled laborers can charge whatever they want and work whenever they want and the work ethic here is not great. I am personally doing flips with friends who are skilled laborers or I would not make money. If you are someone who can do the actual labor yourself, this area is a gold mine! If you are living somewhere else in the county and have these skills and aren't making much off flips, come to New Mexico. As an agent in the area I would love to see more high quality properties popping up because we have the buyers and not the inventory.