Realistic minimum purchase price of owned waterfront on Winnipesaukee?

[kauriel]

Like others have said $450-600k is around the minimum for what I have seen for owning your own waterfront on main parts of Winnipesaukee. There are some canal access properties under $450k. You can also find some detached or attached condos for half of that (or even less) with moorings or docks or there are also non-waterfront homes with deeded docks.

If boating isn't a priority for now you can buy a home in an association with moorings and docks and get on their list for a dock later. We are not frequent boaters and don't make it up every weekend so we are leaning toward a condo or single family home in an association and then potentially buy waterfront later when we are spending a good chunk of our summers up at the lake.

[RyanDe]

Thanks. Ideally sandy bottom and we're okay with a fixer upper but with kids we want to swim and boat.

The monthly payments are not the issue it's the DP, we have enough for $500k but if we want more we'll have to wait another year or two to save more thus the question. We're debating island but with kids that might not be the best option right now and instead my get a nicer/larger place on a smaller lake. So many options.

[Billy Bob]

A realtor , Zillow . Realtor.com would immediately answer your question and answer it correctly .

[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by Billy Bob

A realtor , Zillow . Realtor.com would immediately answer your question and answer it correctly .

Not really, I looked a year back and I basically have to look at every place and analyze it to figure them out and so many places are tagged as waterfront but they either have access or a view or on a little stream so it's a real pain to get an accurate number. I also don't know the areas of the lake or what's considered decent either.

[Dad sold the C * C]

I have found that Zillow and some of the other national sites just don't understand "Waterfront" when it comes to value and understanding taxes.

These two sites may help you. The first link is set to search Winnisquam waterfront: both sites have a "Map" option, shows location on the lake.

http://www.nhfinehomes.com/waterfron...am-real-estate

http://nhlakesproperty.com/large-nh-...winnipesaukee/

Other's have given you most of what I would say, but I would add the following:
> Have a good inspection done
> If the property has a Septic system make sure you have money set aside; they can get real expensive on lakefront properties.
> Look up the properties on the local town website and also county Registry of Deeds. It's not easy but with practice you can really trace a property and dig up original development plans.
http://www.nhdeeds.com/belknap/BeHome.html

This is a great site to start understanding what kinds of permits you may need.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/shore...Ny%2fvn3hrM%3d

3 years ago with these sites and a lot of internet time, we formally visited just one property and put a deposit down that day. I had been "sort-of" looking for 2 years, but drove by a few when we were renting the last summer, nothing caught my eye. To paraphrase and old saying "let your fingers do the clicking".

Happy Hunting

[DesertDweller]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

Thanks. Ideally sandy bottom and we're okay with a fixer upper but with kids we want to swim and boat.

The monthly payments are not the issue it's the DP, we have enough for $500k but if we want more we'll have to wait another year or two to save more thus the question. We're debating island but with kids that might not be the best option right now and instead my get a nicer/larger place on a smaller lake. So many options.

I think your idea to look at other lakes is a good one. You definitely pay a premium to be on Winnipesaukee. Might want to look at water access communities as well. I am helping my friend look at properties. He's got a pretty big budget and is struggling to find good options for him. Really kind of surprised me.

[SAB1]

Also, having done this myself in your price range, have your financing in line. Competition is pretty stiff for what you are after and you will need to act fast.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by DesertDweller

I think your idea to look at other lakes is a good one. You definitely pay a premium to be on Winnipesaukee.

I disagree, the prices on any other decent lake are just as much if not more as many want to be anywhere but the big lake. Squam and Sunapee are great examples of that, very very dare I say prohibitively expensive! The other thing to is asking price of the property is one thing, taxes are another. There are some fairly well priced places on Merrymeeting for instance, very nice clean lake but the taxes in New Durham are awful so it levels out with a cheaper asking price point.

