If I were spending the money you are, I would not want a road in between my place and the water—in fact, that seems like it would be in the top five things I wouldn't want.

I know it's not nearly on the same level as what you're looking at, but we didn't buy at Squam Lakes Resort for that very reason.

Also, I have no idea if it applies, but just a note to maybe read the thread about Alton Bay eminent domain from a few weeks ago, where it sounds like a group of homes are in danger of losing ownership of the land across the road. A similar thing happened to my aunt who had a cottage for 25 years on Newfound. The beach across the road they thought was private was turned public. I don't know the legal issues involved—if it never really was deeded private, eminent domain, etc.—but it would be essential to confirm that it absolutely, positively never has a chance to go that direction. Here it is: https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...ad.php?t=25949

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I agree. And the Alton Bay thought is a good one!

Can you post a link to this new house? I’m really enjoying following your adventures.

Wasn't there a similar road issue, about 25-30 years ago, in Tuftonboro, where the beach is? I don't remember the particulars, but there was a home maybe 15 off the lake's edge, with Route 109 running between them (the road edge was literal ly2-3 feet fro the water).

109 got diverted behind the home. I don't know what happened as to the difference between non- "lakefront property" claims versus actual frontage.

Anyone know how things panned out for the homeowner/town?

If it didn’t have a road through it, it would have been $3m. Tons of homes on Newfound lake are like that. It’s a glacier lake. Original roads are very close to the water in a lot of parts.

I’d love to have 360 views of mountains, sunrise, sunset, 5 acres, brand new home and low taxes, private, no dust and neighbors that don’t rent, easy to drive to and near stuff. Oh and zero light pollution would be nice too. Bonus would be a boathouse. There are a few of those out there. Problem is they are $10m+

Fair enough. I guess this is where it gets personal—for me, a street and cars between me and the lake isn't lakefront.

Question, though: you've mentioned in almost all your "possibles" that you'll do a sizeable amount of work and/or rebuild. Have you considered putting those funds towards the purchase, increasing your range of homes from which to choose?

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Beautiful house! I personally like the rustic design.
I'm not a fan of crossing the street to my waterfront but if you can get past that it looks like a great property.
I looked at some homes on Waukewan where you had to cross railroad tracks to your waterfront. Even though those tracks were rarely use I just could look past that part of the property.

Upgrades would be future funds and were never a guarantee. But we considered homes up to $2m but our criteria was much much higher if we went that much. We have zero debt with what we bought. All we have to pay for is food, taxes and health insurance. Energy is zero for us (Solar makes money and fuels both cars).

We considered as low as a $200k shared beach cottage too. Figuring we could at least be on the lake and took our time shopping over years. But lake home hunting can absolutely ruin a summer too.

What we bought might not be forever either. Depends on what planning boards allow us to do. Also might depend on what the market does. That’s why I like the rent backup option. In case things did go south, say on job and market. Rent could fill in if needed. People will always rent. That extra backup security was the trade we made for accepting the road. That was partly why we sold. If I want to retire (or forced to early) the taxes on both homes plus health insurance was a little tight. But now it’s not.

And there are many things better about this place vs our last. Old place No garage, ever, very limited septic options if septic failed (might have needed to go holding tank). Limited sun as season progressed. Sometimes dust was bad if wind was not the prevailing direction. Endless cleaning of pine needles coming in. I’d spend 3-4 weekends in spring cleaning it. 3 levels in House (Washroom on bottom, bedroom on top) and 4th to the water.

My wife can comfortably take herself and our dogs on the golf cart right down to the beach. Golf cart is great, she packs it with all the beach stuff and food. Our dogs love it. One dog constantly jumps into the golf cart hinting let’s go to the beach. Because that’s what we used at the old property. Old property had a lot of stairs or you could go around the long way with the golf cart. A lot of properties my wife could not handle getting to the water. The golf cart is like a Gazebo on wheels. Love it.

All our favorite spots are close by land or water. Friends live a few houses over. Gorgeous long views from house high on hill as well as seeing all the action on the lake from the cottages close to the water. They get $3000/wk for the house and around $1250/wk for each cottage. But I’m not sure I want to deal with renters at all if we don’t have to.

