Every day is new and exciting in listing, marketing, selling Maine Maine Is 46th Lowest For Foreclosure, Short Sale, Repossessions. real estate.
Someone yesterday calling from Cape Cod MA about a small home with garage under $40,000 decides to jump in her Ford Transport and arrives at 5:30 to see it in person. Already did the video tour a number of times.
Today she puts the home under contract and heads home. While another man from New Mexico calls about a property, over an acre of ground, land in Maine for under $4000. Wants a low cost, cheap piece of Maine land for a camper, fifth wheeler use.
Phone rings from second call with a real estate buyer from Ohio that grows peppers. All colors of them in a large farm and is hunting for Maine land to grow more vegetables. Tells me they have 400% the calcium of milk. Never heard of purple peppers and have seen the green, red, orange, yellow ones having grown many on the Maine farm growing up.
After his call, a local farmer who rents ground I own is looking for a warehouse for equipment. Have listed an older 1974 potato house for sale in Smyrna Maine that could do the trick. So give him the propaganda for his wife, boys to look over.
Calls, letters, emails, visits to the Maine real estate office keep it always exciting. Cash buyer on a Court Street home faxed back a contract while another home on the same street goes under contact. The second one for parents wanting to rent a home they buy to rent to their daughter. To get her out of the rent rut and to provide more space for those grandchildren. To eventually deed over as long as she makes the payments, runs a tight ship.
So when you read about 60% of the problems in four states where foreclosures, real estate short sales and repossessions are happening, you can get a little blood boiling.
Because Maine is 46th lowest for FSSR (foreclosure, short sale, repossession).
Our properties are so much cheaper, easy to own. And you won’t have a mortgage for long or at all.
Don’t like it when the media tries to “one size fits all the real estate market”.
No spikes up and down, no bubble that bursts because we don’t over spend, don’t put ourselves in financial box canyons.
Maybe we just live simpler. Without a need for money to impress. Or for “retail therapy” to make ourselves feel better with plastic cards and hearing cash registers rings. The best things are free. Aready in Maine all around us in four season Vacationland. If you are after simple, easy, friendly and without the crime, traffic and high cost of living, Maine is your best case scenario. Always. Get here quick as you can.
Every so often a Maine real estate call comes in that stikes me Maine Blessed With Lots Of Water, Clean Drinking Water.funny, odd.
But then you realize it is not like in Maine everywhere else. The question today of a Maine property that has a septic system, home framed up, power but no well yet. The Maine real estate buyer suspicious about how come no water, why did the builder stop the process of construction?
The contractor who owns the Ludlow Maine home and land built it to get it to the point where the hammer could be handed off to a new buyer.
The find the Maine land, do the site work, pour concrete after the cellar forms installed, framing, getting it weather tight and power in to the place over the new driveway all takes prep work some would like to avoid.
Outside Maine real estate buyers or local “do it yourselvers” like taking the ball and running at this point.
They can stay at the property on vacation with a structure all up and no motel or campgrounds with facilities. This property does have a stream and springs the local beavers are having fun damming up, to create a pond. But the lack of a well is not because water is a hit or miss affair when considering the all important Maine water supply.
This Maine real estate buyer asked if there was someone she could pay, hire to determine if she would have water or not for a well after the sale.
I told her save her money, call a local well driller directly and pump him with water questions.
Our water table in Maine is high, many folks have dug not drilled wells. 14 feet deep, concrete 3 foot tiles on top of each other and clean gravel put on the bottom of the well dug out by a back hoe machine.
In some areas of the country water is pretty rare, special, hard to come by. Maine is not one of those areas. Where do you want the well drilled? Observing 100′ from the Maine septic system guidelines but putting it where it won’t be hit by a snow plow or backed in to by guests. Leaving the steel casing stem that goes down to ledge, bedrock visible so you can add cholrox once a year to shock it, like the habit of changing smoke detector batteries.
The wells over the last 31 years we see drilled are 60, 125, 175 deep deep. Not 800 or more like some places. I have a brother in Boxford MA that has one of those to “China wells” and the quality, quantity of it are poor. That does not happen in Maine. And the mineral rights, 99.999% of the time go with the land, are not retained. Once in a rare occassion does an old timer tittering on the edge of going senile say he whole heartedly believes there is gold, silver, copper in that land is is toying with selling. And the family guiding him asks if that will hurt the Maine real estate sale. Yes it will and no there isn’t the simple, short and sweet reply.
Growing up on a Maine farm, I watched my mom plant flower Maine, Flowers Pretty The State Up In A Major, Neat Smelling Way.garden after flower garden.
The wild flowers in Maine that you see everywhere you go are my favorite. But the flocks, bachelor buttons, hollyhocks, brown eyed susans, tiger lillies and lupines are pretty special too. I can see my mom on her hands and knees, humming, in her element. Inside African violets, Christmas catcus always being cared for, dusted, watered, fed Miracle Grow too.
The visual of new Maine flowers is special eye candy. But the way freshly cut flowers fill a Maine room, sitting pretty on the center of a table entertaining all filling that area with sweet smells is intoxicating too. Adds to the day, the event and is so short lived making it even more precious.
Early spring in Maine the tulips, crocus, daffodils are a welcome sight. Especially after the final throws of a Maine winter leave for another 3 seasons change, rotation. We love all four seasons in Maine.
But spring especially is a time of renewal, hope, sunshine with strength and the promise of even more in a Maine summer.
Not everyone is as affectionate about the same season in Maine.
