On Sunday, I took advantage of a rare motivation to wash and wax my car. My stepdaughter helped me soap it up, scrub it, and hose it off. We waited a

the most labor intensive car waxing ever

little while for it to dry, and then we applied the turtle wax in little circles all over the paint and chrome. We let it dry as we ate dinner. When we were through, we went out to wipe the wax off.

We were in for a surprise. The wax was stuck on the car like glue. (Evidently the car was not dry enough when we put the wax on.) Not to be easily beaten,Sylvie and I leaned in and put some elbow grease into it. After 15 minutes we maybe had gotten 1 square foot of the wax off. Desperation set in, and reinforcements were called. Josh and my stepson, Nick, arrived on the scene and we all set to work. An hour later and with 8 aching arms, my car was as shiny as it has ever been. Next time the car will be dry before I attempt to wax it. We celebrated out hard work with some Yummy Yummy Yogurt in North Conway village.

If you’re thinking of buying and want to see Valley real estate from the shiniest, cleanest car in North Conway, I am available by email (kyla@pinkhamrealestate.com) or at the office: 603-356-5425.

-Kyla Brustin

51 Ammonoosuc Drive, Bartlett

New Price: $499,000

With its recent $50,000  price Reduction, this Attitash, NH beauty truly is priced to sell.  Just steps from the slopes, this “like new” completely turnkey home features beautiful views, 3 bedroom suites,  a huge bunk room, 5 baths, open living, kitchen and dining area, wood flooring, 2 gas fireplaces, a gas log stove in the master suite and a large family room with wet bar which is perfect for entertaining.  There is absolutely nothing to do with this one but to open the door and enjoy.

For more information or to schedule a showing, call Josh at 800-322-6921 or 603-986-4210.

www.pinkhamrealestate.com

My name is Chad Fletcher and I have “Valley Fever”. I purchased a home near Cranmore in April 2008 and consider it my own “valley original”. Built on post and pillars in the early 1900’s, it has a certain quality that brings out the best in anyone who enters. I don’t believe in magic –but this

Chad's North Conway ski home

house is magical. 

Here is my story………I graduated from UNH back when cell phones were the size of car batteries. I spent 11 years in Commercial lending and made the transition to residential –Blue Water Mortgage Corp. Why residential you ask? Homes are where memories are made and sometimes we don’t savor our memories as much as we should. Growing up in NH is a privilege..(just wanted to throw that out there.) I married my beautiful wife Kerri in 2003 and in 2007 we were blessed with our daughter Nola Ellen. 

Blue Water Mortgage Corporation is an independent, owner-operated company based in Hampton, New Hampshire. Our team of loan officer-owners has more than 45 years of collective, credit-based mortgage experience.We are successful because we explain the process and set the expectation with the borrower upfront. Let’s face it, mortgage lending has changed but it’s not going away. You deserve the highest level of service and integrity in the business. 

On the positive – Builders appear to be planning more projects in 2011, based on permits rising 16.7 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000 units, the best pace since last March. Fannie Mae is even more optimistic. It expects overall starts to increase 17.3 percent and hit 710,000 units this year, with another 42 percent increase to 1.1 million units in 2012, followed by a 42 percent gain to 1.5 million units in 2013. 

If you are thinking of buying, I know I am biased, but I believe I can be a great resource both as someone who is an expert in my field and also as someone who loves Mt Washington Valley and know the ins and outs second home ownership. Feel free to call ( 603-758-1688/603-591-6582) or email (CFletcher@bluewatermtg.com) anytime. I look forward to talking with you soon! 

NMLS #311097

NMLS #1291

Businesses often require a lot of hard work. I have seen many people come to our area, buy a restaurant and figure they will spend a few hours each night walking around greeting people while sipping some wine and chatting away about their day or skiing. Unfortunately, this scenario is more often replaced with long work weeks and unending hassles that you never even considered, like computing the cost of an empty seat or managing an inventory for a business that can go up and down more often than than a toddler in a bouncy house. However, it can be done and many have succeeded. spend some time researching the busness climate to prepare yourself for the mania of the summer tourist season to the dregs of mud season. If you look around North Conway NH you will see a multitude of successful businesses from arts and crafts stores to kayak rentals as well a gamut of service oriented operations like contractors, landscapers and the hospitality industry. Find a good niche-there are a lot of visitors to the area and good base population. Try to find a business that caters to both to help ensure a reasonable return year round. Some people will move here and bring their business with them like a painter or a successful furniture store. Often they can find some great retail space and a good workforce. I often help these people choose the right spot for the business since location can be crucial. There are many unseen parts of North Conway and the surrounding areas that are unexplored by people new to the area and a missed opportunity can be costly. Traffic flow and whether you want to be on the busy “strip” can be as important as a comfortable fir for your business. After all, it may be a great spot but is the needle point store going to be successful squeezed between a balloon and store and a shoe outlet? Do you need to have an expensive storefront in North Conway for you mail order rubber band store or should you find a more remote and less expensive site in Center Conway with greater elbow room for growth and expansion. Many tradesmen will locate a business out of their home and then they should consider how much land they will need and if there will be zoning restrictions or development covenants that will hamper their ability to keep their equipment in their yard or be able to build a big enough storage unit for everything. Take time to investigate each neighborhood to determine where you want to be now and ten or twenty years down the line.

