Quite Possibly the Best Deal on a Waterfront in NH!

8 Jenness Pond Road, Pittsfield, NH

MLS #4099025

Offered Very Reasonably  at only $375,000

This beautiful custom built,four bedroom ranch with over 3 acres of land, 190 feet of frontage, & a dock on beautiful Jenness Pond could just be what you are looking for!

Built in 1998, this bright, open concept home features a living room with custom built ins, cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, a gas fire place & slider leading out to a huge deck overlooking the lake.

The well appointed kitchen has a center island, oak cabinetry & built ins & corian (more…)

When I answered the phone, I could barely make out the faint voice on the other end of the line. The woman, almost whispering, said her name was Liz and that she’d like to see my new listing on Elm Street. It’s a charming, older Victorian that has been drawing lots of attention because of the low price. I asked her if she could come into the office to talk about exactly what she was looking for as this home really needs work. She whispered again that she would meet me at the home at 6:00 that night. I started to ask if she had a pre-approval letter, but she was gone. I didn’t even get her cell phone number. That’s the way it goes with buyers today. They’re always in a rush and never want to give anyone any information! It’s the new way of home buying in this internet age. Real estate agents are used to this, but it doesn’t make our job any easier.

I pulled into the driveway of the home slightly before six. I like to get to showings early to turn on all the lights, open the curtains, and make sure everything is OK before the buyer arrives. But it’s getting dark earlier now and the windows were pretty dirty so I left the curtains shut. I entered the front door and went into the living room and started clicking light switches. This home has been vacant for a while but is still full of old dusty, ragged furniture. The place doesn’t really show that well, but it is an estate sale so people understand. In fact, some people get excited about buying the furniture, more so than the home. It’s amazing how the mixture of clutter and nice old antiques can distract buyers from what they are really there to look at. That musty, moldy smell doesn’t help much either.

As I flicked on the kitchen light there was a loud pop and all the lights went out. The electrical system in this place must need some work. Even though the house has been upgraded with circuit breakers it still has old knob and tube wiring so this is definitely not a home for FHA financing. I went out to the shed that connects to the large barn at the rear of the home. Luckily, the breaker box is in there instead of down in the dark and dungy wet basement. I didn’t think to bring a flashlight. It was still pretty dark though and I stepped through the door and got a face full of cob webs. Something scurried off across the ceiling. Probably squirrels? They probably have been eating the wiring. Just something else for the home inspector to pick up on. I reached out to where I remembered the breaker box to be, fumbled with the door, and started flicking breakers in hopes of finding the right one. I got lucky about the ninth try as I could see the kitchen light up beyond the shed door.

I pulled the door open to go back into the kitchen and immediately jumped backward. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, startled by the sight of the old woman standing there not two feet from the door. “You surprised me,” I said, “I didn’t hear you come in.” She didn’t respond and just looked at me blankly. Kind of sadly. She was dressed in a flowing nightgown. She took several steps backward, slowly into the light, and I could see her clearer now. Actually, I could see right through her. Real estate agents, over time, learn to see which buyers are real and which ones are not. This buyer was clearly not a real buyer, not real at all. She was clearly an apparition. A ghost of buyers past? “Are you Liz?” I asked, “Are you looking to buy this house?” She raised her right hand and in it was a piece of paper which she tossed at me. Picking it up, I could see it was an old deed from 1927. “Look at the name,” she whispered in the voice I recognized from the phone call. The name of the deed was Elizabeth Borden which I quickly recognized at the name of our dearly departed former owner. “Get out now!” she whispered, “Get out now!” I did, quickly. Could she be THAT Lizzy Borden? She can turn the lights off herself.

That’s it, I’m done with this one. Not only do I have to disclose that this place has bad wiring, a wet basement, peeling paint, and that it is infested with rodents, I also find it my duty to tell the buyers that I have seen my deceased client! This home is one of those dreaded “Dead Listings!” That’s a real Nightmare on Elm Street. Boo-tiful, just plain boo-tiful! Happy Halloween…

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Last September residential home sales in the towns covered by this report were strong with 91 transactions at an average sales price of $263,411. Sales this September were weaker with only 68 sales at an average price of $213,838. Sixty three percent of the transactions were under the $200,000 mark and only ten percent were over $400,000. With three quarters of the year done we stand at 545 sales so far at an average price of $312,141. That compares to 583 sales at an average of $302,541 for the same period last year.

