(Photo Credit: CBS - www.cbsnews.com)

This time around, the Lakes Region is receiving some extra focus thanks to Wolfeboro property owner Mitt Romney, who also happens to be a strong contender for the Republican party presidential noimation.  CBS News recently visited with our own Kathryn Aitken, who discussed Romney’s fabulous summer home on Lake Winnipesaukee and what it’s like to have a presidential hopeful living among us.

Read the full article, “Mitt Romney’s New Hampshire Getaway” and feel free to share your comments about what you think life in the Lakes Region might be like with the American president as a sometime neighbor.

The first was the chance encounter with a man in his 80s who happened to drop in at our Alton Bay office with a question. Specifically, could I tell him if Camp Mishe Mokwa was still operating? He still has wonderful recollections of the 4 summers he spent there on Treasure Island in Lake Winnipesaukee, way back in the early part of last century. With a little research I informed him that it was no more, as of 1937. We chatted for some time, though, about Alton Bay and the Lake of his memories, and he grew more animated and specific of those halcyon days.

Subsequently I counted more than 47 camps had at one time existed along the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam. Most have long since gone; Camp Tecumseh in Moultonborough, however, is still often rated among the top camps in the country. It struck me that there must be hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps many, many more, who harbor a strong fondness for the special qualities of our area. These shared memories have a force of their own, almost tangible lingerings of happy experiences; I’ve felt them, and so have others.

Moultonborough Real Estate Gem with a Long History & a Bright Future?

My second observation concerns a new real estate listing of Spencer Hughes: That of the unique gentleman’s estate of Kona Farms, MLS #4068978, in Moultonborough. At a mere $7,995,900.00, this remnant of the American Age of Elegance exudes a touch of class and a propriety of another time. Why the name?  Well, it stems from the legend of the tragic love affair between the Indian princess Ellacoya and her suitor, the mighty Kona. Personally I’d love to see a creative school obtain this property to continue a reverence for the continuity of an earlier time. A Chautauqua, perhaps. We’ll see.

Jim Ferriman:  Jferriman@spencerhughes.com,  (603) 520-5385

Image via Wikipedia

There has been some welcome, and overdue, legislation from the NH State Senate regarding the New Hampshire Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act, which clarifies and simplifies the 2008 revisions of the original 1991 act.  NH State Senate Bill #154 will allow the waterfront owners and builders in the Lakes Region to efficiently schedule and manage costs concerning waterfront property alterations by greatly reducing the confusion and unknowns of the state’s position regarding an owner’s project proposal.

The bill will also keep in tact all of the provisions that protect the water quality and waterfront beauty, hence the property value, upon which the purpose of the Act rests. I believe that this bill will eliminate what had been in my mind some of the unenforceable aspects of the earlier revisions and provides that most permits would be issued or denied within 5 days of the application date. This includes applications for new construction, landscaping, excavations, water runoff management, repairs and alterations to existing structures and general improvements to waterfront property beneficial to the goals of the Act.

The NH publication “A Shoreland Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater Management – Protecting Your Home & Environment” can be accessed on the web and consists of ten worthwhile articles that should be part of any waterfront owner’s library. Mr. Jay Aube (jason.aube@des.nh.gov), the director of the Shoreland Program, can be easily contacted and offers clear and valuable advice regarding all aspects of the Act.

With each new spring season, waterfront owners walk their property with an eye toward making long-term improvements and value appreciation efforts. Should this bill pass the NH House and gain the NH Governor’s signature, the law is expected to take effect on June 30, 2011.  Overall it will provide an understanding of the needs and expectations on everyone’s part in protecting the high standards of the Lakes Region. After all, out-of-state second home owners can buy their dream house anywhere.  This proposal will help determine that the NH Lakes Region and Lake Winnipesaukee will be able to showcase our lifestyle well into the future.

Jim Ferriman

603-520-5385 or 603-520-2020

Image by Golden Eye via Flickr

Some believe the translation of “Winnipesaukee” to be “Beautiful Water in a High Place;” an apt description, and one that has been in use for more than just a short while. After all, the earliest known community along Lake Winnipesaukee’s shores was the large village of Aquedoctan, established by the Abnaki Tribe along the Weirs channel some 500 years ago, perhaps a great deal earlier. The historical evidence leads to the great mystery surrounding the “Big Lake”—that being how this large lake can maintain its water quality in such a confined watershed. Winnipesaukee is extraordinarily pure for a body of fresh water, in spite of heavy and sustained use. The continuous efforts of the past and current inhabitants to preserve its rare qualities account for this end result.

Winnipesaukee 101: Lakes Region Facts

The basic facts: Winnipesaukee has 183 miles of shoreline and a surface area of nearly 72 square miles, is 21+ miles long and up to 9 ½ miles wide, has a multitude of islands (300 or so, depending on who is doing the counting), and possesses some 600 navigation aids. It was born of the Wisconsin Glacier Period, when glaciers 2 miles thick gouged out fractured and less competent rock, leaving citadels of the more substantial host granite. At their end 13,000 years ago, the glaciers retreated, leaving their mark in the form of moraines, eskers, and kettle depressions, and in effect sculpted all of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Why Do We Love to Live on Lake Winnipesaukee?

Of course, I have an opinion as to the major influence on the quality of the lake: I think that when people choose to live in a place rather than living somewhere out of necessity and receive continual visual inspiration, things on purpose turn out better.  That, and the fact that very little mining was ever done in the surrounding mountains.

The 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier thought this way about the view from the Melvin Village shoreline when he wrote, “Where the great lake’s sunny smiles – Dimple round its hundred isles.” When I try to imagine the lake a generation or so from now, I feel that the magical quality of the lake will more than endure; I believe it will grow in grace and serenity.
Jim Ferriman     jferriman@spencerhughes.com        603-520-5385

Fishing the NH Lakes Region...It really was this big

The fun of fishing seems to transcend all ages as to excitement and thrills, from the great grandparent to the great grandchild. And the lakes and rivers of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire provide endless opportunities and memories for everyone. I have several favorite quotes about fishing. Some even by noted and notable fisher folk.  But my all time one remains, “We are always the same age inside” which I’ve taken from a Gertrude Stein essay and applied to this noble effort.

In another few weeks I’ll put my own dock out. I have a bench at the end of it which provides just the right comfort level for both the eldest and youngest anglers. For me as well, though I do like to go out in pursuit of the small mouth bass and lake trout of Lake Winnipesaukee. For the first timers I suggest a day or half day with one of the professional guides on the big lake, check Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guides. They won’t give away all of their secrets, just enough of them to make sure that you’ll enjoy yourself.

The NH Fish and Game Dept. has been busy since early April stocking the smaller lakes, rivers and streams in Carroll and Belknap Counties. My neighbor and his son had a great day at Manning Lake on Sunday. They limited out on fine Brook Trout. And my friend, Captain Joel, of www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com should have his boat out by late May in the Piscataqua River and offering the very best striped bass action anywhere. I’ve been out with him a half dozen times and always had a great time.

Like James Joyce, “I love all things that flow”, I too am enamored by the sight and sound of moving water though I suspect he may have been alluding to things other than rivers. At any rate its fishing season, part of the many whys folks embrace the New Hampshire life style especially here in the Lakes Region. I encourage you to experience and re-experience an activity that will never grow stale, you can always recall a day on the water.

Jim Ferriman
603-267-9866

No time is better than the present for second home buyers

Realtors are certainly becoming popular, at least at gatherings and parties. Not for their entertaining personalities, perhaps, but for what opinion they might venture regarding the direction of the real estate market.

