A New Home for a New Lifestyle

After spending 40 years living and working in rural Taos, NM, Carol decided to retire and move to Santa Fe, a place she felt provided more supportive resources for this new phase of her life.

She started searching online for a home and quickly realized that she would need to work with real estate people she could trust. A friend told her about Homewise so she checked out the website. “When I read the Homewise mission statement along with the type of communities they are dedicated to building, I knew I had found the people and organization that I could respect and trust.” She also read about the one-on-one coaching and free workshops offered by Homewise, and felt they could be beneficial in helping her get her arms around the big picture.

Carol started working with a Homewise Home Purchase Advisor and learned how mortgages and interest really work — information she found very useful. She also learned many small tips that made a big impression, things like ‘don’t open any credit card accounts or buy a truck!’ The coaching and classes, she said, were down-to-earth and helpful, and she followed the advice she received enthusiastically.

When Carol was ready to start looking for her home, she and her Homewise Realtor, Aaron, cruised the market for a while but nothing seemed quite right. “What I really wanted,” she realized, “was to be in the next new Homewise Homes community. I needed a new and truly functional home that could serve me through the rest of my life.” Carol wanted an energy-efficient home that was within a price range she could handle. She also wanted a fenced yard for her canine companion. “Aaron understood what I was after,” she said, and he recommended holding out for a home at Vista Serena, a Homewise Homes community that was still in the planning stages. Over the next year, Carol worked with her Homewise team — Gloria, Sarai and Sarahi — who all helped her move the dream forward. When her home was finally ready, it was well worth the wait.

“My house is just right for me, I am so happy with it,” Carol shared. “I love the location and my neighbors are great. My team went above and beyond in helping me get here and settled into this perfect spot. Now, I have a yard and look forward to watching sunsets and starry nights for many years to come.”

Carol has many happy memories of her childhood home, including sitting under a tree in the backyard during the summer with a pile of library books, sharing holidays and sleepovers with her extended family, and playing outdoors with the neighborhood kids. To her, home is “hearth and heart. Home is the place I call my own. Home is more than just a structure, a roof over my head. It is my place of security in an ever-changing and sometimes rough world. Home always welcomes me, opens its door to me, takes me in without question.”

Having your own home, Carol says, makes sense financially, but it gives you so much more. It gives you a stake in your own and your family’s future. Her advice to anyone contemplating homeownership: “Do not hesitate to make it your goal.”