Help with Moving from NYC to attend Dartmouth Medical School - Plz recommend a Good Honest RE Agent (Lebanon: sales)

[FreshSalad]

Hi! I'm excited about going to be attending DMS but I'm in the middle of trying to get all my affairs in order. Please feel free to comment on what I'm thinking about doing. I know it's a long post but I've tried to separate it by categories. If you think I'm missing anything, please feel free to let me know!

1) Housing: Does anyone have recommendations for good honest real estate agents? Since I'm going to be doing rotations around Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Ctr, I was thinking about either buying or renting a place in Lebanon, West, Lebanon, Enfield, or Hanover. From my research so far, Hanover seems too expensive. Since I will be moving up with my SO so we'll be looking for at minimum a studio with 1 bathroom. We would really prefer NOT to have to share housing. Finances are not really an issue though, of course, cheaper and practical is better. We will be supported by our parents.

I was thinking about three options.

a) buying a condo/house for target price of under $100K
Pro: Being able to actually hold a resalable asset.
Con: Having to take care of own repairs, shovel snow, etc. Pay property taxes.
b) renting an apartment for target price of $600/month incl utilities
Pro: Let landlord take care of repairs, snow shoveling, etc.
Con: Nothing is actually owned.
c) buying a manufactured home for target price of $16K
Pro: Darn cheap!
Con: Broadband internet access?

2) Vehicle: Since I will be there with my SO, we with each need a vehicle. Sharing is not an option since she will also need to commute to her school. I'm not really concerned with where I purchase the cars, I'm concerned with repairs/maintenance. I am NOT car savvy. 2008 Subaru Forester 2.5X sound good for the winters? I do plan on purchasing snow tires and switching them with the OEM tires during the winter. How are the Subaru dealerships? The only one I can locate around Dartmouth on the Subaru website is "The Car Store." Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area? Also my SO has fallen in love with the 2008 Honda CRV LX AWD. How is the Honda dealership in Lebanon? Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area?

3) Car Insurance: Before I make the car purchase, I plan on getting the housing taken care of. That way, I can switch my NY license over to NH. I'd have to pay the registration fees (which I hear is very high), but I'd avoid the sales tax. I'd also be able to get much cheaper car insurance. How long should the process take? Would I have to wait until NH processes and issues the new driver's license in order to purchase the cars?

4) Cellular Service: I currently have T-Mobile and the SO has ATT/Cingular. I'm assuming that service in the vicinity is ok?


Any help with anything is greatly appreciated. The list I made is in no way comprehensive but I think they're probably the major things.

Thank you so much!

[CometVoyager]

Originally Posted by FreshSalad

Hi! I'm excited about going to be attending DMS but I'm in the middle of trying to get all my affairs in order. Please feel free to comment on what I'm thinking about doing. I know it's a long post but I've tried to separate it by categories. If you think I'm missing anything, please feel free to let me know!

1) Housing: Does anyone have recommendations for good honest real estate agents? Since I'm going to be doing rotations around Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Ctr, I was thinking about either buying or renting a place in Lebanon, West, Lebanon, Enfield, or Hanover. From my research so far, Hanover seems too expensive. Since I will be moving up with my SO so we'll be looking for at minimum a studio with 1 bathroom. We would really prefer NOT to have to share housing. Finances are not really an issue though, of course, cheaper and practical is better. We will be supported by our parents.

I was thinking about three options.

a) buying a condo/house for target price of under $100K
Pro: Being able to actually hold a resalable asset.
Con: Having to take care of own repairs, shovel snow, etc. Pay property taxes.
b) renting an apartment for target price of $600/month incl utilities
Pro: Let landlord take care of repairs, snow shoveling, etc.
Con: Nothing is actually owned.
c) buying a manufactured home for target price of $16K
Pro: Darn cheap!
Con: Broadband internet access?

2) Vehicle: Since I will be there with my SO, we with each need a vehicle. Sharing is not an option since she will also need to commute to her school. I'm not really concerned with where I purchase the cars, I'm concerned with repairs/maintenance. I am NOT car savvy. 2008 Subaru Forester 2.5X sound good for the winters? I do plan on purchasing snow tires and switching them with the OEM tires during the winter. How are the Subaru dealerships? The only one I can locate around Dartmouth on the Subaru website is "The Car Store." Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area? Also my SO has fallen in love with the 2008 Honda CRV LX AWD. How is the Honda dealership in Lebanon? Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area?