Purchasing or establishing a business is exciting and rewarding. Fulfilling your dream of being your own boss and having the freedom to do things the way you want to do them is a wonderful experience and the basis of capitalism. Entreprenuers abound in Mount Washington Valley and we can always fit in a couple more. This area is growing each year and largely due to the people who visit here and decide to incorporate a great quality of life with the potential for a rewarding career. Please feel free to call and discuss your business ideas and needs. I am always willing to listen offer suggestions to help get you closer to your starting your next great investment.

Greydon Turner can be reached at 603 387 6081 or by email at greydon@pinkhamrealestate.com.

We are here, and we’re working. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello.

Pinkham Real Estate

www.pinkhamrealestate.com

800-322-6921

Click here to see ticket prices (and deals) throughout New England.

Need a place to stay while you’re here? There is still plenty of time left in the ski season to buy a great getaway that you can use not just this winter but in the years to come. Prices and interest rates have stayed low, but there are signs that this might not be the case forever. We strongly believe that buying real estate now will pay dividends when it comes to making memories with your family. We have been working with buyers and sellers in Mt Washington Valley for longer than any of our competitors, and have the experience to spot a good deal when one comes on the market. Why not stop by and tell us what’s on your wish list? We will do the searching for you and find you the best property out there for your dollars.

Have a happy and safe New Year, and if you are around stop in at our office in North Conway village and say hello. We look forward to seeing you!

Christmas lights on our home

One of my favorite things about this time of year is driving around in the evening and seeing the beautiful lights in the windows of the homes and in the trees in the yard. I love putting the strings of white lights out on our porch, and I always feel warm and happy to be home when I see them pulling into the driveway.

But I don’t like the increase in our electric and heating bills during the winter. While not much can be done about the heat, here are some tips that I have found to make a difference in the winter electric bill:

-Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Simple, but if you start watching yourself, you may be suprised at how many lights end up on by the end of an evening. 

-Leave outside lights off unless you need them.

-If you are decorating with Christmas lights, use single strands instead of icicle strands. Icicle strands are shorter than single strands (so you need more to decorate the house), and they have more bulbs per strand.

-Plug your Christmas lights into a programmable timer. We have one with a sensor that comes on at dusk and automatically shuts off after 4 hours.

-Electric space heaters are energy suckers! If you must use one, use it on low and shut it off when you leave the room.

-Computers, cable boxes and TVs still use power when they are off. If you have them in a second home, unplug them before you leave. If you have them in your primary home, consider putting plugs into a power strip that you can turn off during times when you won’t be using them for a day or two. (This may sound a little overboard, but according to PSNH, up to 8% of your electric bill can be from inactive but plugged in machines.)

Cutting your energy costs isn’t hard, and the great thing about it is it leaves a little more money in your wallet for something you really want to spend your money on-like a second home! Come and see me at Pinkham Real Estate to give me your tips for how you save money on utilities, or to invest those pennies you have been saving into something you and your family can enjoy for years to come.

Merry Christmas!- Kyla Brustin, Pinkham Real Estate, 800-322-6921, or kyla@pinkhamrealestate.com

For more information on how the small things you do impacts your eletric bill, check out the Public Service of NH website.

-

If you’re coming this way to buy gifts, you don’t have to restrict yourself to the shops either. Consider giving a gift certificate to one of our restaurants or a ski ticket, tubing, or mountain coaster pass at Cranmore, Attitash, Black, Wildcat or Bretton Woods.

And if you really want to get a gift someone will love, nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a second home. Call Pinkham Real Estate (800-322-6921), email, or stop by. We are always happy to help.

And Pinkham Real Estate is just across the street. If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello.