Land or cabin/camp in Maine or NH

[nick5446]

You know that since the 2009 crash there are many hundreds of properties on the market that fit your stated needs? The place we bought had been on the market since 2013, had the price reduced twice, and our bid was about 15% below that. Also the only bid received that entire time. Zillow has price histories. BTW we found most FSBO places greatly overpriced.

Look at places now to qualify or disqualify, but don't buy anything until you can see what's under all that snow. And know that the ads have the best pictures ever taken of the place.

We hired a buyer's agent. Doesn't cost you more and she saved us a bunch. If you are interested in the Sunapee region north I can refer you. But as mentioned we used Zillow to pick 4-5 places of interest, then did drive bys to qualify/disqualify, then made appointments for the short list.

For example, if it's a vacation place you need a plan to clear the driveway. You can get a place near the road and do it yourself. Our place had an 800' driveway in an area that gets 10' of snow. But I spoke to a neighbor who is a contractor and he was happy to do ours (which he repaired for us) at reasonable cost, and has the equipment to do it easily. And when we come up the driveway is smooth as a pool table.

I 100% understand what you're saying, and do not disagree. I've been looking for about 6 months (more seriously in the last two months) and have a pretty decent idea of what is out there and what I can afford. Mostly been checking CL and Zillow. I probably am finding hundreds that fit my needs, but many less meet my wants and go above and beyond. I would have no problem finding a place that fits the criteria, but I'm obviously trying to find the best one.

The place we're seriously considering at the moment has everything we want (and more) and is priced right. I am generally the biggest cynic you'll find, but this guy posted a terribly written CL ad in the wrong region, with no pictures and only a phone number. After talking to him a few times, I learned that he had a few heart attacks recently and has no interest in roughing it at the camp anymore. It's also about 4 hours from where he lives. He's also got a kid in college he's supporting, so he just wants to wash his hands of the place. He's gone up there probably once a month to check on it, but hasn't really used it in over a year. He's selling it fully furnished, including everything like fishing gear, pots and pans, tree stands...everything. He just wants to walk away from it. Price wise, the land alone is worth more than what he is asking. He's sent me dozens of photos and I went and checked it out to confirm it was everything he says it is and was quite pleased. If anything, he undersold it and neglected to mention the brand new windows and roof. Additionally, my cousin owns a title company up there and has been helping me out.

I know you're not expecting me to justify my decision making process to you, just explaining where I'm at.

[nick5446]

I know this is a overly general question that will have a different answer depending on which specific property is purchased and what ends up happening with the economy over whatever term the property is owned for, BUT, nonetheless, I'm wondering what mindset people here have when starting this search for vacation or leisure use property in NH. I ask this not to bust balls, but because I'm considering looking myself. So,

After factoring in taxes, realtor fees, mortgage interest if financed, capital gains tax upon eventual sale, and costs of ownership like heating (enough to keep pipes from freezing, if you have pipes), snow removal, etc...are these properties expected to be:

1) nice luxuries to be able to afford, but a certain net loss over time, investment wise
2) a cash drain but cheaper than renting/flying the family all over the place and worth it because of the enjoyment
3) likely good investments because of anticipated appreciation in property value that will more than cover all the above, and the enjoyment and use of the property is an added benefit.
?

For me (us - my wife and I), there are a few reasons we're planning on doing this.
- An escape - we just moved back to Boston after living in California and Oregon. Compared to that area, New England pales in comparison to outdoors, scenery, etc. It'll be nice to have a place to go to get out of the city a few weekends a month. We also like to take our dogs with us whenever possible, so owning a place makes that easier than finding pet-friendly hotels.
- Extremely low cost of ownership - the mortgage is going to be less than our cell phone bill, and since it's just a basic cabin, utilities should be low...really low.
- Going along with the low cost, it should be paid off quickly, making it an essentially free place to visit and invite family and friends. We fully plan on offering it up to family and friends to use when we're not there. We also plan to AirBnB it occasionally, which, based on the search I did, would be quite profitable (basically 2 stays could equal the monthly mortgage).
- We've got no real plans to sell it, but if we had to, we could turn it into quick cash to buy a house, start a business, whatever. I get zero enjoyment out of seeing my money sit in a bank. I don't really see it as an investment, but I wouldn't plan on losing money on it either. If it gains, awesome. If not, cool.
- We're young, have well-paying jobs, and no kids in the plans.
- Taxes on the places we've looked at have all been (what I would consider) really low...one was around $800/yr, but the rest have been <$500

I don't know...that's where I'm at with it

[TheIglu]

If you end up purchasing (or deciding not to), I'd love to hear, even privately, what something like this went for $$ wise.

[nick5446]

If you end up purchasing (or deciding not to), I'd love to hear, even privately, what something like this went for $$ wise.