[DesertDweller]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

I disagree, the prices on any other decent lake are just as much if not more as many want to be anywhere but the big lake. Squam and Sunapee are great examples of that, very very dare I say prohibitively expensive! The other thing to is asking price of the property is one thing, taxes are another. There are some fairly well priced places on Merrymeeting for instance, very nice clean lake but the taxes in New Durham are awful so it levels out with a cheaper asking price point.

So a house on Pine River Pond, Lovell Lake, etc. costs as much as a similar one on Winnipesaukee? I agree Squam is more expensive. I think the OP's idea at exploring all of their options is a good one. If $500,000 is the budget and nothing on Winnipesaukee fits, then look around.

[Doobs41378]

You could check out Winnisquam and Ossipee lake as well. Neither will be as expensive as Winnipesaukee.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by DesertDweller

So a house on Pine River Pond, Lovell Lake, etc. costs as much as a similar one on Winnipesaukee? I agree Squam is more expensive. I think the OP's idea at exploring all of their options is a good one. If $500,000 is the budget and nothing on Winnipesaukee fits, then look around.

Neither of those lakes have very good water quality. Now Great East lake - which is in the same general area is a nice one. So are the prices to get on it.

[Gatto Nero]

Depending on the age of your kids you might want to consider an association with a deeded dock before lakefront. We originally bought in an association when the kids were very young and then moved to lakefront when they were in their mid to late teens. The association was the best thing we ever could have done for the kids. They had friends galore. They would leave in the morning and we'd see them running around the neighborhood and in and around the lake night and day. They are all still very close to this day even after we moved. If you buy lakefront the opportunity for them to make close friends is not as prevalent because there is no common area for kids to get together. If they don't have friends built in they are probably either going to want to bring their home friends up every weekend or wont want to come up at all.

[Doobs41378]

Originally Posted by Gatto Nero

Depending on the age of your kids you might want to consider an association with a deeded dock before lakefront. We originally bought in an association when the kids were very young and then moved to lakefront when they were in their mid to late teens. The association was the best thing we ever could have done for the kids. They had friends galore. They would leave in the morning and we'd see them running around the neighborhood and in and around the lake night and day. They are all still very close to this day even after we moved. If you buy lakefront the opportunity for them to make close friends is not as prevalent because there is no common area for kids to get together. If they don't have friends built in they are probably either going to want to bring their home friends up every weekend or wont want to come up at all.

I would agree with this. We spent summers growing up in Lake Shore Park in Gilford and the friends I made and the times we had were awesome. Some friends I made there were even in my wedding. We are in a community now on Ossipee Lake and there is so much for my daughter to do, I feel she might be bored if we were just going to our own property lakefront. Do not get me wrong, I would love to own lakefront but I also enjoy seeing her make friends etc.

[winterh]

In the 500k price range i think your best bet would be a smaller lake. Wentworth is beautiful and you can get a nice cabin for that. (when available) A lot depends on what you like to do. I bought on Winni because I liked the idea of going out to dinner by boat or exploring different parts of lake. In reality we do that maybe twice a summer and 99 percent of the time we are swimming off the dock or tubing in front of the house. I love the big lake and my spot on it but life would not be much different on Wentworth.

[Gatto Nero]

Originally Posted by winterh

In the 500k price range i think your best bet would be a smaller lake. Wentworth is beautiful and you can get a nice cabin for that. (when available) A lot depends on what you like to do. I bought on Winni because I liked the idea of going out to dinner by boat or exploring different parts of lake. In reality we do that maybe twice a summer and 99 percent of the time we are swimming off the dock or tubing in front of the house. I love the big lake and my spot on it but life would not be much different on Wentworth.

