steve's White Mountain Blog

The First Day of Spring…and it’s time to think about construction.

South Peak Resort home sites available below original purchase price.

All the reports, speculation and industry leaders are saying market corrections will be completed by some time in 2011. Groans aside, that is not a long way off…especially if building a new home is part of your overall real estate plan. I heard this today: We would like to have our dream home by next year, and we will not sell what we have until the market improves. Alright you better get started: A custom built home with unique finish work and exotic features doesn’t grow out of the ground over-night.

If you are waiting for the market to improve before you sell…be prepared to be buying in an improved market as well!. Here is where new construction should be part of your plan…land is very reasonable right now.

Everyone looking for real estate is concentrating on homes and condos, due to the tax credit rush. Buying a home site, working on plans and getting into the ground before the fall fixes your price, and will allow you to be selling your existing place once the market has recovered a little bit more.

If you pay cash for the land…you wouldn’t need much money to get started on a home. If the land is free and clear, and you have plans to build most construction loans will be 75% of the value of the completed home. No further down payment is necessary as the land starts you off with all the equity you need. The payments will be interest only on the outstanding balance. A third of the loan will come at site prep, and foundation, A third when you are weather tight, and the last third for the finish work.

If you want your dream home when the real estate market recovers you better get started by picking out a great value home-site now…while prices are down and choices are up. Buying low and selling high, is the best way to go green by saving some green and making some green...happy spring. Call me for your new mountain side construction projects at Loon mountain Ski Resort in Lincoln New Hampshire,White Mountain National Forest area.

    Slope side home sites, with water, sewer and underground utilities...all come with  great views. Sites    prices starting under $300,000 for a ski to you door location. Adirondack style , and mountain style recreation properties available at Loon mt ski resort.

   Such a great shot, this view never gets old...Please enjoy a quiet mountain moment.

Next Photo is where the "Old Man of the Mountain" once held his profile (Franconia Notch in the distance)

One of the highest elevation Pond's in New Hampshire...Loon Mountain pond.

 I was planning to go home and working in the yard...and the new slope being cut, gave me the motivation. It is best to cut and burn while there is snow on the ground...no permits needed and the ground is still frozen. Next shot a new trail being cut on south mountain, which will run beside Rip saw ( a double black diamond pitch).

Mount Moosilauke off in the distance...looking forward to new trail nex year.

It is St.Paddy's Day so I did wear green...today.

I did write a contract, Took an on-line lead paint continuing ed class, and ran my own chain saw for two hours today. I am always amazed how much you can get done in one day when you have a plan. Oh and BTW I wear a helmet...because people are counting on me not to get hurt.

  Keep moving have your own vision, and Create your own view...and the bigger the saw the better. The better the plan the more you can accomplish with the time you have. We are not here forever, make your day count. this in my yard...I keep cutting and it grows back, but I'll make time for my saw.

 Those are Condos on the bottom of this shot...Know anyone that wants to work this hard?

         All Photos taken at Loon mountain Ski Area...except my Yard in Woodstock New Hampshire about 6 miles from the Mountain. What a great day...that is why I'm here.

Kancamagus Scenic Highway – March – Picture This.

For everyone that has had enough of winter, and has no snow in their yard anymore, I suggest you take a trip up the Kanc. With a fresh cup of Joe, this morning I decided to see what was up at elevation. All that rain (the “R” word in the ski industry) we got over the last two weeks was …according to the highway department Five Feet of Snow at the pass. There was only one place to pull over and give you some sense of scale…five and a half foot tall S.U.V with 8-9 foot snow banks behind.

I didn’t have to book a flight to see this sight, in fact the places I took these shots are 8 miles from loon Mountain…or about 11 mile from exit 32 of Interstate 93 in Lincoln New Hampshire.

So when the ski reports say there is plenty of snow above 1,500 feet believe them…I’ve seen it, and now you have too.

I tried to find a prior shot in my saved photos…that was close to the location of a similar shot here in March…tell me what you think? Fake noon landing or real snow?

  March 2010

 September 09

 March 2010 

           Sptember 2009

White Mountain Views of …the tallest peak in the North east.

From Loon mountain ski area in Lincoln New Hampshire is one of the most accessible ski resorts from metropolitan Boston. And on a clear day you can see for miles and miles, Mount Washington is about 6,300 feet at its peak. It is also about 60 miles away from my local ski area. Today, with the skies so clear and blue you can see it like its right beside you.

Being in the vacation home business this is my office on days like this.

I handed out three business cards on the lifts and one in the parking lot. The best thing about bumping in to people on days like this…is they are having a great time and buying a ski property can really be on their mind.                              

I’m here to tell you in my business this is not goofing off, this is networking.

At Least that is my story and I’m sticking with it!!

If you get the chance to get out and Ski with a client (Golf, boat etc) you have found a mutual like that can lead to a long term referral net work. I've been a Realtor for 26 years and been skiing all my life, combine what you do with what you love and both will bring you joy.

