by Malissa Kullberg on February 4, 2010
Rail traffic and an expanding middle class fueled the development of South Capitol in the early twentieth century. A rich and appealing collection of single family homes, condos, and small compounds, South Capitol charms with its architectural diversity. Craftsman bungalows intermingle with Pueblos, Pueblo Deco revivals, Victorians and Territorials. Construction materials run the Santa Fe gamut: adobe, brick, Pen-tile (a term for hollow bricks formerly made at the State Penitentiary) and framed stucco. Mature trees abound thanks, in part, to the WPA. Yards range in size from postage stamp patios to 1 acre spreads.
The district takes its name from its dominant landmark: the State Capitol AKA The Roundhouse, on Paseo de Peralta east of Don Gaspar. Roughly bounded by Paseo de Peralta on the North, Old Santa Fe Trail on the East, and Cordova on the South, South Capitol’s western edge is less clearly defined. Don Diego is the main artery yet the neighborhood breaks its line to include pockets of streets just west of Don Diego.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation and Temple Beth Shalom are both within the neighborhood’s confines. Nearby, on Old Pecos Trail, are the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, The Center for Contemporary Arts, and The Armory for the Arts. The elementary school that serves much of the area is Wood Gormley; Capshaw Middle School and Santa Fe High School serve the upper grades.
Great amenities abound in easy walking distance. What’s available depends on where you’re located. The Santa Fe Railyard is an intersection of galleries, shops, housing and public spaces. Kaune’s Neighborhood Market and O’horis Coffee, on Old Santa Fe Trail, are an easy walk from the neighborhood’s eastern end. Cordova offers a superabundance of restaurants and shopping including several of our favorite dining spots: The Pyramid Cafe, Saigon Cafe, Backstreet Bistro, and Maria’s. For groceries, head to Trader Joe’s and Wild Oats. The neighborhood’s Northern end is just blocks from the Plaza with its trove of dining, coffee houses and shopping. Walkability is high for Santa Fe. Check out the Walk Score of our listings at 111 East Santa Fe Ave., The Bella Donna. Unit #4 is one of five contemporary restorations.
For a deeper look at issues of interest to homebuyers, check out the following resources. CrimeReports.com is self explanatory. Usually, I turn to city-data.com for its fascinating compilation of demographic data and statistics. However, city-data.com does not recognize South Capitol as a neighborhood. Instead, it creates a statistical profile for what it terms the Don Gaspar Neighborhood which covers the bulk, but not the entirety, of this historic district.
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Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. For up-to-date market info and full access to the MLS, visit: Santa Fe Real Estate Downtown.
by Malissa Kullberg on January 29, 2010
Ready to get radical?
You think you’ve done it all: decluttered, staged, priced and marketed your property appropriately, and it’s still not selling. What now?
Through open houses, in-house broker tours, MLS tours and showings, your agent has had opportunities to gather feedback as to what people do and do not like about your home. In some cases, you simply can’t provide what is desired. Buyers are looking for a pool, a different location, a bigger yard--something you don’t have. On the other hand, there are often gems to be scavenged from the feedback. Question is: are you willing to act on what you learn?
In the case of our listing at 133 Sombrio, we kept hearing disappointed noises about the kitchen and baseboards. Everyone loved the vigas and refinished red oak floors. They admired the wood-framed double paned windows, the covered portal, kiva fireplace, extra garage space and laundry room. But the kitchen? Nyeh. So we, the real estate agents and the owner, who flew back from California, took three days to replace tile, paint cabinets, change out hardware, upgrade light fixtures, patch and paint walls. Two days after we finished, we received multiple offers.
If you want or need to put your home on the market soon, forearm yourself with somebody else’s hindsight. Start by taking everything up a notch. Declutter as if you’re a hoarder. If your furnishings don’t show the house to best advantage, consider a stager. Think you can’t afford it? There are stagers who consult by the hour and use your own furnishings. And if your home is empty, there are professional housesitter/stagers who will bring their eye-enticing furniture to your place and keep it looking warm and lovely while deftly accommodating showings. Curb appeal is often as easy to remedy with muscle as cash. Some landscape and nursery professionals will offer on site, low cost consultation to help you spend your DIY energy and money in the improvements.
What about a pre-inspection? Typically, buyers will schedule and pay for home inspections after the home is under contract. Having a certified inspection report in hand for a buyer avoids potentially deal-killing surprises deep into the transaction. Do you know
the five most preventable problems that can scuttle a sale?Selling Your Home in A Buyer’s Market can be a success, but now more than ever, success favors the exceptionally prepared. We have lists of reliable and flexible professionals and an arsenal of articles like the ones above. We also have muscles and out-of-the-box marketing we’re not afraid to use. If you’re serious about selling your home, give us a call.
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Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. For up-to-date market info and full access to the MLS, visit:
Santa Fe Real Estate Downtown.
