MeInMaine Blog

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  • Best Maine Wedding I Ever Went To Did Not Cost Bride, Groom $27,000.

    Maine Brown Eye Susans, Other Wild Flowers Plentiful In Maine And Free.
    Maine Brown Eye Susans, Other Wild Flowers Plentiful In Maine And Free.

    It was a second marriage and the fan fare with matches engraved in gold with their name, the date were missing in this Maine wedding.

    So was a fancy wedding dress, tuxedos or fine china dinner ware at the reception. The Maine wedding was simple, easy, pretty much free cost wise with every friend, family member of the bride and groom pitching in many small ways. The simplicity of the Maine wedding made it memorable for me.

    For starters, my role was to hit a local kid’s clothing store and I bought three pink with black polka dot dresses for the bride’s daughter, and my two daughters that were in the all in the 7 to 9 years old range. The “bridesmaids” were in charge of flowers. Not from a Maine florist, from the wild land along the way to the recitation of vows each had memorized, not read to from a fill in the blank standard format typical of many weddings. The wedding “chapel” the top of a hill in Ludlow Maine near sunset. We all gathered at the base of the 72 acre property and the walk up the hill not hard, one all ages could do slowly as we quietly made the trip together, in two by two line formation due to width of the path, old farm roadway.

    At the top of the hill, turning around you could see a long Aroostook County view. No homes, sign of man in that view. Just rolling woods, distant fields. The scenery, backdrop at sunset in late summer hit me as real, natural, Maine. No side of the church to divide the guests and seat them at in this natural Maine country setting.

    Gather as you arrive at the clearing on the top of this Ludlow Maine abandoned farm around the bridge and groom.

    The bridesmaids gathers brown eyed susans, indian paint brushes, daisies, lupine and other wild flowers along the way up the hill. Fresh from the walk, not set free from a cooler after being “harvested” weeks before. Fresh like the new union, marriage done in a simple Maine style, format typical of life here.

    After vows were exchanged with all of us on our feet, the ceremony kept short but from the hearts of both bridge and groom, the justice of the peace, a family friend declared the union was official. The husband and wife were joined, for all to see with the powers invested in him from Augusta, the state of Maine.

    Young, old and in between we all slowly filed down the winding Maine field and then woods path to return to the bride’s parents home where many yard games were set up.

    Home made food on long tables got my attention after the earlier walk. Kids laughing, families coming together, a Maine wedding without the fanfare, pomp and circumstance funded by Visa, Mastercard, Discovery, American Express. Simple, like the easy relationship, friendship of the bride and groom.

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

  • Maine 4th Of July Video

    Maine 4th of July Video.

    Small Town Parades Over 4th Of July Special!
    Small Town Parades Over 4th Of July Special!

    Happy 4th Of July From MeInMaine Blog.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
    Maine Listings MLS Properties

  • Maine, The Lower Population, Insulation Away From Wall To Wall People A Big Plus.

    Elbow Room, You Will Pay For It, Need It And In Maine You Can Secure It Easily For Less Money.
    Elbow Room, You Will Pay For It, Need It And In Maine You Can Secure It Easily For Less Money.

    In my job as a Maine real estate broker, many of our property buyers do not live local.

    Some use to and moved with their parents to say Connecticut years ago to work at Pratt and Whitney, General Dynamics, Electric Boat, even Royal typewriter many moons ago. But as the new town becomes crowded, over populated, problems start.

    Life can be a noisy blur with heavy traffic, pollution, and just too many people. I hear Maine real estate buyers from over populated states and even from Southern Maine that is pretty close to Boston indicate they just want space. Not to bother any one, but to be spaced out, free of neighbors right on top of them.

    Lots of people mean potential for misunderstandings, hot tempers if your personal space is violated, intruded on. It’s the same with humans as with labratory rats. Too many jammed in an too tiny piece of real estate, then biting, hot tempers, over reactioning to situations, other “rats” happens.

    If New Jersey has 1000 people per square mile, Alaska one person and Northern Maine 11 people, just the population of a place can be a major influence on the atmosphere, day to day there.

    And if you want to be on a dead end road, on a hobby farm or to own a seasonal recreational river ME property, something on a ME lake, the elbow room has a big bearing on the experience.

    The lower price tag means you can purchase more for less, to protect your seclusion, privacy, personal space.

    In areas of high cost, precious down to the inch real estate due to over population, pressure of more people per mile and subsequent increase in crime, etc the luxury of owning a big chunk of real estate becomes more remote. Partly due to cost, partly do to availability.

