U.K. Buyers Choosing New Hampshire U.S.A. for Holiday Homes and Businesses
For many people in the U.K. interested in purchasing a holiday home or business in the U.S., Florida may be the obvious choice—but more and more buyers are choosing other locales, including New Hampshire’s White Mountains. According to Pete Pietz, a Realtor® with Badger Realty in North Conway, New Hampshire, “We’ve seen a huge jump in purchases by buyers from the U.K. We’ve sold condominiums, homes, investment properties—even a traditional New England bed & breakfast—to international buyers in the past year.”
North Conway, NH (PRWEB) June 23, 2005 -- For many people in the U.K.
interested in purchasing a holiday home or business in the U.S., Florida may be
the obvious choice—but more and more buyers are choosing other locales,
including New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
According to Pete Pietz, a
Realtor® with Badger Realty in North Conway, New Hampshire, “We’ve seen a huge
jump in purchases by buyers from the U.K. We’ve sold condominiums, homes,
investment properties—even a traditional New England bed & breakfast—to
international buyers in the past year.”
A Somerset, England couple and
their two children found the White Mountains a natural choice for their holiday
home. “The United States to many British people is Disney World and Florida and
an 11-hour flight. However, we discovered New England is only 6 1/2 hours from
Heathrow and has so much more to offer. In winter there is masses of skiing with
the advantage that the instructors speak English to the kids, and in summer the
place changes into an outdoor pursuits centre (with the theme parks if that’s
what the little ones want!)”
Pietz credits the Internet with radically
changing the way real estate is purchased. “For instance, clients just go to our
website, www.badgerrealty.com, to view all current listings. They can
let me know which properties interest them, and we can narrow down the search
via email. Often people fly in to view properties, and within a few days put a
property under agreement. Our staff at Badger Realty and I can handle all the
closing details for them, so the next time they visit the property, it’s as
owners.”
Nick and Barbara Sawbridge of Surrey, England, who have
purchased two condominiums through Pietz, found the process easy. “If more
people knew how easy it is remortgage in the U.K. and move the money to the
U.S., they’d buy here, too.”
Buying a U.S. Business
While the majority
of U.K. buyers purchase holiday homes, others choose to purchase businesses,
especially country inns or bed & breakfasts. Badger Realty has been
responsible for over half the commercial real estate sales in the last year in
the North Conway area of the White Mountains. David Cianciolo, who, with his
partner, Ed O’Halloran, has been responsible for the majority of those sales,
finds that hospitality businesses are a natural fit for many U.K. buyers. “Many
people tell us they wish they could live here. With a bed & breakfast—the
fastest growing segment of the lodging industry in the U.S.—they can. It’s a way
to combine the independence of owning your own business, the ability to meet
people from all over the world, and the enjoyment of the lifestyle this area
offers.”
The Carter Notch Inn in Jackson was purchased in fall 2004
through Badger Realty by U.K. natives Sally Carter and Richard Green. Before
moving to the U.S., she was a marketing manager while he was a distribution
manager; these careers, both of which include a focus on customer service,
helped prepare the pair for their new lives as innkeepers.
Badger
Realty
Since 1965, Badger Realty has been a leader in residential and
commercial real estate in the Mt. Washington Valley, including North Conway,
Jackson, Bartlett, Glen, Conway, and neighboring communities in New Hampshire’s
White Mountains and western Maine.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb253849.htm