Buying land in Maine (Bangor, Long Island: real estate, car insurance, house)

[ClownShoes]

Ok everyone I'm new this this forum thing, so forgive me if you've had this thread in the past.


I'm looking to buy some land now so I can build a home in a couple of years when I plan to retire.

Can anyone give me a heads up on what to look out for in Maine, bad areas etc?

Also I see terms like ROW ( right of way) seasonal, water deep, restrictions: other restrictions.

To me it's like pig latin. What are they saying??



Thank you!

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

Ok everyone I'm new this this forum thing, so forgive me if you've had this thread in the past.


I'm looking to buy some land now so I can build a home in a couple of years when I plan to retire.

Can anyone give me a heads up on what to look out for in Maine, bad areas etc?

Also I see terms like ROW ( right of way) seasonal, water deep, restrictions: other restrictions.

To me it's like pig latin. What are they saying??



Thank you!

What part of Maine? Land values fluctuate greatly depending upon where you'd like to retire. You might want to contact 2 or 3 reputable Real Estate Agents and meet them when you arrive in the area, picking the best one to represent you in any transaction.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[ClownShoes]

What part, I can't say exactly. North of Bangor I guess.
I'd like to keep the ride up an back fairly reasonable since I won't be retiring for some time.

Lakefront with at least 50 acres is what I'm in the market for.

A 10 hour ride I can handle. Once you get away from NJ, NY, CT area things calm down on the highway.


Currently in Jersey City NJ, 6000 in property tax, 3000 in car insurance, and in the past several years lost 3 people and a family of 4 in my neighborhood to homicides.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Lakefront property with 50 acres is very rare indeed. I'll get back to that.

"Also I see terms like ROW ( right of way) seasonal, water deep, restrictions: other restrictions."

"Right of way" means you have the right to travel to and from the property across somebody else's land. Somebody else may also have the right to cross your land to reach a property further from a public road. If you want power and phone, make sure you have a right of way for all purposes before you buy the property.

"Seasonal" means the town does not plow the road in winter. The road may often be plowed by other owners, but there is no guarantee that when you roll in on a Saturday morning that the road will be plowed.

"Waterfront deep" implies that you can boat to and from the property. This term is widely abused when describing property.

"Restrictions' means you better get a look at the subdivision approval, any covenants and if there is a property owner's association, the rules of that association. Most people moving to Maine want to be able to use their property, put up a flag pole, park the tractor or snowmobile in the front yard and do vehicle maintenance on their own property. Some people moving from away want to bring the same restrictions they are used to from Long Island or wherever. Reread my first sentence in this paragraph. Edit; Copy; Edit; Paste; File; Save.

All that said, you can buy land north of Bangor for under $300 an acre on a private gravel road. It will be up to you to clear the snow. From that base level the price of land goes up. Nicely wooded with fields, a view and a babbling brook bring the price up considerably.

A quick search of three counties north and east of Bangor shows three properties with 30 acres or more and deep water frontage. Prices run from $115,000 to $148,000 depending on how far from power they are and type of road access. There are none with over 50 acres where you own the lake frontage.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

What part, I can't say exactly. North of Bangor I guess.
I'd like to keep the ride up an back fairly reasonable since I won't be retiring for some time.

Lakefront with at least 50 acres is what I'm in the market for.

Open forest land, where you can build, or drop a trailer on can be had for $900 per acre. If you can forego the waterfrontage then you can get forest land for as low as $300 per acre. If you do not mind being real close to Bangor. Up further North the land prices drop a lot.

If you desire 50 acres of waterfrontage with a 2bdrm house and attached barn/garage, you may pay more. I would expect to see prices as high as $100k.

But of course as you travel North into Aroostook, prices do drop down more.

[ClownShoes]

Outstanding information, thank you~!
File copied, and saved

I've checked out Progressive Realty, Maine Moves, Mooers, and probably 1 or 2 others.

Any others that I may have missed or you can recommend?

Again, thanks for all the information!

[Zymer]

If you are looking at Mooer's listings you will want to remember one thing- if it says "needs a little TLC" you will be needing to hire the entire crew of "This Old House" to make it habitable, if it says "fixer upper" you will want a demolition crew.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

Outstanding information, thank you~!
File copied, and saved

I've checked out Progressive Realty, Maine Moves, Mooers, and probably 1 or 2 others.

Any others that I may have missed or you can recommend?

Again, thanks for all the information!

Would you care to come over for a little fishing?











First we cross this:














Then when look to the left and we see:


then we look straight ahead and we see:


then we look to the right and we see:













And after catching a few bass, we walk back towards the road and we see:















I should inform you, that none of these photos show 'lakefront' property.


These show riverfront property, 12 miles North of Bangor.

And the going price range has been around $900 per acre.

My place.

But then it only looks like that in the summer.

Now it looks more like:

[Cornerguy1]

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

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

Outstanding information, thank you~!
File copied, and saved

I've checked out Progressive Realty, Maine Moves, Mooers, and probably 1 or 2 others.

Any others that I may have missed or you can recommend?

Again, thanks for all the information!

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