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And that's the conundrum for those who want to live in Maine: pay a lot of money to live within commuting distance of Portland. Or pay very little to buy a house in rural Maine.
What's your take on the greater Bangor area? My husband and I aren't really interested in Portland (as high prices and traffic are what we're trying to get away from) but aren't in a place in our life where a rural area would suit us. We're both full-time professionals and rural living sounds better for when we retire.
I wouldn't live right in Bangor but that's just me personally. (For a small city, its traffic can be surprisingly obnoxious).
There are probably twenty small towns within half hour of Bangor, and housing will generally be a bit cheaper than in Bangor.
Plus there are probably another dozen tiny villages within half hour of Bangor. House options in those places would be even cheaper (what houses there are).
Waterville might be an option for you: a bit smaller than Bangor but I like it more than Bangor.
I wouldn't live right in Bangor but that's just me personally. (For a small city, its traffic can be surprisingly obnoxious).
There are probably twenty small towns within half hour of Bangor, and housing will generally be a bit cheaper than in Bangor.
Plus there are probably another dozen tiny villages within half hour of Bangor. House options in those places would be even cheaper (what houses there are).
Waterville might be an option for you: a bit smaller than Bangor but I like it more than Bangor.
Interesting...my husband and I were thinking of renting our first year in Bangor or Brewer, then buying a house, like you said, within a half hour of Bangor to get more land and lower property taxes.
I will definitely look into Waterville, I've heard of it but know absolutely nothing about it.
Bangor presents a lot of options. You can live in the city and enjoy the benefits and drawbacks, a close suburb in a subdivision, or get a little bit away from town and live in a rural area. You can really live a rural lifestyle in small, safe communities with the knowledge that there are cultural, entertainment, dining, transportation, and shopping options nearby.
I live about 16 miles from Bangor in a rural community and purchased a 20-year-old three bedroom house on 1.8 acres a year ago for about $140,000. I'm from the northern part of the state and have lived in the southern part of the state and think that the region I'm in now offers a happy medium: big enough but not too big, close to the mountains, not too far from Acadia and Baxter, close to the ocean, a reasonable drive home, and a short day trip to Portland and coastal towns.
I'm a big fan of Waterville too but would suggest that you explore both.
Since you'll be retired, if you really want rural living look into Aroostook County, some of the small towns in Piscataquis and Somerset Counties, and Washington County, particularly away from the coast. You will be isolated, but you can still live near a community with stores, a hospital, and transportation options. Winters are long, but some people like that.
Bangor presents a lot of options. You can live in the city and enjoy the benefits and drawbacks, a close suburb in a subdivision, or get a little bit away from town and live in a rural area. You can really live a rural lifestyle in small, safe communities with the knowledge that there are cultural, entertainment, dining, transportation, and shopping options nearby.
I live about 16 miles from Bangor in a rural community and purchased a 20-year-old three bedroom house on 1.8 acres a year ago for about $140,000. I'm from the northern part of the state and have lived in the southern part of the state and think that the region I'm in now offers a happy medium: big enough but not too big, close to the mountains, not too far from Acadia and Baxter, close to the ocean, a reasonable drive home, and a short day trip to Portland and coastal towns.
I'm a big fan of Waterville too but would suggest that you explore both.
Since you'll be retired, if you really want rural living look into Aroostook County, some of the small towns in Piscataquis and Somerset Counties, and Washington County, particularly away from the coast. You will be isolated, but you can still live near a community with stores, a hospital, and transportation options. Winters are long, but some people like that.
That's what we're looking for, a little bit of everything! We love the outdoors and would love to spend weekends visiting Acadia, Baxter, and of course the coast. We love visiting Boston but would only need to go once or twice a year.
Another fan of Waterville, wow! I just asked my husband and he said he's heard of it but has never been. He lived in Hancock County for three years (Southwest Harbor and Ellsworth) and loved it.
We're nowhere near retirement unless we win the lottery (fingers crossed), we're in our early 30's and plan to start a family in Maine once we get settled.
I know the little towns of Ohio well. Lebanon appears cute and small but yes the farms are selling out to cheap housing developments.
Lebanon was a nice place 40 years ago, now not so much, you can have small town charm or you can have strip malls and cookie cutter developments but you can't have both. The out of control run away development in this area is a travesty and an eyesore.
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Originally Posted by zalewskimm
But yeah I wonder often when the big box ugliness of much of the US will attack Maine.
Hopefully never, the McWal-culture is a sickness to any community. As much as it irritates my wife I will get off the interstate at Yarmouth and drive US 1 all the way to Eastport, even though it adds 2 hours to the drive. Being able to see the various towns trapped in time in a bygone era, each one unique in it's own way will always be worth seeing.
