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Thread: New Hampshire house

  1. #11
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    I would not use 401K money. Trying to figure out now how to purchase another domicile while still in this one as contingent sales aren't going over well in the areas we are considering. Too many cash buyers. Thinking about just buying a condo/townhouse there with large cash down and small mortgage but don't like the thought of keeping up with two houses if this one doesn't sell quickly.

  2. #12
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Small town rural living is not for me now but lived there when young and no rules to clear the snow, etc. Just mentioned it for people intent on cheap East coast living.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I would not use 401K money. Trying to figure out now how to purchase another domicile while still in this one as contingent sales aren't going over well in the areas we are considering. Too many cash buyers. Thinking about just buying a condo/townhouse there with large cash down and small mortgage but don't like the thought of keeping up with two houses if this one doesn't sell quickly.
    Yeah, that's kind of where we are, Pinkytoe. I guess if we could not sell this current house, then we would have to sell the new one. So we would lose money, but still not have emptied out 401k's/IRA's.

    I would never empty one out, anyway, but I have thought about taking a portion. But there's not really enough time to grow it back, at our age.

  4. #14
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    We actually lived in upstate ny and our experience was like Sweetana described, and the housing stock was exquisite, and we owned 75 acres of land, which was a kick.

    I don't know if I could go back, although it would be easier this time, now that the kids are launched.

    But you would need a good investment portfolio and no need to work. And the taxes were awful.

    But the housing--it is gorgeous.

  5. #15
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    NH real estate has one huge gotcha. Land taxes are locally based. In our school district at one point per $1000 of evaluation you could pay 2x as much land tax in one town within 10miles of another.

    At one point DH and I were seriously considering filing bankruptcy if the school/land taxes were raised, again. We paid all of one of his take home pay (2weeks worth) except $200 in mortgage and land/school tax at the time. He was working full time, in Boston, in the tech sector, not for minimum wage.

    The cheaper towns have in the past had higher taxes. Research the Claremont decision and look at the tax rate before you buy!
    Last edited by NewGig; 12-5-19 at 6:36pm. Reason: Realized I’d forgotten to add that the mortgage was part of the money!

  6. #16
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    That's great advice, NewGig. Yeah, I know about the taxes, as we are mostly looking in Maine, and Vermont and NH are definitely plan C's as they are farther from my family. NY state was horrible, too, which kept the prices low, so if you look housing in VT/NY border, you can see this price disparity. Of course NH has no sales tax and no income tax, so maybe it would balance out.

    When we lived in NY 10 years ago, we bought our house for 80,000 and our taxes were 3700 a year.

    I was curious about how IL's friend's 401k decision worked out, which is why I mentioned NH. I am not personally drawn to the state the way many are--I prefer VT and Maine, as I am not a fan of mountain driving. I know it's dumb to like VT under those circumstances, but I went to college right by VT and to grad school in VT, so it has really nice associations.

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