Mid-coast towns - Anything to avoid? (Rockland, Rockport: sale, high school, taxes)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

OK, We got our internet service back after nine hours down. Here are the town tax rates I promised in dollars per thousand valuation. If you have an 11.39 mil tax rate that's a tax of $1,139 for a $100,000 property so here we go; These are 2009 rates. The 2010 rates will not be published for a few more months yet.

Winterport 11.39
Frankfort 13.16
Prospect 12.9
Stockton Springs 12.57
Belfast 14.42
Northport 13.39
Lincolnville 11.18
Camden 11.69
Rockport 11.12
Rockland 16.64

The biggest difference is in the last two. Just picture two identical $100,000 homes next door to each other, one on each side of the town line. The Rockland homeowner is going to pay $532 a year more in real estate taxes than the Rockport homeowner.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

OK, We got our internet service back after nine hours down. Here are the town tax rates I promised in dollars per thousand valuation. If you have an 11.39 mil tax rate that's a tax of $1,139 for a $100,000 property so here we go; These are 2009 rates. The 2010 rates will not be published for a few more months yet.

Winterport 11.39
Frankfort 13.16
Prospect 12.9
Stockton Springs 12.57
Belfast 14.42
Northport 13.39
Lincolnville 11.18
Camden 11.69
Rockport 11.12
Rockland 16.64

The biggest difference is in the last two. Just picture two identical $100,000 homes next door to each other, one on each side of the town line. The Rockland homeowner is going to pay $532 a year more in real estate taxes than the Rockport homeowner.

Very interesting, and a hearty thanks.

Now why would upscale Camden have a lower rate than Rockland? And why isn't there just one flat rate in all cities and towns? Does the assessment/valuation go up for the buyer immediately on purchase? Or do you inherit the previous owner's tax amount?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Camden has a much higher total assessed property valuation which means they have more high priced homes. It is good for a town to have prosperous residents and seasonal owners. The total cost being equal, there are more people to share the burden. Unless you add rooms or a garage for example, you should have the same tax as was paid last year.

[retiredtinbender]

Biggest thing to avoid in any coastal town is honeypots at low tide.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

For those who may not realize the implications of retiredtinbender's post, there are many homes on the Maine coast that do not have septic systems. There is just an open pipe going into the harbor or ocean. That pipe is usually submerged. Many small towns don't have the money to build municipal sewage plants.

[Submariner]

We owned a home like that once. We had five apartments [excluding our own], all of grey and black water flowed in a tile pipeline out into the surf.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

For those who may not realize the implications of retiredtinbender's post, there are many homes on the Maine coast that do not have septic systems. There is just an open pipe going into the harbor or ocean. That pipe is usually submerged. Many small towns don't have the money to build municipal sewage plants.

Isn't that nice. What a draw for the state of Maine.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Isn't that nice. What a draw for the state of Maine.

Maybe thats why clam flats have that certain aroma.......

and maybe thats where the red tide comes from

[Northern Maine Land Man]

A small fisherman's family is nothing compared to a cruise ship with 5,000 people on it. When I was in the Navy the cooks used to fish off the ship. They didn't feed it in the galley. They cooked and ate the fish themselves. The other sailors used to call their catch "wrinkle neck fish". Huh? Oh, yes. They were called wrinkle neck fish because they looked up at the scuppers to see where their next meal was coming from.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

A small fisherman's family is nothing compared to a cruise ship with 5,000 people on it. When I was in the Navy the cooks used to fish off the ship. They didn't feed it in the galley. They cooked and ate the fish themselves. The other sailors used to call their catch "wrinkle neck fish". Huh? Oh, yes. They were called wrinkle neck fish because they looked up at the scuppers to see where their next meal was coming from.

Because I don't understand the usages here, can I surmise that the scuppers allowed waste to flow off the ship, the fish looked to the ship's sewage removal systems for their next meal, and said fish then became the cook's next meal?