Rio Grande Estates

Only where indicated on the above property list. If we have two or more properties that are next to one another we will always sell them that way as they are inherently and exponentially more valuable than if sold separately. 

No. If they were adjacent we’d combine them into one listing.

No. If you look at the property list on this page, you’ll see the Legal Descriptions of the properties. These are written logically. Unit 1, Block 1, Lot A would be adjacent to Unit 1, Block 1, Lot B. So on and so forth. If you’re looking at two properties wondering if they’re adjacent - or even close by - simply review the legal descriptions or their locations on the map.

No. This entire area was subdivided over fifty years ago into half and one acre lots. There is nothing larger, and the only way to get something larger is to purchase adjacent lots. In the rare circumstance we have adjacent lots totaling larger amounts of acreage it will be clearly indicated on the above property list.

Highly unlikely. That much adjacent acreage in this region is the rural land equivalent of a unicorn. But if it’s that important to you we’d encourage you to subscribe to our weekly newsletter or YouTube channel. New properties debut on our site every Friday and are announced in those platforms first. By subscribing to either, you’ll be among the first to know should we ever have a listing like that.

No. That’s what the website, the email blast and the YouTube channel are for. 

A few reasons:

1) When the subdivision was first created in the 1960s, these lots were sold as investment properties outside of a “rapidly developing” Albuquerque community which would “one day soon” be worth a lot of money. Hence, they were sold for expensive prices that precluded most casual investors from purchasing more than one.

2) Environmental laws adopted throughout the state in the 1970’s devalued the viability of a half acre lot or anything smaller than 3/4 of an acre in size. Because of this, most of the people who purchased the half acre lots (literally everything in Units A-Z) ten years prior suddenly lost interest in their land. Because they lost interest in the land, they never bothered to ensure that the property would transfer to a next of kin upon death. Hence, a lot of dead people own land in this region that their families can’t sell and that we/you/no one can buy.

3) Because most family members/next of kin continue to pay the rather negligible yearly tax bills on the land they don’t own, the land has never been foreclosed on by the state and resold at auction.

4) Because the tax bill is so small, most family members continue to pay it rather than attempt to navigate the probate process required in New Mexico to formally and officially put the land in their names.

5) Because the tax bill is so small, it has to be in default for longer than the customary Three Year period allowed for in New Mexico law before the state will foreclose on it. Put another way, it costs more to resell it at auction than it does to leave it in default accruing interest and penalties.

…and finally…

6) Because the land became so devalued while nearby Albuquerque and Los Lunas were expanding, Investors with an eye toward future development of the region have been, slowly over time, buying and recombining as many adjacent lots as possible. These are people and companies who are hoping to one day flip their forty acres to a developer looking to build in the region. This means that many of the viable chunks of land have already been purchased and are being held until the day population growth expands to the region.

Yes.

While all properties in Rio Grande Estates have legal access, some roads are easier to navigate than others. Due to the area it encompasses, it's difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer to the quality and condition of the roads here.

For instance, properties in the western part of the subdivision are closer to more developed regions and hence, are maintained better by the County. Properties in the more remote eastern and southern parts of the subdivision, however, will have roads but ones which see little regular traffic, and hence, which may be harder to drive. Many properties in the central part of the subdivision have legal roads which have not been maintained by the County or driven in some time. These roads are difficult to identify on a satellite map and may even be difficult to discern in person due to an overgrowth of brush.

Whatever the access situation may be for a particular piece of land, we will do our best to describe on that property's specific listing page. That said, whichever part of the subdivision you're looking to purchase land in, all buyers are encouraged to take a larger truck or off-road capable vehicle when visiting the property.

No.

Rio Grande Estates is a subdivision that consists of roughly 50,000 parcels. The vast majority of these parcels are zoned for Residential use either under the designation of Rural Residential 1 or Outland District. Despite there being two different designations for land in this region, the descriptions of the two per the Valencia County Zoning Ordinance are largely the same and anything permitted in one tends to be permitted in the other. For more information on these respective zoning designations, you can click this link to learn more about Rural Residential 1 and this link to learn more about Outland District.

It should be noted that in a subdivision this massive, there will always be zoning anomalies, or a small handful of parcels which may be designated differently than the rest. The above-mentioned designations cover well over 95% of the land in Rio Grande Estates.

This means residential development such as single family homes as well as mobile and modular homes are acceptable here. Shipping container homes would likely be acceptable if erected per state building code guidelines while tiny homes, yurts and earth ship homes would likely be deemed unacceptable.

Both are acceptable but only for thirty days at a time.

RVs can not be used a permanent dwelling.

If you have a building permit, however, you can RV on the land for up to twelve months while you’re building your permanent residence.

For specific questions about zoning, building plans or the permitting process, buyers are encouraged to contact the Valencia County Planning & Zoning office.

You’re thinking of the land we sell in Rio Grande Estates in Socorro County. Despite sharing the same name, these are two wholly different regions of the state governed by two entirely different County governments with their own notions about zoning. All of our available inventory there can be found on our New Mexico Listings Page under our Socorro County listings, or on our master information page for that region. Anyone looking for land free of Zoning restrictions should review those listings.

Not throughout the subdivision, no, but obviously the closer you get to State Road 47 and other homes, the closer you’ll get to power and hence, the more affordable it may be to get power extended to your property.

It should be noted, however, that solar panels and other alternative forms of energy are very popular in this region as traditional sources of power may either be too impractical or prohibitively expensive to get extended and installed. With rare exception, anyone looking to build in Rio Grande Estates should anticipate relying on alternative energy sources as the primary method for powering their new home site.

Any property with either power at the lot line or within close proximity of power will be labeled as such on its individual listing page.

This region is too large to give a one-size-fits-all answer. Our recommendation is to speak with local well drillers about the cost, logistics and viability of drilling for water in this region.

That’s the conventional wisdom, yes, but the reality is there are numerous “work-arounds” when it comes to getting permits to build. Most of the “¾ acre restrictions”, particularly in regards to septic installation, have to do with New Mexico Environmental Law. Numerous “green” alternatives, however, have been created in recent years which may make it easier or more affordable to circumvent the traditional septic system regulations. For further questions about this, we recommend you explore the NM EPA’s website here or contact their offices at (505) 827-2855.

Our understanding is that for lots under ¾ of an acre, septic options may include Advanced Treatment Units, Split Flow Systems and ET Beds. All buyers, however, are strongly encouraged to contact the NM EPA with specific questions about septic systems, septic installation, proper permitting, etc. 

Theoretically yes, but given the additional permits and requirements needed to build on a lot of that size - particularly in Valencia County - we’d encourage you to simply buy a 1 acre lot or two adjacent half acre lots. Whatever extra you spend on the land today you’ll save on permitting costs and general hoop-jumping in the future.

Some buyers just want a spot they can RV or camp on for short period of time. Some buyers want to build things that don’t require well or septic permits. Some buyers - particularly in this region - are just trying to purchase and recombine as many parcels as possible. Point being, there are many people whose objectives do not include building for whom a lot of this size would still be desirable.

Having no first-hand experience with it ourselves, we can’t speak to this issue directly. That being said, we’ve had our photographer as well as a number of buyers scout properties in this region, and no one has ever reported any problems using their smart phones to locate the lots. 

Yes. Please do. We encourage anyone who’s going to buy from us to view the land they’re interested in prior to purchase.

No. We’re investors, not realtors. Additionally, we have no office in New Mexico nor staff on standby waiting to give people guided tours.

It’s easy. Each listing page will have an interactive map you can study to locate both the property as well as the best route to take to access it. In addition, there are a number of mapping apps which can help with locating vacant land or land which doesn't have a formal address. MapRight is one our photographers use all the time and recommend highly. 

In addition, anyone purchasing from us will be provided with GPS coordinates for the four corner points and center of the parcel. While these are not a substitute for having the land professionally surveyed, they can provide a reasonable sense of the property's location.

No.

Not recently and not by us, no.

This entire region was platted out years ago. Stakes or pins may have been used to mark property boundaries but it’s questionable they still exist or can be found. While they may be there, we’re not making that guarantee to our buyers.

The GPS coordinates we give you to locate the lots are fairly accurate and should get you to a location that will give you an excellent sense of precisely what chunk of land it is that you’d be buying. For a specific sense of where the lot begins and ends, it is ultimately best to hire a local surveyor.

Three reasons:

1 - For our purposes of creating listings, we have software that tells us everything we need to know about the property’s size, shape and location.

2 - We never know if our end buyer will want or require a survey.

3 - If the survey costs us $1,000 we’re simply going to goose the price of the land $2,000. Hence, it’s ultimately cheaper for the buyer to pay for the survey themselves.

Plat Maps for each property are provided on their individual listing pages. As these are only the Unit Maps which provide few insights into lot dimensions or street names, however, it’s unlikely you’ll get much from reviewing them. For anything more specific than this, such as a particular Block or Lot, you’ll have to contact the County Clerk’s office directly and request a plat of that specific region. If such a plat is available, it’ll likely provide more detail than what can be found on the Unit maps. That said, it’s doubtful such maps exist, have been digitized, or that anyone in the County will go out of their way to retrieve and email them to you.

No. And even if we could create such a thing it would require updating on an all-too-frequent basis to be convenient for us.

Simply click the ‘Buy Now’ button at the top of the listing page of the property that interests you most. All properties can be purchased with a credit or debit card and some properties are offered with affordable financing options.

Yes. Anyone who wants to close through a title company is welcome to do so. As we normally only require an upfront deposit (instead of the entire purchase price) to begin transactions like this, and as our individual listing pages are not set up to process a mere deposit, anyone wanting to fund and close in this manner is encouraged to contact us via email at support@hemingwayland.com. Provide for us either the Reference Number or the Legal Description of the property you’re looking to purchase, and we will send along a secure payment link within 24 hours to initiate the process.

Please Note: Anyone electing to fund and close their purchase this way will be required to make a NON-REFUNDABLE $500.00 Earnest Money Deposit.

For more on the Buying process please visit our How It Works - Buying From Us page.

Yes, though not on all properties.

To see if a specific parcel is being sold with a financing option, it is best to view that property's listing page. All purchasing options will be presented there.

Only if you pay it off as slowly as humanly possible.

Our contracts contain only pre-payment incentives and no pre-payment penalties.

Additionally, every contract will come with a 90-Days-Same-As-Cash clause.

To see an example of one of our generic land contracts, click here.

If you pay us all the money at once, it will be deeded into your name immediately. If you elect to finance the land, we will not deed it into your name until such a time as all the payments have been made. Until that time, the land contract will be the document that demonstrates your equitable interest in the property.

As soon as you give us money, it’s yours to do with as you please.