One thing I’ve learned is you can convince yourself into or out of anything :)

You're clearly thoughtful about the whole picture, though.

I've learned a lot about buyer's (and, in this case, seller's) remorse in my life both as a salesman and consumer, so I research and plan as much as necessary to reduce that potential to as close to zero as possible.

Thanks for sharing your process and thoughts.

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It’s a bit to much wood for us. We plan to paint a lot of bead board. A mix of wood and plaster is nice. 100% wood is to much. House itself is built like Fort Knox. Notice all the decks are cantilevered!! But because that they are on the shallow side. Would like to replace deck railings with possibly glass for more open views in the house. If we can get it to look right. All radiant floor heating. We also want to install a shuffleboard court (I put one in at the old house).

Oh I have to mention.

This is long, but I’m sure some of you will get a kick out if it.

One of the biggest reasons we passed on the island was energy.

We bought Solar about 4 years ago with great incentives. Totally out of the blue. Never thought we could have solar because of how house was situated. I got an energy usage monitor as part of the system. That’s where it all started. I went on an energy saving binge. My goal was Carbon neutral (didn’t even know what that meant at the time). Even though Solar was covering everything and excess went to the grid. I hated seeing waste.

Then a friend bought a Tesla Model 3 (he got Solar a few years before me). I loved all the tech. In Mass or NH it does not really pay to own a Tesla because of high electricity cost. But I still wanted it and solar made it a "little" more practical to own. I still had a Jeep Summit and needed that for lugging the sh$t that washed up on my beach. Loved that Jeep Summit though. Could not use Model 3 much traveling to the lake. So I decided I wanted to go full EV. Traded the Jeep for a Model X (it could tow). And swapped the Model 3 for a Chevy Volt. Yes, this guy is crazy. Yes, the island part is coming. I didn’t want to own two Tesla’s and it was cheaper to trade it. My wife also refused to drive the Model 3, which didn't help matters. She will drive the Model X though.

So now with incentives on Solar that profit paid for all other carbon fuel we used. Not Carbon Neutral but close.

In the mean time I sold my awesome Tige Full inboard. Loved that boat to death. Paid $32k and sold it for $20K after 17 years. But my daughter rarely came up. Mainly used it to water ski. Hard finding someone to ski with at 6AM. Didn’t use it enough for all the work of maintaining it. 2-3 weekends used just for getting boat ready for spring and winter. I do everything myself. That’s just how I am. And that boat was not great on any chop. So selling it also got rid of another carbon burner and it freed up some weekends. I knew it was dangerous selling it because it was a big anchor in keeping the house. We also had recently bought a Hobie Tandem island and preferred be on the water with that most of the time than the motor bought. But I sure did occasionally wish we had a motor boat. But it was so infrequent a need to justify.

Now comes the island. Had to get a BIG Carbon eating machine. That we would need to go grocery shopping with. We really really had a hard time getting past that. It really feels good living literally off the sun. I'm sure a big boat would have been fun. But burning that much fuel for pleasure bothered us. It was not the money at all.

We might put Solar in at the new house too depending on how things go.

For the record, that looks like a great place to host a forum party. Just sayin'.

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LOL.

Yes, there is tons of space. Probably can fit 10 cars or more, 10 boats and sleep 20 in all.

I’m overwhelmed on what to work on first.
What ever it is, it needs to be cheap right now since I’ll be tapped out.
So it will probably be lots of painting for a while. And refinishing some floors.

Need to get a good lawnmower. Like a low end zero turn.
I had Kubota at my old place that I sold to a neighbor. Wished I kept it now.
Kubota does have 0% financing for 7 years which is like free money. That’s how I bought the last one. But it’s not great for mowing that type of place.

If I may ask, what was the Kubota you sold? A z-turn or BX tractor?
I use a BX for mowing and it can mow anything and also serve as a multi use tractor with front end loader, backhoe (if you’re inclined) snow blower, plow and mower deck. A zero turn is nice ( I had an Exmark when I mowed commercially) but it is a one trick pony. Just wondering if you had ever owned one of the small tractors as they are real work horses!

