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  • Building On A Maine Lake, Waterfront Shoreland Zoning Do’s, Don’ts, Regulations.

    Arsenic Treated Decks, Soil Erosions, Not Situations Maine Lakes Enjoy, Are Happy About.
    Arsenic Treated Decks, Soil Erosions, Not Situations Maine Lakes Enjoy, Are Happy About.

    I remember when shoreland zoning in Maine was first tightening up, getting serious about protecting lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, the ocean and wetland here in Vacationland. 1972 was a magic date for setting up the rules, shoreland in Maine regulations.

    About the same time minimum lot sizes, plumbing codes got beefed up and what you could do or not do around a Maine lake was discussed, hashed out, put on paper, kicked in to law.

    Maine’s shoreland zoning administered by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection Agency (DEP), the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC), and local towns themselves around the waterbodies actually made the process of development around Maine’s lakes, rivers, etc streamlined. Defined, so that inconsistencies and lots of local hub bub, hooplah is lessened. Don’t get me wrong, there is always the guy who back in the 1960’s cleared the rocks 20 feet out in front of the lake cottage he has in Maine with a farm tractor, a back hoe. Creating a giant mud, silt plume and disturbing the shoreline, the natural balace of the vegetation, wildlife along that beach front. Man made and played with. I remember a local cottage owner being spotted from the air by local Maine environmental authorities and he was the first example publically brought to task when returning to the “beach front improvement” on his own, sans permits or permission. His defense that for years he had done this, this and this. Not anymore sailor.

    For a time the penalty for over removal within the first 75 and then 100 feet of the shoreline along a Maine waterbody, the waterfront was replanting in more strategic spots, a small fine.

    I remember a local real estate buyers on Grand Lake in Danforth Maine saying with a smile, I got rid of the trees obstructing the view and put the same number back in but where I wanted them and only a small fine.

    Now shorelines on many lakes have been videoed and local lake association in Maine watch, protect, police the property development around those lakes, ponds, etc. Giving the waterfront property in Maine to your kids, the next generation in as good or better shape or condition is the basis of stewardship. Respect for a lake, and selfishly protecting the value of that Maine waterfront property, the investment.

    Expansion of no more than 30% of the original footprint and how to calculate it because a thorn, and subject to lengthy debates on little Maine lake, ponds, rivers, oceanfront, etc. Local code enforcement officers that in a small rural in nature, population state like Maine assumed the helm of many towns on a part time, shared basis. Keeping up with Maine shoreland zoning regulations, changes for a one man or one woman small town office and its selectmen was overwhelming. In many cases these muncipal jobs held on a part time basis. And because of the friction and being the lake police so to speak, the burn out factor to keep track of violations, like whether that new deck is bigger than the one on the old Maine cottage. Or now, or ever did that original camp even have a deck becomes the day to day buzz around these small town offices. 250′ feet back from the waterfrontage is the shoreland zoning extra protection zone in Maine.

    I am president of the Drews Lake Property Owners Association, a member of the Maine Congress of Lakes Assocation and enjoy keeping local lakes clean, free of milfoil, protected from soil erosion and silt that chokes fish. If you were a Maine lake, could talk, you would gurgle a reminder that you and your buddies hate lawns. Weed and feed and competition for who’s lawn is the greenest, most golf course like means phosphorous, fertilizer heading in to the lake, causing algae blooms, lots of vegetation and weeds growing out front in the water in places where you never had vegetation before. Ground water run off from your lot is not suppose to race to the lake, picking up silt and debris, causing erosion along the way either. Lakes hate lawns. So do the wildlife that we here first but that will leave, disappear if the Maine waterfront resource is not protected, preserved.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

    207.532.6573

    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Land In Maine, With Less People, The Prices To Buy Are So Low, Under Valued.

    Low Cost Maine Land, You Can Find It In Northern Maine, Aroostook County.
    Low Cost Maine Land, You Can Find It In Northern Maine, Aroostook County.

    Land in Maine, it is one big state and to me a sleeping giant, with low cost acreage options available to buy a lot of land for very little money.

    The old adage to buy low, sell high applies to any comodity. Maine land in my opinion is way under valued. When you consider what the same land is selling for just a few miles across the Maine border crossing in New Brunswick Canada, you stratch your head. To buy prime farm land for $1000 an acre or less in Maine gets your attention. When to get the land a few miles east in Canada is $5000 per acre and higher for the same quantity property type.

    Or the same sticker shock happens the further south you go as you tool down interstate 95 out of Houlton Maine, Aroostook County.

    Another concern is food costs in this country that always had a cheap food policy..at least from the farmers growing it point of view. Where our food comes from, what it costs is becoming more of a concern healthwise, financially.

    Add to the equation that many folks that work hard for their money do not like to just hand it over to a stock broker these days. Too many CEO’s and corporate giants have been hauled up court house steps on the nightly news charged with a violations laundry list eroding the investor confidence to all time lows.

    Consider too the fun, serious outdoor recreational options Maine land offers and the decision to buy is a no brainer. From an acre for $3490 up to hundreds of acres, in Maine there is plenty of property to go around no matter what the size of the wallet you sit on. Scope out our Maine land buffet. Or consider this 200 Maine waterfront acres on river, stream too for in the $90’s! Recreational land, back woodlots are even cheaper per acre, down to the $500 per acre averages.

    Maine, land is here to tramp, dream about, use on vacations or for full time relocation, retirement.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Maine Apartment House Rental Deposit, What About Getting It Back?

    Like Picking Maine Potatoes, Any Money Earned Is Carefully Spent. What Happens To No Returned Maine Rental Security Deposits?
    Like Picking Maine Potatoes, Any Money Earned Is Carefully Spent. What Happens To No Returned Maine Rental Security Deposits?

    How precious is that security of a month in advance in the Maine rental agreement you scribble your name on a while back as the renter?

    Your security deposit on your Maine home, rental house apartment was supposed to be put in to a special account, interest bearing to accrue to you too. Did the landlord do that?

    And when you move, assuming no damage beyond normal wear and tear, or lack of last month’s payment in full or proration, you want the deposit and interest made back right? What happens if the property owner, Maine landlord does not give all or a portion back?

    Well if he or she, the Maine landlord does not give you in writing notice within 21 days that you won’t be getting back some or all of the deposit due to an outlined list of damages and reasons why, things get dicey.

    Triple the deposit damages and having to pay the renter’s reasonable attorneys fees to recover it thru the Maine court system is what happens. Being a landlord has lots of responsibilities, tasks, laws that go with it on top of smoke and co2 dedector legislation that got beefed up, going in to force a few months back in Maine. Read more about rental laws in Maine, security deposits, and be up to date.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Ever Hear A Kid Whine There’s Nothing To Do? Not A Maine Kid.

    Spring Means Little Leaguers, Like The MOOERS REALTY Team Is Training, Dreaming, Learning.
    Spring Means Little Leaguers, Like The MOOERS REALTY Team Is Training, Dreaming, Learning.

    Boredom, not having fun, there’s nothing to do is not a condition Maine kids have for long.

    Growing up if I had ever been bored, looking for something or anything to do, and my parents heard it…well on a farm, there is ALWAYS something to do. Time to do this, this or this.

    Being idle and knowing how to relax is something folks that are “vacation” oriented are good at. Happy doing not much and leaning back, recharging, catching their wind. Smelling the flowers so to speak. Vocation oriented people, like most Mainers are, industrious and working harder for less but content, making ends meet. Keeping it simple. But relaxing does not come until the chores are done.

    If you can teach a child how to be self sufficient, to not expect a hand out or free lunch, that is a major ingredient toward a happier life as an adult.

    In Maine it’s if you want something, anything, work for it.

    Concentrate, dream, work toward that goal is pretty simple. We learn it early, never deviate or get off that parh that is black and white, not hard to swallow when it’s been that way all your life. And your parents practice what they preach so to speak.

    When the country is in turmoil over having to cut back on material things, having to have more and more “stuff” to be happy, Mainers watching that on television, reading about it in the news, on line in blogs, stratch their heads in disbelief. The happiness from hearing a cash register bell ring, carrying cargo you don’t really need to the mini-van from the mall is a habit less money just does not afford. And the ideal of whipping out plastic to make the purchases happen, one card after another during a drunken tour of store after store is ludicrous, foreign, unnecessary. During that spending spree and then realizing bills are coming with a high interest in 30 days…well it takes the fun out of shopping. Spending money you don’t have, paying the price with interest to get the creditors off your back is not how we roll, our idea of fun.

    Making your life simpler and reducing what you spend, being careful with your purchases is how any Mainer was raised. From the time a child was ‘knee high to a grasshopper”, he or she saw parents working long hours for what they had. Taught to take care of what was bought. Shopping long, far and wide before letting go of any hard earned money. And our “fun” growing up, as adults was getting out in to the outdoors of Maine. Our “backyards” bordered wilderness unspoiled by man. Crystal clean Maine lakes, streams, rivers to be next to. Hiking places like Cadillac, Katahdin and using our many state parks like Baxter, Acadia. And never really thinking about how “spoiled” we were because of where we were. Picnics, little league games, bean suppers, working on local school, community events. Trips to the Maine ocean for fresh native lobsters, steamed class, a piece of blueberry pie. Making our own home made low budget, high value “fun” sparks creativity. Makes local populations feel more involved in their Maine communities. Because they are.

    Maine. Hear a whisper, calling your name? That ringing in your ears is not a medical condition. It’s the need to get to Maine as often as you can. To get back to simple living, outdoor beauty, friendlier but way way fewer people. I can hook you up with someone I know that sells Maine real estate. (Smiling). No crime, no pollution, no taser, keys left in the car. Low cost Maine real estate with far less zero places. I am glad grew up here and had the chance to raise four super kids in Maine.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

    207.532.6573

    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Busy As A Bee… In Maine.

    Bees Just Want To Be Left Alone To Do Their Job, Honey Collection, Pollenation.
    Bees Just Want To Be Left Alone To Do Their Job, Honey Collection, Pollenation.

    The pollen spreaders, the busy bees that pollenate the Maine blueberries, apple trees and sample potato plants, gardens.

    Mother Earth News honeybee story spells out the problems, the situation.
    Growing up on a Maine potato farm, we saw lots of bees. The honey bee variety and the wooly, fuzzy bumble bee models. Mom would always says, you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. That they don’t want to sting you as it kills them in the process of the barbed stinger coming out (Ralph Nader..poor design flaw alert bell going off, sirens, whirling blue / red lights) Here is a CBS “Where Have All The Honey Bees Gone” Story. Maine..it’s waiting for your arrival. Maine, you can relax here, dream with your eyes open.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

    207.532.6573

    info@mooersrealty.com

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