For this particular place, the guy is asking $50k, but has already said he'd take $40k and I hope to get him closer to $35k, but would be happy at 40.

Here's the view from the kitchen
Attachment 41851

[Garandman]

One thing to consider for someone planning to spend a little more: You can rent them out at one of the B&B sites. We did that in Boston for about a year. My brother used to rent his camp out in Maine for two months in the summer, and a winter rental, and more than paid the mortgage and still had a month vacation time. That can also be a hassle but consider last season we paid $2,200 for a week for a place near Sunapee for school vacation week, and it wasn't particularly close or nice (but would take a dog).

//He's selling it fully furnished, including everything like fishing gear, pots and pans, tree stands...everything. //

Buy! Buy! Buy!

[TheIglu]

For this particular place, the guy is asking $50k, but has already said he'd take $40k and I hope to get him closer to $35k, but would be happy at 40.

Here's the view from the kitchen
Attachment 41851

Jesus christ, really?

That's mad cheap. Like, get drunk and write him a check cheap.

[R7]

A housing/property boom has never really hit the rural parts of Maine. You want to hear a kick in the ass, the 110 acre working farm across from my camp in Maine sold for $145k less than 5 years ago..I'd guess the equipment and livestock alone were worth over 100k, not to mention the 3000 sqft farm house and 15,000+sqft of barn space

[number9]

A housing/property boom has never really hit the rural parts of Maine. You want to hear a kick in the ass, the 110 acre working farm across from my camp in Maine sold for $145k less than 5 years ago..I'd guess the equipment and livestock alone were worth over 100k, not to mention the 3000 sqft farm house and 15,000+sqft of barn space

IMNSHO the only place that is going to appreciate nicely (i.e. quicker than inflation) over its lifetime is property that's on waterfront/lakefront. Anything else is just a gamble.

[Garandman]

IMNSHO the only place that is going to appreciate nicely (i.e. quicker than inflation) over its lifetime is property that's on waterfront/lakefront. Anything else is just a gamble.

The nearest private land to a planned ski area expansion, already subdivided on paper for two lots, just might do OK as well....

[number9]

The nearest private land to a planned ski area expansion, already subdivided on paper for two lots, just might do OK as well....

Yeah - that's one possibility I meant to be covered by the gambling part. If you know that's gonna happen, sure, it would help your cause a lot.

Ditto if there's a major highway expansion in the area. I imagine places like Natick and Framingham were worth a lot less before I-90 came along!

[gixxer72]

IMNSHO the only place that is going to appreciate nicely (i.e. quicker than inflation) over its lifetime is property that's on waterfront/lakefront. Anything else is just a gamble.

Very true for Maine. For anyone salivating over low prices in Maine look closely. Any true waterfront bargains are going to be way up north, and much further than 3 hours from boston. Even then "bargain" is misleading. A shitbox camp on a 200 acre scum pond isn't a bargain no matter how cheap. The best waterfrontage in this state is long gone. Plenty for sale, but you'll bleed for it and the taxes can get ridiculous. Many of the bigger, nicer lakes are fighting milfoil and other invasive plants. These do wonders for property value, no one wants to recreate on water filled with that shit and most towns don't have the resources to combat it. Then you've got the townie fucking meth heads and riteaid pharmacy robbers just waiting to break into your remote camp every time you leave. Good luck.

[gixxer72]

The nearest private land to a planned ski area expansion, already subdivided on paper for two lots, just might do OK as well....

It might. Not sure how secure I'd feel about my investment at Saddleback if I owned property there...and it's not a small ski mountain.

[Paul_E_D]

Very true for Maine. For anyone salivating over low prices in Maine look closely. Any true waterfront bargains are going to be way up north, and much further than 3 hours from boston. Even then "bargain" is misleading. A shitbox camp on a 200 acre scum pond isn't a bargain no matter how cheap. The best waterfrontage in this state is long gone. Plenty for sale, but you'll bleed for it and the taxes can get ridiculous. Many of the bigger, nicer lakes are fighting milfoil and other invasive plants. These do wonders for property value, no one wants to recreate on water filled with that shit and most towns don't have the resources to combat it. Then you've got the townie fucking meth heads and riteaid pharmacy robbers just waiting to break into your remote camp every time you leave. Good luck.

Well, there's a downside to everything.

[nhbubba]

The meth head break in thing is a real issue per what I've seen. One of the reasons I shy away from owning "vacation" property. Everyone I know that owns a camp has dealt with it. Often over and over again.

[Garandman]

The meth head break in thing is a real issue per what I've seen. One of the reasons I shy away from owning "vacation" property. Everyone I know that owns a camp has dealt with it. Often over and over again.

There are all kinds of security systems available that have battery-powered sensors and cameras and cellular link. The one we have sends a snapshot and records video.

