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RISMedia’s Annual Power Broker Report is based on results garnered from surveys distributed online at www.rismedia.com and in print by RISMedia, publisher of Real Estate magazine, the leader in real estate information systems.

To celebrate real estate’s return to health—along with the survey’s 25th anniversary—this year’s Power Broker Report features more extensive data than ever before! Plus, the annual survey ranks    brokerage firms according to closed sales volume and closed transaction sides.

Prudential Verani Realty is excited to announce that we ranked #196 out of the Top 500 Real Estate firms in the US ranked by transactions – that’s out of over 10,000 firms nationwide! This is the 6th year in a row that we have made the list! Congratulations to all of our agents for helping us make this list – yet another year!

Giovanni Verani, Vice President of Prudential Verani Realty announced the opening of their new facility at 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110.

The move is welcome with the Verani growth in the Manchester/Bedford marketplace. It is located a short distance from the former Verani Bedford office and now located just down the street at 165 South River Road.

The new office includes state of the art equipment, three conference rooms and an internet bar and welcome area for agents to stay connected with their clients. “We think this is a much better location, with a larger and more welcoming environment for both agents and clients to enjoy the home selling and buying process” said Giovanni. “We’ve upgraded from a shared office building to a standalone building with an entrance across the street from Macy’s department store and just under the overpass from our old location.”

Verani Realty will also be welcoming Thom Nofsinger to the role of Managing Broker in our new Bedford location, as well as the addition of Sheri Cameron to the role of Administrator. Both Thom and Sheri are making the move from our former Nashua office.

The new location is the home base for more than 30 agents and will offer plenty of room for expansion. The location is easily accessed just off of Route 101, less than ¼-mile from the Bedford Mall. If you are thinking of buying or selling or have any real estate questions, the staff invites you to stop in or call 603-472-1010. Please visit our website at verani.com for more real estate info.

If you are a renter looking to buy your own home, you may be wondering if a condo, a townhouse or a duplex might be the way to go.  But which one do you choose and what is the difference between the three options? Generally, each choice offers you home ownership with varying levels of maintenance, responsibility, as well as personal privacy. What is right for you may depend on how much of a “house” feeling you want from your new home and perhaps how much you wish to mow your own lawn or plant a garden.

What is a Condo?

Typically, a condominium is where several owners share ownership of a building or buildings in a development. Basically each own their own respective unit, but they also own an interest in the land that the building(s) is on, the common areas of the complex such as pools, recreation areas, game rooms, community rooms, elevators, stairwells, corridors, streets, surrounding land, etc.

Depending on the size of the complex, your condo may offer space and some privacy from neighbors, or there may be only a small number of units on property, either way you will probably have neighbors nearby. If you’re concerned about noise or unpleasant neighbors, ask around about the general atmosphere of the grounds and if there are any noise or other problems that arise from a particular unit or building. When you view the unit for sale, listen for sounds from the other units. If you can hear a toilet flush in the condo above you, realize you will be hearing these sounds daily if you buy the condo.

Most times, condos have association rules you must follow and fees you will have to pay monthly. The rules can be just basic, like don’t paint your front door with polka dots and no loud noise after midnight. Or they can be more restrictive, like what types of flowers are allowed to be planted, if you may plant anything, and even where you may place your BBQ grill. Make sure you read the restrictions and can live by them.

A “condo fee” or “association fee” is usually paid each month by all the unit owners and it typically covers the cost of the exterior maintenance such as repairs, painting, lawn care, and snow removal. Typically, the association sets aside a portion of these fees collected as a contingency fund, which covers any special costs incurred as part of building upkeep, such as a new roof or repairs, to heating or plumbing equipment. Factor the condo fee into your mortgage costs and property taxes when considering this option.

Types of Condos

There are condos in buildings in the city and there are “garden style” condos, which are two to four in separate buildings. To add some confusion, there is a style of condo called a “Townhouse Condominium” is a building style that describe a condominium unit on multi-levels. This is not to be confused with an actual “townhouse”.