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Originally Posted by LoLo4444
I read this article when it came across my Facebook timeline a few days ago. My husband and I would LOVE to buy a "fixer-upper" house and remodel it but we have ZERO knowledge and experience in construction/renovation. When we do buy a house in Maine, we would love to buy one we could renovate and make our own. However, buying a house that needs to be renovated would depend solely on finding a contractor we can count on and of course the house with the renovation would need to be within our budget. I've always admired people with the skill set to renovate and repair houses! I plan to take classes on basic home repair from Home Depot or Lowes (or anywhere else that offers them) once I start house hunting.
The house I live in now is a fixer-upper, been on projects as time and money will allow so I am getting a lot of practice. A lot of the vacant houses in Eastport have leaking roofs, windows that will not completely close, foundation issues, need to have knob and tube wiring and 2 prong outlets replaced, heating systems replaced, etc. one is an obvious tear down.
Two of the vacant houses have been owned by great aunts and uncles and it is tempting to buy one of those but they are out of my price range.
That's what we're looking for, a little bit of everything! We love the outdoors and would love to spend weekends visiting Acadia, Baxter, and of course the coast. We love visiting Boston but would only need to go once or twice a year.
Another fan of Waterville, wow! I just asked my husband and he said he's heard of it but has never been. He lived in Hancock County for three years (Southwest Harbor and Ellsworth) and loved it.
We're nowhere near retirement unless we win the lottery (fingers crossed), we're in our early 30's and plan to start a family in Maine once we get settled.
What professions are you in? Have you looked at the job opportunites in the area?
There are many outlying towns within the greater Bangor area. Generally speaking, the further out from Bangor you go, the less the taxes. Some in the immediate area are what we consider high, but I don't know from where you are coming, so maybe it would be cheaper for you.
There are quite a few empty homes in those outlying areas.
There are plenty of cities seeing increased demand for housing that are far more accommodating than Portland as far as quality home-stock is concerned. Price is one variable, quality of the homes is another. I've been looking at houses in the area for roughly 8 months and the lack of decent updated homes is appalling. Are they even building new homes in the Portland area for less than $300k?
I don't know why you should feel that you should be "accommodated", or why a 'city' should do it.
The market is what it is. People own homes and land and ask what they want for them, if there are people willing to pay those prices then there is no reason for them to go lower. If you cant afford it, well, that's just too bad. I'd like to have a beachfront vacation home in Malibu for $150k, should I expect to be 'accommodated'? No, of course not, it's a ridiculous idea.
Apparently, you aren't looking very hard. In less than 10 minutes I found a number of opportunities that would come in under your $300k figure: land for $25k-$125k that you could build new on; condos and townhouses, and here's a single at about half your figure:
But I'm guessing that you aren't interested in 'opportunities' like that, you just want to P&M that no one will hand you a brand new turn-key 2500 sq. ft. 3bed/2bath on 2 acres in downtown Portland for $300k or less.
What professions are you in? Have you looked at the job opportunites in the area?
There are many outlying towns within the greater Bangor area. Generally speaking, the further out from Bangor you go, the less the taxes. Some in the immediate area are what we consider high, but I don't know from where you are coming, so maybe it would be cheaper for you.
There are quite a few empty homes in those outlying areas.
My husband is in the IT field, an industry that we know will be hard for him to find work in outside of Portland. Our ideal situation would be for him to work for a company (most likely outside of Maine) that allows working remotely from home. That's common in his field, in his current job he and his coworkers rotate working from home one day a week. If he's lucky enough to find that we can live anywhere we'd like, but we're not counting on that. Once he does secure a job, that will dictate where we can live. We know he'll be taking a pay cut, but we're prepared for that.
I'm a social worker/case manager and it's always been pretty easy for me to secure employment. I've also noticed social work jobs in the Bangor area pay about the same as Orlando which I found bizarre since the cost of living in Orlando more closely resembles that of Portland.
Another reason we're looking at Penobscot County is my desire to start grad school in a few years and UMaine has good options for their Master of Social Work, but that's not a deal breaker.
Really, we're trying not to have our hearts set on any specific area, securing full-time jobs is #1 on our list, but of course these forums are helpful in deciding where to look. We'll rent out first year then start house hunting once we're settled. We're looking to move this upcoming summer as our lease ends July 31st.
Thank you for the suggestions, I find the people on the Maine forums to be so helpful!
The market is what it is. People own homes and land and ask what they want for them, if there are people willing to pay those prices then there is no reason for them to go lower. If you cant afford it, well, that's just too bad. I'd like to have a beachfront vacation home in Malibu for $150k, should I expect to be 'accommodated'? No, of course not, it's a ridiculous idea.
But I'm guessing that you aren't interested in 'opportunities' like that, you just want to P&M that no one will hand you a brand new turn-key 2500 sq. ft. 3bed/2bath on 2 acres in downtown Portland for $300k or less.
Good luck with that.
I agree with your entire post. Since this thread is about vacant homes, I have a question for you. Do you think another reason homes in Maine sit vacant is the low cost of land? I've noticed a few people in the Maine forum buy land at an excellent price, then build their house on it. That's very rare where I'm from (Orlando). I'm very impressed that people can do that in Maine.
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