The Morning was filled with Bonuses for me. I attended a “core” course for license renewal with my beautiful wife, and it was at the spectacular Church landing property.

Thanks to Charline Mason our certified instructor, we beat the agency issues to death once again. Seller agency, buyer agency, sub-agency, disclosed dual agency, designated agency, and Facilitator discussions took up the entire first half of the 3 hour class. While Lead paint – Discrimination, and changes in the State real estate commission’s “letter of the law” were bantered around as they are every year…for another hour and a half.

My hats off to Charline, when I taught this class 25 years ago, the audience questions

usually over took the appointed material. We got through the meat and potatoes. I will be required to take 3 more three hour electives before the year is through but I enjoy these get togethers. Many of the topics are redundant, but I could tell by some of the looks there are a lot of people that need the update every other year.

As I said this was a bonus to me: The Lakes region board has a bunch of great agents and I was able to re-connect with many that I haven’t seen in far too long. The Church landing building was another bonus for me, the Adirondack style design is featured prominently in many of the custom homes well build. This hotel conference center has incorporated much of the Lake house, campy features in to their decorating. As a parting comment if you ever get the chance to have dinner at Church Landing take advantage of the location and get a table with a view of lake Winnipesaukee.

Congratulations to my wife for becoming a Realtor, she has been a licensed Broker for many years, but the developer she works for has finally seen the value of this national network and affiliation to a great group of professionals.  

I love the Adirondack Look of this place, and it was nice to knock out one of my required classes.

 Take a look at some of the homes we have done with the camp look - ADIRONDACK HOMES                                         

Comments and Connections – I’m reaching out to you, I hope someday you will think highly enough of me to share your trust in me. When I opened my Activerain Blog site this morning I noticed I was a few comments shy of 10,000. Is this sufficient evidence I am reaching out to my fellow bloggers? Or am I simply throwing a jumble of 10 words or more together and making little attempt to engage our connection.

I’ll admit, when I joined Activerain I had hoped to cull a New England Net Work of my peers. I have formed a bond with other Realtors, stagers, and mortgage brokers from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine and of course New Hampshire. What I didn’t count on was the regular dialog I found myself having with new friends in Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Texas…and of course the list goes on and on, to the Farthest reaches of our country. I have talked regularly with new Friends in Hawaii and Alaska…how did that happen?

The Answer is kind of simple, we here…all have something in common, and it is “we want to connect”. And we want to connect for the connections sake, not because of any promise of profitability…that could (maybe) come from the connection. No, we live our lives and understand each others shared experience. I don’t comment on your blog because I’m a know it all…quite the contrary. I want to learn more, and I would like people like me to share what they know.

Subscribe to my Blog or friend me on Facebook, I’m reaching out to my friends on Activerain and I hope you will reach back to me. If you comment on this post or any post I have written, I will respond to your comment…this is a two way street and I’m here to make your acquaintance.

It is nice to have it stay light a little longer at the end of the day. I took a walk down by the river last night to see what last weeks flood water did to the huge slabs of ice in the Pemigewasset River.

These are some of nature’s ice sculptures, when the force of the rushing water encounters tons of ice it shoved up on the high-ground. As I stood in the nearly dry riverbed the Blocks of ice towered over me 12 to 20 feet high, many were the size of a small car.

I wish I could have found something to put in front of these flows to give the pictures a size and scale. These chunks are truly impressive, but it is difficult to tell just how big they are.

The River came up about 10 feet in a twelve hour period and remained high driving the loose ice up on shore for three days in a row. Then in a matter of a couple of days dropped again to leave this empty path where the water had flowed.

I hope you enjoy nature’s ice sculptures; these can be pretty dangerous to climb on they are very unstable and over the next few days with the warmth and the sun many will allow gravity to take its course. I sure didn’t want to get pinned by a slab letting go unexpectedly. From here forward I’ll watch from a bit more of a distance.

Let me share today’s Skiing Experience; when you don’t have any snow left in your yard don’t count the mountain out just Yet!! This is my favorite time of the year to strap on the boards. While the Monsoon rains hit most of New England Last Week above the 1,500 foot elevation mark…Loon Mountain receives 35 inches of new snow. How can I tell, look at the Photo I took of the lift line? This terrain was cut for the chair lift and is not a groomed trail or a location they have any reason to make the man-made stuff. There was enough snow that the illegal poaching of a non-ski trail was done by the Mad-Skiers.

   Lunch at Camp 3, on the North Peak Side is a right of spring, 55 trails open, 5 terrain parks two half pipes and 6 tree skiing areas currently compliment the great conditions.

  I started out on the South Mountain Side of Loon Mountain resort; this allows me to mix a bit of Business and pleasure. We have a couple of homes under construction and being able to ski while checking on the building progress is a bonus.

