Island Living Questions

[Diana]

We are on an "unimproved" island, no electricity. The property value is easily 5 times that of the buildings on the assessment. But they measure your shoreline and figure that into the taxes, as well as a "view tax". Plus it is different from town to town.

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Diana

We are on an "unimproved" island, no electricity. The property value is easily 5 times that of the buildings on the assessment. But they measure your shoreline and figure that into the taxes, as well as a "view tax". Plus it is different from town to town.

There is no such thing as a "view tax" or a "waterfront tax". The tax rate is exactly the same no matter where you are. It is simply based on the assessed value of the property multiplied by the tax rate. It is really not that complicated. If your property is worth more because you have a great view or it is on the water then it is valued higher by the assessor. But there is no different tax rate that depends on the location or the view.

Another post referred to the seasonal use of island property and the fact that they are taxed year round. That is true but the island property may have a lower assessed value because of that island location and that will be reflected in the real estate taxes.

If you have a condo boat slip, such as at Mountain View Yacht Club, you pay the same tax rate but cannot use any town services like the library or the town beach, even though you are a Gilford taxpayer.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

There is no such thing as a "view tax" or a "waterfront tax". The tax rate is exactly the same no matter where you are. It is simply based on the assessed value of the property multiplied by the tax rate. It is really not that complicated. If your property is worth more because you have a great view or it is on the water then it is valued higher by the assessor. But there is no different tax rate that depends on the location or the view.

Another post referred to the seasonal use of island property and the fact that they are taxed year round. That is true but the island property may have a lower assessed value because of that island location and that will be reflected in the real estate taxes.

If you have a condo boat slip, such as at Mountain View Yacht Club, you pay the same tax rate but cannot use any town services like the library or the town beach, even though you are a Gilford taxpayer.

It is a simple concept but so many have a difficult time understanding it. Thanks for trying once again to clarify this issue.

[MDoug]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

It is a simple concept but so many have a difficult time understanding it. Thanks for trying once again to clarify this issue.

Told the wife Tilton BB and WiFi said there are no island or view taxes.
"Oh, Goodie!" she exclaimed. Now we can afford a new refrigerator."

[tis]

Our assessments do actually show if you are paying extra for a view or for waterfront or for a sandy beach or more water frontage etc. I think when people got upset about this was when they first started SHOWING it people actually SAW that they were being taxed extra for these things, even though they were always being charged for them because it made their property more valuable as TTB said. And TTB is right, the assessment is the same per thousand for everybody in their town. It's just how many thousands do they think your property is worth that makes up your tax bill.

[SAMIAM]

Always wondered how island residents can pay their taxes without choking.
Being seasonal,they are not using the schools.......have no city sewer,water,streetlights,access to police and fire services.
Why not get together and try to press for legislation for a special tax rate for residents without any services?

[WakeboardMom]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Always wondered how island residents can pay their taxes without choking.
Being seasonal,they are not using the schools.......have no city sewer,water,streetlights,access to police and fire services.
Why not get together and try to press for legislation for a special tax rate for residents without any services?

Moultonborough has one of the best school systems in the state. I pay plenty of taxes to M'borough and have never used the school system. Your plan would open the can of worms that everyone has some reason they should be an exception.

[MDoug]

Originally Posted by WakeboardMom

Moultonborough has one of the best school systems in the state. I pay plenty of taxes to M'borough and have never used the school system. Your plan would open the can of worms that everyone has some reason they should be an exception.

I am sure the British thought the same thing when we protested the stamp act a while back!

The exception proves the rule.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Always wondered how island residents can pay their taxes without choking.
Being seasonal,they are not using the schools.......have no city sewer,water,streetlights,access to police and fire services.
Why not get together and try to press for legislation for a special tax rate for residents without any services?

As TiltonBB said island appraisals are lower than waterfront mainland so while our tax rate is the same we do pay less because of the lower appraisal. I do wish it was lower however but who doesn't!