Now, man is a gregarious social creature, not a herd animal mind you, but one who is aware of time and therefore timing. Is this the “bottom”?  I don’t know. I do know that home prices have come down significantly in the past year or so, while financing rates have been more or less firm. While I embrace time, I prefer to exclude timing, championing Newton over Leibniz.

Buyers seeking second homes usually do so for the fundamental desire of establishing a personal alternative to their familiar routine, no matter how interesting and stimulating. Picking the absolute market nadir for a second homebuyer becomes almost antithetical to their true interests. And, the total variables determining a “market bottom” are so numerous and diverse that picking it becomes more a matter of chance than any realized action.

At the same time, sellers have their own time tables and they may be quite different from most buyers. They, if they wish to follow classic market precepts, need to position their property competitively to the general market to attract the buyer. But, waterfront homes in the Lakes Region present unique market conditions; for the buyer pool is large, diverse and can exert unanticipated influence on the actual selling prices on the local market.

My advice, therefore, which I offer to one and all, is that if you see something you like and have the means, don’t hesitate, but make it your own. After all, time as we experience it proceeds in only one direction.

Jim Ferriman            Jferriman@spencerhughes.com (603) 267-9866

Lakes Region Docks MLS# 2778813

As a metaphor it might be a stretch but in actuality this is where the lake experience begins, at the dock. Think of them a transition points, allowing for a natural and gradual introduction from a static familiarity to an ever changing medium.

We, at Spencer Hughes, are much attuned to dock pricing on the Big Lake. Because of state legislation the value of lake side properties are greatly affected by any existing, “grandfathered” dock.

Crib docks, boat houses, breakwaters, permanent docks, floating docks and seasonal docks all have a very strong influence on the appraised and assessed value of waterfront properties. A focal point of waterfront property, this is where we all gravitate eventually, for entertainment, curiosity or simply to maintain contact with the lake.

Waterfront homes with docks in need of attention have, at times, a worth exceeding their appraised value, though a question can arise of at what point do repairs become new construction and perhaps prohibited. Regardless, any repair, alteration, or new construction concerning a dock may require both local and state and permits.

Jim Ferriman
603-267-9866

 A Centralized Control System can activate not only smoke and fire detectors but also monitor water, carbon monoxide, freeze, and intruder sensors. Appliance Control Systems activate interior LED lighting systems and television/radio operation that will give the impression that the home is fully occupied. I know one couple who relied on live video to check on babysitters and later when their children arrived home from school to an empty house. Another couple provided for their elderly parents with a movement monitor worn on the wrist.

The possible configurations are enormous for the homeowner. Always losing your keys, then Biometric Locks may be the solution. Incredibly sensitive Motion Sensors and DVR hidden cameras provide a high level of criminal deterrence. I suppose that the biggest improvement in Home Security is the fact while options have increased prices have declined. Basic and efficient systems are now affordable for even the seasonal cottage owner, and I recommend them.

Jim Ferriman  jferriman@spencerhughes.com  603-267-9866/ 603-52-5385

When I myself finally relocated I picked the Lakes Region of New Hampshire partly because of the proximity of Gunstock Ski Resort. Though now I teach by appointment only I did spend a half dozen enjoyable seasons instructing there. For me Gunstock is an instructors dream and the most teachable mountain I have ever experienced.

The secrets of Gunstock lie in the selective nature of the terrain slopes, the low number of mid-week skiers and the uniform consistency of the snow. Once over a period of 4 years a balance impaired skier from Florida, who maintained a second home on the Big Lake, and I worked together in 80 separate lessons that allowed him to become a capable intermediate skier.

The views of Lake Winnipesaukee and its islands from the summit of Gunstock are stunning. This one was taken on at dawn from near the top of the mountain off the intermediate Gunsmoke run. Its no wonder that many of the second homes in the region are principally ski chalets for family and friends. I suggest you check Gunstock.com for this season’s opening date.

Rattlesnake Island

Jim Ferriman Jferriman@spencerhughes.com 603-520-5385