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I live just outside Philadelphia and land is limited but it seems there are more housing tear downs replaced with newer construction. I think I also read there has been some controversy over laying natural gas pipelines in MA. Most of the homes in this area are heated by natural gas. In any event, New England is lovely and has its charm so I'll just have to consider the tradeoffs.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Most of Eastern MA is served by natural gas pipelines - including Newburyport and Amesbury. I think you've been reading about controversy over *adding* more pipelines to lower rates - there has been some NIMBY pushback to that, I think both in MA and NH.
A lot of northern New England doesn't have natural gas, but some of the bigger seacoast NH towns have it, at least in most of their neighborhoods, you just need to check each time, as some streets will have it, and some streets won't up there.
If you're looking at a brand new house being built today, and it's well insulated, one nice alternative to look at is a low temperature heat pump from Mitsubishi or Fujitsu - these companies make certain models today that work efficiently down to -10, -15 degrees, and they provide year-round HVAC comfort, and you don't need natural gas available. I have even seen them used well up into Maine (I am looking at build a place in mid-coast Maine now, have bought the lot and am working on the design), so they can definitely work in cold climates in a well-built new house.
Most of Eastern MA is served by natural gas pipelines - including Newburyport and Amesbury. I think you've been reading about controversy over *adding* more pipelines to lower rates - there has been some NIMBY pushback to that, I think both in MA and NH.
A lot of northern New England doesn't have natural gas, but some of the bigger seacoast NH towns have it, at least in most of their neighborhoods, you just need to check each time, as some streets will have it, and some streets won't up there.
If you're looking at a brand new house being built today, and it's well insulated, one nice alternative to look at is a low temperature heat pump from Mitsubishi or Fujitsu - these companies make certain models today that work efficiently down to -10, -15 degrees, and they provide year-round HVAC comfort, and you don't need natural gas available. I have even seen them used well up into Maine (I am looking at build a place in mid-coast Maine now, have bought the lot and am working on the design), so they can definitely work in cold climates in a well-built new house.
Good to know. I'll keep that in mind. FYI, I don't need brand new construction; just low maintenance and prefer natural gas and central a/c. Although there is ductless a/c today that might work. I know people might say it's not need in in New England but I've been in Southie and Nantucket in the summer months and I have needed it.
Yep, lots of people in MA just loving their natural gas pipelines this week. Eighty homes burned but only one dead, so I guess it's all good. You can probably buy a home there with natural gas at a really good price now.
Newburyport is IMO the nicest town on the north shore of MA, no question. About the only other towns I'd suggest in MA given your desires are (a) Amesbury, which is right across the river from Newburyport. Not quite as nice, but still fairly nice, has a supermarket and a pretty nice walkable downtown and it's a short drive to Newburyport - more house for your money in Amesury, clearly, but RE taxes are higher - it's worth looking at tho... and (b) Gloucester, which is an interesting town near the end of Cape Ann. That's a real fishing town and there are certainly some scenic areas out on Cape Ann, plus it's a little cheaper. It's actually no closer to Boston than Newburyport though, because you have to drive pretty far east to get out there, and I think Nbpt is nicer, both in town and in its parks, plus the ocean water gets cleaner as you get further from Boston, so at least to my thinking, Gloucester is nice, but Nbpt is nicer. Also worth a look if you have time tho.
Most of the housing stock in New England in general is pretty old, that's true - they started building here in the 1600s, and I think New England was also the industrial powerhouse for the country until at least the mid 1800s. Eastern MA especially was built out pretty early, so there's very little buildable land left - that's been true for awhile, and that keeps the housing supply nearly fixed, which is why the price rises more steeply as demand grows - builders can't do much to increase the supply of housing - no place to put it! There are some nice newer houses in seacoast NH, including both single family homes and condos if you're interested in that, more than in MA. More available land in NH = more places to put a new house.
P.S. I did a little quick zillowing for you, and here are 3 ads that look like they might be along these lines:
These homes are spot on thank you. The Munroe St. condo has a $750/mo. HOA fee. There was no tax info but based on a similar home in the area I am guessing in the neighborhood of $6000/yr. The HOA fee seems high for the minimal amenities. My current HOA is $200/mo as our street is private and includes street maintenance, snow plowing and insurance liability coverage. Do you know anything about HOA fees in this area?
These homes are spot on thank you. The Munroe St. condo has a $750/mo. HOA fee. There was no tax info but based on a similar home in the area I am guessing in the neighborhood of $6000/yr. The HOA fee seems high for the minimal amenities. My current HOA is $200/mo as our street is private and includes street maintenance, snow plowing and insurance liability coverage. Do you know anything about HOA fees in this area?
P.S. I found a post that was illuminating re HOA fees. Much more complex that I realized.
These homes are spot on thank you. The Munroe St. condo has a $750/mo. HOA fee. There was no tax info but based on a similar home in the area I am guessing in the neighborhood of $6000/yr. The HOA fee seems high for the minimal amenities. My current HOA is $200/mo as our street is private and includes street maintenance, snow plowing and insurance liability coverage. Do you know anything about HOA fees in this area?
It's assessed at $451K with a tax rate of $13.26 so just under $6K. BTW if you click the property card on the link, it shows a new kitchen in 2013 and a master bedroom repair in 2017 - perhaps water damage on the latter.
That $750 is more of a condo fee. The unit is over 20 years old and it's coming up on needing some major work such as roof, perhaps paint, et al plus it has an underground garage which may require major maintenance.
These homes are spot on thank you. The Munroe St. condo has a $750/mo. HOA fee. There was no tax info but based on a similar home in the area I am guessing in the neighborhood of $6000/yr. The HOA fee seems high for the minimal amenities. My current HOA is $200/mo as our street is private and includes street maintenance, snow plowing and insurance liability coverage. Do you know anything about HOA fees in this area?
So that complex has a multilevel parking garage, a very nice interior courtyard maintained to a high standard, elevators in some of its buildings, I think a small gym, among other factors that might drive up its fees. They vary a lot here, you really have to check each one - it's not one price or one set of services everywhere. I have seen professionally run complexes with quite low fees too. Another thing to be aware of is, especially in Newburyport, many of these condos are actually half-houses that are just a 2-unit association, those normally have very low fees - no staff, no equipment, no facilities or amenities, but the fees might just cover the master insurance policy for the building and the water bill, for example.
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 09-18-2018 at 02:08 PM..
Yep, lots of people in MA just loving their natural gas pipelines this week. Eighty homes burned but only one dead, so I guess it's all good. You can probably buy a home there with natural gas at a really good price now.
Obviously this is a real tragedy but all fossil fuels carry risk in discovery, transportation and distribution. I don't know for a fact natural gas poses a greater risk of harm relative to the number of households. I am all for solar power when it becomes widely available.
It's assessed at $451K with a tax rate of $13.26 so just under $6K. BTW if you click the property card on the link, it shows a new kitchen in 2013 and a master bedroom repair in 2017 - perhaps water damage on the latter.
That $750 is more of a condo fee. The unit is over 20 years old and it's coming up on needing some major work such as roof, perhaps paint, et al plus it has an underground garage which may require major maintenance.
Thanks for taking the time to look into this in detail as I am trying to educate myself on condo fee arrangements.
So that complex has a multilevel parking garage, a very nice interior courtyard maintained to a high standard, elevators in some of its buildings, I think a small gym, among other factors that might drive up its fees. They vary a lot here, you really have to check each one - it's not one price or one set of services everywhere. I have seen professionally run complexes with quite low fees too. Another thing to be aware of is, especially in Newburyport, many of these condos are actually half-houses that are just a 2-unit association, those normally have very low fees - no staff, no equipment, no facilities or amenities, but the fees might just cover the master insurance policy for the building and the water bill, for example.
A lot to watch out for with these condo associations. My current home is a single family detached with low key home owners association for private road maintenance only. Extremely helpful thank you.
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