All Forum Posts by: Jason Muth

Hi Ron and Ann.  Thanks for starting this thread - we have been waiting for conversations about New Hampshire, which aren't as plentiful here as I would have imagined!  We have a vacation property on Baxter Lake in Farmington, which is right over the town line from Rochester.  So far, so good with that one.

We have been looking at multis in Rochester NH and Dover NH while studying the population trends there.  Two weeks ago, we went to Open Houses in both cities, and each property went under agreement two days after each first OH.  Dover has a great downtown and plenty of units within a 10-15 minute walk of the Amtrak station.

Portsmouth is very expensive, so people are looking toward Dover to live.  As Dover appreciates, we think that Rochester is the next area professionals will look for affordable places to live while remaining within 30-40 minutes of the Seacoast.  We have an optimistic eye on downtown Rochester, but are hesitant about the tenant quality of some neighboring streets.  But downtown Rochester is only 18 minutes from downtown Dover, both cities have 30,000 residents, and Dover's population has grown 10% since 2000 (whereas Rochester's has grown 5% in that time).  We think that Rochester might be next.

When we made an offer to purchase our first lake home, we negotiated to include some of the furniture in the purchase and sale agreement.  The kitchen table, which seats ten, was quite beautiful and fit the space perfectly.  And we had the sense that the previous owners, who built the home twenty years ago and intended to retire there, were really just looking to move on from the property.  They kept everything in meticulous condition, and we thought that asking for some of the furniture was a good idea.

After we closed on the house and drove there right after the closing, we learned that they actually left us more of the furniture than we had negotiated - and we're still using it!  We requested the dining room table with 10 chairs and one of the beds.  They left a gorgeous 4-piece Bassett furniture set in the master bedroom, a second bed, a double-recliner sofa, two end tables, two lamps, a TV stand, and a china cabinet.  We still had plenty of furniture to add (and I took this as a great opportunity to move some furniture from another property into this one), but we lucked out with at least $8k-$10k worth of furniture that they previous owners simply didn't move.

Have you tried the app Thumbtack?  You post a detailed project scope and receive up to 5 responses from contractors who can bid on the project.  I posted a roofing job and received 5 inquiries within minutes (which doesn't mean they can begin the work within minute, but at least you'll hear back from contractors).  You can read reviews and check out their websites as you decide who to contact.

We just purchased a new Weber gas grill for our lake home in NH.  $498 at Lowe's, sales-tax free (thanks, NH), with delivery and assembly.  I bought a Blue Rhino propane tank that swaps out for $20 at a number of nearby (within 10 minute drive) exchange spots.  I'm up there at least once/month, so I monitor the tank.  If it ever runs out while guests are using the lake home, I tell them that I'll reimburse them $25 if they need to swap the tank out.

I know that the propane company that services our lake home also has a tank propane exchange program, but since they fill our primary tank relatively infrequently, I opted for the Blue Rhino program.