3) Car Insurance: Before I make the car purchase, I plan on getting the housing taken care of. That way, I can switch my NY license over to NH. I'd have to pay the registration fees (which I hear is very high), but I'd avoid the sales tax. I'd also be able to get much cheaper car insurance. How long should the process take? Would I have to wait until NH processes and issues the new driver's license in order to purchase the cars?

4) Cellular Service: I currently have T-Mobile and the SO has ATT/Cingular. I'm assuming that service in the vicinity is ok?


Any help with anything is greatly appreciated. The list I made is in no way comprehensive but I think they're probably the major things.

Thank you so much!

I strongly would recommend Valerie C! She is on this board and appears to be very informative and not at all pushy! Her email is: Valerie@SNHhome.com

[countrylv22]

WELCOME TO THE NH FORUM!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING INTO MEDICAL

SCHOOL!! WOOHOO!! Getting into Medical School is an AMAZING

accomplishment!! And getting into a good school even BETTER!!

KUDOS TO YOU!!! KUDOS to your parents as well, for helping you out

during the entire process!!

As for your questions, I would really suggest "VALERIE C"

as a Real Estate professional She is a regular on the forum, you can send

her a Direct Message, and I am sure she will be very HAPPY to help you

out! She is very good in her field, we all respect her, and appreciate

her great & HONEST advice to ALL of us!! We consider her a FRIEND!!

SHE IS WONDERFUL!!! She truly is!! VALERIE C is her screen name

As you probably know, your first year of Medical

School will be a tough one, you will not have time for anything, except school,

and maybe breathing from time to time LOL! Since you will be so

busy, I would suggest buying now, so you will not have to be bothered with

that later.

Also, we are in a "BUYERS MARKET", so you would have your property

appreciate with time, by the time you are finished and ready to leave.

Also, NH is great at retaining its property values, even though we are in an

economic slump NH real estate prices even though they have dropped,

they have not dropped as much as the rest of the country.

By the way, be patient, people on this forum are very helpful & friendly, and

you will get your questions answered little by little

If you want, you can click on the SEARCH button at the top and type in

something you are interested in, and you will get a ton of information that

might have been asked in the past already

You are very fortunate to have your parents taking care of the expenses,

that is a great load OFF your shoulders!!

CONGRATULATIONS, once again for getting into Medical School!!

Maybe when you finish with your studies, residency, etc. you can

stay in NH!!

LOTS OF LUCK & BEST OF WISHES WITH EVERYTHING!!!

Keep us posted!

Take care,

Have a great day!

Countrylv22

Originally Posted by FreshSalad

Hi! I'm excited about going to be attending DMS but I'm in the middle of trying to get all my affairs in order. Please feel free to comment on what I'm thinking about doing. I know it's a long post but I've tried to separate it by categories. If you think I'm missing anything, please feel free to let me know!

1) Housing: Does anyone have recommendations for good honest real estate agents? Since I'm going to be doing rotations around Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Ctr, I was thinking about either buying or renting a place in Lebanon, West, Lebanon, Enfield, or Hanover. From my research so far, Hanover seems too expensive. Since I will be moving up with my SO so we'll be looking for at minimum a studio with 1 bathroom. We would really prefer NOT to have to share housing. Finances are not really an issue though, of course, cheaper and practical is better. We will be supported by our parents.

I was thinking about three options.

a) buying a condo/house for target price of under $100K
Pro: Being able to actually hold a resalable asset.
Con: Having to take care of own repairs, shovel snow, etc. Pay property taxes.
b) renting an apartment for target price of $600/month incl utilities
Pro: Let landlord take care of repairs, snow shoveling, etc.
Con: Nothing is actually owned.
c) buying a manufactured home for target price of $16K
Pro: Darn cheap!
Con: Broadband internet access?

2) Vehicle: Since I will be there with my SO, we with each need a vehicle. Sharing is not an option since she will also need to commute to her school. I'm not really concerned with where I purchase the cars, I'm concerned with repairs/maintenance. I am NOT car savvy. 2008 Subaru Forester 2.5X sound good for the winters? I do plan on purchasing snow tires and switching them with the OEM tires during the winter. How are the Subaru dealerships? The only one I can locate around Dartmouth on the Subaru website is "The Car Store." Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area? Also my SO has fallen in love with the 2008 Honda CRV LX AWD. How is the Honda dealership in Lebanon? Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Does anyone recommend any alternate mechanics/shops in the area?