What is a Townhouse?

A townhouse is one of a row of attached dwellings that share common walls. Each townhouse owner owns the land beneath their townhouse and there may or may not be common areas set up by the developer. There are lot lines that separate the ground under the buildings even though the buildings are attached. Often, more maintenance is required because you own the exterior of your townhouse. You may have more privacy and more of a feel of a “separate” home, since there are no neighbors living above you, but you may also have regulations that dictate what you can do to the exterior.  For example: what paint colors are allowed and if you can add a large deck to your back door.

If there is an association that maintains the grounds, maintenance fees for townhouses within a complex are usually slightly lower than condos.

What is a Duplex?

A duplex is a single house which with two units that share one common wall. It can be owner occupied with two separate owners dwelling in the two units, one unit rented to tenants or both units can be rented. Typically you own your half, including the land on your side and are responsible for your half in terms of maintenance.  The two owners may share a driveway and therefore might share some of the costs of maintaining the property.

Your REALTOR® can help you define and understand which option is right for you.  Ask questions and consider all the factors before you limit what you go and see.

Perhaps you’ve done it before.  A big move where you take all of your current home’s contents and transport them to your new home. Sadly, the more stuff you acquire, the more backbreaking a move can be.  You can save some impact to your wallet and do it yourself or you can spend some money and hand over the task to professionals, but you should base this important decision on whether you can do the task at hand or whether it is more than you can manage.

If you think you can handle the move yourself, look at all the details and be certain of it.  The last thing you want is to rent a truck that is too small, count on friends to help with the lifting and find yourself solo or get halfway through and realize you can’t finish the job at hand.

How do you analyze if you can self-move?

1. Look at the volume of your possessions.  If you own very few pieces of large, heavy furniture or appliances your odds of success are pretty good.  Often the truck rental business can give you an idea of the size truck you might need, based upon the number of rooms you have furnished and large items they can tick off the list. But ultimately it will be up to you to determine to go with a little wiggle room in the truck size, try to squeeze it in and hope for the best or make multiple trips-if possible.  This can backfire, cost more (sometimes extra miles can add to the rental costs) or lead to items that don’t fit. Discovering you miscalculated on moving day is not good.  Always allow for extra space and things you might be forgetting about that will be going with you.
2. Can you get assistance from friends or family you trust, who will not back out on you at the last minute? If you are not certain you will have the muscle power to do the move, it might be best to hand the reins over to the professionals. There are some items that you just cannot move by yourself.
3. Packing takes some skill and organization. Do you have these skills and patience or will some of your most precious possessions probably get broken before they get to your new home?  Be honest with yourself about your skills and dedication to making a move go off without major issues. Arm yourself with packing knowledge like: How to wrap up breakable items, placing the heavy items in the bottom of the box and lighter things on top. Place heaviest and bulkiest furniture in the truck first and make sure you even out the weight on both sides of the truck.

If handling the move yourself seems like a poor choice or just an overwhelming option, it might be time to find a moving company to do the heavy task.

How do I Get Help?

1. Get estimates before you choose a company. Compare services offered and overall costs. Check with your local Better Business Bureau to see if any major complaints have been filed.  Ask friends or co-workers for referrals.
2. Be prepared for the movers. Gather the basic info they will need, though most companies will come over to your current home to see how many rooms and the amount of furniture and belongings that will be packed. They will follow that with an estimate of how much the moving costs will be.
3. Be aware that there could be extras added on to the estimate. Extra bulky items like a piano require extra care and often require specialists. Stairs or long walkways that lengthen the distance they must carry your items can increase the final cost as well.  Be sure the costs include packing materials and all the actual labor of packing. Get the entire agreement in writing including the date of your move and arrival of your belongings.

Moving can be stressful and depending on how hands-on you feel you must be and how easily you could fund hiring a professional mover, the decision may be easy to make.  But do you homework and know the pros and cons and costs of both choices before you decide.

