Let the Sunshine In! New Listing in Sunapee, NH

This light-filled Post & Beam home will inspire you to sell your home in a hurry!  3 bedrooms, 2 baths, open kitchen and dining area, lots of windows to look out to the beautiful gardens and mature landscaping.  Offered at $369,500.  For more photos and details, visit www.90FernwoodPt.com.  Give Stacey Viandier a call for your showing today.  603-526-4116

Stacey Viandier, Listing Agent

New Listing on Lake Sunapee

A superior lake home with no detail left untouched. The kitchen has all the appliances for any great chef. The fireplaces will keep you toasty on a chilly night. Three floors of living space leaves plenty of room for large gatherings. There is a library, game room, in-home theater, breakfast room - all made with the finest of materials. Outside has mature landscaping with incredible stone work and patios. Over 360 ft. of waterfront and 2 docks. Come see what Lake Sunapee has to offer you.

Visit www.LakeSunapeeLuxury.com for photos and details.

Jane Snow, Listing Agent

What to Do if Your House Won't Sell?

If your house has been on the market longer than expected with minimal activity, it’s time to review the 4 things that impact selling:  Price, Condition, Location, and Marketing Plan.

  1. Price – Evaluate the market with your agent and look at recent solds and new listings.  Where does your house fit into this market data?   It may be time for a price reduction.
  2. Condition – Look at your house through buyers’ eyes.  Spruce up, fix problems, de-clutter.
  3. Location – If you are located close to the road or packed in with other homes for example, you can only overcome a poor location by lower pricing.
  4. Marketing Plan – Review where your property is being marketed with your agent.  Look for heavy internet exposure with lots of photos & make sure it looks good in the Multiple Listing Service as well.

It’s also important to have realistic expectations about how long it takes to sell – find out the average days on market for similar houses in your price range.  If you’re looking for an experienced REALTOR® who has the expertise to get your home sold, then give me a call, 603-526-4116.

Donna Forest, Listing Broker

New Listing at Hilltop Place in New London

Enjoy maintenance-free living and an easy walk to shopping and post office.  Second floor two bedroom, 2 bath unit is light and bright with long balcony off the kitchen and guest room.  Overlooks meadow and pond.  For more information and details, visit www.96Hilltop.com.  Offered at $100,000.

Chris McKee, Listing Agent

Has Spring Already Sprung?

Historically, our spring is heralded by the arrival of buyers, starting to look for their new home so they can be settled in before school starts again or if a vacation home buyer, be able to enjoy the summer season.  This spring is different.  Why?  Due to the mild winter, buyers have already been out buying for months.  And the homes that are selling are the ones that have a compelling price to attract buyers.   Smart investors are snapping up the bargains.  Overpriced inventory doesn’t stand a chance.   Indicators are that home sales will increase in 2012.  This does not mean that home prices will increase as well.  Supply still exceeds demand.   The Home Price Expectation Survey asked 104 leading industry experts where they thought prices would be at the end of 2012. These experts believe prices will depreciate by about 1%.  Bottom line, if you are a buyer or a seller, it won’t pay to wait.  If you are looking for an expert to guide you thru the buying or selling process, then give me a call!  603-526-4116; donna@donnaforest.com; www.donnaforest.com

New Price for Home with Lake Sunapee Access

Beautiful, custom designed home in the Oakledge Community in Sunapee, NH offers an open, warm feeling with good-sized rooms. 3+ bedrooms, 4 baths, low maintenance exterior. Oakledge amenities include clubhouse, tennis and 1400 ft. of shared lake frontage with beaches and decks. Was $925,000, now $895,000. Visit www.LakeSunapeeAccess.com for

New Hampshire February Home Sales Increase, Median Prices Decrease

Home sales activity in the Granite State saw a February increase of 13 percent compared to February 2011, according to data released recently by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR). The state’s Realtors reported 661 residential sales last month, compared to 585 in February 2011.  It marked the third consecutive year to see a February increase and was the most February sales since 2007. The median price for statewide home sales, meanwhile, fell nearly 3 percent for the month, from $185,000 in February 2011 to 179,900 in February 2012. Year to date (January and February), unit sales were ahead of last year’s pace by 16 percent, while median price for that period was down 6 percent. “We still have more inventory than you’d find in a balanced market, and that’s continuing to keep prices down,” said NHAR President John Rice, a 40-year veteran of the real estate industry and an agent with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty in Rye. “As sales increase and inventory decreases, we’ll gradually move out of this decidedly buyer-friendly market. We’re still in the early stages of that process.” In terms of local markets, all but one of the state’s 10 counties saw unit sales increases in February compared to a year ago, including a 23 percent jump in Hillsborough, the state’s largest county. And despite the overall February decrease in median price, six of the 10 counties saw increases, including a 5 percent uptick in Hillsborough County, from $190,000 in 2011 to $200,000 in 2012. February 2012 data residentialFebruary 2012 data condoSource: Press Release, Dave Cummings, New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Director of Communications

The Ice is Out on Lake Sunapee!

And the fishing will begin on April 1 for the start of the open-water fishing season on landlocked salmon/lake trout-managed lakes in New Hampshire. The other managed lakes are: Big Dan Hole Pond, First and Second Connecticut Lakes, Conway Lake, Lake Francis, Merrymeeting Lake, Newfound Lake, Ossipee Lake, Big and Little Squam Lakes, Lake Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam Lake, and Nubanusit Lake.

NH Fish and Game is encouraging anglers to take the Landlocked Salmon Anglers’ Pledge, a cooperative, volunteer effort to help sustain quality landlocked salmon fisheries in New Hampshire’s large lakes. Learn more at www.fishnh.com/Fishing/salmon_anglers_pledge.html.

New Hampshire fishing licenses can be purchased online at www.fishnh.com, or from any Fish and Game license agent. Annual resident fishing licenses are $35. Resident one-day licenses are just $10. Annual non-resident fishing licenses are $53. One-, three- and seven-day non-resident licenses are also available.

Visit the NH Fish and Game web site for answers to all your questions about fishing, hunting, wildlife and much more www.wildlife.state.nh.us/index.html

7 Mortgage Interest Deduction Myths

Think losing the mortgage interest deduction would be no big deal? We bust seven myths to show why the cost is bigger than you think.

Proposals floating on Capitol Hill to curb the mortgage interest deduction gloss over all the ways home owners, and even renters, would be hurt by the change. Let’s set the record straight.
Myth #1: The mortgage deduction is just for rich people.
  • The mortgage interest deduction helps mostly middle- and lower-income families.
  • 65% of families who use it earn less than $100,000 per year.
  • 91% earn less than $200,000 per year (that’s where most economists draw the line between rich and middle-class).
  • Only 9% earn more than $200,000 per year.
This myth may have arisen because of a related fact: If you buy a house, you’re much more likely to accumulate wealth by the end of your life. Home owners have an average net worth of $200,000, while the average renter’s net worth is $5,000, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.
Myth #2: I'm not affected by the mortgage deduction because I don't own a home.

If the mortgage interest deduction goes away, home values would fall by 15%, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates. When home values fall, tax revenues follow suit, giving your local government two choices:
  • Raise property taxes. Not only will home owners pay more in taxes, renters won’t escape unscathed either as landlords raise rents to cover their costs.
  • Cut services that everyone—renters and owners—enjoys.
Myth #3: Switching to a 12% mortgage interest credit would be a wash for most.

One proposal floating around Congress is to replace the mortgage interest deduction with a 12% nonrefundable mortgage interest tax credit. (Deductions reduce your taxable income; credits reduce your tax liability.) This plan would increase taxes for many home owners.
Example: If you paid $10,000 in mortgage interest, and you’re in the 25% bracket, you’d pay $1,300 in extra taxes.
  • The $10,000 deduction you have now saves you $2,500 on your taxes (25% x 10,000).
  • The 12% credit would save you only $1,200 (12% x 10,000) on your taxes.
  • In this scenario, if the mortgage interest deduction is changed to a 12% credit, you’d lose $1,300 (the current $2,500 savings minus the $1,200 you’ll save under the 12% plan).
Myth #4: Not that many people take the mortgage interest deduction.

There are 75 million American home owners, and 38.5 million of them take the mortgage interest deduction. The average mortgage interest tax deduction is $12,200, and a typical benefit for home owners is $3,050 a year.
The mortgage deduction is a key benefit to first-time home owners and trade-up buyers because you pay the most mortgage interest when you first take out a mortgage. (You won’t pay equal amounts of principal and interest until year 13 or later, depending on your interest rate.) People with large families also get a lot of bang from mortgage interest deductibility—they buy relatively big houses for their big families.
Myth #5: Getting rid of the deduction won't affect me or my housing market.

It will mean lower property values for all American home owners, including the one-third who own their homes outright and the 12 million who take the standard deduction.
Even if you don’t have a mortgage, getting rid of the MID will affect how much home you can afford to buy—and how much a buyer will pay for your home.
Myth #6: People will still buy my house without the mortgage interest deduction.

Yes, people will still value home ownership, but it will be harder for them to buy your house. The mortgage interest deduction makes it cheaper to buy a home because it saves real money at tax time.
If you bought a home last year with a $200,000, 30-year, 5% fixed-rate mortgage and you’re in a 25% tax bracket, you’d save about $2,500 from the mortgage interest deduction alonein the first year you own your home. That’s money you can use to pay down other debts, save for your children’s college education, or put away to buy a move-up house.
Myth #7: Solving the U.S. budget problems requires everyone to sacrifice.

Home owners already pay 80% to 90% of the federal income tax collected. If mortgage interest deductibility disappears, you and your fellow home owners could foot 95% of federal income tax.
If you’re at the beginning of your mortgage, losing the mortgage deduction will cost you a bundle:
  • $26,685—a 15% drop in value for the median home valued at $177,900.
  • A proportionally smaller gain in overall home equity over your lifetime, because your home now starts from a lower value.
Dona DeZube Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for more than two decades. She lives in a suburban Baltimore 1970s rancher on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.
Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this.  Reprinted from Houselogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Gear Up For Summer and Lakeside Fun - New Listing on Mascoma Lake

  • Mar 16, 2012

Charming location on Mascoma Lake. 170 ft. of lakefront with great sandy beach, easy for the kids and adults! State of the art 5 bedroom septic system. Private, 4-5 bedroom cape with 2 baths, separate garage - pack your bags and don't forget the swimsuits!  Offered at $507,000.

Sharon LaVigne, Listing Agent

603-526-4116