Real estate revolves around numbers. For example, numbers like the square footage, the size of the lot, number of bedrooms, number of baths, water frontage, road frontage, etc. There are statistical numbers such as days on market, price per foot, median price, and sales price. The sales price is obviously THE most important number to most folks. It represents the value of their home. But how does the sales price relate to the all important appraised value or assessed value?

The sales price of a home is probably the most accurate number we deal with. It is what it is. It’s what the buyer and the seller agree that the home is worth at that given time. Sometimes (well maybe most of the time) it isn’t easy getting to that number without a lot of arm wrestling, negotiations, and a little praying. Assuming that the deal is an arms-length transaction, the value of any home is set by the market place and the accepted deal. Obviously, the housing meltdown flooded the market with foreclosures and short sales and has had a pronounced negative effect on property values. There are $200,000 houses selling for $125,000 while other home owners are trying to sell similar $200,000 houses for the full amount. Nevertheless, recent sales are what are used to determine the value of other homes on the market during the appraisal process.

The appraised value of a home is a pretty critical number. If there is financing involved, the appraised value has to equal or be greater than the sales price or the lender is not going to loan money to purchase it . The lender, through a third party intermediary company, sends out an appraiser to determine the value of the home based on recent, previous sales of similar properties in the same general area. If you are buying your home for cash, then congratulations are in order. But, hopefully, you are still getting an appraisal to ensure what you are buying is worth what you are paying. Many deals today hinge upon the property appraising and it can be tough to find good comparable properties because there just aren’t that many sales in certain price ranges or areas. When a property does not appraise for the agreed upon price the buyer does not get his loan, so he doesn’t have to buy the home. If that happens, the seller needs to decide whether he wants to keep his property or sell it for less than the contract price. Obviously, this can be a point of further negotiation and some give and take between the two parties.

The assessed value of a home is what your town thinks your property is worth. Towns hire independent companies to appraise properties to determine their current values and compute the total property value for their town. They can then set the tax rate that will raise enough revenue to cover the town’s operating expenses. Whenever a town does a reevaluation of the properties in their community there are always home owners that feel their properties are assessed too high or too low. Tax assessments are also derived by looking at recent sales of properties in the community, but assessments may not be as accurate as a formal home appraisal. The towns’ tax assessors do not get to see the inside of many homes and the task of trying to fairly assess a whole town is certainly much more difficult than finding the value of a specific property.

Right now, we are seeing many properties selling below their assessed value because we are in a very difficult market. For the most part, if you buy a home below the tax assessed value you probably got a good deal, but many times you have to spend a lot of money to get the home back up to snuff. You have to carefully consider the condition of the home. Conversely, there are many homes that sell over the assessed value every month and with good reason. These homes generally are those that are of high quality, are in nicer condition, have had upgrades not reflective in the assessments, or have intrinsic value associated with views or waterfront properties. It could also be that the assessed value was not reflective of what is really there. Generally speaking, the homes that sold for over assessed value probably have at least one thing in common: they all appraised for the purchase price or higher.

Comparing the assessed value of a home that is for sale to its asking price is a good place to start your evaluation of the property but it should not be the end of it as there are a lot of other factors to consider. Think of the assessment as kind of a base line. Of the 62 sales in September where the current assessed value could be determined, 40 of the sales were under the assessed value but 22 sales were over it. That’s why you need a REALTOR® working with you to advise you based on his knowledge of the market place and values.

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Residential homes sales in the Lakes Region communities covered by this market report jumped a healthy 23% in August compared to the same month last year. There were 83 sales last month at an average of $330,718 compared to 67 last August at an average of $411,780. A 23% increase in sales is welcome news but one month doesn’t make a trend. On a rolling twelve month basis we are still off last year’s pace…just a bit. For the twelve month period ending 8/31/10 there were 772 sales at an average of $312,389. For the twelve month period ending 8/31/11 there have been 758 sales at an average of $331,556. Hopefully, a strong fall sales season will bring us up over last year’s total numbers.