People with a “For Sale” sign in their front yard has a reason why they decided it was time to sell. With the market on a continual upward trend and interest rates still at record lows, maybe it has occurred to you that if you are going to sell and upgrade into a larger or a home that better fits your needs, now might be the best time. But how do you really know you are ready to place your house on the market?

Find Your Motivation

Explore your reasons for selling. Typically this should not be just a sudden passing thought that you choose to act upon.  If selling is something you have considered, and you were waiting for the market to be right, this could be your time to act.  If you have thought it through and have a plan of what you hope to buy and maybe even where it will be located, then this is a move you are probably ready for. Basically, have you thought this out and do you know what you hope to gain by selling?

Know What You Want

Explore the location/neighborhoods where you will look for a new home. Go to open houses. Look at Verani Realty’s town websites to explore the towns and communities on your list of potential places to move to. Look into new construction versus established homes. Weigh your options and identify what all the pros, as well as any challenges, involved in this move.  In other words, educate yourself and make a plan of action.

Find your REALTOR®

If you do not have a REALTOR® already, now is the perfect time to find one that has the experience and marketing plan that fits your needs. Ask your REALTOR® to prepare a Comparative Market Analysis for you. This gives you a clear picture of what you can expect to get for your house when it sells and how that will affect what you can afford to buy in a new home.

Prepare Your Home for Sale

Are you ready to prepare your house for sale? Take suggestions from your REALTOR® and do as much of it as you can. Typically, you will want to remove clutter and take out any bulky or excess furniture. Repair any issues the home has and make any upgrades (like replacing old appliances with new stainless steel or resurfacing that stained old tub) that you can afford, which will help the house show better to buyers and get it sold.

Profits Explained

You can ask your REALTOR® to show you a best and worst case scenario of the net profits you could expect from selling. This way, your can be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. If the lowest net price will still allow you buy the home you want, it’s time to place your house on the market and secure financing for your next home purchase.

Now is the perfect time to get ready to sell.  Spring is around the corner and buyers will be flocking out to settle into a new home before summer. If your motivations are right, call your REALTOR® today and set the wheels in motion to be ready for spring buyers.

Prudential Verani Realty is opening a new facility at 175 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH 03064!

The move will accommodate the recent Nashua expansion and will combine two Verani offices, formerly located at 187 Main Dunstable and 150 Broad Street. “We’re excited to move into a highly visible, leading-edge location that will be able to support the entire Nashua team of agents.  Our customers and agents alike love the new space and technology.  In addition to the highly anticipated launch of the new Prudential Verani website in May, and the consumer will have the optimal real estate experience with us” said Tina Hagen, Regional Manager, Nashua office.

“It’s a small world,” says Tina. “30+ years ago my Uncle Charles Colletta, a long time Nashua resident, was managing this same facility when it was Hammer Hardware, Nashua’s favorite hardware store.  Who would have thought that the baton would be passed and now I would be here?  I am very excited to have such a talented group of agents in this tremendous spring market. We are poised for the opportunity to continue our top position in the state.”

The Amherst Street location will be home to about 55 agents and has easy highway access from exit 7E on Route 3. If you are thinking of buying or selling or have any real estate questions, the staff invites you to stop in or call 603.888.4600. Please visit our website at verani.com.

Eleven children of the Mila Filatova Piano Academy, aged 5 to 15 years old, will perform piano concertos of Bach, Vogler, Haydn, and Mozart, with a chamber orchestra under the direction of David Feltner in a concert at 2 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at the Manchester Christian Church, 1308 Wellington Road, Manchester, NH. Admissions is free. Several of the piano concertos are very rarely performed, including a concerto Mozart composed while a child himself.

Recognizing that opportunities for very young children to play with professional musicians are very limited, Filatova organized the concerto concert as a community event where local children could perform as soloists with a chamber orchestra in a family-oriented, admission-free concert. “The idea is to inspire the children performing to achieve even higher performance standards and for the children attending to concert to see that it is possible for children to perform with an orchestra and inspire their interest in classical music,” Filatova explains. The community performance brings together soloists, chamber musicians, and a conductor from the local New Hampshire and Massachusetts communities. Even the concert grand piano for the performance is being generously provided by Darrell’s Music Hall in Nashua, NH.

