What IS an Equestrian Property Specialist??? Being a “Specialist” in anything usually means that person knows more about that subject than most of the rest of us do. To call myself a Short Sale Specialist, I had to get the required certifications, attend classes, but most of all…I had to List, negotiate and CLOSE dozens and dozens of Short Sales. I did. What does it require to call yourself an Equestrian Property Specialist? Years of experience with Horses first and foremost. There is simply NO way to learn about what a horse woman requires to maintain a horse properly, other than to live it. I made my living as a professional Polo Player for 18 years, basing my horse operations out of our local Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California.
I have now put the same level of focus and tenacity into my real estate business, spending the past 16 years building a client base here in the Coachella Valley. The first 5 years of my career, I worked New Homes for Greg Normans’ company, Medallist Golf Developments at PGA West, in La Quinta. From there I went into the Resale side of the business and continued to build my client base. I did NOT want to hustle my equestrian friends and associates until I was an experienced Realtor! About 7 years ago, I began listing and selling equestrian properties in the Coachella Valley. It was a natural cross over for me, and my Equestrian contacts have continued to reach out to me to help them with the buying and selling of equestrian properties, and residences, in the high and low desert.
There are no real estate certifications to become an Equestrian Property Specialist. Years of working young horses myself has taught me what does and does not work in a facility. Working with Equestrian clients from many different disciplines, such as Hunters, Jumpers, Dressage, Reining horses, Cutting horses, trail horses, race horses and of course Polo Ponies, has continued over the years to round out my horse background. Each new Equestrian client increases my awareness of exactly what each property brings to the table. Here are some of the questions I run into every day in my Equestrian Specialty.
- Fencing? What kind, how old, how high, horse safe or not?
- Water? Private water source? Irrigation water? How old is the well, how deep is it, how many gallons/minute does it pump, water quality? Cost/month to irrigate?
- Barns? Are there barns? If so, what kind, how many stalls/tackrooms/feed rooms?
- What do you do with the manure?
- The ground? Is it laser leveled, has it been tiled, what type of soil?
- Zoning? How many horses/acre for that particular property?
- How many houses/barns/casitas or outbuildings are allowed?
- Riding Trails? Where?
- How far away from the HITS show grounds, or Polo fields? How longs does it take to get there with a rig?
- Ingress and Egress for a large rig? turn around? Storage?
Just some of the ,many issues that are unique to an Equestrian Property owner. Each discipline requires something a bit different. Even within a discipline, it makes a big difference if the buyer trains young horses, or just has a few show horses. Some owners require more turnout than others do. Some want more exercise space. some want covered stalls in the barn, some want runs off the back. Most importantly, do the other local horse people know that I KNOW about the horse business? Yes, they do! Be sure to check out my Farms For Sale tab to see what I have in my current inventory. More coming in 2017!
Take a tour below of one of my Equestrian Properties that has been reduced to just $3,200,000 for the new season. A very unique property, 55075 Monroe St. in La Quinta is 4 acres and boasts a custom home and custom barn with multiple turnouts. The Luxury Events generate approx. 6% CAP/year, and that’s not including the use of the barn or paddocks!! Rarely does something like this come up for sale. The parcel next to this one, also approx. 4 acres, can be purchased separately, which would increase the acreage to approx. 8+.