As usual, about 50% (49.4% to be exact) of the sales were under $200,000. The sale to asking price percentage averaged 93%. One statistic that perhaps tells a little more of a story is the sale to the original asking price percentage. Last month the sales price was 88% of the original asking price which means that there was a 5% reduction on average in the original asking price before the homes went under contract. Sale prices averaged 95% of the home’s assessed value (for the homes reporting the assessed value in the MLS system).

There were a number of quick sales last month and it is always interesting to see what sold and why.The quickest sale, at least according to the MLS system, was a home that sold the same day it was put on the market only it was never on the market. Huh? It was actually a For Sale By Owner, that a quick thinking agent named Jason had in the back of his mind and showed to his client that had exhausted the other possibilities. It turns out that the buyer had always wanted this property and didn’t know it was for sale. This turn of the century Winnisquam waterfront property at 20 Winnicoash Street in Laconia has 1,624 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, 1 ½ baths, a one car garage, and sits on a .31 acre lot with 94’ of water frontage. The asking price was $480,000 and it sold for $457,674 which was well under the assessed value of $523,200.

Another extremely quick sale was at 44 Driftwood Drive in Moultonborough. This Winnipesaukee waterfront home was built in 2000 and has 2,924 square feet of living area, a master bedroom suite, three guest rooms , three full baths, cathedral ceilings, gas fireplace, and a two car garage on a .63 acre lot with 100 feet of frontage with southern exposure. This property was listed for $859,000 and sold for $825,000 after just two days on the market. The town’s current tax assessment is $943,000. Good deal, quick sale, happy seller, and happy buyer!

Over at 26 Hunter Court in Belmont an older 70’s vintage two bedroom, two bath, 1416 square foot ranch with a two car garage on a 1.11 acre lot also found a quick buyer. This property was listed at $134,900 and got a full price offer after only five days on the market. This great entry level home is currently assessed for $193,600.

Another ranch at 104 Waukewan Road in Center Harbor also sold for well under assessed value. This home was built in 1979 and has 1,536 square feet of living area with three bedrooms, two full baths, hardwood floors throughout, and a two car garage. It sits on a sunny 1.15 acre lot near the Waukewan Golf Course so I hope the new owners like to chase those little white balls around. This home was listed at $199,900 and sold for $187,500 after only 8 days on the market. The assessed value is $287,900. Are you beginning to see the trend?

A great little cottage with access to Hills Pond at 197 Alton Shores Road in Alton also sold in just 9 days. This four room, two bedroom, 680 square foot get-a-way is cute as a button and sits on .56 acres with two lots of record. The property is seasonal, but at only $93,500 it makes a great little summer vacation property. Perhaps you can go there to hide from the Mrs. or vice versa. The town’s current tax assessment is $117,1000.

So there you have it. Five quick sales; two waterfronts, two small ranches, one water access, and more accurately, five good deals.

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According to what I have read on-line, the most popular house color, not surprisingly, is white. All you have to do is look around good old New England  and you can see quaint villages full of white houses, churches, and town buildings. According to one article, 37% of homeowners would choose white as the predominate color if they were to repaint the exterior of their home. I’d say white is pretty popular here in the Lakes Region, but does one color home sell quicker than another? I found that people don’t really shop for a particular color home as it can always can be repainted. But, I do think a great paint job in the right color or combination of colors can make a difference in the home’s curb appeal and can sometimes make the sale. Buying a home is a very visual process. Some style homes look better painted one color versus another. You know, that little red cape on the corner might not look as good sky blue.

I thought I would take a look at what has sold since the first of the year in the twelve Lakes Region communities I track to see if there is anything that can be learned about what colors are most popular, which color home sells the quickest, and what other mostly useless or profound info I could gather. So here goes. As of this past Monday there were a little over 440 homes sold. As expected, white appears to the winner with 63 homes. The second most popular color appears to be grey or gray (is there a difference?) with a total of 59 houses. There were 34 beige homes sold, 46 tan, 9 cream, 7 clay, 4 taupe, 1 putty, 1 slate, 1 pebble, and 2 sand colored houses. You could infer that a lot of home owners don’t take chances on color and kind of like to be neutral. There were also 34 brown homes sold and 1 “light brown”…could that really be a chocolatey gray? There was also 1 mocha home sold (a Dunkin Donut’s inspired paint theme).

