Santa Fe, NM

Turquoise Trail

The Turquoise Trail (NM Hwy 14) is quite a wonderful day trip from Santa Fe or a wonderful way to head to or from Albuquerque.

The road follows the route used by the Spaniards on the route from Mexico to Santa Fe. The trail is filled with old mines, incredible rock formations and somewhat new - western movie sets.

One of the most fasinating mines is the Tiffany Turquoise mine. These mines are all on private lands and are vey rarely open to the public. However parts of the Tiffany mine are visible from the Bonanza Creek Road off of Hwy 14. The best time to look at the mine from the road is late evening after a rain storm. The hillside glisten with bits of turuqoise. It is truely a magical site.

Back to Hwy 14 head towards Albuquerque. You will pass through the charming villages of Cerrillos, Madrid and Golden. Both were once thriving mining towns and now each hold their own special charm.

As you contuinue your journey you will find yourself behind the Sandia mountains. As the road curves you will pass through Tijeras and Cedar Crest, and then boom. You are back to freeways and traffic.

I Love Sign Calls. It shows me there are buyers out there. I shows me that their are buyers interested enough in my listing to stop and take down my information or pick a brochure out of the box. It tells me that very soon I may sell this listing.

But do I really love sign calls? Sign calls are potentially dangerous especially if the home is vacant as mine is. We have to remember to play is safely

• Have the person meet you in your office and make a copy of their drivers license. Put the persons cell number on it and hand it someone in your office.
• Have someone in your office phone you shortly after the appointment time to check in on you.
• If you do meet them at the home. First call them back to verify the phone number is actually theirs.
• Give their name and number to an associate and have them call you.
• All remember to play is safe and have an escape route planned.

Most of all enjoy your business - play it safe - and sell those listings.

by Michael Umphrey on July 24, 2009

Have you seen the film, Red Sky at Morning? Richard Crenna starred in this story of a boy's life in Santa Fe during World War II. It was filmed here in the neighborhood of the historic East side. Walking the street of Cerro Gordo (Fat Hill) you will find that not much has changed. The Santa Fe River slips through the sleeping city as the tones of St. Francis Cathedral hover in the air. One can take the short 2 mile trek along the river from the Plaza toward the lower slopes of the Santa Fe National Forest to the end of Cerro Gordo Road. The 20 mile long Dale Ball Hiking Trail begins there. My family and I always look forward to visiting Upaya Zen Center for the seasonal celebrations of the equinox. The area is heavily wooded and the lush, arboreal landscape is a surprise for most visitors. This weekend is the 58^th annual Spanish Market happening in Santa Fe. If you ever wanted to see the history of New Mexican Spanish arts and culture then now is the time to come. While you're here be sure to take a look at Luxury Homes For Sale On Cerro Gordo Road

Michael's Bit of Real Estate

"Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle."- Ken Hakuta

Nowadays, "free money" isn't just found on late night infomercials packed with crazy schemes. The truth is, there are a lot of real - legitimate - ways to find free money. From government tax credits to online deal finders that let you search the best deals in one place, there's actually a lot of free money out there just waiting to be found. I'll be sending you my Item of Value for this month and it will take you through some of the best ways to find free money and stretch those dollars just a bit further.

My Business to Business Referral

Since I am so active in the industry, I come across some great referrals. Let me present John Dominguez, owner of Dominguez Carpet One. If he doesn't have the carpet or tile you need he'll make sure he finds it and installs it to in a seamless fashion. John is excellent at what he does and is a person I can put my name to. He can be reached at 505.988.3022 and his address is 1000 Cerrillos Road. Let him know I referred you and he'll take extra special care of you.

I'll see you in the neighborhood!

Michael Umphrey

Do you or your clients need that little bit of information and aren't sure where to go? Well here are some wonderful websites for local and real estate information:

The Santa Fe New Mexican www.santafenewmexican.com

Santa Fe Visitor's Bureau www.santafe.org

Santa Fe Reporter www.sfreporter.com

Santa Fe Online www.santafe.com

Trend Magazine www.santafetrend.com

Journal North www.journalnorth.com

The Wall Street Journal www.online.wsj.com/public/page/news-real-estate-homes.html

Luxist - aol luxury blog www.luxist.com

CNN Money www.money.cnn.com/real_estate

.... and

Santa Fe Properties www.SantaFeProperties.com

and for me www.VictoriaSantaFe.com

I just had the most stimulating meeting at our local Christie's Great Estates office. Wonderful information pointing out what a terriffic company I am with and everything they can do for my clients, and to help me grow my business. Today we discussed the international market, the top selling homes including some very fine ones here in the United States.

Our company - SANTA FE PROPERTIES - has some truely incredible properties listed (including mine of course) but here is a link to a stunning property

http://www.christiesgreatestates.com/properties/video/mason.htm

You will be very thrilled you visited the site - believe me.