Renting in New Hampshire

[Edwin Sheldon]

Income tax is 5%.  State sales tax is 4%.  Local + state sales tax in Mobile is 9%.  The good news is property taxes here are among the lowest in the nation.

[Russell Kanning]

I would guess that work pays higher in NH also. You might find it all proportional.

[Libertarian Hippie]

Am I being unrealistic by hoping to find a studio w/ utilities for 600$/month? (preferably 500$, but I doubt that's gonna happen in NH)
At my current wages (and i'm hoping NH pays more  ) I bring in 1400$/month (after govt. theft), but if the wages aren't much different i'm going to have to save up for a few months longer than expected.

[margomaps]

I don't think there's any point in sugar-coating it: NH housing costs and property taxes are pretty high.  There are certainly plenty of places with higher costs, but NH is far from cheap.  You can get a house in the middle of nowhere -- or in a smaller town in the northern half of the state -- for not too much.  But if you want to be almost anywhere within 1/2 hour from Hanover/Lebanon, Concord, Keene, Manchester, Portsmouth, or Nashua, I think you'll find the prices are surprisingly high.

Housing costs are probably high because there's a small amount of housing inventory, and a pretty healthy demand (IIRC, NH is the only New England state experiencing much of a population growth these days).  The property taxes are high because there's no income tax or general sales tax.

I feel bad for those of you thinking of moving to NH from an area with extremely inexpensive housing.  The sticker shock must indeed be discouraging.   

For those of us lucky enough to be moving from areas with much worse housing costs (DC area for me), prices in NH are "pretty darn cheap" by comparison.

[Quantrill]

Am I being unrealistic by hoping to find a studio w/ utilities for 600$/month? (preferably 500$, but I doubt that's gonna happen in NH)
At my current wages (and i'm hoping NH pays more  ) I bring in 1400$/month (after govt. theft), but if the wages aren't much different i'm going to have to save up for a few months longer than expected.

That's exactly what I've been looking for.  I think I saw one studio for $600.  A couple others for around $700, with all utilities paid.  Coming from MO, I too had "sticker shock".  Craigslist has ads for studios now and then. 

It sucks being in the lower-class.  Kudos to all PORCs who rent rooms to new movers!  If I ever come across lots of money, I'd love to have a house or two to rent to fellow PORCs. 

Good luck to all future movers.  It looks like Alec's place is in high demand...

[error]

Anything like it is in high demand.

Now where are the people who want to make a bundle of money providing this much-needed service?

[ny2nh]

The property taxes are high because there's no income tax or general sales tax.

I don't necessarily agree that property taxes are THAT high in NH - depending on what town you live in. Family in NYS has a cape - much nicer home than mine - and they pay about what I pay....plus they pay income tax, sales tax, and much higher water/sewer.

Or maybe I'm wrong....

[ny2nh]

I'm guessing that studios are pretty pricey - and not that much less than a 2 or 3 BR. A friend just rented a 3 BR on the west side for $900 including elec/cable/internet for $900. Someone in my neighborhood rents his 3BR apartments with heat for I think $1100 but they're brand new so he can ask for more.

I guess privacy has it's price in NH.....

[cathleeninnh]

Comparing NH to both TX and SC where I have lived, one factor keeping the housing options limited is growth restrictions. Many towns here severely limit growth and all that I know of make development very difficult. Existing apartments here are more expensive and affordable ones are much shabbier than places where growth has been unfettered. Of course, I have seen the downsides to that as well.

Cathleen



 

[Edwin Sheldon]

I agree we should try to set up some sort of roommate connection.  I don't know a soul in NH, so finding a roommate without help would be a crap shoot.

[alecmuller]

For those who are interested in housing in Manchester, I have a room opening right now.  Ordinarily I like to try to keep the house at 7 people unless I know someone's leaving soon, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to start subletting an efficiency apartment from my next-door neighbor (unless one of my current roommates takes it, of course, which amounts to the same thing for me), so I'm looking for another person.

The room I have open is $400 a month; the efficiency would be $600 a month through me and probably less through my next door neighbor if you committed to a longer-term lease.  Both already include utilities.

Alec Muller
alec at gmail.com

[lowen]

I've been searching tens of online sites for housing all over NH.  Housing is effectively twice as much as it is here in the Downriver Detroit area.  I've been looking at studios to share with a friend and they go for 565 to 800 at the cheap end!  I could get a two bedroom apartment for 800 here!  800-1500 for cheap 1 bedroom apartments in NH!  So far the best we've come up with is Patriots Park Apts, which is in Portsmouth (based on google maps, it looks a little south of Portsmouth, down Lafayette Rd.  Even though the address is Portsmouth, it looks like it's in a town called Maplehaven.).  I used google maps to search for nearby businesses and it seems like there's a ton within walking distance (we don't have a car), including Wal-Mart (where we will be applying if we move there, as well as where we can get cheap groceries).

For those of you in my position, the sites I've found to be best are apartments.com, forrent.com, and mynewplace.com (which integrates google maps).  Be sure to check more than one site.  There are apatments that are listed on nearly all of them, then there are some that are on only one site.

I'd like to move to Manchester, Nashua, Concord, or Keene to be closer to FSP activity, but Manchester is expensive as hell, Concord doesn't have anything listed (and seems like there are no businesses around), and Keene few and expensive locations, with cheaper ones outside of the city not within walking distance. Nashua does seem to have the cheaper options out of those, but a lot of them are not really within walking distance to anything.

I've never been to NH, so all of this is based on internet research.  Please give your input on anything I've stated.

[Fluff and Stuff]

I'd like to move to Manchester, Nashua, Concord, or Keene to be closer to FSP activity, but Manchester is expensive as hell, Concord doesn't have anything listed (and seems like there are no businesses around), and Keene few and expensive locations, with cheaper ones outside of the city not within walking distance. Nashua does seem to have the cheaper options out of those, but a lot of them are not really within walking distance to anything.

I've never been to NH, so all of this is based on internet research.  Please give your input on anything I've stated.

Portsmouth is more expensive than all of those places.  However, it is a great place to be if you don't have a car.  Various bus systems pass through the city http://www.unh.edu/transportation/wildcat/index.htm , (considering the size of the city), trolley ( http://www.locallink.com/seacoasttrolley/ , http://www.coastbus.org/trolley2005.pdf ), lots of areas to walk to, easy bike riding ( http://www.nh.gov/dot/nhbikeped/documents/SeacoastDraftMap_000.pdf , http://www.seacoastbikes.org/ ), a airport, and ways to get to Boston.  Of course, it is very busy all summer long and not so busy in the winter.

[lowen]

Portsmouth is more expensive than all of those places.  However, it is a great place to be if you don't have a car.  Various bus systems pass through the city http://www.unh.edu/transportation/wildcat/index.htm , (considering the size of the city), trolley ( http://www.locallink.com/seacoasttrolley/ , http://www.coastbus.org/trolley2005.pdf ), lots of areas to walk to, easy bike riding ( http://www.nh.gov/dot/nhbikeped/documents/SeacoastDraftMap_000.pdf , http://www.seacoastbikes.org/ ), a airport, and ways to get to Boston.  Of course, it is very busy all summer long and not so busy in the winter.

From what I've seen, apartments in every city are just as expensive as the next city. The price just depends on how close to downtown you are. Apartments in downtown Manchester or Nashua are just as expensive as the ones I've seen in Portsmouth. The thing is, as I said, the apartment I've found for $565 in Portsmouth is a considerable distance away from the city, but close to a ton of restaurants and a walmart among other businesses.

However, I have found The St. George Apartments in Manchester for $495-629. They seem to be in a busy neighborhood. I don't know where exactly downtown Manchester is, but these seem to be in the thick of it all. Plenty of restaurants and stores in walking distance.

[41mag]

For those of you in my position, the sites I've found to be best are apartments.com, forrent.com, and mynewplace.com (which integrates google maps).  Be sure to check more than one site.  There are apatments that are listed on nearly all of them, then there are some that are on only one site.

I've never been to NH, so all of this is based on internet research.  Please give your input on anything I've stated.

I haven't had much luck with the national apartment websites.  You may want to try the local papers classifieds also.  All the cities you mentioned are online for free.