Ruidoso is poor?

How do you make $1 million in Ruidoso?

You come in with $2 million.

Well, that's the old joke -- but it's not all that far from the truth. Being successful in business here takes planning, capital and a serious commitment.

In a recent letter to the editor, a local reports on a conversation overheard in nearby Roswell. The ladies were discussing recent business closures here, and one person said, "The problem with Ruidoso is that it is so poor." Hmmm... very interesting observation. Unexpected.

Wonder exactly what she meant. Did she mean the Ruidoso economy appears weak? Did she mean that most people working in Ruidoso don't make more than $28,000/year? Did she mean that business people just don't have enough working capital? Don't know, but here's my take on Ruidoso's finances.

Relatively speaking (relative to many New Mexico communities), Ruidoso ain't poor. The problem, I guess, is that the money is mostly not owned by the people who live and work here year round. It belongs to the people who live here part-time and work elsewhere, or those who have retired here, or those who are just passing the time here. This situation is typical of a resort community.

As for the working capital of business people... Many Ruidoso businesses have been successful for more than 20 years. But as this is a tourist town, it is not unusual to see to businesses survive for only a few years, to be immediately replaced by new businesses. This rise and fall does not indicate a problem with the economy, in my opinion. It reflects a business attitude typical of small resort towns, the "I've always wanted to own a little boutique (or cafe) so I'll just hang a shingle and see what happens, just for the fun of it." Nothing wrong with that, but businesses like that are short-lived.

The ladies Mr. Greenlee overheard specifically mentioned the closing of Pasta Cafe --however, Pasta Cafe has, in fact, been sold and is being turned into an Irish pub. Hey, at least it's not another Mexican food restaurant!

Back to Basics

This post is a little tangential to the topics of real estate and living in Ruidoso, but I have to get it off my chest. What's happening to Americans' ability to write and speak English correctly? The adverb is nearly disappearing from speech and highway signs -- as in the Texas slogan "Drive Safe." (should be "safely"). And 99% of Internet writers seem to have no grasp of the difference between "then" and "than" or between "your" and "you're."
I know some of you are rolling your eyes now, like "What difference does it make?" Well, I think it makes a big difference. It's not only a matter of knowing English, it's about having a command of the language so you can say what you mean and mean what you say, just like Horton. Without a sufficient vocabulary and a command of basic grammar, our communication skills suffer. And God knows, if there's one thing we need in the Information Age, it's the ability to communicate our truest thoughts and feelings in the most accurate and meaningful way.
So what prompted this little rant? Sugar Ray Leonard gave the wrong answer to this question: In the following sentence, which word is the verb? "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" The correct answer is "are." What was your answer?

Harry Potter and the Small Town Theater

One of the things I've forgotten about big city life -- waiting in lines. Whenever I'm in a city, it seems I spend half my time waiting. Going to dinner and a movie takes all night. You battle traffic and sit through lights. You wait for a table at a restaurant, then you wait in line at the theater. Some theaters even herd crowds from ticket booth to a waiting station before releasing you to access the concession stand and enter the movie theater.

In Ruidoso I rarely have to wait in line. Last night I went to see the sixth Harry Potter movie. It was a 9:15 showing. I left my house at 5 'til 9, arrived at the theater at 9:13. Got my ticket, my popcorn and a Coke, and I was in my seat before the previews were done. Had plenty of elbow room, too. Now, you can't do that in a town like Albuquerque or El Paso. It was like my magic wand cleared all obstacles before me.

Same story when it comes to restaurants. Whenever I'm in El Paso, I'm always frustrated with the fact that going out to dinner means waiting around at the restaurant for a table. Sometimes you sit around for an hour, sometimes you get lucky and the wait is only 15 or 20 minutes. 15 or 20 minutes! In Ruidoso, we walk into our favorite restaurant and they seat us. Unless it's an extremely busy weekend at the height of ski season, there's no waiting (and the locals don't go out to eat on the busy weekends). You'd need Hermione's gifts to get a table so easily in most cities.

I've gotten so spoiled by our small town that I get grumpy when traffic is heavy enough that I have to actually wait to make a left-hand turn or flip a U-ey in the middle of the highway. I like it when I can stand in the middle of the road and talk to a friend who has stopped his vehicle (in the road) and we won't be in anyone's way for a good 2 or 3 minutes. It's just one of those magical small town qualities, like calling up the room of requirement at Hogwart's. Around here you don't have to be Harry Potter on Liquid Luck to make an evening roll smoothly; that's just the natural state of things.

Investing in Real Estate

For big players, investing in real estate can mean putting money into a Real Estate Investment Trust or some other company that allows you to buy interest in shopping malls, developments, and the like. For some people, it means buying one or more rental properties, possibly with plans to eventually retire to that income property. Ruidoso is one of those special markets, a bubble in the current mayhem of the general economy. Managing risk here still plays by the old rules: do what common sense tells you to do. The chances of being ambushed by a sudden plummet in property values are pretty slim, as evidenced by our market's relative stability so far through this recession. Here, it is possible to invest in an income property and feel relatively confident that your investment is secure.

Here's a perfect example of a great property that makes a fine income property. This condo in Alto Mountain Village is a 2/2 upstairs, a 1/1 downstairs. Each unit has its own entrance and ammenities, including laundry hook-ups and gas fireplaces. It's in a wonderful location, surrounded by forest and outside of Ruidoso Village limits, where the water bill is typically much lower. Low monthly fees, great location, a proven income history -- this property could pay for itself and still be your private mountain getaway. You could use one level as a nightly rental, keep the other completely private for your own use. This is really handy because most owners of nightly rentals don't get to use their own property during the most popular holidays, such as Christmas, because they need the rental income from those major dates.



I have never seen another condo that contains two completely independent units, plus an oversized single car garage and all the ammenities of condo life (including a swimming pool and optional onsite management of your rental). This one's a real winner, and it's priced well below any other condos less than 10 years old.

Want to invest some money and see a real return on it over the long term? Crunch the numbers on this Alto condo, and let your nightly guests cover the costs!

Check out this cool investment property calculator at GoodMortgage.com.

Rainy Fourth of July

As is the tradition, Fourth of July weekend was marked by record crowds in our fair village and scattered showers, some of them downright gully washers. No signs of the flooding we experienced last year. Like so many Ruidoso residents, we had company for the Fourth, and I can't tell you how many times I heard -- God, it's SO nice here! It's so nice and cool. It's just great out here, so beautiful and it's not hot.

My mother was not visiting this weekend, but she called today and said she's planning another visit. She brought a friend last time, and he's STILL talking about Ruidoso. With record heat scorching West Texas and other low-lying regions of the Southwest, a mountain retreat is just what the weather man ordered.

Check out the Ruidoso webcam here: http://www.ruidosonow.com/webcam/