I had a B2320DT (Manual), no mower deck. Had box blade, a "Beach Cleaner" and Front End Loader. I sure used it a lot considering it was a small property. I mainly bought it to repair the road that would often wash out and to clean the beach. Saved a lot of time. I also launched my boat with it. A manual was perfect. It gets more power at the PTO. It allowed the beach cleaner to work which normally requires a larger tractor. It was a real "farm tractor". It was MUCH larger than the BX and was a lot cheaper too. A Hydro never would have pulled my 4500Lb boat out of the water either.

I had a BX25 before it. I rarely used the backhoe, and whenever I did I seemed to get into a projects that I should not have ;) I was constantly taking the backhoe off to put on rear implements that I used 95% of the time. I didn't miss the backhoe much when switched.

I have a small riding mower "Home Depot Type" down in MA. Might be all I really need for the lawn.

The previous owner was a builder. He used a commercial graverly walk behind that he left on the property for someone to mow for him. Some of his photos you can spot a bobcat on the property. I think he used it to regrade the steep gravel driveway. I'd like to pave the driveway, eventually but that will be big bucks. I don't want to do it to soon in case I want to do some large projects that might chew it up. But I'm tired of dusty gravel.

Not sure a Kubota is the best thing to spend money on, but if I ever do plan to get one, might as well get it now and put it to work. Lots of folks use them to mow large fields. Not properties like this.

I need to be careful of operating anything on slopes and I don't know the lay of the land yet. I was always worried I'd kill myself on my tractor because there were some steep "cliffs" and one wrong move with the shifter could be deadly (disadvantage of the manual). I've read zero turns can be dangerous on slopes (easy to pop a wheely) especially on non commercial ones that have no weight up front. The walk behind gravely type was probably a good match. I'm not being lazy, riding just saves time and energy for other chores. Best thing I ever did was dump the small walk behind honda I had at home. Mowing went from 3 hours to 1. I'm not drinking beer with the extra 2 hours a week ;) gives me more time at the lake to mow it's lawn.

I want to plant some grass in a lot of un-landscaped rough spots. A tractor would help a ton for that. I always think, what could I use/justify it for and suddenly projects appear and thrilled I had it. Another BX or B might be a good idea. The neighbor I sold it to always said if I ended up with a property that needed it we could undo the deal. But she loves that tractor. She changed her profile pic online to her sitting on the tractor and named it. I could never take it back now. Ooh I just thought of another project. With 0% financing it's really tempting. I bought both at MBTractor in Tilton.

My initial list is:

Paint some bead board (take some rustic edge off).
Refinish porch floor, which is HUGE, done that type work many times.
Paint outside, probably hire someone, way to big, will be a fortune, could be $20k
Needs new roof (not leaking), will be a fortune, probably $20k
Grade and plant grass.
Pave driveway probably another $20k
Sort out all the fire places/stoves/gas inserts (there must be like 8 in all).
Want gas insert in the best spot, need to evaluate chimneys (not masonary). No more wood burning for me.
Need to sort out furniture left behind with ours

Yes, once you have owned a sub-compact tractor it’s hard don’t without one.
Don’t discount the BX’s pulling power! I have a steep driveway and the hydro has pulled all my heavy trailers up the grade many times! The secret is low range and 4wd and also pulling in reverse. I put a front trailer hitch on mine and that was a game changer as you can steer your trailers much easier forward and backwards.

I have a 27hp B series, saved my back many times. Two things I could never be without, my pick up and my tractor!

Yeah, the B and BX were both 23HP
What’s nice about the manual is you can control your RPM for implements vs speed more independently.
Pick an RPM you want. Then pick one of 9 gears.
With Hydro you get 3 gears.
Hydro is better for front end loader work.
Manual is better for grading or pulling.
Manual for Mowing fields.
Hydro for Mowing lots of obstacles.
If changing direction a lot Hydro wins.
And size wins if you have the space.
The B had better traction because of bigger tires and weight and it also had a locking rear differential. I don’t think the BX does. I used that a lot.
It’s just easier to make things smoother if it’s bigger.
B also had split brakes. Not that I used it much.