  The Gondola is a great way to get a bunch of runs in on a nice day. The Sun seekers beat a path to the chair lifts (to stay outside) while the hard core gang find the fast up hill mode of transportation and get as many vertical feet under their belt as they can.

This weekends event…fun and Fun raiser, with a great cause.

Join WXRV- The River at this year's 2010 Briefcase Race with Mike Lynch.  Friends and supporters of The Faulkner Breast Centre gather at Loon Mountain on the first Saturday in March to ski, have fun and raise funds for the fight against breast cancer.

The Race is a fun day for all.  Racers come dressed in costume with a briefcase in one hand and compete in an easy, dual nastar race.  Since its inception, the Briefcase Race has raised over $700,000 for The Breast Centre, helping to ensure that they are able to provide the latest diagnosis and treatment options to our patients. 

The race also helps to fund active clinical research projects, patient support programs and continued education for our staff.  Visit www.briefcaserace.org for registration information.   

Next Weekend Kostic Kup, A Fundraiser for the New England Disabled sports

Program...Putting people with specials needs on Skis. (March 13th)

Followed by , the Shop showdown event Costumes, Races and A BBQ

On the 13th and 14th of March...Will post these events later in the Week.

I received an email alert from American Express...questioning a T-Mobile charge on my card. Apparently while in Florida I purchased a new phone and extended plan. Problem is I haven't been to Florida for over a year.

Do you have your card in your possession? Yes Why? It was swiped in Miami for a new phone and a multi-year plan.Sounds like we caught this one due to it being an out of the ordinary charge, a new card was issued but to be safe check your next bill when you get it.

* SHOCK TIME* Then I got the next bill, Gas, Mickey- D's And something called BuyBuy Baby in New York City were all new charges on my card. Although I love the big city I'm sure I didn't go on a baby shopping spree to the tune of $1,100. I'm too old to be a new dad and too young to be a Grandfather (for a long time I hope). Nearly $2,000 worth of unexplained charges showed up.  Several trips to the same gas station (on the same day) nothing but the best Premium gas for all my friends. The first clue should have been the Premium un-leaded gas 3-times in Time square on the same day, I'm too cheap for premium and If I were in time square I'd let someone else drive, like a taxi.

The crazy thing was my wife's card had some strange charges as well...I argued with the Fraud department  that Amazon.com , ticket master, and Barnes and Noble didn't appear correct either. It turns out these we all Birthday gifts for me, charged by my wife on our joint account ...with the bill going to me. Thanks Honey, it's the thought that counts...but the bills that add up.

American Express will Credit my account for the items that were not mine...25  years as a member and for the first time I see where membership has it's privileges. Nearly $2,000 worth of charges taken care off with one call. I am not a world traveler, I rarely leave my White Mountain's home state but it is nice to know when you are scammed you can take care of the potential loss with one call. Thanks American Express - I wouldn't  leave home with out you, but anything to do with Baby stuff...trust me it ain't mine!!

Developer has learned to keep it simple…stupid.

Fancy is out, smart and simple is in, this developer has figured it out.

Vinyl siding isn’t sexy but it’s smart, low cost of maintenance and in a condo project upkeep is minimal. People say they want a wood burning fireplace until they find out what it cost to build, and how much work it takes to buy the wood, build the fire and wait until it goes out before you can vacate for the day (or Week). Gas fireplaces look great and they are on –or- off at a flip of a switch.

Holding its value in a down market…is a neat trick.

Across the area I market properties in this Forest Ridge Condominium project has held its value very well. The building did sacrifice fancy for square footage. But the buyers vote with the check book, and 2,700 square feet, with a one car garage, Gas heat and Central A/C was a hit when it was built. It remains a hit as owners re-sell this floor plan (after buying at real estates peak in 2005-2006).

What does a close Recreational family really want…room to get away from Family?

A four bedroom layout offers a very spacious master suite (because that’s who is writing the check every month) and there is room for boys, girls and adult guests. The other big must is a second living space for the kids to watch their programs, play the newest game or stay up past their parent’s bed-time.

What to do when the kids are bored…and you are beat!

The last key to this success is what can you or them (the short in stature runny nose crowd) walk too in close proximity to your home away from home. Like many condo projects there is a club house, this one has an indoor pool (#1 request in a recreation center) it also has weights, steam room Hot- tub, tennis and a T.V room. Beyond the onsite access this project abuts the town’s recreation park, with a single slope ski area with night skiing (if you didn’t get enough at the big hills) a ball field, basketball hoops, swing sets, sledding hill and skating rink.

Forest Ridge sold for $370,000 in 2005-2006, and is getting $400,000 now in 2010. No big deal you may say…but a 10% gain is far better than a loss that many others are living with right now.

 White Mountain Skiing and Recreational Activities are right out your door, make Lincoln New Hampshire your first choice for a second home.