Lots of properties for sale in Eastport ME, Why the high inventory? (Millinocket: condo, homes)

[peachie_in_maine]

Originally Posted by AustinB

As tinbender would say.... TLC



Torch, level, and clean up

I saw an image of prefab - rolling down Route 1(with it's blinked on for Eastport when you quoted.

[animalcrazy]

We loved Eastport. I've only seen it in the winter and can imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer. The deal breaker for us was being so far from skiing. I think if we were much older I could spend the rest of my days there. We met some really nice people there too.

[maine4.us]

The issue with many of the homes for sale in Eastport is that they are overpriced. Plus many are not exactly in great shape, and it would cost a lot to bring them up to date, and make them comfortable to live in. By the time you buy at inflated price, and do the needed repair, and upgrades, you are stuck with something that goes into that pool that take 6 years to empty. We purchased a home that only needed a new heating system. We made improvements, but the key is to buy a home that is liveable. Many of the homes here for sale are ones I wouldn't live in. Some have been for sale at least 7 years. There is one that is 90K, no water view, and you would have to completely redo the inside to live there. It has been empty so long, that the elements have taken a chunk out of the value too. A house in Eastport that doesn't get regular maintenance quickly goes into a state of disrepair.

It is a great city to move to and live in if you don't need a job. I don't think many people move here expecting to find employment. Taxes in all the small towns in Maine are high. There are simply not enough people to split the cost of the infrastructure required. Sewer and water plants must be built to handle the most populous day of the year, yet the rest of the year they run at a very small percentage of capacity. It's not efficient, but it is what it is. Rural Maine has declining enrollment in schools, and that ups the property taxes. Few students and fewer people able to pay more taxes takes a toll. I love living here, but it isn't for everyone. It's a tough life for the locally born and raised people. Still, many of them just wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and I understand why.

[hebell]

Dear Maine4.us - thank you so much for your detailed reply. I look forward to being up there in just over 2 weeks to see the area.

[frmawy1960]

Does anyone know anything about that property on US 1 on or near Perry that has an abandoned boat, some log shacks, and what looks to be blankets hung up like flags?

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by frmawy1960

Does anyone know anything about that property on US 1 on or near Perry that has an abandoned boat, some log shacks, and what looks to be blankets hung up like flags?

Are you talking about the place on the east side of the road between Pembroke and Perry?

[frmawy1960]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

Are you talking about the place on the east side of the road between Pembroke and Perry?

Yes, that's the one.

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by frmawy1960

Yes, that's the one.

I had driven by there a few times but not quite sure what was going on there, assumed it was Indians selling stuff along the roadside, but that is just a guess.

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by hebell

Dear Maine4.us - thank you so much for your detailed reply. I look forward to being up there in just over 2 weeks to see the area.

So jealous!! Have a blast!

[hebell]

Enjoyed our trip very much. Good food nearly everywhere. We visited Machias, Cutler, Lubec and Eastport. We particularly liked the hikes in the land preserves just above Cutler - walks from the highway out to the Bold Coast. Hard hikes, more primitive than typical state park hikes. Though, I must admit, hiking the entire hike in Quoddy Head State park was also a real workout. Starts easy and gets really challenging. walking sticks were essential, at least for this over-50-year old gal. Camped mostly in Lubec. (Sunset Point - brought our tent).

The TLC comment, within this thread, on homes needing lots of repairs was spot on.
Recommend the Herring museum in Lubec, with kudos to Margie for lots of local info.
Going back-n-forth to Campobello was easy.

With the bowwave of boomers yet to cross through their mid-60s, I'd expect continued downward real estate pressures, since (according to locals), the summer visitors (those not living year round) tend to sell when they reach early to mid seventies. Also, lots of local discussion about nursing home closures.

Great people and lots of grand memories.

We did drive through Millinocket and up to Baxter, in completing our loop. Baxter St Park is for another trip, but man-o-man Millinocket appeared in a deep funk. Glad we went, though, because the drive up to to Calais, and over to Millinocket, gave us a much bigger picture of what's going on economically.