I've never lived on another lake but after having been on Winni for 22 years I could never see myself at a smaller lake. We go out to dinner 7-8 or times per year or whenever we have guests. We go to Wolfboro or the Weirs just for ice cream, down to Alton for clams at Pops, to Lake port Landing because the gas is cheap. We go up to Green's Basin at least once a year and are constantly exploring and re-exploring the entire lake by the jetski. Just yesterday I needed to pick up my SCUBA gear at Dive Winni in Wolfboro. Great excuse for a boat trip. I wouldn't change that for the world.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Gatto Nero

I've never lived on another lake but after having been on Winni for 22 years I could never see myself at a smaller lake. We go out to dinner 7-8 or times per year or whenever we have guests. We go to Wolfboro or the Weirs just for ice cream, down to Alton for clams at Pops, to Lake port Landing because the gas is cheap. We go up to Green's Basin at least once a year and are constantly exploring and re-exploring the entire lake by the jetski. Just yesterday I needed to pick up my SCUBA gear at Dive Winni in Wolfboro. Great excuse for a boat trip. I wouldn't change that for the world.

That's kind of funny because as much as we love Winnipesaukee, we find it somewhat limiting and like to take our boat to many other places. What you described above is almost like a typical single day on the lake for us. Our retirement plans are a house in the lakes region (but not on a lake to avoid the enormous cost) and our trailerable boat, AND a live-aboard boat (a used Tollycraft 45 tops the list) we can cruise around the ICW, the great loop and the Caribbean. Looking forward to Cuba being a cruising option.

[DesertDweller]

I don't know anything about Great East Lake that Maxum refers to but here's a listing on it:

http://www.beangroup.com/homes/1511_...501/index.html

3 bedroom/2 bath, 1 acre lot, 112 feet of waterfront, about $4,300 a year in property taxes, built in 2007, for $419,900

[swnoel]

Originally Posted by DesertDweller

I don't know anything about Great East Lake that Maxum refers to but here's a listing on it:

http://www.beangroup.com/homes/1511_...501/index.html

3 bedroom/2 bath, 1 acre lot, 112 feet of waterfront, about $4,300 a year in property taxes, built in 2007, for $419,900

That's in the "basins" probably will not have a sandy beach. The basins are not the main lake. This will be no comparison to the main lake, except it's on water. I will assume it is not on a maintained road and could be very difficult in the winter if you wanted to use it then.

[winnipiseogee]

Here's my 2 cents...

1. Its relatively easy to upgrade a bathroom or kitchen. Heck with a bit of money you can pretty easily double the size of your cottage. But you can never really upgrade your waterfront or location (with the exception of maybe a perched beach). Make absolutely certain that you like your exposure, your part of the lake, your view, your water depth and your lake bottom.

2. I want to echo what everyone is saying about associations. We've had several Winni homes with owned water frontage and I couldn't imagine sharing with anyone. Then we decided to buy on Squam where we could only afford shared waterfront. Its been the best lake property we've ever had. Our kids do love having other kids around but its also the neighbor camaraderie. It helps to have extra hands when its time to put in docks, fix mooring chains, repair drainage issues, borrow a wine opener etc. I wish we had explored an association sooner!

3. Definitely explore the other lakes. After a lifetime on Winni we realized that what we enjoyed most didn't involve our big boat. It was kayaking, sailing, canoeing, longer distance swimming, SUPs etc. At least in our area of Winni it was becoming really hard for our kids to do this with all the traffic and boat related chop. As much as we miss Winni I definitely don't miss the chuckleheads in the 30 foot boat passing 80 feet from my kayak at full throttle!

4. Enjoy the search process! I've found the process of finding a property can be almost as much fun as owning the property!

[jeffk]

My house in Moultonborough sold last year for $565K. It is on 2/3 acre, 106 ft of shore front. The house is an older, 4 season, 2 bedroom ranch; about 1000 sq.ft.. The water access is good but it was a bit of a ride to get out to places on the lake. It has well water. The septic was undersized but grandfathered and functioning. The house was in good shape but needed some work, probably about $20K - $40K. In my mind, the "price" includes any post purchase work that has to be done so the "cost" of the house was closing in on $600K.

