Tell me where to look for houses! :D

[thebig0]

Much good advice in this thread but to augment one point. The majority of the state uses home heating oil. Per nhpr the breakdown is below. Depending on the current rates propane can be up to 50% more expensive than oil per btu. Solid fuel is always the cheapest but also the most work. Electric is extremely expensive in the northeast and only typically found in apartments built during the 70s.

Oil: 47%
NG: 20%
LP: 14%
Wood and electric: 8% each

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by thebig0

Much good advice in this thread but to augment one point. The majority of the state uses home heating oil. Per nhpr the breakdown is below. Depending on the current rates propane can be up to 50% more expensive than oil per btu. Solid fuel is always the cheapest but also the most work. [Electric is extremely expensive in the northeast and only typically found in apartments built during the 70s.

Good point -- the installed heat source is an important factor when buying a house; you're probably not planning on switching out the heating system right after moving in. If you ask to see heating costs, try to get figures for December 2016-February 2017.

Originally Posted by thebig0

Oil: 47%
NG: 20%
LP: 14%
Wood and electric: 8% each

Here's a detailed analysis from the state.. I know many homeowners with a furnace running on HHO or LP (I have both) who use a wood stove (pellet or hardwood) when at home.

A fireplace can be a positive feature even if you have no interest in burning cordwood; most fireplaces can be (permanently) adapted to take a pellet stove insert by installing a flue liner.

[Spottednikes]

Londonderry has good schools, reasonable commute to boston. If you were amenable to a townhome, I'd suggest century village...good amenities (pool, tennis, playground, clubhouse. Walking trails, ponds), walking distance to gym, movie theater, grocery shopping, restaurants.
You can get larger units about 2000sf under 275k

[GregW]

PM Valerie C - She really knows this area.


WE also have a few townhouses available in my condominium - Rolling Meadows on Old Nashua Road. The structures were rebuilt last year and should be good for more decades.

[AileenM]

Originally Posted by Nonesuch

When you have well & septic, you do need to build this into your maintenance budget. If you don't have a big savings cushion, take the +$100/month you'd be paying for city services and stick it in a rainy day fund.

Personally, I don't miss city water and sewer at all, even after having a 15-year-old deep well pump burn out in the middle of December.

The only "city" infrastructure I truly miss after moving to New Hampshire is piped in natural gas (NG service coverage is minimal in NH, instead homeowners have propane delivered). I didn't realize how great it was to have an unending supply of cheap gas for cooking, heating and a generator until I had to live without it.


I started out with a "30 minute" as-the-crow-flies circle around Manchester airport, but after considering rivers and road speeds times, switched to using the google maps estimate of travel times from town centers to make a list of towns by travel time. Takes a while, but more accurate than Trulia, which does make pretty maps, like this:

Genius, thank you!