Dan

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by tis

Our assessments do actually show if you are paying extra for a view or for waterfront or for a sandy beach or more water frontage etc. I think when people got upset about this was when they first started SHOWING it people actually SAW that they were being taxed extra for these things, even though they were always being charged for them because it made their property more valuable as TTB said. And TTB is right, the assessment is the same per thousand for everybody in their town. It's just how many thousands do they think your property is worth that makes up your tax bill.

Many things are itemized on your assessment such as the value placed on the land, buildings, garage, out buildings (such as a tool shed) docks, waterfront, breakwater, seawall, and yes, even the view. The total value of all of these things is multiplied by the tax rate in your community and that is how your tax bill is computed.

I think in the past people have thought there is a "View Tax" like it is a separate tax that you pay. If you are going to break it down like that then guess the same person would say that there is a dock tax, a tool shed tax, a garage tax, a driveway tax, Etc.

[MDoug]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

Many things are itemized on your assessment such as the value placed on the land, buildings, garage, out buildings (such as a tool shed) docks, waterfront, breakwater, seawall, and yes, even the view. The total value of all of these things is multiplied by the tax rate in your community and that is how your tax bill is computed.

I think in the past people have thought there is a "View Tax" like it is a separate tax that you pay. If you are going to break it down like that then guess the same person would say that there is a dock tax, a tool shed tax, a garage tax, a driveway tax, Etc.

Back to English 101 and logical fallacies, isn't that reductio ad absurdum?

[Happy Gourmand]

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Happy Gourmand

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

100K seems a bit steep, are the rest of the land improvements between the two lots in question in kind or do you have newer or better improvements? How about the characteristics of the lots, there are so many factors that can go into determining value even two lots side by side can vary widely in value even if they are the same size and mere feet apart. End of the day if you think you're getting the raw end of the deal the town does have to justify their numbers to you just as you do to them if you think they are in error. Doesn't hurt to ask them how they came to the valuation and on what comparable properties they are basing it on.

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Happy Gourmand

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

I had a similar problem regarding my land in Gilford. I went to town hall and looked at the lot plans for other house lots on my street that were similar in size to check the value that the town had placed on them. It was roughly the same as mine. However, my land was much steeper and although there was 100 feet on the water on my land there is only 50 feet at the street. The other lots had 100 feet on the water and 100 feet at the street.

I was able to come up with 4 comps to illustrate my point. I applied for an abatement and pointed out that with a required 25 foot sideline setback, a large portion of my land was virtually unbuildable. I also pointed out that the other lots were closer to level than mine. They agreed and my assessed land value was dropped by about $100,000.

If you take the time to do the homework and present a reasonable argument (without arguing) the system works.

[MDoug]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

It is a simple concept but so many have a difficult time understanding it. Thanks for trying once again to clarify this issue.

As Oscar Wilde penned, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple."

[phoenix]

I live in an area where most houses have an acre. Until a couple of years ago we all had the same assessment for the land portion . Starting a couple of years ago my land assessment went up higher than any neighbors since with my acre I have a little more waterfront. In this case I really doubt my value is higher from a sales point of view but they think it is and when I asked they said more waterfront higher value

[wifi]

The value of a property to me (in my very limited sensibility, as claimed by certain posters) is the value that it sold for. So, if you bought a property for $100K, that is the value you should be taxed on the first year, then every year after the cost of living is added on. There are/were states that did that. Which they are, I leave to your own personal googling ability, so as not to start more nit picking controversies. Assessors just guess and base it on some arbitrary/argued formulas that aren't fair.

My neighbors house is on the market for an obscene value. If it sells, my taxes will go up, why? I don't even live on an island !

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by wifi

The value of a property to me (in my very limited sensibility, as claimed by certain posters) is the value that it sold for. So, if you bought a property for $100K, that is the value you should be taxed on the first year, then every year after the cost of living is added on. There are/were states that did that. Which they are, I leave to your own personal googling ability, so as not to start more nit picking controversies. Assessors just guess and base it on some arbitrary/argued formulas that aren't fair.

My neighbors house is on the market for an obscene value. If it sells, my taxes will go up, why? I don't even live on an island !

Wifi: If it sells that is the "market Value" and it is the best and only fair way to determine property taxes. Be thankful you have a nice property that has appreciated over time. I'm pretty sure that if your neighbor's house sells and you subsequently decide to move you will cite his property sale when setting your "obscene" asking price.

[jazzman]

In the end your assessment is supposed to be tied to the real market value of your property. A house on the water or with a view of the water will usually have a higher market value.... A house with a breakwater will have more value than a house without one.

I bought my house in Alton after it sat on the market for 2 years for under the appraised value. I called the tax office and they adjusted the tax value to something close to what I paid.

[Leoskeys]

Back to "Island Living"'. For a home on an island without electricity, is a propane generator and/or solar panels the best bet? A few lights are one thing,but got to assume a fridge is going to require some solid power. Probably other things that suck power i'm not thinking of. For instance, how would you get wi-fi for to track weather, etc?

[jazzman]

Most people use propane powered fridges...

You can also look at a generator that charges a set of batteries that in turn produce 120v ac power through an inverter. You can also connect some solar panels to the system as well if you have a good south exposure. This way you only have to run a generator a few hours a day. When I was looking at a place on Diamond a couple years back, the cost was going to be around 10k.

I must say I'm glad I ended up on an island with power. There are enough complications with island living without having to constantly nurse a power system.

I also worried about the noise factor of living on an island with a lot of generators.

[Orion]

Originally Posted by Leoskeys

Back to "Island Living"'. For a home on an island without electricity, is a propane generator and/or solar panels the best bet? A few lights are one thing,but got to assume a fridge is going to require some solid power. Probably other things that suck power i'm not thinking of. For instance, how would you get wi-fi for to track weather, etc?

For internet access, there's always wireless broadband such as Verizon, which has pretty good coverage on the lake. For power, I would opt for BOTH generator and solar as you could probably run off solar for 90% of the time but would have the generator for backup if extended bad weather precluded solar charging or if you had a high demand that exceeded your solar capacity for a short period.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Mike, when it's time to actually go out and look at island properties, I highly recommend that you give Nancy DePorter of Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains Realty a call. 603-498-3573 Nancy is absolutely wonderful and is a knowledgable islander and is a well seasoned boater. Tell her that RG sent ya! We listed our place with her last season and will relist with her as soon as the camp is ready at ice-out.
(There have been some major life events in our family over the past year plus, which made us reevaluatie our life's goals and dreams - it's time for us to do some traveling. I do know that letting go isn't going to be easy... You can take the gal off the island, but you could never take the island out of this Gal. Lake Winnipesaukee will always be in my heart and soul. Sniff!)

Having a place on The Broads has been nothing short of amazing!!! Clean water, wide open spaces and in our case, a super private and deep dock spot. We loved every second of our time spent at here and know that the next family will make life long treasured memories too.

Just to add a little bit more information, not all properties Broads side need a breakwater. We purchased our place that has a u-shaped dock back in 2003. We immediately put in oversized (for our 21' boat) whips and have never, ever had an issue of any kind... In any weather. In our case, there is a jog in the island just where our lot starts, which does act as a deflector of sorts for the waves. I certainly would not leave our boat out there in a hurricane, but otherwise, there is no weather that I would not feel comfortable out there in. Last year we only used the whips once. The rest of the time a super large bumper at the bow on the shore side and a snubber at the stern was absolutely adequate.

Best of luck to you and your family, RidgeRunner31! I hope that you find your piece of Lake Winnipesaukee heaven! If you ever would like to talk island living, please feel free to PM me for my number. R-Guy and I have gained a lot of lake/island knowledge over these past thirteen years and would love to share what we've learned with you.

Sincerely,

Celia

[tis]

Oh RG, so sorry to hear you are leaving us!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thanks, Tis! We are leaving the island, but as of yet, we are not leaving the lake. So many lake options yet to consider, possibly with the new to us travel trailer.

[tis]

Oh ok. I can imagine it is hard enough to sell the cottage but to leave the lake too??? Glad you will still be visiting.

