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Part of my work had been to help people find
housing and I seemed to have a knack for it. I
started out in those years when interest rates
were double-digit. When I came here in 1988 I
had been offered a position with French &
French, then I went over to Santa Fe
Properties. The rates by that time were down to
10 percent and we saw a lot of what was called
“creative financing” before they got better.
The thing I’m concerned about here and now is
that housing should be affordable for people who
live and work in the community. We’ve had some
affordable-housing projects but unfortunately
the affordable portions of those have been sold
out and now that we have low interest rates
people who might qualify more readily can’t find
homes.
Back in Madison there was more parity between
people’s incomes and the price of housing. When
I left, the average home price was $66,000 and
when I got here I think it was $180,000. In
Madison housing was affordable to a family
earning a living in the community. Here we
really have two tiers: those who are dependent
on the local economy and others who I’d call the
“discretionary” part of our market. I feel good
about these folks, too, because I feel Santa Fe
has the quality of being a “safe haven”
-something that may have influenced even the
earliest migrations such as that of Hispanics in
the 1500’s. And the other quality is that Santa
Fe brings out creativity and an entrepreneurial
spirit.
Why is that, do you think?
This is a very welcoming community, something I
noticed the first time I came here in the early
Seventies. I remember people being very
gracious and open and warm, and that was
heartening.
Another thing I appreciate about Santa Fe is
that there are people with roots, whose families
go back generations here, and who have genuine
pride and a sense of connection to the
community. Family, faith and community! It’s a
beautiful thing, and there’s still room for
everyone else.
There are issues in communities everywhere and
Santa Fe is not immune but we may have the
strength of a fabric that remains historically
unbroken in many ways, some resources that may
not exist in other communities that may be more
transitory.
My role in many ways is that of a gatekeeper,
helping buyers from other areas to appreciate
what Santa Fe is all about, and it’s not just
about architecture and landscapes.
I’ve found it’s a wonderful thing to do real
estate with people coming from other backgrounds
because they bring different expectations. I
remember early on when Boston was a hot market
and people were accustomed to making offers at
20 percent below asking price: that was their
formula. This is something you have to help both
buyers and sellers with.
Do you commonly work in a particular price
range?
I tend to think of my self as a generalist but I
have these advanced designations, GRI and CRS,
so I primarily work in residential real estate.
I handle all price ranges. I get a great deal of
pleasure being able to work with first-home
buyers.
What’s the most rewarding thing about your
work?
I think it’s the opportunity to work with people
so intimately. It’s very special to work with
something so close to people’s hearts. It’s a
privilege and so many people I’ve worked with
come to be friends, so I feel like my community
deepens with that.
I see evidence in your office of an interest in
Tibetan Buddhism.
It’s a big part of what informs my real-estate
practice. I’ve been a student of Buddhism going
back maybe 30 years and when I started in real
estate I kind of made a pact with the universe
that I would maintain the right motivation, that
I would think of others before myself.
I used to be a staunch Buddhist but I find
myself now just appreciating people who have a
strong spiritual sense, who have an openness of
heart and who exercise a spirit of compassion. I
don’t think it matters what you call yourself as
long as at the heart of it you can see yourself
as compassionate.
That’s what matters. When we go out of this
life, if there was a moment to reflect and we
were asked if our life was spent thinking about
other people and other creatures and the
goodness that resides there and embracing that,
or was our life spent rejecting it, and we could
say yes to that question, then I think that’s a
life well-lived.
What’s your opinion of the water-supply
situation in Santa Fe?
I believe it is a situation that will be with us
into the future, and it’s not just important in
Santa Fe or New Mexico or the West. It’s one of
our most precious resources, no matter where we
are. I’m concerned more critically with how we
work together regionally to maintain and
care-take – that we concern ourselves with the
wise distribution of water resources.
I’m also concerned about the commodification of
water where we have global entities like Enron,
which was involved through the aegis of the
World Bank, in a takeover of water rights in
Bolivia. I saw an article a year and a half ago
about T. Boone Pickens purchasing the aquifer
under Texas that was purported to have
three-something billion acre-feet of water, so
here are these farmers and ranchers who for
years have believed they could stick their wells
down and now of course they’ll end up having to
pay.
This is a big issue because if a cooperative or
a municipality is operating a water system we
might see higher costs but we know the decisions
will not be about lining the pockets of
stockholders somewhere else with no relationship
to that resource. I think it has to do with
globalization versus community, and preserving
the health of our community members.
I’ve recently joined The Business Alliance,
which has the rationale of doing business
locally, with small businesses on our local
scale. This movement has just come about in the
last few months.
And how about that Independent Brokers’ Network?
I love this group. We have meetings every two
weeks, at one another’s listings. Yesterday we
met at my listing out at The Commons, which
again comes to community and connection. I’m
excited about The Commons because there are not
many listings from there in the MLS and I was
thrilled to introduce the concept to other
Realtors who have only heard about it. It’s a
great concept where people know each other; it’s
the kind of thing where people can be as
connected as they want, or not, but there’s this
sense that people care about each other’s
welfare.
My fellow IBN members are also people who are
representative of that kind of community. IBN is
a group of small, independent real estate
brokerages that can offer the impact of a large
company by linking together, and the best part
of it is a collegial quality that can make us
all better. Each of us might have expertise in a
certain area that we can share. It goes further
than the old notion of getting together to share
new listings. There’s a real investment in each
other and thus the success of our clients.
How many companies are in the group?
We have about 21 companies, with perhaps a
hundred brokers and agents involved. I think
we’re all interested in seeing ourselves as real
members of this community.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I love this work. Even if I were to win the
lottery I’d still do it, even if it were just
part-time. There’s something about seeing
someone’s eyes light up when they’ve found their
home. There’s so much gratification in it.
I’d love to be in the position where I could
give money away like Paul Newman. And I’d like
to be more involved in more things that are
community-based in the future.
We believe You’ll want to know us…and await your call!”
We look forward to your visit with us at our charming
adobe office
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