I had a hitch on my box blade.
I moved stuff around all the time.
And I could raise and lower the hitch.

The mowing deck for a Kubota cost almost as much as a low end (Home Depot) zero turn, like a CubCadet. And a low end Zero turn Is twice what conventional rider cost.

Yup, Kubota accessories are expensive. The BX does have a rear differential lock pedal just under the seat at the back of the floor area.

Your next ski boat?
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7RsiEJtTQw
Park it under a bi-facial solar canopy and you'll have the best of both worlds!

BX Kubota is an excellent yard tractor but as a former B owner there are two reason's you may not like one; very limited ground clearance and you need to run the rpm up fairly high to get full hydraulic pressure.

Yes, and that's why I wear my ear muffs! :D
Ground clearance I have not had a problem with...I just don't take mine into the woods...need bigger tires for that!

Yes, I posted about the Nautique in the "Electric Jet Ski thread". That is a very cool boat. But it still would not be a boat to commute with to the islands. Need something like a "Deep V" 25ft. And someone even suggested a sleeper in case when you arrive it's bad conditions.

But that Nautique might be doable on NewFound as pleasure / ski boat. I bet it's over $150K though. I do have electricity on the beach front. Which is surprising given that it's a public road.

You bring up another good point on B vs BX, that was another nice thing about the B you didn't need high RPM for working the front end loader. BX80 might be better than the BX25 I had. But you are correct. The PTO is also limited on Hydro transmission. Hydro sucks some HP away. The manual B I had was nearly perfect. It was bigger (more stable), better traction, wider stance, pulled harder, more HP at PTO and it was cheaper. It was just a pain when shifting FWD and Reverse. But that was a small penalty.

I can think of 3 projects for tractor already. 99% sure I'll get another B. I need to be patient (not one of my strong suits) and wait until I scope out the place more. I could get a lot of outside work done before winter comes.

I never had ground clearance issues with BX. But the bigger B is less PSI on your turf because of bigger tires.

Have you moved in yet?

I was reading in the Laconia paper this morning that there is hardly any lakefront available in any of the towns. There are so many pending sales that it seems like everyone wanted to hold on to their properties until the end of the season.

I hope you feel happy with your move.

Thanks for asking but we ended up bailing. I was to embarrassed to post that we bailed again. Too complex to get into here but we are still on the hunt. In hindsight we wished we never bailed on the squam property with the poor site assessment.

No need to be embarrassed--we've bailed on multiple houses during inspection phases--it's part of the process. Also--I think you were smart to bail on Squam--septically compromised places are economic time bombs. This viewer wishes you well and looks forward to another exciting season of House Hunting with MSW.

Agreed with above—no need to be embarrassed at all. You've got a clear vision and funds, so I think it'll work out in the end.

Good luck, and please do share where this process takes you—I've very much enjoyed shopping vicariously through you! It recently occurred to us that our dream of at one point selling our camp and southern NH home to buy lakefront is probably no longer a reality—just in the last decade, we may have been priced out—so I'm enjoying looking at the beautiful properties in your search.


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I have to say that I am glad that you bailed on that property. There was so much work that needed to be done and with the extra cabins and having to cross the road to get to the lake etc.

I try to put myself in your shoes. There is a new property on Newfound that just hit the market for $1.250 million. It is on Pike Point Road in Bristol, on over 1 acre. Have you seen this one yet?

Ditto.
And this one's "in stock"!Attachment 16430

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Thanks, think. .

Yes, listing is a little misleading.

It's two lots and the house is on a smaller lot than the Squam one !!
They don't know if it's on lake or (dig well), how can you not know that? Well the trustee of the estate might not know a lot of details. Dug well was supposed to be abandoned for the exact same reason Squam property got downgraded to 1 Bedroom septic. You really need about 1 acre for a Well and 2-3 Bedroom septic to be state approved. A well alone takes away almost 0.5 acres from septic capacity. Plus you have to take setbacks away and the house, driveway, decks, patios. So septic ends up with nothing left.