    So a common inquiry when out of town, out of state Maine real estate buyers considering purchasing property in Aroostook County is tell me about the weather, how many people per square inch, etc. I have found the frequently asked questions videos, the local community events movies help people “transition” from the hurry scurry where they live now to being a Maine country mouse.

    Maine, wake up, start your dream. Get your own “corner” or dead end quiet large piece of property for little money, low priced. Maine’s lower population may be all you need to be content, happy. Not bothering any one. Just enjoying the peace and quiet, no mortgage without wall to wall neighbors on top of you. Many upset over something brand new every day that you are somehow the cause of and in the middle of.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

    207.532.6573

    info@mooersrealty.com

  • When I Was A Kid, Thought Moving From State To State, Out Of Maine The Plan.

    We Don't Spend Much Time Inside In Maine. Golf Is One Fun Exercise Routines. So Is Kayaking, Lake Fishing, Outdoor Hiking Trails.
    We Don’t Spend Much Time Inside In Maine. Golf Is One Fun Exercise Routines.

    Encouraged to travel, realize there is a big world outside of the state of Maine growing up.

    But after college, and thinking a life in broadcasting, working my way up the ladder to larger radio markets out of state, that all changed when the kids my wife and I wanted to raise came in to the picture. I enjoyed living in Maine so much that to consider raising a family outside of Vacationland with the four season’s beauty, friendlier people, no traffic and no crime here made it an very easy decision.

    Growing up in Maine developed survival skills. How to have fun, be entertained with the great outdoors and developing your own skills to fix, create things. Lots of money and impressing people with that money is not how Maine people operate. We remove money from the equation and no one is out to impress any one else. Family, being a good community member, working hard, helping others is what Maine boils down to.

    Every day I hear stories from emails, phone calls, visits of people that are not happy where they live now. The crime, the pushy pace, noise, high prices of everything to make ends meet shows on their faces. Is heard in their voices as bone tired, weary folks. Wandering, looking, wishing for a better place to call home.

    Maine is not flashy, pretentious, false, store bought. The large state offers outdoor recreation second to none. Hills and mountains to hike, trails to bike, atv, snowsled. Waterways to kayak, swim, fish. Quiet and plenty of scenery, ME wildlife, natural resources to help you get centered, settled down and comfortable within your own skin. Our fun, past times, recreation is home made, down to earth like the people. That’s what Maine is really all about.

    Maine, is something missing in your life? You can own properties, Maine real estate out right easily. No mortgage or a very small one. Car insurance is a quarter of what they pay for vehicle coverage in say Boston MA. It’s a million little things that make Maine special that we have.

    It’s another long list of what we don’t have that make the state of Maine really shine.

    4th lowest crime state, no traffic, low property price tags. Friendlier but way way fewer people spread out for plenty of elbow room.

    Is it like this where you live now? Maine, wake up, start your dream. Consider moving, relocating, retiring, investing to Maine. “Vacationland” means sneak away to Maine as much as you can. Get here as quickly as you are able and grab your coat. Tell your friends you are heading to Maine.

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

  • Land In Maine, Buying, Owning ME Real Estate To Enjoy, Pass On.

    Meet Your Neighbor... Mr Maine Moose Spotted On Houlton ME Farm.
    Meet Your Neighbor… Mr Maine Moose Spotted On Houlton ME Farm.

    As a buyer of Maine real estate, specifically land, there is no doubt the property price is attractive.

    But what else to consider in that purchase of land in Maine? For starters, a survey by a registered, professional surveyor is in order. Here’s a list of 188 Maine land surveyors. Does the deed to the Maine real estate have a good metes and bounds description?

    Or is the treasure map write up on the ME deed to the land say the property is bordered on the north by Mr Green, west by Mr Black, south by Mr White and East by a road now or formerly known by a name you never heard of? That is not a good boundary description for your ME property lines or to use determining the acreage, quantity of land you are purchasing.

    The title search for Maine land will help the surveyor not duplicate time in the local ME registry of deeds. That’s if the lawyer, attorney in Maine works with the surveyor and produces all the deeds, legal instruments about right of ways, easements and earlier property history.

    Maine is a race notice state when it comes to who gets a piece of the property pie or not. There is a clock ticking to get the deed recorded at the local Maine registry. And if one Maine property that had forty acres was made in to five pieces back before tighter subdivision laws and then later it is determined there was not forty acres for a quantity to begin with, the last guy in comes up short. No matter if his deed says he is getting eight acres, all described and official looking. If there is a shortage, the runt of the property litter is the last guy in, you that end up with whatever is left.

