Buying land in Maine (Hope: sale, broker, houses)

[bignhfamily]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

You could check out www.realtor.com . I use it frequently to daydream and it seems to have fairly substantial listings for Maine.

realtor.com is a great place to start. As your looking through their listings there is often links or phone numbers to the listing agents. You can then contact them directly for a complete list of their properties. Often times the agents have additional properties that I can't find on the MLS. Best of luck!

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by bignhfamily

realtor.com is a great place to start. As your looking through their listings there is often links or phone numbers to the listing agents. You can then contact them directly for a complete list of their properties. Often times the agents have additional properties that I can't find on the MLS. Best of luck!

that's a very good point...realtor websites aren't updated daily, and I know that I've seen property for sale in my area that is not on the realtor's site at all....and I know this because I'm one of those people that for some strange reason likes to keep an eye on listings

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

Very nice. Looks like a person could raise a serious black fly crop out there.

Here just North of Bangor we actually get two good crops of native critters.

First is the Skeeters; big as butterflies, in black clouds thick as fog, and capable of lifting away small children.

Then we get the black flies, that bite a chunk of skin out from your hide.

















Well okay maybe there is a bit of exaggeration there.

[ClownShoes]

Nice photos!


I've checked out Realtor.Com, thanks.

Flies are an issue I've heard of but haven't given much thought to.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who gave me their input and advice.
I'll probably take a drive up right after Christmas and get a flavor for the winter atmosphere. Hopefull in early spring I'll be able to get up there for a week or so and start the big shopping adventure.

I've seen many acres for sale at a good price, and seen some 'waterfront' too. Let's hope I can make this work.

I've noticed several things with Maine realtors websites. Poor pictures, property sold and still left 'for sale' on sites, SOLD property still being shown on sites ( huh?? what are you thinking? ). Many sites designed by the same company with poor search options, and except for the Realtors name and photos the sites are the same.


VERY VAGUE descriptions when it comes to things the Out of State buyer should be made aware of right away. ( Do they think when someone spends big bucks they won't get upset when they can't do anything with their property? ) Or is this why land can still be found up there at an affordable price?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"( Do they think when someone spends big bucks they won't get upset when they can't do anything with their property? )"

Sometimes the person listing it is clueless also. It pays to work with somebody who is familiar with the property and the area. The rules can vary hugely between two properties a half mile apart because they are on different sides of a town line. How recently has the land been subdivided? If the seller is selling a few acres is it legal? Is there an eagle's nest within 1/4 mile? If you are "from away" as they say you may not know which questions to ask. Link up with somebody who knows.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

...
Anyway, thank you to everyone who gave me their input and advice.

I've seen many acres for sale at a good price, and seen some 'waterfront' too. Let's hope I can make this work.

I've noticed several things with Maine realtors websites. Poor pictures, property sold and still left 'for sale' on sites, SOLD property still being shown on sites ( huh?? what are you thinking? ). Many sites designed by the same company with poor search options, and except for the Realtors name and photos the sites are the same.

VERY VAGUE descriptions when it comes to things the Out of State buyer should be made aware of right away. ( Do they think when someone spends big bucks they won't get upset when they can't do anything with their property? ) Or is this why land can still be found up there at an affordable price?

I hear you.

I got very frustrated dealing with 'them' when I was shopping for a Maine home.

I remember one 'waterfront' property that I was looking at. I walked the property lines, trying to find this 'water', and when I finally found the 'water' I was very upset. It was a seasonal creek bed. It was dry. When I called the selling agent, he had never seen the 'water', he had no idea. I doubt if he had ever stepped foot outside of his car on the property.

So many realtors have never visited the properties that they are listing. They had no idea of what was included on the property.

But what can you do?

I would drive up to Maine for a week. Meet a realtor in Belfast, he was very nice, and he would print out a stack of MLS sheets for me, and even set them in 'order', so that I could drive easily from one to the next. and with the listing agent phone numbers to call if I had questions. He seemed great. Then each morning, I met with him, we woudl discuss each property that I had looked at the previous day, and he would hand me another stack of MLS sheets for that day. Each day, I met him, and then went out driving to find all of these properties and walk around on them. Or if they included a house to peek inside.

Each trip that I made shopping, I drove around looking for five to six days. Exhausted and frustrated I drove home. To wait a few months and do it all again.

I made a total of five trips up here to Maine for shopping like that.

That was why I ended up sitting in so many diners and talking to the locals.

I found that most locals in Maine everywhere seemed to know folks who were FSBO offering homes or land for sale. I tried to be polite and always thanked them for their offers to help me. But I stuck to using the realtors. Trip after trip.

It just did not make sense in my mind, to see rural areas, with very few jobs and a depressed economy, and yet crazy high prices. How could that exist? I just knew that somehow there must be cheap homes in such a rural area.

On my fourth shopping trip I found a piece of land that was lake front forest that I could afford. I made an offer, and it was accepted. I scheduled a soil-scientist / septic-design dude to meet me on the property to verify that it would pass a perk test. I made a trip up with my family and we camped out on the property, while the I helped the dude do his tests. It failed. Nowhere on 50 acres of land could we find a spot clear of ledge. No wonder it was selling for cheap! So I canceled the escrow.

On my fifth trip shopping for a home in Maine, was when I finally called one of those phone numbers that I would see hand written on a 'for sale' sign. I met a couple in Millinocket who had a four page list of all their properties that they were trading. Viewing some of those properties, I instantly found two waterfront properties that I liked and could afford.

Both were large acreage River-frontage forest with paved county road and power / phone at the pavement.

And selling for a fraction of anything that I had been able to find on the MLS.

I do wish you the best of luck.

Try not to get too frustrated.

[crb01]

You may want to try picking up one of the area outdoors magazines, such as the "Maine Sportsman". There are always listings for land in the back sections and a lot of them never make it into the MLS listings. The wife and I bought 2 seperate waterfront lots in the Downeast area through listings in this magazine. Both were good deals.

As far as the bugs go, while mosquitos and blackflies are certainly annoying, nothing will drive you nuts more than the deerflies.

[ClownShoes]

Again, thanks everyone.

I appreciate the info regarding Ocean property, but rowboats on calm water is more my style.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

crb01 mentions: "nothing will drive you nuts more than the deerflies."

The best remedy for deer flies is a piece of carpet tape about 6 inches long on the back of your hat. The two sided tape is tan and deer flies love the color tan. Go for your hike and when you take your hat off you'll see a whole bunch of deer flies stuck to the tape.

Problem solved.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

crb01 mentions: "nothing will drive you nuts more than the deerflies."

The best remedy for deer flies is a piece of carpet tape about 6 inches long on the back of your hat. The two sided tape is tan and deer flies love the color tan. Go for your hike and when you take your hat off you'll see a whole bunch of deer flies stuck to the tape.

Problem solved.

All my life spent outside every year during the summer, and I've never heard this. Great! I hate those damn things, I will be sure to try this next summer. I can see it working. Thank you!