Leave the city behind, get to the mountains and get healthy. Click here for full story of how five agents lost a total of 65 lbs (of the stuff below) from their waist lines. Get outside and be vital today!
Contributing author — Ryan the Realtor: svelte, lean and mean, all around good guy.
Ryan@JtRealty.com
Not long ago some friends asked me whether owning my lakefront home was worth the extra cost given the amount of time spent vacationing at the property. My response was yes, because it costs a lot less than you might think. As my friend pointed out it is precisely the fact that we are not always there that makes the difference.
You see, lakefront property or ski homes can have a higher initial price tag, costing up to double or more than a principal residence but you may reside there for only a few weeks per year. The trick is to look at the property as an investment property and rent. Of course this scares some people, who have no desire to be landlords. Often, however, that doesn’t need to happen. Many vacation home properties have onsite rental programs, for example properties associated with Attitash Mountain Village can be included in the rental program there. If your vacation property isn’t part of an association with a rental program prime vacation regions like the Mount Washington Valley have plenty of property management companies that can take care of business for you. Of course we would be more than happy to help you put together a plan that will change the bottom line and bring that vacation home well into your budget.
JtRealty specializes in vacation properties at Attitash Mountain, Mount Cranmore, Conway Lake and Hale’s Location Country Club. Let us know if we can help you.
-Rick
Quiet anonymity is a life path some choose and fully embrace. I suppose that suit has never fit me just right and is perhaps why real estate and teaching have been my first career instincts. You know, for brief moments in my work I have a captive audience. And it’s not feeding the ego but rather the interaction that is rewarding. Figuring out what motivates a student, a buyer, a seller is all very fascinating in a world of social animals and a smile at the end of a day keeps me on the return when this market is full of lumps, bruises, and near misses.
Do I dare say this is my art? Do I dare suggest business can be something more than the passing of paper and documents? Ryan me dear fellow I think you’ve got something here!
Because this business is gently informing a Manahatten client we lost the purchase to someone with more cash — his retirment home would have to wait. Or sharing deep emapthy with a client who lost his wife to cancer and never sat at the table when we closed. Or connecting a client with dependable contractors after a purchase meant necessary home improvements. This is all a part of what I do and service Ryan Mahan provides. I provide service; please do not confuse what I do with sales.
A house is a house is a house but the real match making is fitting personalities with a house. A house has no spirit without people, laughter, or the natural song and pace of a human day. Being able to see a family or a couple mesh with a house is important — no worries, I don’t practice tarot cards. I recently visited this house for a client (not my listing) and felt a cabin-like quality with the full space and comfort a modern house provides, a unique combination. The home is located between Attitash and Cranmore skiing. Email Ryan@JtRealty.com with any questions and remember, we are more than the motions we go through.
Cheers
You know the feeling. You arrive somewhere new and your eyes look for graded park paths, wide sidewalks, bike lanes, country roads, trail heads… You find yourself watching the odometer, noting miles and turnarounds. You are a runner.
If you are coming to the Mount Washington Valley seasonally or looking to move here full time you will find no shortage of fantastic runs. From short and easy to some of the toughest trials a runner can face. Here is a short sample of what you might be looking for.
Simply speaking, just walk out your door. Really from anywhere in the valley you can get in some great mileage along just about any road. But if you are looking for something special, try these on for size.
Okay, there are two notches, Crawford and Pinkham. By there very nature these are out and back runs. Just pick a good starting point that fits your mileage and get running. The scenery is fantastic and the roads winding, so watch out for traffic and be safe.
Great Views!
If you run Crawford Notch, shorten your road run and add a run up Mt Willard at the top of the notch. The extra effort will be rewarded with some of the best mountain views anywhere.
Whitaker WoodsThis little park in North Conway features a well maintained trail system right in town. Running or walking along these trials is pleasant and scenic. By combining different trails you can vary your mileage from half a mile to as much as you want. You can stay low on the flats or head up the hill, winding around the various trails through the pine forested park. In winter these trails are part of the Mount Washington Vally Ski Touring and Snowshoe Foundation (see our Nordic page for more info).
