During 1904-05 Japan and Russia went to war over Russia’s expansionist policies and expansion into Asia and the Far East.

Losses on both sides were very high and over 700,000 soldiers died.

In  the summer and fall of 1905 US President Theodore Roosevelt brokered a peace treaty between Japan and Russia.

He brought both sides to Portsmouth New Hampshire to negotiate the terms of that treaty which became known as the The Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905. This historic treaty marked the formal end of the Russo-Japanese War and marked the beginning of a new era of diplomatic negotiations. President Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Price for his role in bringing the two warring nations together.

In gratitude Japan gave the United States 2,000 Cherry trees in 1910 which the US planted along the tidal basin and another park along the Potomac River.

Most of those trees died from an insect infestation and Japan sent over another 3,000 trees in 1912 which fortunately lived.

Today, 100 years later, the Japanese Government gifted the City of Portsmouth with three seedlings from the original stock of those historic trees and they were planted in places significant to the 1905 peace treaty.

One of those spots was the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel where both sides stayed during the treaty negotiations. The other two locations in Portsmouth that received special Cherry trees today were the Strawbery Banke museum and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Ann Cummings and I attended the ceremonial tree planting at the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel.

This was the scene at the Wentworth before the ceremony got under way. The little Cherry tree can be seen to the right of the white linen draped podium. It was pretty windy today and the maintenance guys said they had to dig a little hole in advance to set the tree in to keep it from blowing over.

Below left Japanese Consul General Takeshi Hikihara makes a few remarks before the ceremonial planting.

Below right General Hikihara and Wentworth General Manager Frank Wetenkamp plant the tree. You could tell neither of these gentlemen had very much shovel experience but they got it done. Also pictured is Charles B. Doleac,  President of the Japan-American Society of New Hampshire.

Afterward the Portsmouth High School Madrigal Singers performed “Sakura” a traditional Japanese folk song.

Sakura is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossom.

The Portsmouth NH Peace Treat of 1905 is just one of the events that makes living in this beautiful New Hampshire Seacoast city so fascinating. Many spots in Portsmouth have been the scene of significant events in US and world history.

If you have any Portsmouth or NH Seacoast questions please give us a call or email, Ann Cummings and I are happy to answer any area or real estate questions.

Visit our website at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the Portsmouth NH and Seacoast listings for sale as well as listings in southern Maine.

All the TV and newspaper stories say “Real estate is coming back”, and “it’s a great time to buy a home”. Yeah, OK that makes good stories and sell more ads but if I’m really in the market to buy a Portsmouth NH home tell me “WHY” is now such a great time and “WHY” should I buy now and why is buying better than renting?

I’m glad you asked those questions; here’s the answers with a current, real world example.

1. Portsmouth NH Home prices are now at about the same level they were in 2003
2. Interest rates are still at one of their lowest points in history
3. In 98% of the major metro markets in the US it’s more cost effective to buy a home than to rent one. The only two exceptions are San Francisco and Honolulu. (source: Trulia.com)

Right now in a terrific condominium neighborhood in Dover we have for sale a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo with a full basement, 2 dedicated parking spaces, AND a detached 1 car garage. Take a look here:

In 2003 a TWO Bedroom, 1.5 bath unit, in the same complex, with no garage sold for $175,900. The 2012 asking price on our THREE bedroom, 2 bath WITH garage? $175,000!

In 2003 when the 2 bedroom home sold for $175,900 interest rates were around 6% for a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage. That would make your principal and interest payment on $175,900 with no down payment, $1,054.61 plus taxes and insurance.

Today, in 2012, interest rates for the same 30 year, fixed rate mortgage are around 4% or less. On a $175,000 mortgage the principal and interest payment is $835.48 plus taxes and insurance. That’s a $219.13 savings on a larger home with a garage. And that’s why now is such a great time to buy.

Figures like these are typical for a Portsmouth NH home purchase in 2012. You can buy at 2003 prices with the best interest rates in history and it’s a better deal to buy than to rent.

I could go on and on about pride of ownership, no rent increases, fix your home the way you want it, and so on but I think you’re getting the idea why buying now is such a great deal.

Even investor icon Warren Buffet thinks it’s a great time to buy:  “If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand singly family homes I would load up on them.”

“Affordable home prices and record-low mortgage rates have been the hallmark of the real estate marketplace for several years running,” says Jim Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors. “Purchasing a home now makes even more sense than ever, given the steadily increasing expense of renting and the growing probability that home prices will soon be on the upswing.”

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist had this to say: “If activity is sustained near present levels, existing-home sales will see their best performance in five years. Based on all of the factors in the current market, that’s what we’re expecting with sales rising 7 to 10 percent in 2012.”

The prices are right, the timing is right, and the interest rates will never be more right; give us a call or email and let’s get started finding you a Portsmouth NH home.

Visit NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the New Hampshire and Maine house, condos, and land for sale. Call my partner Ann Cummings and I to ask any questions you may have and to see any homes for sale in the New Hampshire Seacoast and southern Maine areas. We’re “The Seacoast Real Estate Experts”

Trulia.com: “AMID RISING RENTS AND RECORD-LOW PRICES, HOMEOWNERSHIP MORE AFFORDABLE THAN RENTING IN 98 OUT OF 100 MAJOR METROS”

We talk daily to potential homebuyers in the Portsmouth New Hampshire and other NH and southern Maine Seacoast areas. One common question we get is: “Do you think prices have hit bottom yet?”

Not having a crystal ball we can’t answer that question accurately nor can anyone else. One thing we can say with accuracy is that even if home prices soften a little more and interest rates rise; your COSTS of buying and owning a home may be higher in the future than if you went ahead and bought now.

Our rationale is this. We know for a fact what homes are priced at today. We also know for a fact what Portsmouth NH interest rates and housing costs are today. We don’t know what may or may not happen tomorrow.

The mortgage rate you get can have a dramatic impact on your overall costs of owning a home. Recently we’ve been hearing that mortgage rates could begin to rise.

This chart from HSH Mortgage shows the recent rates for the benchmark 30 year fixed rate mortgage.

And Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for our National Association Of REALTORS recently said: “Mortgage rates will be starting to rise. From the 3.9 to 4.0 percent average rate in the past five months on a 30-year fixed mortgage, the new rates will soon be in the range of 4.3 to 4.6 percent”

Dr. Yun explains his logic here.

We do not attempt to predict future interest rates. We leave that up to the experts in the field. However, we want our readers to understand the potential impact on the cost of purchasing a home if they do rise. Here is a simple table that shows, even if the PRICE of a home softens, the COST of a home could increase.

As you can see from the example above, your COST of owning a home may increase by several hundred dollars a month if interest rates rise only a percent or two. Many purchasers think they should wait until they are sure that prices have hit bottom. Deciding whether or not to wait should be determined by where the COST of a home is headed.

Based on the graph above and a $360,000 mortgage, your monthly principal and interest payment (P&I)  at a 3.5% interest rate would be $1,617. At a 4% interest rate it would be $1,719, and if the rates jumped to 5% your monthly P & I would jump to $1,933;  a $316 increase in your cost of Portsmouth NH homeownership.

Based on those numbers can you afford to take a chance on waiting and roll the dice that interest rates will remain where they are?

Visit our website at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the Portsmouth NH, Seacoast areas and southern Maine listings for sale. You can also sign up to receive free mail updates for hot new listings, price reductions, and other listing information.

Questions? My partner Ann Cummings and I are happy to talk with you by phone, email, text, or we welcome in person visits to our office at RE/MAX Coast To Coast Properties in Portsmouth NH. Just call or email for an appointment. 603-431-1111, extension 3839 for Ann, 3801 for Jim

We love living, working, and playing in Portsmouth NH and the NH Seacoast including southern Maine; we think you will too. Contact us soon.

Portsmouth NH REALTORS Ann Cummings & Jim Lee, RE/MAX Coast To Coast Properties

Selling your house via a short sale is a complex transaction that requires the services of experienced professional.

First of all let’s define exactly what a short sale is. A “short sale” is a real estate transaction where the lender or lenders allow a property owner to sell that property for less than the mortgage balance causing them to get a ‘short” payoff, hence the term “short sale”.

Why would a lender do this you may ask? Generally a lender loses less money in a short sale than they would if they simply foreclosed on the property and sold it on the open market.

Generally two things have to occur for a lender to approve a short sale.

1. The value of the property must be less than the amount owed; the mortgage or mortgages.
2. The owner must have a “qualified” hardship.

Just owing more than the current value of your house is not a qualified hardship.

Some example of acceptable hardships are:

• Mortgage rate adjustments which make your payment more than you can pay.
• Loss of job or reduction in pay
• A death in the family
• Divorce
• A medical hardship
• Job relocation
• Military service
• Business failure
• Other reasons that create a legitimate hardship

If you think you might qualify for a short sale or just have questions, we’re happy to sit down with you and explain your options and recommend a course of action.

Jim Lee & Ann Cummings, “Your Seacoast Real Estate Experts”

www.MaineNewHampshireRealEstate.com

Give us a call today and let’s talk; no cost and no obligation.

One of the many benefits of living and working on the New Hampshire Seacoast is the natural beauty all around. Here’s a couple of spectacular sunrise and moonrise shots my wife and I recently made.

Which was followed at other end of the day by a different but equally beautiful moonrise over Portsmouth Harbor.

If a move to the New Hampshire Seacoast or southern Maine area is in your future we invite you to see all our houses for sale at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com. We also invite you to set up a search for the type of home you’re looking for and we’ll email you updates when new listings meeting that criteria come on the market and also keep you advised of price reductions and other changes to your favorites.

The latest sales figures show Portsmouth NH real estate is on the upswing with rising prices and sales. We attribute a lot of that to very low unemployment figures in New Hampshire compared to the nation as a whole.

My wife/partner Ann Cummings and I are happy to answer any questions about both real estate and living in the New Hampshire and southern Maine Seacoast area; it’s a beautiful place to live, work, and play; we think you’ll agree after a visit.