[IslandRadio]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

Thanks, Tis! We are leaving the island, but as of yet, we are not leaving the lake. So many lake options yet to consider, possibly with the new to us travel trailer.

Wow, the island will never quite be the same! All the best to you in whatever you do in the future. Feel free to come back and visit at our place on the other side any time!

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

Mike, when it's time to actually go out and look at island properties, I highly recommend that you give Nancy DePorter of Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains Realty a call. 603-498-3573 Nancy is absolutely wonderful and is a knowledgable islander and is a well seasoned boater. Tell her that RG sent ya! We listed our place with her last season and will relist with her as soon as the camp is ready at ice-out.

Nancy is awesome and I second that recommendation. When we my wife and I bought our place she was there every step of the way and there is nobody else quite like her. In fact her husband just got his license and the two of them are now working together. Between the two of them you will not find more knowledgeable and dedicated folks to work with. They are the best no question about it. Don't be fooled by others that supposedly specialize in island property, you may find yourself disappointed.

[JMR]

RG

Sad to hear you are leaving the island. Good luck in the future and let know where you end up.

[rgilfert]

RG, I just saw your post and I am speechless ..... so sorry to hear that you're leaving the island. You were the very first person that I met when we bought our place on the island in fall 2011. You were kayaking by and stopped by to introduce yourself and say "hi" .... we had a great conversation that afternoon! My best wishes go out to you guys in life's next chapter!!

[RidgeRunner31]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Nancy is awesome and I second that recommendation. When we my wife and I bought our place she was there every step of the way and there is nobody else quite like her. In fact her husband just got his license and the two of them are now working together. Between the two of them you will not find more knowledgeable and dedicated folks to work with. They are the best no question about it. Don't be fooled by others that supposedly specialize in island property, you may find yourself disappointed.

I'm actually already working with Nancy!

This past fall I came across some older threads and noticed you had some very nice things to say about Nancy. Your comments were one of the reasons my wife and I decided to work with her!!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Some camps/cottages have alternative septic systems. If you find one with an electric toilet... Run away!!! Just kidding. Plan on replacing it early on. Here is a post from another thread on the subject:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Dan
Note: this started as a PM but after reading it to my family, they encouraged me to post it here. I am still not sure... but if it saves a life...

I am just going to rattle off the issues. Celia is helping me with the list in no particular order.

The device requires a paper liner to be inserted into a stainless steel clam shell, sort of like putting a coffee filter in a coffee maker. Not a big deal for us regulars, but it freaked out our company a bit.

The liquid and solids go into that big paper cone. We had some guest with bladders that were capable of overflowing the cone. The result was urine running out of the unit while they were sitting there.

The concept of drying out the solids to ash actually works pretty well but the addition of all the liquid really slowed down the process. I was pretty impressed with how little ash remained from all the use.

The paper cone did not always go down into the heated pot correctly. Sometimes it would not go far enough down for the cover over the burn chamber would not close. This required you to interact with a combination of poop, liquid and paper in various forms of being on fire.

When the materials are dehydrating (boiling and burning), the vapor would pass through the unit and as it touched cooler surfaces of the unit, it would condense this brownish sticky buildup on the inside of the unit that would require periodic disassembly and cleaning. Truly disgusting. To add insult to injury, this sticky condensate was great at catching dust and ash that was also being pulled through the same air paths.

If you flush the unit while sitting, you would not have to worry about shaving anything for a long time.

One time we had a power failure while the unit was running. The coals were still burning but the fan was no longer running. It took about a month to get the smell out of the camp.

When we moved in, the exhaust stack was a straight shot out the back of the camp which hit the wall of rock behind us with the steep island. It became obvious with the 4 of us here in the summer, this was not going to work from an oder standpoint.

We raised the stack to a height of about 10 feet. It was not good enough to satisfy the smell factor of certain contributions.

We lengthened the burn time to insure that it was burning completely. Otherwise you end up with a build up each time. This helped the amount of clean outs we had to do.

Eventually, you have to take the burn pot out and scrape the ash and build up out of it. The constant heating of the stainless pot with liquids caused it to corrode. This made the ease of cleaning pretty tough.

The fan is pretty noisy and runs a long time for each cycle. I think we were doing a 2 hour cycle. Lots of rattling with the constant vibrating from the fan.

Raised the stack another 10 feet. This helped but it was sometimes bad enough we had to leave the deck on the other side of the house depending on the wind direction. Its a tough smell. And everyone knows what it is. I found myself trying to time my bathroom activities to when the family was leaving the house for a while.

The 20 foot stack was taken down and put up each season as I was not sure how it would survive the winter.

I think that's about it.

The smell. It is too easy a target. It's not good. And the little pellets they sell to mask the smell are useless.

We changed out to a plumbed in over sized composting unit and love it. Not perfect but compared to the incinolet, it is great.

Let me know if I missed anything.

Paul

Good times.

If the property that you are considering has a composting unit, be sure it is large enough to handle your family's needs. If it's too small, consider an upgrade. The composting units are very easy to maintain and on the upside, you don't need to hire a barge to bring a pump truck to the island.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner31

I'm actually already working with Nancy!

This past fall I came across some older threads and noticed you had some very nice things to about Nancy. Your comments were one of the reasons my wife and I decided to work with her!!

Great! Now all you need to do is find the perfect place. The hardest part is waiting, but it'll be worth it when you do and the deal is done.

Good luck!

[goldfly600]

I have been eagerly reading this thread, soaking up all the advice and half-afraid to read something I hadn't thought of before! My husband and I just closed on a house on the west side of Rattlesnake and we are dying to get out there. We looked at the house just once in August, and the incinolet almost scared us off. We have a new septic system being installed shortly after ice-out. Reading the play-by-play of the Incinolet above does much to bolster my confidence I having made the decision for the new septic!

We are excited about our new adventure, and an "adventure" it will be as we try to figure out how to hook up the water and navigate all the inevitable challenges of which we are not yet aware. We have only spent one week on an island last August, but it was enough to get us hooked on island living. I am looking forward to meeting our neighbors!

Best,
Beth

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by goldfly600

I have been eagerly reading this thread, soaking up all the advice and half-afraid to read something I hadn't thought of before! My husband and I just closed on a house on the west side of Rattlesnake and we are dying to get out there. We looked at the house just once in August, and the incinolet almost scared us off. We have a new septic system being installed shortly after ice-out. Reading the play-by-play of the Incinolet above does much to bolster my confidence I having made the decision for the new septic!

We are excited about our new adventure, and an "adventure" it will be as we try to figure out how to hook up the water and navigate all the inevitable challenges of which we are not yet aware. We have only spent one week on an island last August, but it was enough to get us hooked on island living. I am looking forward to meeting our neighbors!

Best,
Beth

Welcome to the Forum. Savor your 1st trip out after ice out this year. It will be the best.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by goldfly600

I have been eagerly reading this thread, soaking up all the advice and half-afraid to read something I hadn't thought of before! My husband and I just closed on a house on the west side of Rattlesnake and we are dying to get out there. We looked at the house just once in August, and the incinolet almost scared us off. We have a new septic system being installed shortly after ice-out. Reading the play-by-play of the Incinolet above does much to bolster my confidence I having made the decision for the new septic!

We are excited about our new adventure, and an "adventure" it will be as we try to figure out how to hook up the water and navigate all the inevitable challenges of which we are not yet aware. We have only spent one week on an island last August, but it was enough to get us hooked on island living. I am looking forward to meeting our neighbors!

Best,
Beth

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your new place. Hope the transition goes super smooth.

[Descant]

We are now into the fourth generation of island living. The one thing we are missing is a written history. I hope you will keep a journal and related pictures of EVERYTHING. When previous generations started, nobody knew how historic this island stuff could be.

[IslandRadio]

Originally Posted by goldfly600

I have been eagerly reading this thread, soaking up all the advice and half-afraid to read something I hadn't thought of before! My husband and I just closed on a house on the west side of Rattlesnake and we are dying to get out there. We looked at the house just once in August, and the incinolet almost scared us off. We have a new septic system being installed shortly after ice-out. Reading the play-by-play of the Incinolet above does much to bolster my confidence I having made the decision for the new septic!

We are excited about our new adventure, and an "adventure" it will be as we try to figure out how to hook up the water and navigate all the inevitable challenges of which we are not yet aware. We have only spent one week on an island last August, but it was enough to get us hooked on island living. I am looking forward to meeting our neighbors!

Best,
Beth

Welcome to the Island ! We're on Rattlesnake, and not too far from you at #250 (further down the Island on the "thumb" AKA the peninsula)

Hopefully, you (and/or your husband) are handy with tools and the like. It's kind of mandatory on the Island

Putting the water in usually isn't too bad. Some setups are a lot easier than others - it depends on how yours is constructed. Priming the pump is usually the biggest problem I face, not having a self priming pump. Do you know anything about the water setup?

The addition of a septic will certainly ease your Island life quite a bit !! Things will feel almost "normal"

That section of the Island where your place is located is generally somewhat protected from the heaviest winds unless they're coming in from the South or close to it - and usually (but not always) those winds are not nearly as strong as the winds that hit us from a Westerly direction.

Give a shout (or a PM) if you get stuck with something or need help or another set of eyes or just want to say "hello".

We hike the trails a lot and often go end-to-end, so we're up behind your place when hiking over to Washington Point.

Regards, Steve (AKA IslandRadio)

[goldfly600]

Originally Posted by IslandRadio

Welcome to the Island ! We're on Rattlesnake, and not too far from you at #250 (further down the Island on the "thumb" AKA the peninsula)

Hopefully, you (and/or your husband) are handy with tools and the like. It's kind of mandatory on the Island

Putting the water in usually isn't too bad. Some setups are a lot easier than others - it depends on how yours is constructed. Priming the pump is usually the biggest problem I face, not having a self priming pump. Do you know anything about the water setup?

The addition of a septic will certainly ease your Island life quite a bit !! Things will feel almost "normal"

That section of the Island where your place is located is generally somewhat protected from the heaviest winds unless they're coming in from the South or close to it - and usually (but not always) those winds are not nearly as strong as the winds that hit us from a Westerly direction.

Give a shout (or a PM) if you get stuck with something or need help or another set of eyes or just want to say "hello".

We hike the trails a lot and often go end-to-end, so we're up behind your place when hiking over to Washington Point.

Regards, Steve (AKA IslandRadio)

Thanks for the message, Steve.

I wield a mean paint brush, but apart from that, the best I can offer is that I take direction well. My husband, Todd, on the other hand, is great with tools, despite being an English professor. He's handy with home improvement and boats / engines and isn't afraid to tackle projects and figure things out.

We know absolutely nothing about the water set-up, but I'm glad to hear you say it isn't too bad! We will just have to wait and see on a lot of it, but we are eager to get to work.

Looking forward to meeting you!
Beth

[northforty]

Thanks for mentioning that- keeping an island log/history. Our family log dates to 1879 when forebears would stay on Camp Island. They finally bought in 1912 in the Forties. Some pretty interesting tales survive not to mention the sense of continuity... priceless.

[Pine Island Guy]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

There have been some major life events in our family over the past year plus, which made us reevaluatie our life's goals and dreams - it's time for us to do some traveling. I do know that letting go isn't going to be easy... You can take the gal off the island, but you could never take the island out of this Gal. Lake Winnipesaukee will always be in my heart and soul. Sniff!

Hey Celia - very sorry to hear you're moving "off island", but hope you enjoy your future travels!! You've been a big part of the Forum and trust you will keep us posted with your new adventures

Think Spring!! -PIG

[Tired of Waiting]

Celia,

I am sad to hear that you are leaving the island. I hope you will still be visiting the lake.

Keep us informed of your travels and God bless. You and R-Guy have been a very big part of this forum family.

ToW

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thanks everyone one for the well wishes. I sincerely appreciate them and plan on remaining an active member here on the Forum.