Don’t Miss This!
Starting in June, every Tuesday at 5:30 the White Mountain Milers sponsor a 5k fun run. This race series (for most of us it is a “fun run”) goes for 9 weeks into August. When the series is over, runners still often meet at the park on Tuesdays to run again. For more information check the Milers website.
Operated by the Nature Conservancy and home to many mountain biking trails, the Green Hills Preserve offers the trail runner an extensive collection of challenges ranging from a 2 flat miles around pudding pond to the steep climbs on Blackcap or Middle Mountain. You can get good information from the Trails page on the Milers website and from the Nature Conservancy’s Green Hills Preserve Page.
Looking for a challenge?
Try combining your trail running with mountain biking for a dual workout to get ready for that upcoming triathlon.
If you are like me and can rarely get in a run before, say 7:30 at night you might be looking for a safe outlet for your miles. One of the easiest options is just to run an out and back on “The Strip”. You can start in North Conway Village o Route 16 and head south for 2.5 miles (farther if you start further north) or start at the Walgreens, South of Settlers Green, and head north up Route 16 to your turn around. The running is, well, as urban as it gets here in the North Country but with streetlights and sidewalks it provides a safer alternative than many unlit side or country roads.
A little treat
With the Met Coffee house at the Northern end and Starbucks at the southern end, an evening stop at a coffee shop can top off the urban feel of this run.
RacesI have already mentioned the Race series at Whitaker Woods but there are plenty of other official races of varying lengths and difficulties in the the area. The best advice is to check out the Mount Washington Valley Milers web site for upcoming races. And if you do relocate here, seasonally or full time, consider joining.
Let us help you find the perfect vacation or year round home in the North Conway area. Call 603-356-7200 or email Joy@JtRealty.com today.
-Rick
Here’s to Father’s Day & Children:
When purchasing my first home at twenty four there were many details I ignored, however, I did not ignore the school system, child care, or the surrounding neighborhood (mostly trees in my case). Whether purchasing a primary or vacation home our children are a big part of the equation — I keep this in the forefront when working with clients. Unhappy kids make for unhappy parents.
Recently, I had the pleasure of looking at homes with parents and their young toddler. In short, this lad and I became famous because we had trees and trucks to talk about. We mostly pointed and grunted but we spoke the same language.
The Remains of the Perfect Father’s Day:
The lobsters put up a good battle, but in the end the Mahan’s held their own on this Father Day surprise dinner. Here’s to Dads (while at the same time never forgetting our wonderful wives).
I think the lobster’s showed a good fight.
For families considering relocation and joining a neighborhood in Mt. Washington Valley, call Ryan direct 207-462-3874 or by email Ryan@JtRealty.com
Ever since there were hills and humans, people have endeavored to find ways to go down hills. In the beginning there was rolling. A simple sport, rolling was fraught with obstacles that left participants reeling with dizziness but giddy with accomplishment nonetheless. Over the eons we have grown and matured, developing ever sophisticated means of careening down hill. Soon after the advent of warm winter clothing most effort and innovation came to the arena of traveling down snow-covered slopes. First there was belly and butt sliding, which worked best with primitive clothes turned fur-side in. Then, simple sleds were fashioned. Before long the venerable sport of sliding was invented. It didn’t take long for sleds to turn into skis and boards of all shapes and sizes. Yes the story of winter sports is long and full of adventure, but to skip to more modern times….
Innovation has not left us. With the opening of not one, but two all weather Mountain Coasters in the Mount Washington Valley there is yet one more way to get down a hill. Suffice it to say that visitors to either Attitash Mountain or Cranmore Mountain will find most every modern way of getting down a hill available to them. So take your pick, skiing, snowboarding, telemark, skate skis, tubing, mountain coasters, etc…, however you choose to get down a hill Attitash or Cranmore are great choices.
If you are wondering what sets the Mount Washington Valley ski areas apart from other New England locations, stop by on your next visit, give us a call (1-800-356-7200) or send us an email through our contact page. We can share with you why the Mount Washington Valley is the best location for your ski home or ski condo.
