Forested Hillside Lot In Upscale Mountain Community Featuring Power & Water Service

The subject property is a 1.29 acre lot located in Ponderosa Pines, an upscale residential community situated along US Highway 130 just south of Cloudcroft.

Nestled between the canyons and hillsides of the surrounding Sacramento Mountains, this subdivision backs up to the over one million acres that make up the Lincoln National Forest. 

When we speak of property we typically use an address -- 123 Main Street for instance. 

As most vacant land does not have a physical address, however, county governments will identify it in other ways, such as a "legal description", a parcel number or a tax code. The information provided in the table to the right are the ways in which the various state and county agencies will identify this specific parcel of land. These signifiers are important to have when speaking with these agencies - whether they be the assessor, the zoning office, or even the local utilities - and may prove invaluable when initiating conversations about whatever research a buyer intends to do.

Whenever one exists or has been assigned to the land, the physical address will be included in this table.

Roads & Access: The subject property is located along Ponderosa Pines Trail. Like the rest of this small subdivision, Ponderosa Pines Trail is a well-maintained road consisting of graded dirt and gravel which can be navigated by an any vehicle type. While this road may be easy to traverse in ideal conditions, it’s important to remember that this is a mountainous terrain which experiences a fair amount of snow in the winter. Because of this, a larger truck or off-road capable vehicle is recommended for anyone visiting the property.

Roads & Access, Cont'd: It should be noted that because the subdivision was platted to conform to the terrain, the subject property actually features road frontage along both its western and eastern boundaries, in both cases along Ponderosa Pines Trail. The western boundary - which one would approach first - is steep and densely forested. The eastern boundary - which one would encounter second after looping around the northern bend in the road - is where you'll find the far more level and open terrain. It is this end of the property where one would have greater success pulling off the road, parking and eventually building.

Power & Utilities: Residential power lines can be found running along Ponderosa Pines Trail including at the lot line of the subject parcel as well as servicing a number of nearby developed home sites. Because of this, it should be both easy and affordable to get power connected on this parcel. Anyone looking to investigate the costs associated with getting service to the subject property is encouraged to contact the Otero County Electric Cooperative, the local utility servicing this region.

Water Service: Ponderosa Pines features two private wells which service the community and bring clean drinking water to all the developed home sites in the subdivision. Anyone who would like to learn more about how this works can read this excerpt from the original Covenants or visit the Ponderosa Pines Property Owner's Association website here.

Septic Installation: It should be noted while the average parcel in this subdivision is between a quarter and a third of an acre in size, the subject property distinguishes itself by being one of the largest single lots found in Ponderosa Pines. Because of this, whoever develops the land will be able to install a conventional septic system, foregoing many of the environmental restrictions and permitting hurdles owners of smaller parcels would normally encounter.

Zoning: Otero is one of a handful of New Mexico Counties which have no formal County-wide zoning ordinance and defer instead to towns and municipalities within their borders to make their own rules. As this property is located in "Unincorporated" Otero County that means it is outside the jurisdiction of even the most "small government" town. This means that aside from state-wide regulations such as building codes or environmental ordinances, there are no governmental restrictions about how the land may be used or developed.

POA: While this subdivision may be free of county zoning ordinances, The Ponderosa Pines community does have a Property Owner's Association (POA) which is responsible for community upkeep, improvement projects, approving construction plans for residential development as well as maintenance of the community well.

While many buyers may recoil at the suggestion of rules or governing organizations, good POAs can be a benefit to the land and homeowners in their communities as they help to beautify the region and ensure that property values increase over time. For anyone who would like to learn more about the Ponderosa Pines POA, you can visit their Property Owner's Association website here.

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions: When the Ponderosa Pines subdivision was first created, the developer drew up a set of covenants and restrictions to run with the land. Unlike what we normally encounter, these are surprisingly detailed and deal not just with obvious things like the disposal of trash and prohibitions on excess noise but also acceptable structures for the region, setback requirements, minimum square footage, construction materials, etc. Because of this, anyone considering purchasing the land is encouraged to review the Ponderosa Pines Covenants and Restrictions document linked here.

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions, Cont'd: Notable restrictions enumerated in the above-linked document include: All building plans and alterations need to be approved by the POA Board of Directors; Parcels may be developed with only one permanent home site which may be no taller than two stories without approval from the Board; Mobile and Modular Homes, Motor Homes and Travel Trailers may not be used as permanent dwellings but may be used as temporary dwellings during the construction of the permanent home site; All structures must be built with a slanting roof composed of non-reflective material.

Time Limit On Building: Anyone purchasing land in Ponderosa Pines subdivision is not obligated to develop their property. Those that do, however, will need to complete construction within twelve months from the time of ground-breaking.

The Hemingway Land Company does our best to represent the properties we list as accurately as possible. Our research, however, will always be limited. 

Because of this, included in the table to the right is a list of the relevant state and county governments, agencies and authorities as well as local utilities (and all their respective websites and contact information) which should help to answer any questions a buyer may have about developing this specific property.

Whenever possible it is best to speak with these agencies first as they will always be a far greater source of information about the local region and the regulations which govern it.  

Parcel Size: It should be noted that while the average parcel in this subdivision is between a quarter and a third of an acre in size, the subject property distinguishes itself by being one of the largest single lots found in Ponderosa Pines. Totaling nearly 1.3 acres of land, the property is easily four times the size of most of the neighboring lots and will give anyone who buys it far more land on which to develop and live.

Topography: While both the eastern and western boundaries of the subject property sit at an elevation of roughly 8,040 feet, the center of the parcel descends to as low as 7,060 feet in elevation. While this is not uncommon for this region and while most homes in the community are built on terrain with similar pitch (and on lots much smaller than this), anyone looking to develop the land should be aware of this (see Topo Maps in the Maps & Boundaries section of this listing page for further demonstration of the elevation changes). Additionally...

Topography, Cont'd: While both ends of the property sit at roughly the same elevation, it is the eastern boundary which is far more level and easier to park and build on. The western boundary has a steep terrain and drops off or descends more quickly. 

National Forest: The subject property is located in the heart of the Lincoln National Forest. This means not only that you'll have easy access to the many trails, campgrounds and picnic areas that surround this region, but your new home will be visited frequently by neighboring deer and elk.

The subject property is located just outside Cloudcroft, a charming rustic community of less than one thousand residents. While small, this area features amenities such as post offices, banks, medical practitioners, schools and churches. In addition, there are a number of places to eat and drink as well as purchase building materials. Located as close as it is to the National Forest and local skiing destinations, there are also places to purchase hunting supplies and skiing equipment.

Anyone looking for the nearest Walmart or other big box stores, national retailers or fast-food chains will need to either drive west into Alamogordo or north into Ruidoso.

This part of New Mexico is home to a number of popular skiing destinations such as the slopes of the nearby Ski Cloudcroft as well as Ski Apache further north in Alto.

The Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino – home to plenty of gambling, concerts and general entertainment - is also within an hour's drive of this region.

In addition, this entire subdivision is set against the backdrop of the Lincoln National Forest with its numerous trails, camp grounds and picnic areas. Home to species as diverse as Elk, Deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Oryx, Ibex, Javelina and Bighorn Sheep, this region is ideal for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages.