Questions about possible relocation to Maine (Portland, Bangor: foreclosed, credit, how much)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Maineac

Exactly. You get to decide if you want to live in a grand mansion on Winnepesaukee or in a trailer park and keep your money. It's a "tax the rich" mentality, that provides an option to the individual, that doesn't comport well with the "Maple Curtain" theology. A friend from Dover, NH, is currently visiting here and seems to firmly believe the overall cost of living in Maine is lower. I tried to correct her, to no avail, and they live in a mobile home. It's an individual perception that the grass is greener, I think. It ain't. It's just a different shade of green. I liked NH, but I need more remote lakes, more salt water and will pay the price for it. Saves the 4 hour drive from Concord, too. Almost 8 hours to Umsaskis.

I have never lived in NH.

I have owned homes in Ct, Wa, Ca and Scotland; and I have resided in many other places. In my experience Maine does seem to allow a much lower cost-of-living, as compared to most places where I have lived.

I too like remote rivers, lakes and forests.

[Maineac]

NH is great, but you have to remember there are tons of "stealth" taxes in the guise of "fees" and "registrations." For example, I don't have to register my non-motorized canoe, kayak, sailboat, etc. in Maine. In NH, if you want to paddle, you throw over $30.00 up front for anything. $24 or so for the "registration" and "fees" on top of that. And the enforcement is heavy, with appreciable fines. So the "live free or die" mecca is quite a bit of smoke and mirrors. If you want to live in your trailer, earn your income, keep and spend it without taxation, fine. If you want to do virtually anything else, you pay through the nose.

Whoa. Way off topic. To the original poster - mid coast north of Camden to the other side of Ellsworth. Moderated for temps and snow depth, Belfast is nice. You'll be fine.

[bangorme]

ANYWAY, here it is again:
The Tax Tale: 50-state comparison - JSOnline
CNN/Money: Taxes state by state
State Income Tax Comparison
Ranking State and Local Sales Taxes | Tax Foundation
https://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/05staxrank.html
A Comparative Look at State Taxes - TurboTax® Tax Tips & Videos

I could come up with a couple hundred more if needed. Be careful when you do comparisons, however, and make sure federal taxes aren't included . Poor states (like Maine) don't pay the federal taxes that the ones that support vibrant economies pay. 50% of people in the U.S. pay no federal income tax, and much of Maine falls into that 50%.

[Maineac]

I particularly like the Tax Foundation one - the one that show's Maine as having one of the lowest sales taxes in the U.S. overall. You should be careful when you do comparisons, as well, since you're clearly not reading what you cite. Maine has about the same population as NH and nearly four times the land area and way more roads to maintain. No excuses, but there are reasons for the differences. And I still like not having to pay to register canoes, kayaks and non-motorized sailboats. Among a plethora of other fees that NH charges. Bear in mind, too, that some of the wealthiest Americans can skate on income taxes as well. Not really too hard to do if your income is primarily passive and/or you select the proper residency. Certainly they don't pay the 15.41% FICA/medicare, etc. tax. While the poor ******* living in a trailer with 4 kids and working as a mechanic in Levant could end up tossing 30% of his income to support the "system." Cute.

[namder1]

There are many variables from town to town. generally taxes are higher here everywhere though. I have a friend on the coast that pays a 7.5 mil rate where here I pay 12.25 and its going up to 12.65 they say!!! Outrageous! Since we have very few municipal services........

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I know a town where the mil rate is 2.5. They have about six miles of road to plow. All other roads are private and they have very few kids to educate. Contrast that with a town with a 28 mil rate. People are leaving and the town still chooses to maintain paid police and fire departments. Choose carefully. A $100,000 house in the first town would have a $250 tax bill. The tax in the second town would be $2,800 a year for the same house. Choose carefully.