You could probably find some cottages on the lake that could be had for a little less but those types of bargains are disappearing as people buy them and "upgrade" to something significantly larger. When someone is dropping half a million into a property they are probably not going to be happy with a small cottage. Then the property is 3/4 million plus when it is sold the next time.

Plus, some of these cottages are not really waterfront but water "access" or shared water access or the water front is poor/shallow/rocky.

Taxes are a big consideration as well. I was paying around $5K a year in Moultonborough, one of the best property tax environments in the state. Move the same property into some other areas of the lake and you are turning over $10K+ annually for a fairly small property.

[jeffk]

The questions of things like an association or considering another lake are highly personal.

I had a neighbor who moved from a condo environment. He was unhappy with the house because he enjoyed getting together with a group of people. A private home was no fun. He sold the house and went back to the condo. With kids in the mix, associations have other kids and activities for them. In a private house you may have to bring their friends up with you. Yes, we had neighbors with kids but more often than not they were not there when we were. Plus the neighboring kids were boys. My daughter got along OK but would probably been happier with girls.

As to another lake, how do you use the water? Personally, I am not a sit on the water all day type of person. I like having destinations for meals, ice cream, activities, events, shopping, etc. I could be up for a week and never use my car. Sure, we did some tubing and I had jet skis for splashing around fun but the majority of time I was heading to Wolfeboro, Meredith, Alton, or Center Harbor. Most other lakes cannot supply that kind of experience. Many have NO major towns on them.

That's me. I was VERY happy with a private home on Winnipesaukee. Knowing what kind of people you and your family are will go a long way toward being happy with a MAJOR purchase and ongoing commitment.

[Orion]

Don't count out the islands. Lots of threads on that in the forum and most people who have done it (myself included) wouldn't trade it for anything. And, you can get a whole lot more property/house for a lot less money.....and with good waterfront/sand/views.

[meredith weekender]

This property in Meredithwent under agreement in less than a week and closed within 2 months of listing date. :https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/.../pid_11962056/

[Doobs41378]

Originally Posted by meredith weekender

This property in Meredithwent under agreement in less than a week and closed within 2 months of listing date. :https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/.../pid_11962056/

For 10k more than ask it looks like....

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by Orion

Don't count out the islands. Lots of threads on that in the forum and most people who have done it (myself included) wouldn't trade it for anything. And, you can get a whole lot more property/house for a lot less money.....and with good waterfront/sand/views.

I concur with Orion's sentiment! Island adventures are absolutely the best and Lake Winnipesaukee has so much to offer. We always rented boats on Winnisquam and thought we'd end up there. We are so happy that we bought on Rattlesnake because there is so much more to do and so many places to explore on the big lake. Our boys, now grown, totally loved and still love the island experience.

If you do not yet have a realtor, I highly reccomend Nancy DePorter. She is a Lakes Region and an island specialist. She owns an island property and knows all the ins and outs of island life too.

Best of luck to you and your family! Please do let us know where you end up!

[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

I concur with Orion's sentiment! Island adventures are absolutely the best and Lake Winnipesaukee has so much to offer. We always rented boats on Winnisquam and thought we'd end up there. We are so happy that we bought on Rattlesnake because there is so much more to do and so many places to explore on the big lake. Our boys, now grown, totally loved and still love the island experience.

If you do not yet have a realtor, I highly reccomend Nancy DePorter. She is a Lakes Region and an island specialist. She owns an island property and knows all the ins and outs of island life too.

Best of luck to you and your family! Please do let us know where you end up!

Thanks! Yeah, I've been in touch with Nancy and she was able to answer my questions. I think we're still hung up on the boat thing with three kids. Our youngest would be under 2 so my wife is worried about trying to transport the kids across the lake when it's dark and/or windy. I don't blame her. We also like to have people over for cards/drinks but on an island they either stay over or have to leave before it gets too dark.