There was 1 “maple” colored colonial home sold that looks like it could be taupe, cream, or some kind of tan to me. I get a little colorblind on these shades, but all I can think of is maple flavored oatmeal. There was 1 gold colored home that sold cheap so that color didn’t help. There was 1 peach colored waterfront cottage sold that was kind of peachy so that color really fit.

Getting back to more basic colors, there were 19 yellow homes sold. I think yellow looks great on certain homes and makes them really pop. There were 14 blue homes sold and 1 “light blue”. Red houses generally have a real appeal to some buyers and there were 11 of those sold along with 2 burgundy. There was 1 lavender Victorian sold and the pictures of it look of it looked great. There were 14 green, 3 sage, and 1 “evergreen”. Do you think “evergreen” means you never have to repaint?

There were 12 natural colored homes sold. “Natural” usually means a clear stain on redwood or cedar shingles. Or perhaps they were too lazy to paint the place at all? There were no “unnatural” ones unless you classify that lavender or peach as such. There were also 4 “cedar” colored homes sold and 4 “log” colored homes. I don’t think “log” is a color, do you? The house could be a natural wood color or maybe one of those rare albino white birch log homes? One home’s color was listed as “brk/wht” which turns out to be a brick house with white trim. There were 8 homes whose color was “TBD” which is a shade yet to be determined. Finally, the remainder of the homes sold had no color listed at all. I suspect in those cases the agent inputting the data was perhaps a bit colorblind like me.

The most expensive home sold was brown, followed by a sage, a TBD, a natural, and the lone “evergreen” which actually looks grey-blue (or is it gray-blue) in the pictures. Out of the quickest 20 sales, 5 homes were white, 4 grey, 1 red, 1 cedar, 1 tan, 1 yellow, 1 clay, 2 “TBD”, and there were 4 homes with no color listed.

So it looks like homes of just about every color sells. I would bet that the main thing regarding the paint color is that the paint is in good condition and is appealing. If you are going to repaint your home before you sell it, look around and see what colors and color combinations look good on homes like yours. Professional painters can also give you some great ideas on colors and color combinations that are appealing and in style today.

There were 77 residential home sales last month in the communities listed in this Lakes Region real estate market report. That’s down a bit from the 88 sales last June. But the average sales price came in considerably higher at $476,304 compared to $292,586 in June 2010. The higher average seems to have originated from a strong month in Moultonborough where seven sales closed in excess of $1 million. Not a bad month there with 19 sales at an average of $1,072,761! Laconia also had a pretty good sales tally with 16 homes exchanging hands. It appears that about a third of the sales for the month were waterfront or vacation type homes.

OK, I like really like milestones such as being halfway through the year. It seems to mean more when you can compare results for the first half of one year to another. Must be some sort of psychological thing or something. But it doesn’t mean you have to like the results. In the case of comparing our Lakes Region real estate sales for the first half of this year to last, the results aren’t great. It is another one of those glasses that are half empty or half full depending on your perspective. So here it is; for the first six months of 2011 there were 325 residential sales, which is 10% less than the 364 we had in the first half of 2010. The average price though is up from $298,945 to $328,294 so that’s on the plus side. We are also up compared to the first half of 2009 when there were 306 sales at an average of $254,071. So it’s kind of a couple of steps forward and one back…

Everybody today is getting a “smart phone”, an “Ipad”, or some sort of “tablet” to help them get through the technological and informational quagmire of the day. Then there are all these different “apps” that you can get for them that will do everything from telling you where to get the cheapest gas to what movies are playing where to following your stock market investments. There are also a lots of real estate apps available for these devices to help tech savvy buyers find information about homes. There’s a REALTOR.com app, Trulia and Zillow apps, a Smarter Agent app with a GPS, mortgage calculator apps, real estate vocabulary and dictionary apps, apps for home flippers (that must be a good one!), and apps to find rental properties. How’s that saying go? Whatever you need, “There’s an app for that!”

While all of this technology in the palm of your hand is amazing and quite helpful I am not sure where it is all going to end up. Information today is instantly available to home buyers in so many methods and formats that it boggles the mind. I think that we are all suffering a little from information overload. Sometimes there is so much info available that home buyers get caught up over analyzing the property that they want to buy. Maybe things need to be a little simpler? There needs to be a way to sort all of this information and make sense of it. Well now there’s an app for that, too!

The app is called “REALTORG”. That’s pronounced loudly as “RRRREEEEELLLLTOOOORRRGGG!” like the announcer in the ring at the World Wrestling Federation. Impressive, huh? This app is designed to take all the extraneous bits of jumbled information gathered by home buyers and uses a unique and patented common sense approach to sorting and enhancing the data. This app has been developed from years of real world experience. Imagine an app that can tell you so much more about a property than the limited factual property information you get from those run of the mill real estate apps! Things like; what’s around the property, is it in a nice area, what’s the condition of the home, do the pictures really reflect what the house looks like, or is the home a good value? It helps you make common sense decisions about buying or selling a home. That’s something other apps can’t do. This app could revolutionize the real estate world! And its free! It doesn’t download into your smart phone, I Pad, or “tablet”, but it is readily available to home buyers everywhere. This app is your local REALTOR® and he’s been around awhile so there are no bugs to work out. Call him for a 90 day free trial. Guaranteed no problems downloading.

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Yeah! Summer is really here. The temperature is heating up and it finally feels like it is lake weather. It’s time to get out on the boat and enjoy it. There were twelve waterfront sales sales on Winnipesaukee in June which is a 50% increase over June of last year. That’s pretty encouraging! And there were some large sales, too! In fact ten of the twelve sales were over the million mark. There were three sales in the $2-3 million range and one over $4 million. The average sales price last month was $1.778 million compared to $1.376 million last June and the total volume for the month was slightly over $21 million compared to $12.6 last June. That’s a pretty good month in my book.

The least expensive sale on the lake was at 13 Acadia Lane in Alton. This lakeside fifties vintage, 728 square foot, two bedroom cottage was a bank owned property that has had some recent updates including a metal roof and vinyl siding. The home sits on a one third acre lot with 100’ of frontage and a dock. The home was only on the market a month before some buyers jumped on it so they could enjoy the lake for the summer. It was priced at $385,000 and actually sold for more at $425,000. Sounds like there could have been a little bidding going on for this one. The current tax assessed value is $497,200 so it would seem that the buyer still got a good deal.

On the higher end pricing spectrum, across the lake in Moultonborough at 11 Mallard Way, there is a waterfront that is about ten times larger that also has a new owner. This Adirondack style home has 7,500 square feet of living space with seventeen rooms, six bedrooms, eight baths, and a whole lot of quality! This Skiffington home was built in 2004 and features post and beam construction, a gourmet custom kitchen, a fabulous great room with soaring ceilings, five fireplaces, a large family/game room on the walk out lower level, first floor master suite, a three room suite over the three car heated garage, and sweeping decks. The home sits on a 1.1 acre lot with beautiful landscaping, great sunset views, 156’ of frontage, a perched beach, and a covered dock. This home was originally listed on New Year’s Eve in 2008 for $3.999 million and again in September of 2009 for the same amount. It was listed again in November of 2010 for $3.495 million and sold for $2.9 million after a combined total of 750 days on the market. The current tax assessed value is $2,864,300. I wonder if there was confetti dropping and they were blowing horns when this one sold?

The highest sale on the lake last month was also in Moultonborough at 31 Wallace Point. This beautiful 10,000 square foot lodge style waterfront has fifteen rooms, seven bedrooms, nine baths, a grand living room with fieldstone fireplace, cathedral ceilings and exposed beams, a lower level family/pool room plus a lower level living room, and master suites on the first and second levels. This magnificent home sits on a professionally landscaped 1.89 acre lot with 235’ of frontage that has a sandy beach, two bay boat house, plus a permanent 58’ crib dock. As with many homes in this market, this one took a while to sell, too. It was originally listed in 2008 at $6.495 million, in 2009 at $5.295 million, in 2010 at $4.795 million, and this year at $4.495 million finally selling at $4.325 million after a combined total of 367 days on the market. The current assessed value is $3.639 million. Anyone see any trends here?

There have been a total of 41 Winnipesaukee sales for the first half of 2011 at an average of $1.172 million compared to 38 sales for the first half of 2010 at an average of $1.28 million. I’d say that’s holding our own in this economy!