[bangorme]

Yeah, there are lots of reasons Maine's taxes are so high, and many have been mentioned. The fewer the taxpayers, the more each taxpayer will have to pay. The smaller the tax base in a community, the higher the mil rate. The more poverty in a state, the more people on the dole. The less dense the population, the greater percentage of the cost will be paid by each person, and the fewer people per road to pay those costs too. The more liberal the government, the higher the cost of the nannie-state.

Mix these Maine issues all into a bowl, and what you end up with a very high tax mix, each factor working to exacerbate each other factor. It's like traffic in Northern Virginia. Northern Virginia offers a lot of really nice things, but I'm not going to argue that the traffic isn't terrible there. Maine's problems are taxes and lack of economic opportunity, but it also offers many nice things.

[Maineac]

Isn't majority rule just the worst thing going? LOL! I'm not claptrapping about the greed and avarice of those that take the most from society and give back the least, and it isn't the poor. I think you're missing the role that Government plays in the whole scenario, from both perspectives. The current governor hands out tax breaks to the top 5% like candy ($2mm estate tax exemption, for example, the theory behind which goes back centuries and is beyond the scope of this thread), then lays it off on the middle and lower classes to make up the difference. Talk about wealth redistribution. Take MY tax dollars and appoint your daughter to the taxpayer payroll at nearly $50K a year plus another 40% or so in benefits. Then try to steal the excise taxes from the struggling municipalities, jacking property taxes dramatically. That boy has to go, and no, there isn't anyone on the horizon that stands out as useful, either.

[TexKnox]

Okay. So, obviously, taxes are a hot button issue in Maine. Lol!

Could you guys give me some advice on Maine over New York state? I've heard that NYS offers a tax exemption type program for property taxes. If you make a certain amount of money you're qualified to get a tax cut. Is there a program like this in Maine?

Are the taxes around Portland wildly expensive? Do taxes make life so unbearable that you just can't live? My property taxes are currently right over 1000 in TN. I am hoping to find a lower mortgage when I move up north to offset any tax gain that I will take on.

I'm sure that that's a lot of what it is about. Offsetting certain costs with others. If I can sell my house here for what I want to sell it for, hopefully I can find something that costs less there and make up the difference there.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by TexKnox

Okay. So, obviously, taxes are a hot button issue in Maine. Lol!

Could you guys give me some advice on Maine over New York state? I've heard that NYS offers a tax exemption type program for property taxes. If you make a certain amount of money you're qualified to get a tax cut. Is there a program like this in Maine?

Are the taxes around Portland wildly expensive? Do taxes make life so unbearable that you just can't live? My property taxes are currently right over 1000 in TN. I am hoping to find a lower mortgage when I move up north to offset any tax gain that I will take on.

I'm sure that that's a lot of what it is about. Offsetting certain costs with others. If I can sell my house here for what I want to sell it for, hopefully I can find something that costs less there and make up the difference there.

Taxes are a hot button issue EVERYWHERE!

Taxes are VERY high in Portland. But there are towns around Portland that are more reasonable. I lived in Brunswick, Maine and the taxes weren't as bad as they are in Bangor, or even the suburbs of Bangor. My house taxes in Caribou, Maine were almost $2,000 a year. My taxes in Brunswick, GA were about $1,200 a year for a house worth about $100,000 more than my house in Caribou. The websites I gave you earlier are your best source of real, comparative, information. You have the information to make an informed decision. Don't go by anecdotal stuff... it won't pay your taxes lol.

Are you retired? If so, Maine has some tax breaks for retired income.

I forgot, Maine just rescinded the Homesteading Exemption program, which helped to offset property taxes. If you are fairly low income they have another, less generous, program now.

I'm curious, why do you expect to get a lower mortgage in Maine? Cheaper home?

I REALLY think you are making a BIG mistake if you are thinking about moving to Maine because it is cheaper to live here. It isn't. We have high taxes, high gasoline cost (in Colorado, where my daughter lives, it was .40 cheaper a gallon there last week), long and cold winters (heating oil or firewood), and much more. I really want people to move to Maine because of the good things about Maine... being cheaper isn't generally one of them.