It depends on your outdoor interests, your career choice, your age and health and family traditions you grew up with. The ones you pass along and define who you are. What you enjoy doing in Vacationland. This state of Maine way up high, here in the right hand corner of the country. Pick your season, pick your pleasure kind of thinking really right?
My mom, dad have passed away but the flowers gardens still flourish. The apple orchard and variety of trees planted on the farm still growing well because started with a pair patient hands. The kind with two green thumbs. Discover Northern Maine.
Your MeInMaine blog post author loves living in the Pine Tree state.
But traveling to points outside of Maine to some pretty special places on the green and blue marble can help reinforce I am where I should be living, raising a family.
Just returned from a trek outside Vacationland that simply serves to deepen the appreciation for Maine.
I have a son in his second semester at Colorado College in Colorado Springs CO. For spring break we decided to go skiing at all the mountains around Frisco CO in Summit County, including Breckenridge, A Basin, Vail ski resorts. His older brother who had a college vacation from Washington DC that staggered his little brother’s in Colorado came along to strap on the boards too.
Huge mountains, the Colorado Rockies one impressive setting.
Lots of snow like Maine, but way way more twisting highways.
Maine is more level to rolling. Sure we have the Carrabassett Valley where Sugarloaf USA Ski area is. But nothing like the mountain range, rock formation after range and all those tourists flocking there to spend some money. And Maine offers many little family friendly, low cost ski mountains like Big Rock in Aroostook County. Places where you don’t have 108 dollar and higher lift tickets.
When you hit a big establishment like Disney or Vail, Breckenridge, Copper or Araphoe Basin ski area, you realize it cost a lot of money to keep 31 ski lifts going. Or all those rides, attractions for kids over 44 inches tall. But I like home grown, local community citizens who step forward and work their hearts out to make an event happen. Local community events where it is not store bought but created like a pot luck supper. Everyone brings their best dish, provides their best creative talent.
In Maine, there is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer in the many small communities around Vacationland. Fun to take trips with the kids and see different zip codes and be part of the learning with family travel. But boy is it good to be home. Everyone knows your name, waves, is friendly and not in a rush like they need a heart transplant stat.
Maine, a place where your heart and head finally agree 100 percent on something. Get here quick as you can.
When someone takes a trip, the slide show of images from the adventure to a new area are collected, watched, shared, enjoyed.
Maine has lots of images many who are here have captured. Thousands of events in different seasons in Maine are out there for those new to Vacationland to start collecting. Here are just a few I have been lucky to shoot. Uploaded for others to study, enjoy from traveling, living in Maine.
Maine, I am a personal fan of the areas around this big, interesting state of vibrant local smaller communties.
You will become hooked on the places, Maine people too!
Follow our other sister Maine blog posts too to learn more about this state in the upper right hand corner, almost in Canada! Watch our local Maine community videos too. They are 30 frames or “pictures” per second and you get to hear the local sounds, people too! Helpful links that the local tourist information Maine brochure left out might be of help as you increase your knowledge on “Vacationland”.
If you quizzed the average American who lives in a crowded area, who dreads the daily adventure of a long grueling commute, he might share the desire to own some Maine land.
A big piece, property with acreage and lots of space, elbow room. Moving to the country where land is low cost, in plentiful supply is easy in a rural state like Maine. In Aroostook County there are eleven people per square mile. Land for under $1000 an acre that is high quality, often with waterfront or fertile soil, some type of woods growing on it. Lot of Maine wildlife.
When you live in a small Maine community you get spoiled, forget what 6 lanes of expressway traffic looks like. Until you take a son or daughter back to an out of state college. And get to see what real traffic is. What grid lock feels like. What having to avoid bumping in to someone, something feels like. In Maine the energy to protect, police your personal space is not a concern. It does not sap your mental strenth because of space, less people, fewer cars, the 4th lowest state crime statistic.
I see more telecommuters buying Maine land and hobby farms, something on the waterfront.
Broadband ever increasing connectivity speeds mean bring the job you do now there, here.
With a phone, fax, Internet connection the person purchasing your goods, services does not care if you live near the Bronx Expressway or in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago.
As you see food shortages on the latest, strongest Japanese earthquake, tsunami news coverage you also think of what if food ran low in the city. Or got so expensive that the price per gallon of gas is forgotten, or thought small potatoes now. Because basic good wholesome food is scarce and expensive and you, your famly is getting hungry. Or a bigger share of your wages after health care costs, insurances, gas, mortgages is being gobbled up, ecliped by what happens at the grocery store.
Maine’s land market is a strong one. And in a time when we see the media, real estate agents, brokers, REALTORS in some areas talk about housing bubbles, price spikes and uncertainity. And it is house this, home that as if that is the only kind of real estate listing bought and sold. Maybe because no land comes with that condo or McMansion. None to spare, gone in the concrete jungle. But nothing like Maine where you could buy 200 acres for less than $65000.
If you would like to buy a Maine 50 acre farm with abandoned home, double garage for $35,900, this real estate listing might fit your needs. Working on it vacations, using it as a recreational purchase. That eventually you retire to full time. Have a few hen chickens, grow enough to feed yourself, raising critters too. And maybe heading in to the farmers market to feed others. Enjoying plenty of clean, safe Maine drinking water.
Land values nationally have gone up 10% or more last year at a time when all you hear about the USA real estate market is about the problem areas in Florida, Michigan, California. Rural American real estate brokers are listing, selling more and more land. For lots of reasons beyond just a good investment that never disappears in value on paper like stocks. Underneath all is the land. I know someone who can help you own a piece of Maine land.
