Josiah Hooten

I have a background in construction, and have asked several professionals about these tubes, my understanding differs from the previous statement that "it is not a matter of if, but when they will fail". My understanding was that if they were installed properly, sonotube is as good as anything else, and if the tube has existed for 10, 20+ years without damage, it is likely to function as long as the house.

To give you a brief background on the sonotube, when the house was built, before the slab was pored, the proper way to setup sonotube was on concrete blocks, elevating it off of the ground (where those friendly, cardboard loving critters live) then pour concrete over the sonotube, encasing it - so you essentially have a tube made of concrete lined by cardboard. Problems occured when the builder skipped or missed the concrete block part of this process. There are other issues that sometimes occcur if water gets into the sonotube but all issues are likely to be discovered by a duct scope.

To summarize, I would NEVER buy a house with in-slab duct work without having a duct scope, and I would personally purchase a home with in-slab duct work without a second thought if it passes inspection. - Tue Jun 17 2008, 07:43

Hi!
In the last 20 years Albuquerque has seen steady growth, only seeing a loss once (2% in 2001 I believe). In my opinion, even the national market (excepting those areas that were/are WAY over inflated) will not go down. Real Estate has historically always been a great investment, and I sincerely believe it will stay that way.

However, if you feel that you could sell now, and walk away with a healthy profit you may want to way in the risk-vs-potential gain. If you are going to sell in the sort-term (less than 2 or 3 years) How much gain would be worth the risk? In my opinion, in our market 5 - 10% growth in the short term is probably the best you could hope for. I'm sure you would invest your profits, likely in an investment more stable than real estate. How much interest would be gained on that investment? If you were to subtract that rate from my guesstimate, are you looking at enough profit to "chance it"?

If you would like to have coffee and let me play devils advocate for both sides of your decision, it would be my pleasure!

Josiah 505-288-1527 - Wed May 21 2008, 11:16

It is a definite bonus to have your lot next to national forest - so if you were comparing to nearly identical lots and one was on the national forest boundary obviously most people would be willing to pay more for it.

How much more is the tricky part. The law of supply and demand comes into effect. For example, in Albuquerque the only lots that I am aware of adjacent to national forest are in areas such as High Desert - and a 1/4 acre lot can demand over $600k. However out in Mountainair land is abundant so your not going too see that large of a spread between an "average" lot and a "premium" lot near forest.

P.S. I don't know if you are out of state or local - but you may want to hold off on buying out there untill you see how this fire settles out.

Always feel free to contact me with further specifics or questions! - Thu May 1 2008, 12:04

I am not super clear on the question - are you wanting to purchase a townhome and rent it and/or sell it on a lease-purchase, or do you have the option of lease-purchase yourself? - Sat Apr 19 2008, 09:33

In Albuquerque's real estate market there are several factors that affect DOM (Days on market) including area, price range, etc. so if you would like a more specific answer, send those details and I can run averages for you.

Here are average DOM by price range:
150k - 250k - 44 days (up from 29 days in '06)
250k - 400k - 49 days (up from 35 days on '06)
400k - 500k - 38 days (up from 38 days on '06)

This is data extracted from Southwest Multiple Listing Service. The link below will take you to a detailed market report prepared by Coldwell Banker Legacy.

Do feel free to call or email questions. - Wed Apr 9 2008, 09:42