Scott Mosher - Loon Mountain Real Estate Lincoln & Woodstock NH

I don't get the chance to contribute to my own Blog nearly as much as I'd like. As a matter of fact, I just took a quick peak, and boy were my eyes opened! I mean, yeah ... I realize that we're all here to share ideas, learn from and grow with one another, while - at the same time - exposing our businesses to the largest audience possible. After reviewing my past Blogs though, I had to wonder just who in their right mind would bother reading this dry, factually-based, owner's manual of a schmuck anyway?

Nearly every one of the Blogs I've written up to this point have been business-related, focusing just about exclusively on my Loon Mountain Real Estate. Well, that's all good-n-fine, and even understandable ... to a point! In the process though, very few of you have really gotten to know "Scott, the Person". Based on the "slim-pickins" I've made available out here in good ol' Cyber-Space, I can only hope that some of you might actually see this latest addition, read it, and at least get to know a little about this simple, Loon Mountain Resort Country Boy up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Now, although this is intended for absolutely anybody & everybody, as a special acknowledgment to all of the ladies out there...

If your husband, fiance, or significant other is one of those classic "tough-guy" types, who cringes at the slightest mention of an emotionally-based "talk", and prefers avoidance (or a good ball-game!) over a teary-eyed discussion, well, em, er...

I gotta admit, I'm guilty. I play that same role the rest of my gender does. Heck, just ask my wife. When we met, she had two cats and so did I. Of course, in my classic "tough-guy" facade, I stretched the truth by blaming my previous wife. Now, this isn't to say that I lied by any stretch. Before my first wife and I separated, we had already left my Loon Mountain Resort town of Lincoln, NH once to relocate south, to North Carolina. When, ultimately, we did "part ways", I returned north to my beloved Loon Mountain communities of Lincoln & Woodstock, NH ... but not alone. I had two (feline) brother-n-sister travel companions that I had thought my step-sons couldn't live without. Anyway, let's fast-forward roughly 13-years...

The brother, a 23lb +/- orange tabby called Alley, ran away several years ago. Both were indoor/outdoor cats, and I've since seen him around my little village, but he's obviously been fed by other locals and is enjoying his own life here in the mountains. His sister, Casper - who was the "runt of the litter" and yet had remained diligent to virtually every emotion this "tough guy" had undergone over the years - was diagnosed w/Cancer last year. Although the majority had been removed successfully, her quality of life had slowly but surely diminished. As such, your author experienced his first-ever euthanasia just a couple of weeks ago, and to all the pet lovers out there, let me tell you...

The water-works were in full-swing all the way home, and still well-up from time to time!

First and foremost, please forgive any type-o's in this post. I'm not as well-rounded with the inner-workings of cyber-space as I'd hoped, and find my spell-check function isn't working as it should. Now, with that out of the way, let's PLAY BALL!

Mom's a big fan of the Billy Crystal movie "City Slickers", and especially likes to call on birthdays - at the precise moment of birth - and quote lines from the movie, just like his character's Mom did. She's also what I have come to refer to as our "Family Prophet", since she has an uncanny ability to forecast family events with an eerily-accurate record ... with one major exception.

Several years ago, I remember Mom forecasting that the "Born Dad" in the family would have lots of children. This article's author, by the way, is her only son. Although my life has been blessed in countless other ways, I'm afraid the "Family Prophet" struck out during this one particular time at-bat. As such, my beautiful wife and I have come to be known to many throughout our area as "Aunt Sally & Uncle Scotty".

Now, it's been years since I saw that movie, but a couple of the scenes had a lasting effect on my life. One of those included a dialogue between Billy's character and the shorter, more boisterous (sound like someone we know, Mom?) of his two friends. You remember, the guys who take him on his vacation Cattle Drive so he can "find his smile"? Well...

In that particular dialogue, he describes to Billy's character his "Best Day" and his "Worst Day". I believe that, in this particular character's case, those days were one-in-the-same. Yesterday, for me, was the Home Run of Best Days, and I just wanted to share it here...

Recently, a friend of mine named Mark made me one of those offers I simply couldn't refuse. This man, although already gainfully-employed, and a good supportive husband and father to his two sons, still finds time to pick-up a few, additional weekend hours during the summer. I first met Mark at the Lodge Resort just outside of Loon Mountain. He works for the HOA as their weekend Maint/Security man, whereas the team I represent handles Property Rentals and Sales under the same roof. Being well-over 6' tall, and considering my vertically-challenged stature, I commonly refer to my friend as our "Gentle Giant". Yesterday, my friend was responsible for my Best Day!

As an active part of the Loon Mountain communities of Lincoln and Woodstock, NH throughout his life, I had asked Mark long ago to allow me to "tag along" with him to any community events he might be involved with. As a result of my dual-position in both the rentals and sales with several of the Loon Mountain area's Vacation Condo Resort developments...