The other lot is supposed to be usable but it's across the road and down a lot. So a new septic there is very expensive. Our original house had land ADDED years ago. Taxed as ONE lot. That added land is NOT allowed to be used for septic, even though it was perfect.

But that's why it's not $1.7 million.

Selling it also needs court approval.

As complex as that place is, we are looking into it.

MSW, now that we're getting to the end of the season, do you find yourself less in a rush to find something? It felt like you were really driven when you first posted, and a few members pointed out that it might be worthwhile holding out for the "right" place.

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We are still itching to get something sooner than later for several reasons.

We are 60 years old. I figure we have around 20 healthy summers left. We just lost one as far as I’m concerned and Im not gonna lose another one. Looking for houses absolutely sucks.

Some of Our stuff is in a MiBox pod. I have a trailer with more stuff and a golf cart in it at one neighbors house. I have my Hobie Tandem island boat in the yard of another neighbor. I have the house down in MA jammed with more stuff.

The Hobie will work well at some homes and not others. Same goes for golf cart. Not easy to sell remotely. It’s a mess. Not enough room in MA for everything.

Don’t really want to unpack my box and have to pack it again. MiBox is total rip-off by the way. But it is convenient. I packed my trailer and MiBox to only move a a short distance and then over stuffed them. They are not in shape to move 120 miles.

I also think by next year things could be even worse supply and demand. Inflation IS going to sky rocket sooner or later. Money for house is in cash. It’s devaluating by the day and will buy less and less a house. It’s insane to have that money in volatile stock market if I need it “soon”.

In hind site plenty of places have sold in our price range but we were locked into other offers at the time. Like the shack on happy homes was a good deal in my opinion.

I love your passion for not wanting to miss another summer—fingers crossed, friend!

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In hind site plenty of places have sold in our price range but we were locked into other offers at the time. Like the shack on happy homes was a good deal in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

As I stated earlier, I don’t think this was a good deal. They both sold very quickly because they were nice lots lots in a good location.
However, now they need to find someone to clear the shacks off the property and get everything so they can start at square one. And everyone in construction is so busy I can’t imagine that this will be the easiest thing to do. And then you have to build a house, and how far out are the builders, at least another year before they can even get started.

As I stated earlier, I don’t think this was a good deal. They both sold very quickly because they were nice lots lots in a good location.
However, now they need to find someone to clear the shacks off the property and get everything so they can start at square one. And everyone in construction is so busy I can’t imagine that this will be the easiest thing to do. And then you have to build a house, and how far out are the builders, at least another year before they can even get started.[/QUOTE]

One had something you could at least use (while you build maybe), albeit a mess. It had septic. Maybe a well or lake water setup. And was the cheaper of the two. I prefer not get into building a house right now. Done it before. It was fun once but I don’t care to do it again. But I would if that is what’s needed. A nice house on either lot would hold every penny you put into it. With COVID and short building supplies, building house now could be very long and expensive.

I saw we would have bought those, but when it comes to signing in the dotted line we very well may not have. If someone is up for building, I still think they are a good deal. Neighboring houses on similar lots are like $1.8 million.

I don’t know how to put up a link, but have you seen the new listing in Moultonborough on Swallow Point? Are you still looking at the other lakes or have you pretty much decided you would prefer to stay on Newfound Lake ?

That is showing pending already.

We were kinda of excited about trying Squam or Winni. But really thought something in our target just wasn't going to show up on NewFound. And if it ever did show up it was gonna to be a frenzy.

I will say though, the "poop" thread and the "shooting range" isn't helping win us over to Winni. And the "don't eat the fish" on Squam didn't help Squam's case. NewFound lake is deep and turns over 2.5x a year. So it can take some of the same abuse that the other lakes cannot.

Might have some good news soon. Too early to say too much just yet. Everything we touch seems to go to **** after we sign anything.

We are constantly watching Zillow and a few realtors have given us a few early leads.

Thanks for looking out !!! That Swallow Point one looks pretty nice though.

You’re right! This one went especially quickly!