Post written by Kim Cedarstrom – Roche Realty Group, Meredith
Think of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and you think…water. Owning your own place for swimming, boating, or just sitting and taking in the view is a dream that anyone who has visited here wants to fulfill. “But owning a waterfront home is just that “a dream” and well beyond my means” is a thought we hear often. But what if you could get access to the lakes without the expense of owning your own waterfront home with its high purchase price, maintenance, and taxes? You can.
I call it “The Other Waterfront”. Shared waterfront communities, condominiums, and associations are a great way to gain access to the water without the expense of owning a waterfront home. Don’t get me wrong, nothing beats the pride of ownership, privacy, and access that a waterfront home provides. But by sharing the access to the lake, you can have a great home that is more often more affordable and will come without the expenses, taxes, or maintenance of living separately directly on the lake. Shared waterfront communities come in many different shapes, sizes, and configurations. They can be luxurious, gated, prestigious, communities; or associations of former small seasonal cabins, or stand alone homes. Some offer maintenance free living (with appropriate condo fees to pay for that service) – just enjoy. Others let you do your own work, with lower fees that reflect the added level of service that you provide.
For brevity’s sake, I’ll only cite currently available properties in Meredith because that’s where I live. But all the towns in the Lakes Region offer their own examples, all different but all offering water access.
Meredith has a wonderful mix of shared waterfront developments. The biggest and arguably one of the finest on the lake is The Grouse Point Club. This is a gated community of 82 acres with spectacular views, three beaches, tennis courts, a 35 slip boat club with moorings, a 7000 square foot clubhouse, and is all connected with golf cart trails. This is obviously a high end example. There are currently four homes for sale in Grouse Point. They range in price from $699,000 to well over a million dollars.
Next door, and at the other end of the price spectrum to Grouse Point, is an older development of a former resort called East Bluff Highlands. Here the homes are smaller A frame chalets and the amenities are few, but the price reflects that. There are two homes on the market priced at $69,000 and $104,400. On Pleasant Street there is a condo at the Loon Watch association that is part of another converted cabin colony. This unit sits right on the waterfront and comes with a dock and a boat for $299.000. A little further out on Meredith Neck on Cummings Cove Road (and just down the street from where I live) is a two bedroom camp across the street from its water access for only $140,000. On Lake Waukewan in the Winona Shores development is a stand alone year round home built in 2002 of 2840 square feet and four bedrooms just up the road from a shared beach for $399,900.
So, if a waterfront home doesn’t fit your lifestyle or budget consider a water access home here in the Lakes Region. There are lots of different opportunities and some really good buys available now. Go to our website www.s21794.p694.sites.pressdns.com to see them all, or call or email me, and I’ll be glad to guide you through finding your dream home.
Contact Kim Cedarstrom at kimc@metrocast.net or 603-520-6609
