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On a tiny New Hampshire island, a 600-square-foot house for $338k. ‘It’s fully off the grid.’
The house is fitted with solar panels, a backup generator, propane, and a solar-powered boat
Have you ever wanted your own private island?
Usually a dream reserved for the top 1 percent, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 1 Nay Pond Island in Milan, N.H., can make that dream a picturesque, remote reality for $337,700.
Built in 1970 high in North Country, the three-story house has a basement, a deck, and a loft that fits two king-sized beds. The 600-square-foot cottage sits on 7,841 square feet of land.
The house is fitted with solar panels, a backup generator, propane for its heat stove, a refrigerator, a water collection system (installed in 2020), a heating system (10 years old), and compost toilets. “It’s fully off the grid and self-sustained,” said seller Paul Doucette.
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The island home is only accessible by boat — a solar-powered boat comes with the property; the house also has its own dock.
Doucette lives at the house 10 months out of the year. When the pond is icy, it’s not safe to cross, so Doucette goes down to the Florida Keys. (He named the property Moose Key as a nod to his Florida home.
“It was previously named Otter Point, and otters do play on the island,” he said.
“You [can] actually stay there for some of winter … while the water is freezing, that’s when you go … elsewhere, when it’s unpassable — unless you want to be stranded at the island,” he said, adding that he has stayed through the freeze before. “You have to prepare for it.”
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“Every window you look at, it’s just water, you can see wonderful, beautiful sunsets, sunrises,” said Doucette. “The cottage is at least 30 to 40 feet above the water, because it’s a big boulder that it’s built on.”
Doucette likes waterskiing on the pond, and the property also has access to two snowmobile trails, ATV trails, and plenty of fishing spots. While it’s a remote getaway, there is a market nearby on the mainland (about 10 minutes by boat). Overnight parking is available at a lot in town.
Milan has fewer than 1,400 residents, and the community around Nay Pond is tight-knit with many seasonal residents, according to Doucette. “We all look out for each other,” he said.
Doucette is selling the property and moving to Florida full time to live on a houseboat.
“It’s a wonderful business opportunity for someone who would like to run an Airbnb. It sleeps eight people,” said Debi Davis, of Re/Max Northern Edge Realty, who is listing the property. “If you have any in-laws that you just don’t want knocking on your door, what a great place to be,” she joked.
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