I am already familiar with a large percentage of our area's 2nd homeowners. Embarassingly-enough, however, I am nowhere near as familiar with several of my own, year-'round neighbors. Mark was gracious enough to invite me to not only attend one of his favorite springtime events w/his sons, but he extended to me the privilige and honor of taking on a participatory role. Early yesterday evening, I found myself at the Kancamagus Recreation Center here in Lincoln, NH helping to coach Mark's community baseball team ... the Linwood Red Sox!

This team, as I learned yesterday, is an incredibly-talented group of 9 and 10 year-old boys, and includes his sons Brandon and Andrew (hi guys and thanks!). The only stipulation Mark put on my posting a Blog about this event was that I mention his name, his team, his boys, and what an incredible coach they had! This stipulation was intended, of course, as a good-humored, tongue-in-cheek jab between friends. I figured I owed him anyway, so as they say in the big leagues...

* LET'S GO (LINWOOD) RED SOX! *

Thanks again for my "Best Day" guys ... hope to make many more of your scrimmages/practices (pictured here) and some of the games too! Oh, and for my readers...

Yes, that really IS a huge pile of leftover snow pictured between the Basketball Court and the Baseball Field. Again, these pictures were all taken on Tuesday, 05/06th (yesterday) at the Kancamagus Recreaction Center in Lincoln, NH. Notice, however, that we're all out in T-Shirts, with many also wearing shorts, so spring really has arrived in the White Mountains of New Hampshire!

"...read the news rather than watch it"!

Now, I can't take credit for this concept, since it was part of an article I read in my most recent copy of Money Magazine ... but you'll notice I said I was READING it as it caught my eye (and attention), so what does that tell ya? This is NOT, however, to say we should eliminate TV altogether. In fact, for many of you/us out there (yes, I'm guilty too) you/we might find it difficult to survive without our shows. However...

As part of that same "How I'm Coping with a Scary Market" article, Jean Chatzy quotes Kathleen Gurney as saying: "Anxiety inhibits our ability to perceive what we're hearing and seeing" and then goes on to say: "When anxious people listen to the news on TV or on the radio, sometimes they pick up only the negative information". Reading at our own pace (twice over for some of us!) allows us to take what we've read in at our own pace - rather than the Announcer's - thus absorbing and digesting the content that much better. Anyway...

Within April's edition of Money Magazine, Jean Chatzy offers consumers sound advice in her Time to Hunt for a Vacation Home article. This comes just 1-month after another well-written/well-presented Time Magazine article by Mr. Dan Kadlec known as: Ignore the Headlines!

My opinion? Well, um, er...

I'd share it with you here, but then you might not read either one ... and that's assuming you've made it this far! Of course, any of you can always contact me right here, through our office, or - better yet - my cell!

Some months ago, I calculated the Absorption Rate for Condotels throughout the Loon Mountain region using four (4) developments within the communities of Lincoln and Woodstock, NH. Today, I've run those same numbers once again, and was so pleased with the results, I simply had to share them here. For those of you wondering...

A Condotel is just a shortened term used to represent Condos that are rented in a fashion similar to that of a hotel. Those used here are all 100% Full (year-'round) ownership, and simply make onsite/overnight rentals available to their owners to help offset expenses for those interested. As a matter of fact, having actively manned the "front-of-house" operations for 3 of the 4 developments I chose to poll, I know - first hand - that all four of those used in my calculations are what I refer to as "Like-Type" properties, allowing for a true "Apples-to-Apples" basis for comparison. As far as that 4th development is concerned, I am intimately familiar with their staff, management, and general operations.

An Absorption Rate, by the way, provides us with an indication as to the pace at which properties are selling in a particular region. As many of you may already be aware, a Six (6)-Month Supply is considered balanced. If property-inventory dips below the 6-month mark, many consider it to be a "Seller's Market" whereas a property supply of greater than 6-months typically reflects a "Buyer's Market". Now, with all that in mind...

When my initial computations were run some months ago, the Lincoln & Woodstock, NH communities had approximately 24-month's of "Condotel" property inventory to exhaust. I suspect this comes as no big surprise to those of you reading this entry, especially in light of the current economic conditions that are - admittedly - at least partially attributable to the mortgage market. At time of entry though - and again, just a few short months later - our Loon Mountain communities now find ourselves at just over a 16 month supply! Granted, based on the facts presented above, this is still far from ideal. It is, however, a clear indication that the Housing Market is improving here in Lincoln & Woodstock New Hampshire!

I do use the general "housing" term (as opposed to specifying "condotels") for a reason too. Simply click on the link provided (below) for further Good News as relates to Single-Family Residential Homes. Using figures obtained from the Northern New England Real Estate Network (NNEREN or our MLS), the New Hampshire Association of Realtors have put together several, indisputable, Statewide and County Specific lists of 9-Year Data, covering from 1998 - 2007. Since it is home to the Loon Mountain communities of Lincoln & Woodstock, I ask that you turn your attention to Grafton County when convenient. As mentioned in the link/web address introduction: "most importantly it is a picture that is based in actual data rather than speculation."

Here's that link:

http://www.nhar.org/97-08stats.htm