Over on Winnisquam there were four waterfront sales with the largest being in Laconia at 126 Shore Drive This sixties vintage ranch had 3,900 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, three baths, a large living room, two fireplaces, and a family room in the walkout lower level. The one third acre lot has 100’ of frontage, a sandy beach, dock, and fabulous sunset views. This home was snapped up after one day on the market at the full asking price of $699,000 which is slightly above the current $665,000 tax assessment. A great deal in a great Winnisquam neighborhood. There have been thirteen sales on Winnisquam during the first half of 2011 at an average of $470,204 compared to just seven for the first half of 2010 at an average of $521,571. I’d say things are going pretty well on Winnisquam so far this year!

There weren’t any sales on Squam last month and only three sales through June 30th this year, but that is three more sales than the first half of last year. I’m not sure what’s going on up there but there are 24 homes on the lake for sale ranging from $399,000 to over $8 million so hopefully sales will pick up over the summer months. Maybe people have forgotten that the elusive lake trout “Walter” (or actually his descendant) is still out there. I read that “Walter” was brought over to Squam for the movie from a trout pond at the Castle in the Clouds. Ahhh, he wasn’t a Squamy after all…

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As part of the Lake Views series of articles, I thought it would be interesting to talk with someone that is responsible for building some of the nicest homes in the Lakes Region. It just so happens that most of these homes have great views of the lake. Mark Flanders, of Flanders and Company in Meredith, was good enough to spend some time talking about his business and business philosophy.

Flanders and Company has been around since 1980. Mark grew up in the business working for his father, Bob, and took over the company in 2001 with a vision of creating a company that focused on building the finest homes in the area. He wanted to create an exceptional experience for his clients, one that would ensure they would call him back if they ever wanted to build another home. He also wanted to make sure that they told all their friends about his company. Imagine that, a business founded on good old fashioned quality workmanship, satisfied customers, and word of mouth advertising!

The first thing that Mark does with potential clients is talk about the construction process and then determines what they are trying to achieve. He wants to make sure he is a good fit for them, that they are looking for a company with integrity, and that they want a high quality product. Mark is well aware that his clients are going to spend a lot of money and he wants to be able to say up front to that they will be happy with the results. If he can’t say that, he doesn’t want them as a customer. Flanders and Company is also a design/build company. Mark can sit and design a home to meet your exact needs and then build it for you, or he will work hand in hand with the architect of your choice.

Mark is probably one of the most tech-savvy builders in the Lakes Region. One of the things that really sets Flanders and Company apart from many others is the web accessible construction management system he uses to keep his clients informed about the status of their build. Most clients like to be involved in the build, but because most of them don’t live here they can’t be here every day and that could cause delays and frustration. Mark explained, “As a builder, I want to make this experience as fun as I can for them and as trouble free as I can so they do want to do it more… build another house, or renovate, and tell their friends. The web based project management portal allows them to come in and see the schedule, so they can see what is going to happen when and to see progress pictures.”

All of the documents associated with the project such the construction agreement, plans, and schedule of values are posted on the website so the client has everything readily accessible. When choices are made that are different than estimated in the construction agreement, the program automatically updates the expense section so the client knows exactly how much the change costs. Any changes, dialog, or communication are documented on the portal so there is never any disagreement about who said what and which changes were made when.

Mark says that at the end of a project a client doesn’t remember what went well; they just remember what went poorly. Two years down the road they might not even remember what they paid. But they will remember if they liked their builder. So the more disagreements (let’s say misunderstandings) you eliminate, the more satisfied the customer will be.

Mark’s clients are “willing to pay a little extra for quality and for piece of mind” knowing that work will be completed on time and on budget. His clients are more about a mindset rather than a dollar amount. And, while high end clients provide the bulk of the business for the company, they also do everything from homes for first time buyers to small additions, decks, and major renovations. No job is too big, or too small.

Mark says he thinks the next big building trend will be focusing on energy efficiency and green buildings. He says that “people sometimes don’t get the correspondence between the fact that generally if you build a house that is more energy efficient and cheaper to run, it is also more comfortable as long as you do it right. You get a tangible benefit of saving money, the intangible benefit of a better, more comfortable house, and the tangible, but hard to measure benefit of better resale.”

Mark hopes that there is an undercurrent of people that are not so focused on the size of their home, but more on the quality of the home and whether the home meets their needs. Some people really need 6,000 square feet because they entertain or they have a lot of family that visit. But he doesn’t want to build 6,000 square feet when the client doesn’t really have the budget and the quality suffers. He would rather design a smaller, high quality home for those same clients that would meet their needs and that would not only have all the features they were looking for but would also be very comfortable.

People will often live in a house for years before they realize that they have rooms that they never use and wish they didn’t have to heat. But it can be tough to tell new clients that when they walk through the door. Unfortunately, building a home is not like buying a car. He says if you make a mistake when you buy a car it is not a disaster as you can usually trade it or sell it even if it is at a small lose. It is much harder to deal with and lot more costly when you make a mistake on a house.

Mark believes that the next statistic that needs to go on the MLS is the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score of the house for sale. It just so happens that there is a spot to denote the HERS score on the MLS, but I have yet to see anyone plug a number in there. Just as buyers often compare tax bills on similar homes and often buy the home with the lesser tax, they would likely opt for a home that has half the heating cost of the other if all other factors were the same. There are lots of different green home designations and different levels of achievement within those designations such as Energy Star, LEED Gold, Silver, and Platinum, or National Green Building Standard Gold, Silver or Emerald, but the HERS score is the number that would tell the buyer exactly how efficient the home is.

What does he feel his company does that is better than anyone else? Well, right after building some of the finest homes in the area, it would be providing a great home building experience to his clients through superb communication provided by the on-line project management system. Delivering on time, on budget, and with no surprises ensures that Flanders and Company will have many happy clients (and friends) talking about his company for years to come.

Mark can be reached at 603-279-4254 and the office is located at 169 Daniel Webster Highway, Suite 10, Meredith NH. Drop in and say “Hi”.

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We are halfway through 2011. So is the real estate glass half empty or half full? If you are looking at the total number of listings in the twelve Lakes Region communities in this report, you’d have to say that the glass is way more than half full, it is actually overflowing. As of July 1, there were 1389 residential listings available. That’s up 8% over the 1277 homes that were available last July 1. That’s a lot of homes on the market. A 22.75 month supply to be exact. The average asking price is down from $551,288 last July 1 to $525,250 this July. The median price is down as well from $285,000 to $269,000. So while we have a huge glut of homes on the market which is bad, there is a huge selection for buyers to choose from at lower prices which is good. I get accused of being too positive all the time about our real estate market, so this time you get to decide if the glass is half full or empty…

With all these houses on the market and with so few selling there is no doubt that we sometimes see more homes expire in a month than actually sell. It’s just the nature of the market right now. It is extremely frustrating for sellers and agents alike. Sellers have to work hard to keep their home in show ready condition and agents work twice as hard marketing and showing the property. It is tough when there are so many homes available and so few buyers. It seems that the moon and stars need to be aligned just right to find a buyer. It also seems like it is always a question of is the house being marketed properly, is the house listed at the right price, or are there just no buyers looking right now?

When the listing term expires on a home there is a decision to be made by the owner. Should he continue with his existing agent or go find someone else? The answer to that question should be based on the performance of the listing agent and how the home was marketed. Most agents work very hard to get their listings sold. After all, none of us get paid unless we make a sale. Sometimes, a seller doesn’t understand how the agency markets his property or how much the agent actually does for him. But let’s assume for the moment that the listing agency and agent are doing everything they should be doing. And, no, that does not mean doing public open houses every week. That doesn’t work.

Then consider the price of the home. It is the owner that has the final say on price. Agents recommend, owners decide. Sometimes the homeowner just wants way too much. Sometimes he has no choice and has to price the home at a certain level so he can pay off the mortgage. And, in markets like this, it is can sometimes also be difficult for an agent to get the “right number” on a property as there are so few properties selling to get good comparables. Price adjustments may be necessary. Real estate is far from an exact science. But let’s say, for example, that a residential home has been on the market for five and a half months. It is listed a little higher than it really should be, but that’s where the seller says he needs to be. The seller authorized one decent sized price reduction after two months of little activity. The listing agent has marketed the property as promised. They’ve had sporadic showings with mostly good feedback on the property, but no offers. The agent has kept the seller informed about the state of the market and what has been done to try and sell the home. The agent suggests another price drop to create some activity and extending the listing for another term. The seller, while acknowledging the bad market, does not seem inclined to reduce his home further. That is, until he lists with another agency.

Anyone who has been a REALTOR® for a while has had this happen to them–probably multiple times. It is a well known axiom in our profession, that most agents would rather be the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th agent that lists a property because the price will be closer to where it should be. It’s frustrating to agents that lose a listing because they feel they have worked their butt off and will never get compensated for that work. It’s exciting for the new agent as he has a better priced product to sell. I’ve been on both sides of the equation. My suggestion (to any sellers that might be reading this) is to really consider how much your agent has worked to sell your property and that, well, maybe it really is the price that’s the problem and not the marketing or the agent. If you are going to relist with another agency and keep the price the same that’s one thing. But if you are going to drop the price, consider keeping the listing with your current agent if he or she has done a good job for you. That’s good real estate Karma…

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There can be any number of unexpected things that will kill a real estate deal these days. Home inspections and appraisals are the first things that come to mind. Mortgage underwriters are also coming up with innovative new ways to make life difficult for buyers, sellers, and real estate agents. Everyone is looking for perfect homes, at a perfect price, in a perfect world.

Getting someone to actually write up an offer on a property today almost seems like a miracle all by itself. Having a seller accept an offer can be like the second coming of Jerry Garcia. Many times an offer is D.O.A. and no amount of resuscitation will save it from the real restate morgue. But does it need to be that way? Isn’t there a miracle cure? There sure is. It is called “NOBUT”. This miracle drug can be taken orally and you can get a 90 day trial supply absolutely free by contacting me at the phone number below. I will prescribe it to anyone buying or selling real estate. It works equally well on buyers and sellers.

It almost goes without saying that in this uncertain market it is very difficult for buyers and sellers to see the same value in a property. Buyers often see the value of a property much lower than it may actually be based partly on the gloom and doom media reports which may or may not be reflective of the current local regional market. Buyers are also scared of making a mistake by paying more than they need to. Buyers also can be greedy (not really in a bad way.) Everyone wants to buy everything at the cheapest possible price. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s normal. But, buyers can also be blind to what may already be a good deal. If they get too greedy they are likely to have the seller dig his heels in and miss out on what is a realistically priced and great property.

Sellers often, but not always, value their property higher than what the current market will bring. They paid “x” or have added this or that improving the property and would like to at least break even on the sale or perhaps make a little money for a down payment on their next place. That’s also very normal and expected. It has always been that way. The disparity between what the buyer wants to offer and what the sellers will accept seems to have become more exaggerated because there are so few buyers and because the market has declined significantly. It is not unusual to see an initial offer that is so far from what a seller is willing to accept that it prompts a resounding “NO” without even a counter offer. This deal is D.O.A. The word “No” Is the number one deal killer.

But just think of what would happen after taking just two “NOBUT” pills. A low offer is received by a seller. Instead of saying “NO”, he can only say “NOBUT, I will take this instead.” The buyer (who we have also had on “NOBUT” pills since they started looking for property nine months ago) gets the counter offer. Instead of saying “NO” and walking away, he will say “NOBUT, I’ll meet you half way!” This might go back and forth several times with no one uttering a single “NO” without the “BUT” after it, until surprisingly someone slips and says “YES!” This is the proverbial “making something out of nothing.”

“NOBUT’s” unbelievable curative powers don’t stop there. It works equally well in situations where buyers and sellers have historically tried to “make something into nothing.” That usually occurs during the home inspection process where any number of issues seem to pop up and cause gastric inflammation and other maladies that are too extreme to discuss here. During these attacks stricken buyers sometimes lapse into a unreasonable delirious state which can be contagious and can be contracted by the seller. There are countless documented cases where a perfectly good deal for both parties is ruined by the utterance of the deadly word “NO.” “NOBUT” prevents this from happening and helps buyers and sellers find common ground where the word “Yes” can safely be said.

My point here is, I think, if you want to buy or sell real estate in this market, don’t reject an offer or counter offer without trying to work the deal a little and find some middle ground. A “NO” will most certainly get you nowhere. A “NOBUT” might actual make “something out of nothing” and get you where you want to be which is either in or out of the home. Seems simple to me…

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