Monthly Archive for December, 2009

Downhill Skiing in the New London/Lake Sunapee Area

Published on December 11, 2009 in Sunapee Activities. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

You don’t have to travel very far to get in some really good downhill skiing.  There are four ski areas which are really close.  The Dartmouth Skiway is located in Lyme Center and offers family-friendly skiing on more than 100 acres of varying terrain and challenge.  The rates are very affordable with adult tickets costing $40 on weekends and holidays.  Mt. Sunapee, located in Newbury at the foot of Lake Sunapee, offers more of everything on its 1200+ acres:  more trails, variety, great snowmaking and grooming, a disabled ski program, learn to ski for kids, a snowboard park and a very comfortable lodge.  Pats Peak in Henniker, features 100% snow-making, which “guarantees great conditions all season long”.  There are 22 trails and slopes, 7 gladed areas and 3 terrain parks.  Activities also include night skiing and tubing.  Ragged Mountain Resort, located just down the road in Danbury, has undergone serious expansion and renovations over the last few years and they are not done yet.  From their promotional material:  “With lift access to two peaks, 45 trails (30% Novice, 40% Intermediate, 30% Expert) 4 terrain parks, a wonder carpet for the kiddies and the only 6 pack chairlift in New Hampshire, Ragged puts everything you want from a winter resort at your fingertips. After skiing yourself Ragged, relax at one of our numerous mountainside après skiing options including the new, upscale Overlook Bistro. Ragged Mountain, nothing close can even come close.”

If you love to ski and hate to drive to ski, this is a great area!

Winter Sports for the Disabled

Published on December 8, 2009 in Sunapee Activities. 0 Comments Tags: .

“New England Handicapped Sports Association (NEHSA) bears witness to the triumph of the human spirit by helping people with disabilities and families enrich their lives through adaptive sports, recreation, and social activities.”   I didn’t really understand the meaning of the words, but they piqued my interest.  I went to the office one day and there was a service dog lying there waiting for his mistress to return.  She had been a ski racer when she lost her sight at age 15.  She was 32 then and had been dragged there by a friend.  She knew she would never ski again.  She was wrong.  When she came back to the lodge after her lesson she was flying high.  She remembered the skiing part and when she found out that a sighted person could guide her down the slope she was suddenly free!  I was hooked.   I started out as a blocker.  My job was to keep people from getting too close.  Then I started training as an instructor and became certified to teach blind people to ski! 

NEHSA is poised to become the premier provider of winter sports to the disabled in the northeast, if not the country.  300 trained volunteers give more than 5000 hours of lessons on snow.  The main locus is Mount Sunapee but we are expanding to other ski areas in New England.  Several of our skiers have competed in both Special Olympics and the Paralympics.  NEHSA’s programs have expanded to include summer activities like kayaking, rock climbing, water skiing, basketball and lots of social activities. 

Mt. Sunapee trails

Come check it out on a bright wintery day.  See the empty wheel chairs lined up waiting for their owners to come back from skiing.  Visit our website www.nehsa.org.   Other links include www.dsusa.org (disabled sports usa); www.usparalympics.org; www.mountsunapee.com; professional ski instructors of America www.psia.org;   electric wheelchair hockey www.usewha.org; Lake Sunapee Rowing Club www.lakesunapeerowing.com.; Leaps of Faith Disabled Waterskiers  www.leapsoffaithwaterskiers.com.  Wounded Warriors  www.woundedwarriors.org.

Photo courtesy of Mt. Sunapee

Chris McKee, ABR, SRES

How to be Ready for Winter in New Hampshire

Published on December 3, 2009 in Advice for Sellers and Sunapee Housing Market. 0 Comments Tags: .

Here’s your winter checklist!  You look outside one day and it’s bright and sunny and the next day snow begins to cover the leaves you forgot to rake. That’s right, winter is just around the corner and you need to get your home ready. 

Also check wood floors just inside patio and exit doors for signs of water entry. Probe through the carpet or check under the doors from the basement or crawl space area for signs of dampness. Look for rotting sub-flooring, floor joists and sill plates (the wood that rests on the foundation wall). If possible, check behind the insulation for signs of rotting or infestation. Vinyl floor covering can be discolored from mildew trapped between the vinyl and wet sub-flooring.

Caulk and seal around window and door openings. Fill cracks and openings in concrete drives, walks and patios.

Have the heating system and flue inspected by a qualified heating technician. It is very important to change or clean the furnace filter on a regular basis. If the furnace has a built-in humidifier, have the humidifier cleaned. Treat the humidifier each month during the heating season to resist mold growth inside the air system.

Have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a certified chimney sweep. Store fire wood two to three feet off the ground and away from the home’s foundation. Wood piles invite unwanted guests all year long.

Garden hoses should be drained and stored inside. If you have shut-offs for the outside hose faucets, they need to be closed for winter. Do not leave a garden hose connected to an outside faucet. Even an anti-freeze faucet will freeze and eventually leak if a hose is left connected all winter.

Drain the gasoline from lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc. Remove grass, dirt and all debris and store for winter. Stuff a paper towel in the gas tank, leaving enough of the towel exposed so the towel can later be removed. Store the equipment with the gas lid off. The tank has to be drained with no gasoline or gasoline fumes present before the paper towel is stuffed inside. The towel keeps the inside of the tank dry and ready for next spring. Never store gasoline or equipment containing gasoline inside the home, garage or basement.

The Significance of a Cluttered Home to Buyers

Published on December 3, 2009 in Advice for Buyers. 0 Comments Tags: .

From a prospective homebuyer’s view, clutter translates into an undesirable home. Cluttered homes often appear smaller. They look darker, and tend to smell from the excess dust. Too much “stuff” around can be an immediate turn-off because the combined effect suggests that all of the home’s other features will be rundown, decayed and in need of much repair. The opposite is also true: homes devoid of clutter and kept clean give the impression of being well maintained and not requiring much work.  Clutter compromises the ideal image and prospective buyers view the home in terms of cleaning and maintenance.

Properties with clutter translate into increased time on the market and lower values, not only because the clutter decreases the perception of size, air and light, but also because it makes buyers think that there will be a lot of work involved in maintaining the property. If you need help to de-clutter, call a professional. This initial cost will be recouped with a higher selling price and faster sale.

For more helpful hints, go to:  http://www.realtor.com/Basics/Sell/PrepHome/GetReady.asp

Tax Crackdown on Second Homes

Published on December 3, 2009 in Advice for Sellers. 0 Comments

Congress has changed the rules – effective as of 2009 – for vacation homes and rental properties.  Here’s what you need to know about paying the piper.

Congress has pulled the rug out from under vacation and rental home owners planning to squeeze tax-free profit from their second homes.

Under current law, you could sell your primary residence and take up to $250,000 of profit – $500,000 if you file a joint return – tax-free, as long as you owned and lived in the place for two of the five years leading up to the sale.

Then you could move into your vacation home or a rental property and, by living in it for at least two years, get a second bite of the tax-free apple.  Even profit that built up while it was a vacation home or rental could dodge the IRS.

No more.  To help pay for the big housing bill passed this summer, Congress has changed the rules so that some of your gain will be taxable of you convert your vacation home or rental unit to a primary residence after 2008.

The portion of the gain to be taxed is based on the ratio of non-qualified use – the time the property is used as a vacation home or rental unit after this year – to the total amount of time you owned the property.

Assume you bought a second home in 2000.  Let’s say you convert it to your primary residence in 2011 and sell it two years later.  In this example, the home would be used as a vacation property for two years after 2008, so one-seventh of the profit (two out of the 14 years you owned it) would be taxed at capital gains rates.  The remainder of the gain – up to $500,000 for couples – would be tax-free.

This tax law change could be even more significant if you buy a second home after 2008.  In that case, none of the time it is used for vacations or rental income qualifies for the tax exclusion.  But if you convert it to your principal residence, the longer you live there, the less the profit from a sale will be taxed.  And you can avoid the crackdown altogether if you move in before the end of this year, says Raffaele Mari, a CPA in Corona Del Mar, CA.

But what do you do with your current home?  You could rent it to general case flow and buy some time before selling it in this slow housing market, Mari says.  The tightening doesn’t apply in reverse:  You’d still qualify for tax-free profit on the home as long as you sell it within three years to meet the two-of-five-years test.

Source:   Mary Beth Franklin, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Kiplinger.com