Scott Howard Sanger Honored for Excellence in Real Estate Law, Commercial Law and Estate Planning Law

    TAOS, NM, July 15, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Scott Howard Sanger, Owner of Taos Attorney, LLC, has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in Real Estate Law, Commercial Law and Estate Planning Law. Mr. Sanger has been a practicing attorney for 42 years. His firm, Taos Attorney, LLC focuses primarily on Real Estate Law, Commercial Law and Estate Planning Law.

After graduating from Northwestern University School of Law, Mr. Sanger joined the small firm of Altman, Kurlander and Weiss in Chicago, which soon merged into the much larger firm, Katten Muchin, as its Tax Law department. Unfortunately, this merger took place during a hiring freeze and there were no other associates available to assist Mr. Sanger with his newly tripled workload. Rather than compromise his high standards of quality work, Mr. Sanger accepted a position with Newman, Hess & Stahl in 1973.

When Newman, Hess & Stahl dissolved in 1979, Mr. Sanger looked away from Chicago for his next opportunity. He eventually decided on four hundred (400) year old Taos, New Mexico to be the site of his new practice, which he opened as a sole practitioner in 1980. While studying for the New Mexico Bar Examination, he came upon a continuing legal education brochure published by the American Bar Association. The coursework being advertised concerned new US National Landmark tax credits. Mr. Sanger realized that any properties being renovated in Taos could benefit from these new tax credits, provided that they qualified for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Using this knowledge, he quickly secured an option to purchase a small hotel, restaurant and bar in a prime location in Taos, raising funds by offering an investment opportunity to 35 limited partners. Once the property had been purchased, Mr. Sanger secured its placement in the National Register of Historic Places, using the raised equity of the tax credit to restore the Taos Inn. He took a hands-on role in the management of the inn until he and his partners sold the property in 1991.

While he was involved with the Taos Inn, Mr. Sanger also focused on his law practice, which helped clients achieve the same success that he had seen by purchasing older properties, registering them as landmarks and using the tax credit for renovations. While co-authoring the Town of Taos Historic Ordinance, he also helped to secure the designation of a National Historic District for the Taos Plaza area, and he became a member of the Taos Historic Commission. As a result, much of downtown Taos has remained the same throughout the years.

Mr. Sanger's contributions to Taos would increase as time went by. He noticed that the local hospital, which was built in the 1960s, was in dire need of repairs. Serving as a co-counsel with bond counsel, he was able to formulate a private industrial revenue bond to fund the construction of a medical office building. Time was a key factor here, as this took place just prior to national tax laws being changed to eliminate most real estate tax shelters, as well as private industrial revenue bonds. Unfortunately, this change to the national tax law prevented Mr. Sanger's attempt to fund a new private hospital facility. Undaunted, he worked to facilitate the passage of the Local Hospital's Gross Receipts Tax Act, a state law that provided local government bond funding for hospitals. With this new act in place, Mr. Sanger obtained $11 million in bond funds for the first phase of the new Holy Cross Hospital.

Later, in 1997, Mr. Sanger found another opportunity to help develop Taos. Following the revision of the New Mexico Subdivision Act, property owners could subdivide their lands for resale upon the approval of state local and county governments. Working with these clients through his practice, Mr. Sanger became involved in the streamlining and organization of the approval process for 14 subdivisions, which resulted in new real estate development. This, in turn, created renovation projects and provided much-needed jobs to workers in the area.

In 2005, just prior to the burst of the real estate bubble, Mr. Sanger, along with co-counsel, helped draft the Town of Taos Affordable Housing Program, which was the first of its kind to be approved by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. This program was used as the basis for similar programs and projects throughout New Mexico.

Looking back, Mr. Sanger attributes his success to the variety that his practice provides and the opportunity to improve the quality of life in his community.

Recently inducted into Worldwide Registry, he also maintains affiliation with ABA, the Taos County Bar Association and the Taos County Economic Development Corp. He is a BV Distinguished Attorney through Martindale-Hubbell.

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