The children performing have collectively won many prizes in state, national, and international piano competitions – many have performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall and across Europe. They include in alphabetical order (age, hometown): Angela Dow (13, Manchester, NH), George Kiu (9, Tyngsboro, MA), Kathryn Ly-Bishop (15, Manchester, NH), Alessandra Mariano (9, Manchester, NH), Anna Musteata (8, Hollis, NH), Maxine Park (8, Hanover, NH), Roxane Park (5, Hanover, NH), Elizabeth Rhodes (13, Concord, NH), Erin Tellier (15, Auburn, NH), Stephen Wang (11, Hanover, NH), and Annie Xu (12, Nashua, NH).

The chamber orchestra consists of area professional musicians from the Boston Classical Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Merrimack Philharmonic, Nashua Chamber Orchestra, and Springfield Symphony under the direction of David Feltner, music director of the Nashua Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Boston. Feltner has worked with young children in the past and was an enthusiastic supporter of the project.

The program includes: Haydn Concerto in F Major, H.XVIII, Vogler Concerto in C Major, Mozart Concerto #1 in F Major, K. 37, Bach Concerto in F Minor BWV 1056, and Haydn Concerto in D Major Hob. XVIII: 11.

Concert Details:

Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 2:00 pm

Manchester Christian Church | 1308 Wellington Road | Manchester, NH 03104

FREE ADMISSION

If you like good music and love hearing great poetry than what a weekend is in store for you. This weekend in Porsmouth, the annual Jazzmouth music and poetry festival is taking place. The event is Sunday 28th with great music and good poetry. There will be plenty of things to do and many different local artists who will show up for the occasion. Some of the artists that will be playing are Mike Barron, Cynthia Chatis, and Don Davis to name just a few. It is about $15 to get in, but considering how much great music will be there to listen to it will be well worth it.

In addition to jazz music there will also be a place for reading poetry in the spirit of the event and because it just so happens to be National Poetry month. There will be signups at the door for fifteen, five minute slots so make sure you get there on time if you want to read some poetry! The event will feature many local artist and young poets. So go on over, enjoy, and get the chance to experience some of New Hampshire’s culture in a whole new way!

It can be overwhelming when looking at homes that need a lot of work. With hard work, and some careful considerations, you can find yourself a good deal.  The first step is to talk to a lender and explain that you are in the market for a “fixer upper”. Not every loan works with this type of home, and some loans are better for places that need a bit of updating or renovations.

Are you planning on buying the home for yourself or fixing it up to quickly sell? You should be aware that some lenders require homes to be owner occupied. Your Realtor will be able to help guide you to homes that will allow you to “flip it”, if that is your intention.

So your agent has found you a home to view and you arrive with some excitement and big plans. When you get out of your car you are shocked by Continue reading “Be Prepared to Fix the Fixer Upper” »

Having a good time at 2012′s “The Hair Affair” party

Prudential Vereani, Portsmouth agent, Kaitlin Whitcher knows how to party. In 2009 she began supporting a group known as “Seacoast Party 4 a Purpose.” Every year this group organizes themed parties for folks to enjoy, while raising money for various New Hampshire non-profit organizations. Over the previous 3 years, the group has raised more than $40,000 for organizations such as New Heights and the Seacoast Food Pantry. This year, the funds raised will be to benefit the Richie McFarland Children’s Center in Stratham.

Interested in partying with this group?

The 2013 (4th annual) Spring event is coming up this weekend!

Theme: Mad Hatter

When: April 27 @ 8:00 p.m.

Where: VFW Hall, Portsmouth, NH

Tickets are $20. Wear your favorite, least favorite, craziest, most hilarious, most innovative, or most ridiculous hat and come out for a great time and a great cause. For more information about Seacoast Party 4 a Purpose, to purchase tickets for this coming weekend, or to make a general donation to the event, visit www.seacoastparty4apurpose.org