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Nancy is awesome and I second that recommendation. When we my wife and I bought our place she was there every step of the way and there is nobody else quite like her. In fact her husband just got his license and the two of them are now working together. Between the two of them you will not find more knowledgeable and dedicated folks to work with. They are the best no question about it. Don't be fooled by others that supposedly specialize in island property, you may find yourself disappointed.

Maxum, you aren't kidding about others that "specialize" in island property! Thankfully we found Nancy and Doug! (Though we have not met him yet.) We do know firsthand that this husband and wife team are perfect agent partners! They aren't afraid to get out on the lake to show properties and they also do not discourage clients that may be interested in a property on The Broads, which was especially important to us.

If anyone here on the Forum is considering listing a lake property, give Nancy a call and set up an interview. I think that you will be impressed too. She was/is a pleasure to deal with and really pays attention to details. In addition to selling the camp, we also listed our Hollis property last August. The difference between Nancy and our agent down here was night and day. Nancy sets up your listing and then sends you the link to proof read it and to get your input on any changes that you would like to make before it goes live. (Our agent here just plowed forward with a less than perfect listing and it was like pulling teeth for many days, with threats, to get changes made.) Nancy and Doug have a professional photographer they use for the listing photos. You may not think this a big deal, but it is! (I had to retake each and every picture for our Hollis listing!) Nancy and Doug do not put a lock box on your door. They believe in truly representing their clients by attending each and every showing.

If you are considering an island purchase this spring, I wish you the best of luck. I do have more input on buying and living on an island property. My iPad acted up and I lost my post. I will re-do it shortly.

Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains Realty a call. 603-498-3573

[Airedale1]

RG very sorry to hear that you are leaving. I hope that no matter wherever your travels may take you; that you stay on here at the forum and share tales of your trips with us all.

[RidgeRunner31]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

Mike, when it's time to actually go out and look at island properties, I highly recommend that you give Nancy DePorter of Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains Realty a call. 603-498-3573 Nancy is absolutely wonderful and is a knowledgable islander and is a well seasoned boater. Tell her that RG sent ya! We listed our place with her last season and will relist with her as soon as the camp is ready at ice-out.
(There have been some major life events in our family over the past year plus, which made us reevaluatie our life's goals and dreams - it's time for us to do some traveling. I do know that letting go isn't going to be easy... You can take the gal off the island, but you could never take the island out of this Gal. Lake Winnipesaukee will always be in my heart and soul. Sniff!)

Having a place on The Broads has been nothing short of amazing!!! Clean water, wide open spaces and in our case, a super private and deep dock spot. We loved every second of our time spent at here and know that the next family will make life long treasured memories too.

Just to add a little bit more information, not all properties Broads side need a breakwater. We purchased our place that has a u-shaped dock back in 2003. We immediately put in oversized (for our 21' boat) whips and have never, ever had an issue of any kind... In any weather. In our case, there is a jog in the island just where our lot starts, which does act as a deflector of sorts for the waves. I certainly would not leave our boat out there in a hurricane, but otherwise, there is no weather that I would not feel comfortable out there in. Last year we only used the whips once. The rest of the time a super large bumper at the bow on the shore side and a snubber at the stern was absolutely adequate.

Best of luck to you and your family, RidgeRunner31! I hope that you find your piece of Lake Winnipesaukee heaven! If you ever would like to talk island living, please feel free to PM me for my number. R-Guy and I have gained a lot of lake/island knowledge over these past thirteen years and would love to share what we've learned with you.

Sincerely,

Celia

Thank you RG for taking the time to respond to the thread I created!! I really appreciate any feedback I get and this forum has been a great resource.

First, I hope you enjoy your future travels and I wish you the best of luck!!

Second, I actually started working with Nancy this past fall and you are 100% correct! She is very knowledgeable and passionate about her work. I feel like she really enjoys helping people find that special island property. I'm really glad we decided to go with her!

I have talked to another forum member that lives on The Broads and they love it as well. You can't beat the view that's for sure.

Thank you giving me the option to PM you as well if I have any questions.

Thanks!

Mike