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Good deals, good burgers, and horseshoes in NH....

By
Real Estate Agent with Four Season Sotheby's International Realty

Memorial Day is upon us. Everyone thinks of it as the start of the summer season and a great reason to get together with family and friends and have a huge barbeque. It is also common to include lots of beer in the festivities which allows the attendees to loosen up for New Hampshire’s unofficial sport of kings: horseshoes. Memorial Day is certainly a great day to relax, unwind, and appreciate what we all have and often take for granted. But it does have a solemn side, so everyone should take time to thank those soldiers who fought for our country and honor those who died to keep our country free so that we could enjoy our homes, play horseshoes, and grill on the Barbie.

The BBQ, Barbie, pig cooker or whatever you want to call it, according to Wikipedia, “derives ultimately from the word barabicu found in the language of both the Timucua (native American Indians) of Florida and the Taino people of the Caribbean. The word translates as ‘sacred fire pit.’” To me the best kind of barbeque is the classic homemade one fashioned out if a steel drum cut in half, fastened back together with hinges to make the lid, and has a pipe sticking out the top for the smoke to come out. The Barbie is a true modern sacred fire pit that allows today’s natives to hold rituals, tell stories (mostly lies), make friends, and have a feast. It is also good that today’s “sacred fire pits” are elevated to keep the natives from falling into them.

More importantly, when coupled with adjacent horseshoe pits, this combination is an indicator of an areas friendliness and “livability”. You could actually give the towns in the Lakes Region a rating based on the number of BBQ/HS-pit combos in the community (the BBQs have to be real ones, not those Green Egg fancy ceramic ones, and certainly not the stainless steel enclosed by $30,000 worth of stone work, but the steel drum cookers count triple). The more combos in a town, the more friendly and laid back the town is, guaranteed. Just to prove this theory, which town would you say has more BBQ/HS-pits; Wolfeboro or Belmont? Which town is more laid back and friendly? Case closed. Now if we could get these census workers to count something that actually matters we could institute this new rating system and revolutionize real estate searches for those discerning buyers!

Looking at the residential listings that have come on the market in the last 60 days or so, there are some homes that stand out as good enough deals that you could actually afford to buy a new barbeque grill at BBQ Paradise and Emporium. How about a very nice open concept, three bedroom ranch, with an updated kitchen, large living room with a fireplace, and a three car garage tucked away on a private 2 acre lot with a great lawn and in ground pool. This nice home could have the perfect BBQ/HS-pit combo if desired .

Located at 47 Bell Street in Laconia, this property is on the market for $199,000 and has a tax assessment of $294,600. That is 68% of assessed value! You can afford an extra set of horseshoes with this one!

Over at 40 Skyline Drive in Gilford is a bank owned brick ranch which has about 2,000 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, three baths, and a two car garage on 1.5 acres. It will need some TLC and lots of updates, but it is listed at $199,900 which is way below the assessed value of $359,850.

At 46 Pine Street in Laconia there is a 2,800 square foot, four bedroom, one and a half bath, New Englander built in 1900 that has many of its original features intact including hardwood floors, great woodwork, pocket doors, tin ceilings, and stained glass. This solid home is listed as a short sale at $189,900 which is 73% of the tax assessment of $259,700. Good side yard for horseshoes and a deck for the grill.

If you’d like to live, grill, and play horseshoes in Center Harbor, the property at 52 Elliot Road appears to be a no brainer. This 4,000 square foot, four bed, four bath, contemporary home nestled in the pines on 10 acres of land provides the space and privacy required by true back yard kings. There are numerous mahogany decks to place multiple grills on so most of the town can come over for the final four thrower playoffs (Sanctioned by the CHHPA—the Center Harbor Horseshoe Pitchers Association). This fine home is on the market for $499,000 which is 76% of the $659,000 tax assessment. No traffic noise here, just you brother-in-law yelling for another burger and the clinking of horseshoes on the stakes...

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Comments (1)

Paul Gapski
Berkshire Hathaway / Prudential Ca Realty - El Cajon, CA
619-504-8999,#1 Resource SD Relo
 

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May 02, 2012 10:12 AM