3) Car Insurance: Before I make the car purchase, I plan on getting the housing taken care of. That way, I can switch my NY license over to NH. I'd have to pay the registration fees (which I hear is very high), but I'd avoid the sales tax. I'd also be able to get much cheaper car insurance. How long should the process take? Would I have to wait until NH processes and issues the new driver's license in order to purchase the cars?

4) Cellular Service: I currently have T-Mobile and the SO has ATT/Cingular. I'm assuming that service in the vicinity is ok?


Any help with anything is greatly appreciated. The list I made is in no way comprehensive but I think they're probably the major things.

Thank you so much!

[GregW]

I suggest you get a couple of used Subaru's. Either Impreza or Legacy based. I have a '96 Legacy Outback wagon and it is the best snow car that I have ever driven. Purchase four new snow tires and keep them on separate rims to make the conversion to summer tires cheaper and easier. Steel rims are available at most recycle yards. Avoid any WRX unless you really want a really fast car that can be a real handful on snow.

Check out Tim O’Neil’s driving school in Littleton (actually Dalton) for excellent snow driving instruction.

Most condo associations take care of the outside of the buildings including lawn mowing and snow removal. This will allow you to have more time for studying.

I suggest asking ValerieC for a real estate reference.

The school should have a housing department. Check with them.

[aponeil]

There is a new workforce housing project build specifically for people like yourself. New to the medical field, lots of loans to pay off, too little time for exterior home maintenance.
http://www.uvhc.org/
Good luck!

[aponeil]

Oops, wrong link. This is the link to the actual housing developmement called Gile Hill Gile Hill | Hanover, New Hampshire | Green Built Homes
Its supposed to be pretty great. I hope this helps! They really market as being perfect for new medical folks so you can be close to work at DHMC and still affordable for starting out since Hanover is so expensive otherwise.

[FreshSalad]

Thanks everyone! After much discussion, we're leaning towards renting for the simplicity and not having to pay property taxes and whatnot (though we haven't completely ruled out buying a condo). I've sent a PM to Valarie C. Will try to keep everyone updated on my move!

[VTHiker]

Originally Posted by aponeil

Oops, wrong link. This is the link to the actual housing developmement called Gile Hill Gile Hill | Hanover, New Hampshire | Green Built Homes
Its supposed to be pretty great. I hope this helps! They really market as being perfect for new medical folks so you can be close to work at DHMC and still affordable for starting out since Hanover is so expensive otherwise.

I have lived at Gile Hill in Hanover, NH as an apartment tenant since May 2009. I would not recommend that anyone move here unless you want to be subjected to the following:
1. constant construction activity involving noise from 7 am to 7 pm 7 days per week
2. excessive dust and noise
3. paper-thin walls and ceilings/floors - we can hear cats walking around in the apartment above us
4. shoddy construction, such as buckling linoleum and carpeting, new windows that don't even close, and doors with large gaps that leave sunlight and cold winter air coming through
5. narrow roads through which two cars cannot pass each other safely without extreme, unreasonable caution
6. lack of sidewalks - unsafe to walk children, especially around construction activities and curves in road
7. unhelpful management - they do not keep promised office hours and their responses to letters and phone calls are often delayed, or they state that they forgot a complaint was ever made; they also provide false information or deny statements previously made
8. management that encourages residents to backdate legal documents
9. frequent, disruptive notices on doors for activities such as shutting the water off for many hours, painting parking lots (requiring tenants to park on narrow roads or in construction zones and far from their buildings), and door painting (requiring tenants to prop their doors open, even if the tenants were not home to guard their valuables)
10. inconvenient dumpster location which requires tenants to walk long distances, through mud and around dangerous construction activities
11. road obstructions from construction trucks and equipment - truck drivers do not move out of the way quickly or direct traffic around their equipment to avoid car crashes
12. drug activity
13. false advertising - rooms for apartments are much smaller than shown in floor plans on Gile Hill's website; large closet and bathroom shown in the master bedroom do not exist; tenants receive one, not two, parking spaces
14. tenants are prohibited from keeping any items, even a bike or a simple lawn chair, on balconies

In other words - do not move to Gile Hill. I am sure you would regret it, and it is not even remotely family friendly.