Berlinnhrealestateblog.com: November 2009

Depending who you are talking to about the price of a house you have to be clear what numbers you are using. If you're not both referring to the same lingo, you could each walk away from the conversation thinking different things and not knowing it. Here are some definitions that may be helpful.

Appraised Value

The Appraised Value of a property is an opinion of the value of a home prepared by an Appraiser. His opinion is based on a number of factors or methods of determining the value. He will look at things such as recent sales of similar properties, replacement cost and his own knowledge of the local marketplace. Lending institutions will typically use the appraised value in determining the total amount of money they are willing to lend when the property buyer is applying for a mortgage.

Assessed Value

The Assessed Value of a home is the value determined by the tax assessor for the local city or town. This value is used by the municipality to determine the amount of tax that the property owner must pay. The Assessed value will often be multiplied by a mil (Millage) rate to determine the actual tax. In other words if the property has an assessed value of $100,000.00 and the mil rate is 5, the tax on the property would be 5 X 100 or $500.

Market Value

The Market Value of a home is the probable price that a house will sell for if it is put on the market. It is determined by an analysis of the market (usually by a Realtor). The analysis should include looking at similar properties that have sold within recent times as well as looking at similar prices for homes currently on the market. In addition, if done properly, the analysis should also include those homes that were put on the market but did NOT sell, and were withdrawn.

List Price

The List Price of a home is a number assigned by the seller when he puts his home on the market. It is essentially what he hopes to sell his property before. It has no formal mathematical relationship to the actual market value of the home. In determining the list price, any reputable Realtor will recommend that it be very close to the Market Value if the seller wishes to sell in a timely fashion.

Sale Price

The sale price of a home is the actual price that the home most recently sold for.

RE/MAX Northern Edge Realty Berlin, NH (603) 752-0003

RE/MAX Northern Edge Realty Littleton, NH (603) 444-3069

By KATHY McCORMACK The Associated Press - Published: November 8, 2009

A 4.5-mile trail for ATV riders running through the northernmost city of New Hampshire may be key to putting the North Country community, still suffering from the loss of its paper mill industry several years ago, on the path to economic recovery.

The trail connects the 3-year-old Jericho Mountain State Park on the west side of Berlin, which has numerous all-terrain vehicle trails, with a large trail network in the unincorporated township of Success east of the city. The connector trail through Berlin, which opened Saturday, allows for 100 miles of ATV riding.

Berlin and economic development officials hope the trails will be a huge draw for ATV enthusiasts, who don't have a lot of riding options in New Hampshire and surrounding states, and for new businesses, including hotels, gas stations, and stores.

"We're struggling to find ourselves here with the demise of the pulp mill," Berlin Mayor David Bertrand said. "We're looking to open up some options, and this is one of them."

There are some bright spots in Berlin: A new federal prison is expected to open next year. Two electricity plants that would burn waste timber from the surrounding forest also are planned.

For years, Berlin was known as an industrial city. It once had a population of more than 20,000 in the 1920s, but now has fewer than 10,000 residents. The city seal showed a smokestack, part of its heritage as the home of paper mills. The 100-year-old pulp mill closed in 2006. This year, the smokestack was taken away from the seal, and mountains, evergreens and a river were added to emphasize the area's natural beauty.

"We see ourselves differently now as being maybe recreation-oriented, but we need to build that infrastructure, that draw to have people come here," said Laura Viger, the city's community services director. She said the city opened up sidewalks and streets for snowmobile use in the winter about six years ago, and that has been a benefit to local tourism and businesses.

A goal for New Hampshire's North Country, the most rural and least populated region of the state, is to build up an ATV trail system. In Gorham, less than 10 miles away from Berlin, the state has proposed opening sections of a former rail trail to include ATV use and connect it to Jericho State Park and the Success area, as well.

Chris Gamache, trails bureau chief with the state's Department of Resources and Economic Development, said the majority of ATV trails statewide include secluded pockets of trails with little or no connection between them. To create a network in the North Country, the state needs to first negotiate with private landowners and timber companies.

Vermont has faced controversy over a proposal in that state to open some parts of state lands to connect riding areas for ATV users on private property.

In Berlin, Randy Cicchetto has seen his ATV and snowmobile business grow with the rising popularity of the state park and expects to see that continue with the new trail connector, which also passes by restaurants and convenience stores. In the few years since he opened his store, he's been getting more calls to rent and operate ATVS from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, even some from overseas.

"It's the whole package," he said. "This is going to attract a lot of people up here who enjoy the sports of ATVing, snowmobiling and dirt biking. They'll all have the opportunity to come up here and use the park and ride across town."

Tax credit extension and expansion passes House; President's signature expected before weekend.

The Unemployment Insurance bill, including the homebuyer tax credit extension and expansion, has passed the House by a vote of 403-12, after passing the Senate Wednesday night, 98-0.

The new provisions will take effect as soon as President Obama signs the bill, which is expected to be before the weekend.

Included here is a link to a side-by-side comparison and Q&A to help answer some of your questions about the provisions.

Senate votes 98-0 to Extend and Gradually Reduce Home Buyer Credit in 2010

Senate leaders have overwhelmingly agreed to extend and gradually reduce the $8,000 first home buyer tax credit through 2010. Deliberations will now move to the House of Representatives. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, both Democrats, may seek to add the home buyers extension to legislation extending unemployment benefits that may be debated as early as this week, according to Regan Lachapelle, an aide to Reid. More than 1.2 million borrowers through Oct. 9 have claimed almost $8.5 billion of the $13.6 billion set aside for "first-time" home buyer tax credits this year. The program is aimed at easing the worst housing slump since the Great Depression and has been credited with boosting the economy and stock markets over summer. See the previous update below for the various bills under consideration to extend this tax credit.

Lawmakers are under pressure from real estate agents, mortgage brokers and homebuilders to extend the $8,000 credit before it expires Nov. 30. However, they are also facing pressure from governance groups and recent IRS reports claiming widespread fraud around claims for this lucrative credit. The Internal Revenue Service has identified 73,799 claims totaling almost $504 million that may not be from first-time homebuyers. They also found that 582 taxpayers under 18 years old and ineligible to buy a home claimed almost $4 million in credits. Children as young as 4 years old received the credit, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George told a House panel.

The bill to extend the credit contains the following provisions:

- First-time home buyers who close before April 1 would get the full $8,000, and the credit's value would be reduced by $2,000 in each successive quarter until expiring at the end of the year.

- The plan would extend the credit, due to expire Nov. 30, to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010, with borrowers allowed another 60 days to close the sale, according to a person familiar with the details of the agreement.

- Existing Homeowners could qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their primary residence for five years

- The homebuyers' credit would be available to individuals earning up to $125,000, or $250,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples under the current law.

"Relative to current law, this is better. But it's worse than people are expecting," said Tom Gallagher, head of policy research in the Washington offices of International Strategy and Investment Group, an independent research firm. "This is a four-month extension and a nine-month phase-out."

The proposal was intended to counter one by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican and former real estate agent, to extend the full $8,000 credit through next June and to expand it to all couples earning $300,000 or less. The Baucus-Reid proposal would continue limiting the benefit to first-time homebuyers, Lachapelle said.

The terms for extending the homebuyer tax credit are still being negotiated. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, is waiting to see the final Senate agreement before deciding whether to support it. "Generally, we do support extending it," Pelosi spokesman Nedeam Elshami said. "But it's premature to say anything until we see what action the Senate takes."