If you go to the Rural Living section of Tractorbynet, people have all kinds of setups including sensors in their access roads, trip beams, motion detectors, lights, cameras, claymores, etc.

The bad news is that meth heads won't care. They're often too desperate to be deterred so it's really just gathering evidence.

[number9]

There are all kinds of security systems available that have battery-powered sensors and cameras and cellular link. The one we have sends a snapshot and records video.

If you go to the Rural Living section of Tractorbynet, people have all kinds of setups including sensors in their access roads, trip beams, motion detectors, lights, cameras, claymores, etc.

The bad news is that meth heads won't care. They're often too desperate to be deterred so it's really just gathering evidence.

I always thought that "this side towards enemy" were the four most terrifying words in the English language. That, and "Honey, I am pregnant"...

[nick5446]

The meth head break in thing is a real issue per what I've seen. One of the reasons I shy away from owning "vacation" property. Everyone I know that owns a camp has dealt with it. Often over and over again.

One of the perks (kind of) of this place is that there are nearby neighbors, and about half of them are there full time. It seems there's an unwritten agreement that they look after the properties of the weekenders.

But yes, it is a concern. I plan on keeping a few dirt bikes, sleds and maybe an ATV wherever I end up. I'll take all of the precautions to make sure they can't walk away, but I won't leave anything of tremendous value behind.

[nhbubba]

There are all kinds of security systems available that have battery-powered sensors and cameras and cellular link. The one we have sends a snapshot and records video.

If you go to the Rural Living section of Tractorbynet, people have all kinds of setups including sensors in their access roads, trip beams, motion detectors, lights, cameras, claymores, etc.

The bad news is that meth heads won't care. They're often too desperate to be deterred so it's really just gathering evidence.

The real bad news is the cops probably won't have the time or resources to do anything all that serious about it. That is unless the evidence is substantial. In the end you'll have spent a bunch of money on some fuzzy video of some punks in ski masks spray painting your cameras or just not giving a damn and stealing your stuff while flipping the cameras the bird.

And I know you're kidding about killing the perpetrators using explosives.

The nosey year-round neighbor is the only legitimate defense I've heard of.

I was in your newly adopted neck of the woods (Sunapee) this last weekend staying at a 4-season camp. I was amazed they didn't have problems.. until I met the crabby, nosey old lady who lived next door and gave me hell for parking my car exactly where I was supposed to.

[gixxer72]

One of the perks (kind of) of this place is that there are nearby neighbors, and about half of them are there full time. It seems there's an unwritten agreement that they look after the properties of the weekenders.

But yes, it is a concern. I plan on keeping a few dirt bikes, sleds and maybe an ATV wherever I end up. I'll take all of the precautions to make sure they can't walk away, but I won't leave anything of tremendous value behind.

On a positive note, you are dead on with this. Old, retired Maine folk are nosy as fuck. Apparently they don't sleep either. I live in a neighborhood of them, best free security ever. The dogs and guns are redundant, but I sleep deep!

[nick5446]

On a positive note, you are dead on with this. Old, retired Maine folk are nosy as fuck. Apparently they don't sleep either. I live in a neighborhood of them, best free security ever. The dogs and guns are redundant, but I sleep deep!

Yeah, we weren't there 5 minutes looking around the property before an old timer came out asking what we were doing, and quickly made mention of his gun collection.

[catahoulabuldog]

So now that this info is out there who would be gracious enough to let my wife, 5 dogs and I squat for a long weekend in our RV on their large quiet property? (toy hauler self contained.. im trying to get her hooked on the quiet life...)

[nick5446]

So now that this info is out there who would be gracious enough to let my wife, 5 dogs and I squat for a long weekend in our RV on their large quiet property? (toy hauler self contained.. im trying to get her hooked on the quiet life...)

Mine will be on AriBnB when we're not using it...dog friendly! Probably not much room for a toy hauler though.

[boosten lebaron]

I owned one property (raw land, small building lot in great location, almost zero carrying costs) in Costa Rica from 2003 to 2006. Bought it intending to keep it forever, sold it when offered 3x what I paid. Now costs have come back down quite a bit, and I'm looking again. Still have the same trusted realtor and lawyer in playa Hermosa area that I dealt with last time. Would consider a partner if you are serious, and scouting trips aren't exactly torture...
The ONLY negative, as far as a retirement destination, is that the wave is on the heavier side. Come to think of it, it's in my profile photo.

If you were considering arsenal/ LA fortuna I would be talking to you. Hermosa just didn't do it for me mainly cause I'm not a fan of the ocean. My brother bought a pimp glass house in playa Del coco that he kept for a bit then got rid of. It was very very odd having the bathroom the only thing with solid walls.
I really like the inland part of the island. I stay at volcano brewery now. Fantastic wind surfing right out the door but no waves and it fresh water. Its also one of those sunken city lakes so you can still see the houses under water.