Looking for a good deal on some great ski gear? Mark your calendar for the 40th annual Eastern Slope Ski Sale.
The Eastern Slope Ski Club supports the youth of the Mount Washington Valley by promoting a healthy , exciting lifelong activity. All students in local elementary schools have the opportunity to get out, once a week at local ski areas. Volunteers provide small group lessons to kids on these days. The sale is at the North Conway Community Center in Schouler Park on Friday, November 12, 3:00-9:00 pm and again on Saturday, November 13 9am to 3pm. Get there early as there is always a line on Friday afternoon!
Do you have good equipment in good shape? This is a great chance to clean out the ski closet. Sale tags cost $1 and your equipement can sell for a 15% commission. Proceeds from the sale benefit this Junior Ski Program of the Mount Washington Valley.
For more information or to become involved go the the Eastern Slope Ski Club Website.
– A Mahan Minute
I deceived myself in the shower this morning (purely metaphysical, trust me) but my mind refuted the fact that I was preparing to spend the better part of a day inside an office building.
Instead, I was cleansing tired feet and calf muscles in a remote mountain pond after an arduous climb fraught with liberty and danger. Cowboy coffee waited at the ready to take the chill off my morning dip and I sat and stoked the ringed ashes from the night before simply listening, simply breathing.
You know what, I felt the accomplishments of my daydream exceeded the few text messages and phone calls I made this morning. I felt rather industrious on the drive in to work. I felt close to nature.
I attribute this day-dream to the soap I use in the shower or in the woods that is none other than Dr. Bronner’s.
Ignore the “hemp” ingredients as an attempt to fly the hippy flag but rather focus on the citrus and fragrant combination that puts you in a grove of Spruce trees and takes your mind to the woods. Thanks Doc Bronner, good medicine.
Get out, be vital, the rivers and mountains wait….
Ryan the Realtor
E-Mail Ryan with your mountain dreams Ryan@JTRealty.com
As a youth I avoided summer school like the plague, but yesterday I worked with students from the Enriched Learning Center earning credits towards an early diploma. Granite State College provided the venue for laughing and learning.
The curriculum included an overview of the coursework to become a licensed Rrealtor and then marketing and mock telephone activities. A question and answer session however proved most useful.
One sharp lad offered, “What works best in sales?”
My answer was simple, “Find people that need real estate service and be honest with them.” We further discussed the importance of providing service to clients and keeping lines of communication open.
As a means of communication, search Ryan the Realtor’s website that provides recent sales activity, free reports, and lakeside listings.
– Your Real Estate Consultant for Life
Ryan Mahan
As your Real Estate Consultant I think it’s important that you know my allegiance is with the Boston Celtics. Yes I am a New England kid from Maine that maybe longed for a city with a big-time professional sports team to call his own, but recent events in the NBA prove that my faith and support of the Boston Celtics is warranted and goes much deeper.
Let’s start with pain and loss after game seven so I can entertain any Laker fans. I’m no coward. My Celtics were bruised and hurt but yet they walked off the court with dignity and as a team. No one’s individual pain was larger than the collective team.
Then see Kobe Bryant immediately after the game on a solo interview professing his pleasure of earning one more title than Shaqueel O’Neal. Did Kobe earn the title alone? Was he the only Los Angeles Laker to hit a clutch three-pointer? While a tremendous athlete, what Kobe Bryant lacks entirely is class.
And Phil Jackson might be able to light up another victory cigar but has to worry about his heart condition while keeping his players out of jail (Ron “Arrest” Artest). Oh, by the way, check out his new rap album. What a joke.
The Celtics not only have more class but the leaders are all 30-something and know a thing or two. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce realize that coming back together as a unit was of greater importance than lucrative deals in Florida or following the self-proclaimed Lebron “King” James to Miami. Lebron, you have to win a title first before you can call yourself the King! And his own website www.lebronjamesworld.com are you kidding me? Do you need more marketing power Lebron?
I would not count the Celtics as “over the hill” in 2011 and you can guarantee the focus is on the team versus any individual. Miami, you can have the “King” Lebron James and I’ll remain true to Celts of Boston.
Subscribe via email