Condo living

[Sammy]

I'm interested in hearing from folks who currently own a Winnipesaukee condo. I’d like to know the pluses and minuses. Along those same lines what are some of the better complexes that would have water views, water access and mooring capabilities.

[silverton2001]

Courtyard @ Paugus Bay, small association (10 units) right on the water, great views, mooring available, 1 left for sale. Call or log on to Ganong Realty, check it out.

[Irish mist]

Condo living in this area is great if you don't like to shovel snow, and pick at ice. In a normal winter you will count your blessings that someone else is shoveling snow. I have electric heat, and the worse bill I ever had for one month was 75$ !!! This is in an 1100 square foot, two bedroom unit ! I have a pool, a gym, and in the 8 years I have owned this unit I have only spent a few hundred dollars on it for repairs.


On the bad side is that your neighbor's are close.......and you have condo fees. But for me........winter weather is the big issue.
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[jrc]

Are you talking about a vacation condo for summer weekends? Or something to live in?

I owned a condo in Samoset in Gilford for four seasons. It had a lot of good points and a few annoyances. We used it pretty much every weekend from May to October.

The good points are harder to list, because how do you quantify the fun you have. Due to some lucky timing I did double my investment, but that's not something you can count on.

The bad points were basically costs, the unique Samoset boating situation and geography. Samoset is on a steep hill and walking back up can put a sour end on a good day.

[bigdog]

Can anyone give me information about the Minreal Springs Condo complex in Gilford.

- Number of units in complex
- Beach access if any
- Boat Ramp accesss
- General Association Rules (good & bad)
- Percentage of Year round residents vs. seasonal

Thanks!

[Sammy]

We're looking for a vacation condo, something we would use mostly in the summer and occasionally in the winter. Lake views and water access are a must. We like the look of the Samoset condo's however we're concerned that you only have a mooring for your boat. JRC, you mentioned the unique Samoset boating situation and costs, what do you mean by that? What are average condo fees if there is such a thing? Thanks for the responses.

[jrc]

Condo fees at Samoset are based on square footage. My two bedroom plus loft condo was around $340 a month or about $4000 a year. The taxes add almost another $4000 a year, so that's the cost issue.

The boating situation there is unique. There are over 130 condo units and about 30 docks and 40 moorings. Owners are allowed one boating sticker per unit, renters cannot bring boats. In the early years, the amount of people requesting stickers was pretty close to the amount of spaces. My last season (2005) the association contracted with Glendale marine to store overflow there. Only holiday weekends had overflow.

Boat storage is first come - first serve, every day. So when you go out for the day you don't know what you will get when you get back. You may get a dock or you may get a mooring. Theoretically you could stuck with nothing and have to go to Glendale. It never happened to me.

The saving grace was that renters couldn't have boats, so as long as a lot of units were rented, everything was fine. But more and more people are buying these to use as summer weekend homes. Eventually something has to give.

[Seaplane Pilot]

Are you interested in " Permanent residency " or a "Hotel Condo " ?

If you go with a hotel condo you can't register your car, boat or jet ski. You can't vote or have your children use the school system or live in your condo 52 weeks a year. Rules, rules, rules....welcome to a condo association.

Brady Sullivan is building over 200 new construction town homes/condo's in Laconia. www.bradysullivan.com. Permanent Residency under 200k with a view of the Lake.

Do you know how the city/town decides what is a Hotel Condo and what is not?

[BroadHopper]

I'm in a condo association that have boat docking and mooring but you can't leave a boat trailer or winter your boat on the premises. They won't allow pickup trucks or motorcycles. So basically, if you have toys, don't get a condo.
Also there is a lot of bickering between board members and favoritism with some of the unit owners. So if you don't like politics, don't get a condo.

My two cents worth. :look:

[jrc]

Do you know how the city/town decides what is a Hotel Condo and what is not?

I've seen some of the former hotel/motel type condo's actually have the restriction in the deed.

[SIKSUKR]

Seaplane Pilot,you and I know a friend who's motel conversion was deeded just that.Even after the place was leveled and rebuilt into townhouses.Good question though but I think they put pressure on the approval process and force that type of zoning unless the issue is persued further in courts.Could get expensive.You know the routine SP.

[jrc]

A lot of the hotel conversion condos, where orignally approved as hotels. Most hotels don't send kids to school. Now that they condos, the last thing the town wants is a bunch of families living year round and sending kids to school.

BTW Samoset did not have any restrictions like that. There where a few year round residents.

[Paugus Bay Resident]

The real estate agent works for the seller not the buyer

Not always (or usually) the case. A real estate agent can have a buyer as a client (buyers agency), represent both the buyer and the seller (dual agency), or only represent the seller. As part of the process, the NH Real Estate Commission requires full disclosure of agency representation prior to the showing of any property.

[LIforrelaxin]

Patrick Wood an attorney in Laconia said it is " very unlikely " the town will convert any deeded hotel condominium to permanent residency. After the major increase of condominiums last year from Brady Sullivan the town is on overload with condominiums.

The local town Real Estate Office of John Ganog said " if they do it for one hotel condominium they will have thousands beating the door down at Laconia Town Hall. The value of a hotel condo vs permanent residence is sufficiently less. One of John Ganog real estate agents spent over 500k for a unit in St. Moritz and can't even register her car to the new place.

Make sure you know what you are buying when you buy a condo on the Lake. The real estate agent works for the seller not the buyer. " Let the buyer beware "

This I believe would fall under the disclosure laws. And therefore some where in the listing would have to be noted, and is not something the selling agent can just hide under the sheets..... not positive on that, as real estate laws differ some state to state.... in short this is something that can cause legal battles.... Is there some real estate angent that can comment on this? .... of course what this wouldn't protect someone from would be not knowing what a "hotel condo" really stands for.......

[SIKSUKR]

One of John Ganog real estate agents spent over 500k for a unit in St. Moritz and can't even register her car to the new place.

"
Wow,I looked at a few units at St Moritz and they were way under $100,000.That "unit" had to be one of the stand alone houses.Even those were about 250,000 I believe.If it was one of Ganog's agents,they surely should have known what the zoning was before buying.Due Diligence people!

[Woodsy]

That particular unit at the St. Moritz was beautifully redone... It was originally an A-frame type. I forget the square footage, but its huge, 2 floors & a basement I think, and lets not forget, it came with a huge boatslip too.....

There is no doubt in my mind that she knew beforehand that it was deeded hotel/condo.

Woodsy

[Seaplane Pilot]

Seaplane Pilot,you and I know a friend who's motel conversion was deeded just that.Even after the place was leveled and rebuilt into townhouses.Good question though but I think they put pressure on the approval process and force that type of zoning unless the issue is persued further in courts.Could get expensive.You know the routine SP.

SS - you are correct. I know more than one. Problem is that the City wants its cake and wants to eat it too. They want to enforce the rules about non-residency, etc, but when it comes to assessment time it appears that the blinders are on and little or no concession is made to the property value because of the "hotel" condo rule. I personally think it's outrageous that the city can expect someone to pay $10,000 - $12,000 in property taxes, but cannot send a kid to the schools, register a car, etc. If it were me I'd be exploring a class-action suit against the city. It seems that given the sheer amount of "hotel" condos in Laconia alone, there would be enough grass-roots support to justify a class-action suit. On the other hand, a welfare mom with 5 kids can rent an apartment in Laconia for $500.00/month and can claim residency and send all the kids to the schools. :confused: