Eastman Real Estate Blog

The recent word for the Federal Reserve (12/17/09) stated that short term interest rates will continue to remain low for “an extended period”.

This is interpreted by many that this means months. Well this sounds good but the reality is interest rates have been creeping up. As recently as the week of November 16th-20th interest rates were as low 4.6% for conventional, 30 year fixed rate loans.

As of this week it is hard to find a loan rate under 5%, most rates are closer to 5.25%. This is a minimum of a half point jump in a month. It doesn’t seem like much but a half point is a half point! On $150,000 loan that equals $45.87 a month, $550.44 a year and over the life of the loan the additional cost is over $16,500

So my point is if your out there waiting for home prices to drop just that little bit more because you want to buy at the bottom the rate you might get on your loan my cost you more in the long run. My feeling is from what I see in this local market is we have bottomed and home prices have stabilized. There is just to much inventory for prices to start to rise but I believe the price depreciation we have been seeing is coming to an end.

In the State of New Hampshire starting January 1st, 2010 all building inspectors “practicing or conducting home inspections” must be licensed by the The New Hampshire Board of Home Inspectors.

The new statute RSA 310-A:189 reads like this:

License Required. Beginning January 1, 2010, no person shall practice as a home inspector or conduct home inspections in this state without a home inspectors license issued by the board.

I know there are two sides to this story. Some inspectors say that if an inspector is bad or not doing a good job, they will eventually disappear as they will not get enough work to survive. I believe that is true as with any business, especially in the service industry your only as good as your last job. The good survive and the others find a new line of work or work for someone else.

My thinking on why this license requirement is good is; It will create a minimum standard for all inspectors. There will be a place to go if someone has issues, either bad or good. A central location to find inspectors, this is always an issue with new buyers. Buyers need information and it is hard for them to find an inspector an compare one to another. There are many different certifications that inspectors carry and hopefully a central board will help sort these designations out.

I am fortunate to have worked with several very good inspectors over the years but I think the consumer or buyer will benefit from this license requirement.

Many times over the course of a year I get asked, “How big is Eastman Lake?” or “How many acres is Anderson Pond?”

Here are the answers: Let’s start with Anderson Pond. It is about 2000 feet long and approximately 375 feet wide. I’ve searched and searched and could not find documented information so I measured a topographic map as best I could. This would put the pond at 17.2 acres. I think it’s safe to say the pond is under 20 acres.

Eastman Lake is a much larger body of water. Eastman Pond as it was once known, was 145 acres before it was expanded. When the property that is ow Eastman went up for sale in 1968, there was actually an ad in the Boston Herald that said “145 acre expandable lake surrounded by nearly 2500 acres of woodland”. Interesting! I can’t imagine that we will ever see an ad like that again.

So, as Eastman Lake is today, the surface area, depending on what you read is from 320 acres to 345 acres. I’ll go with what the state has on a topo map which is 320 acres. The lake is about 2 miles long and averages about 1500′ wide. There is an island  called Heron Island and Eastman residents can camp on it. You would have to sign up to camp through the Eastman Recreation Department. Space is limited and use is on a first come first serve basis.

Here is a PDF file of the topo map: Eastman Lake, Grantham

Here is a great look at what is happening in the community over the next two weeks. Click the link and down load the PDF.

Eastman Highlights Dec. 10

The new Eastman Condo Association rates have been set for the year 2010. Only three sections remain the same as last year and the East Lake Association has decided to manage themselves. This is a bold and interesting move, I wish them luck. The cost’s are:

ASSOCIATION                                            2010 FEE’S

WEST COVE “A”                                              $292

WEST COVE “B”                                              $305

WEST COVE “C”                                              $292

WEST COVE “D”                                              $330  WITH A $80 A MONTH SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FOR ROOFS

EAST LAKE                                                      $286

SOUTH SHORE I                                             $400 WITH A $500 SPECIAL ASSESSMENT PER QUARTER

SOUTH SHORE II                                            $335

SOUTH SHORE III                                           $320

SOUTH COVE HEIGHTS                                   $325

I thought I’d try embeding a video on the blog. It’s quick and has some nice shots of Lake Sunapee and Newbury Harbor.

Lake Sunapee Newbury Harbor NH

We had out first measurable snow last night. At least snow that looks like it will stay around for a while. Click the link to see some photos. MT Sunapee is gearing up and they are making snow. The focecast is for cold weather so I bet the snow guns will be blazing this week. Enjoy…

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