    Towns in Northern Maine, Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis County municaplities are laid out like a fresh pan of brownies. Cut in lots and ranges and very systematic. So remember the town is laid out in large “chunks” of land, say eighty acre or hundred acre lots. And the piece you are buying in Maine requires a further investigation, study of what has happened over the years. Death, divorce, family feuds, foreclosures, new highways and housing developments all impact the original parcel of Maine land. You may be buying the south half of the east half of lot five range nine in that township that has slowly shrunk in size, acreage since the original 100 acre lot was sketched out in ink, by hand back in the early 1800’s before GPS devices, etc.

    Easements, rights of way for access to another person’s Maine woodlot, or to use the existing well on the property is another reason to search the title, to consider having a survey done.

    But also, an on the ball Maine attorney that does the bulk of local ME real estate transactions in the area over the years often has a survey on the property next to the one you are considering buying that he produces that nails down one or all your property lines.

    I have seen a 50 acre parcel that was not surveyed by the owner turn out to be surveyed by the land owners around it in piece meal fashion. Armed with those individual Maine surveys if you can get recorded copies made at the registry means you can save money on a duplicate survey. You might consider asking the Maine surveyor that did the work next door how much to revisit your site to crank out a plat of your own.

    Or joining forces with the neighboring land owners around you to get a professional acreage survey done if no pins, no tree blazing or rock walls exisit in Maine creates an economy of scale where everyone wins.

    Unless that Maine land survey turns up that you really own thirty feet of the guy next door. Then things can get interesting, the plot thickens. Or if you lose land you dreamed of building that Maine log home on with the big view, perfect setting, suddenly the day is not so sunny and your mood changes drastically if you already bought the property.

    Buying, selling Maine real estate. Land in Maine. You have some important considerations to check out before you buy to be safe, prudent.

    I’m Maine Real Estate Broker Andrew Mooers
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Land In Maine For Sale, What Do ME Real Estate Buyers Need For Resources.

    Before Buying Maine Land, Go Down Thru The ME Property Check List.
    Before Buying Maine Land, Go Down Thru The ME Property Check List.

    Maine is one big state with lots of land, acreage and less people to populate it.

    So more wildlife, great amounts of unspoiled four season wide open country is what you find in abundance in Maine. If you are toying with owning some land in Maine, many questions come up needing answering, attention. Maybe waterfront property, a hobby farm for full time or second home vacation use. Regardless of the Maine land application to your individual needs, here are some helpful ME land buying resources to tap in to before, after your real estate purchase.

    In the case of Maine waterfront real estate, ME shoreland zoning statutes, regulations, do’s and don’t around our lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and oceanfront come in pretty handy.

    Maine’s tree growth tax laws also another property tax reducer that requires study, understanding. If you buy property in Maine that is in the ME tree growth program, and you want to remove it there is a severe penalty to deal with. Don’t wish someone had told you about Maine’s tree growth program after you bought the property you want to build on and none of the land was kept out for that purpose.

    Taxes, and how a Maine town arrives at property valuations for each piece of ME real estate is another common query in our day to day job peddling real estate. Maine local municipalities assess taxes on property, setting their own tax rate. This mil rate per thousand dollars of property valuation is based on the revenue requirements for the town to keep roads plowed, pot holes filled, police, fire, schools running smoothly.

    If the Maine town’s mil rate in Houlton Maine for example is 19.5, then $19.50 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value is taxed in the property tax bill sent out yearly.

    Bangor Maine sends a property tax bill out twice a year to soften the blow, impact.

    Some Maine towns, cities more efficiently run than others and county seats, the sixteen of them in Vacationland are historically higher tax bill size wise. Why? More services provided at the center, transportation and population hub of the area. More tax exempt government buildings, churches, public institutions.

    The Maine land you buy if rural, not served by muncipal water and sewer should be soil tested for a septic BEFORE you purchase. Especially around a lake, when the Maine land is small acreage wise and congested with closer proximity neighbors. Have worked with a Bill Hersey, A Caribou Maine native soil tester for over thirty years who is thorough, practical and a good steward of the land. His business card says “like people, Maine soils are different”. The design for a ME soil test can cost in the neighborhood of $300 and provides the HHE 200 paperwork the state of Maine requires to use as the blueprint for your ME septic system.

    Just a few points but by no means an end all list of what to consider, look for when buying Maine land. The title to Maine land is critical and make sure to have a ME attorney, lawyer title search the real estate for you.

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