Ragged Mountain? (Concord, Franklin, Lee: to rent, how much, vacation home)

[Valerie C]

I would verify this if it's important to you. Errors and omissions happen on a fairly regular basis. Was the "wired for Internet" as part of the remarks (which somebody would need to key in) or the features (which is more of a "check off the boxes that apply" type of input. It's really easy to check off a wrong box...

Originally Posted by canyontothesky

According to the MLS, this house is wired for cable internet =)

[canyontothesky]

It specifically lists cable and cable internet among the features (among first floor laundry, laundry hook ups, etc) and I've seen loads of listings since then that don't have these listed even though they very well could. But, you know, we'll see when I see the house.

[notdancingqueen]

DH says they have put a lot of money into lifts and trail maintenance the past few years. We were there once so far this year (we have season passes - cheapcheapcheap for the 4 of us!) and I was impressed with the base lodge. I didn't know what to expect, though, so maybe my expectations were just low.

This is from the Press area of Ragged Mtn.'s website:

"Danbury NH - Established in 1964, Ragged Mountain is now positioned to be one of the fastest growing ski resorts in New Hampshire. In May 2007, Ragged Mountain, a 1,650 acre mountain resort which includes a 220 acre ski area and an 18-hole golf course, was purchased by Salt Lake City based resort developer RMR-Pacific, an affiliate of Pacific Group. Since then, total acreage has increased to 2,000 and plans call for 65 further acres of slopes.

Upon acquiring the mountain property, the new owners invested over $2 million into the resort for renovations including 14,000 feet of new snow making pipe, 25 new energy efficient snow guns, new snow groomers, a new Wonder carpet lift for beginners, chairlift improvements including reviving lift service to Spear Mountain, base lodge renovations including new carpet, the repair of steps and outside brick walkways, the addition of seasonal lockers and an outdoor fire pit, and adding two new restaurants.

The renovations did not stop there. In 2008, Ragged Mountain announced the addition of a new upscale dining establishment, additional snow-making capacity, and three all new terrain parks including one of the only all natural terrain parks in the East.

The resort development group has a history of building resorts around the Western U.S. and Canada. Along with the substantial funds to help with improvements, the new owners hired ski industry veteran Bob Fries as president and general manager to implement the necessary changes. Fries has an impressive resume with 35 years in the ski resort business including five years as owner and president of Bolton Valley, president of Stratton Mountain in Vermont, and president of Breckenridge in Colorado.

With Fries as the new president, Ragged Mountain applied to Audubon International to become a Certified Silver Signature Sanctuary. Audubon International only accepts applications for this level of certification when it can be involved before the construction of infrastructure has begun in order to provide critical input in the design phase, and guidance as the design takes the form of construction. Ragged Mountain has been accepted into the Signature Sanctuary program.

By the end of last season the resort was receiving numerous unsolicited positive testimonials about the new Ragged Mountain. Ragged Mountain’s skier days increased substantially as people heard about the positive changes the resort had implemented. Opening day is anticipated to be November, 28. Keep an eye on Ragged Mountain Resort - Nothing Close Can Even Come Close for more details."

[mustmove]

Skied there on Mondays in the early 90's. Lift tickets were $12 during the week. Mountain was empty until the schools let out. Had a great time.

[canyontothesky]

Thanks for that post, notdancingqueen. I hadn't looked at that on their website.
I think seeing that they were only purchased in 2007 shows that they have a huge potential here for growth. They've already done some already, but as others have predicted, it could become very popular in the next few years. Great!
Now I just have to see the house.

[KarynO]

I think Danbury is an inconvenient dumpy little town and would only buy a property there if you loved it for yourself...definitely not as an investment. Ragged Mountain is the nicest thing Danbury has going for it but it is mostly all locals and with very limited lodging and dining/entertainment options, the fat wallets are not coming. ...another thing to consider...the area towns and residents are borderline hostile to the tourists...I've even seen a truck with "Go home M*******s" plastered on the back...(I think they'll keep spending their money over in Gilford and North Conway.)

[canyontothesky]

It's ok to see negative opinions, too, but also on a forum like this it's hard to think too hard about one person's opinion over the other.

I'd really like to hear more (positive and negative) thoughts about Danbury. Does anyone here actually live there or near there and can speak more about the rural lifestyle in this particular part of the state? Anything else, too. =)

[buck naked]

when they put in the high speed 6 passenger lift before the first bankruptcy the mountain was fully equipped with top-of-line snowmaking. One night could cover the entire mountain. Snow was not the problem. I can't argue with $12. lift tickets though. That's about what it's worth to ski there.

As far as becoming a resort destination? I don't think so....too much competition with mountains that are much bigger and easier to get to.

[Oo-v-oO]

Originally Posted by canyontothesky

Does anyone here actually live there or near there and can speak more about the rural lifestyle in this particular part of the state? Anything else, too. =)

*raises hand*

Lived here all but about 2-3 years of my life.

Yes, you can get cable internet here, though maybe not in all areas of town. I live on a side road and have it via Comcast.

Ragged Mtn. Road always gets taken care of first as far as plowing, etc. so that's a good thing if you live in that area. I'm quite sure cable runs up there for the mountain, as well.

Danbury has a great road crew. We get screwed by the school district on taxes, though, so be sure to check into that before buying.

We have a part-time police department and a volunteer fire department. Two general stores, a small library open a few days a week, an elementary school, and the Alphorn Bistro B&B which has won some awards for their food.

Danbury is equally far from most larger towns. 15 minutes to Bristol or Andover, 45 minutes to Concord, Laconia, or Lebanon and an hour to Manchester.

The town is somewhere around 900' ASL and does seem to be in a snow belt as compared to some of the surrounding towns.

The town has really grown since I was a kid. Lots of influx from Massachusetts, which I do not like at all. Too many people move here to get away from Mass than when they find that they don't have all of the amenities they try to recreate it here. For those of us that LIKE living in a small, quiet town that's really annoying.

Hope that helps.

[canyontothesky]

Thanks, oo-v-oo! Finally someone who lives there.
The house is right on rt 104, 1 mile west of Ragged, so, are there any advantages/disadvantages to being on 104?

I myself was raised in a Boston suburb, and now I live in Manhattan. Across the street from me are a 24 hour grocery store, drug store and diner. I hate it here, but those are some nice conveniences that I'm used to and that's about it. I have never lived in a rural setting, and while I do worry that I'm used to driving (when I was in MA) 5 minutes to the grocery store, or here, going at 1am if I feel like it, I also feel like, all the people who complain that Danbury is so out of the way, I also think, is it really that big of a deal that I'd have to drive 20 minutes further to Target than you would? It's not like all of the ammenities that one would need do not exist, they are simply a few miles to sometimes 15 or so miles further, but that is something I would think I would get used to!

The fact of the matter is, I can't afford to plunk down cash on a house like this anywhere else in the Boston metro area, except maybe in equally as rural parts of Maine, where they have income and sales tax. For me right now, home ownership seems very important. I will be moving to NH this coming summer no matter what, but I have 3 dogs, I dont want to worry about getting a rental, and not having enough room or a backyard. I want to renovate and paint how I want. Etc. And I think, or I hope, that if home ownership is more important than location, than living in somewhere that rural, you just get over it for what you get.

So, oo-v-oo, in saying that, does it seem like I'd get on ok there? haha. Also, what can you say about the appreciation of homes and overall growth in Danbury? And, being a resident there, what do YOU think about Ragged?