Viewpoints on settling near Lewiston/Auburn? (Brunswick, Topsham: city hall, houses, landscaping)

[Boomerang]

Hi everybody,

As some of you may know, we thought --- after a lot of research and planning - that we might be settling down somewhere between Cumberland and Harpswell, but the fickle finger of fate has intervened. Back to Square One.

Now we have the possibility to relocate job-wise to the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Frankly I've only run in and out of L-A to take family members to their doctors or the hospital, go shopping, whatever, but never toured around the back roads.

Well, today we toured and I fell totally head-over-heels in love with some of the surrounding areas. Some fantastically beautiful views out there, and real pride of ownership in the homes, farms, and gardens. Flourishing agriculture makes my heart go pitty-pat

Turning to realtor.com I got sticker-shock looking at the taxes on some houses in Auburn. Holy moley! On paper, Brunswick has a worse tax rate ($22 per thousand while Auburn was around $19 I think) but at least with B'wick the most expensive houses seem to have the highest tax bills, while in Auburn, I'm seeing taxes all over the place - sometimes even inexpensive houses have pretty stiff tax numbers. Can anybody 'splain please (Flycessna?)

I hate to get my hopes up again, but just in case things work out for us, I'm wondering if y'all could give me your ideas, opinions, facts, feedback, any house-hunting tips at all about the towns within reasonable commuting distance of L-A. We'll know within a short time if things are looking good or not; if they are, we'll have to make some vital decisions fast.

I'd sure appreciate it - thanks!

[elston]

I agree.....we found some really beautiful houses (realtor.com) in Auburn and some in Lewiston also.....gorgeous homes with beautiful landscaping, one with a green house attatched for growing orchids....the prices were excellent...the homes seemed to be well maintained....but the taxes were a killer...if you project out the cost over some years...the difference was a deal breaker.

One person asked us "if you don't buy here because of the taxes....please write to city hall and tell them....they don't seem to listen to us."

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by elston

I agree.....we found some really beautiful houses (realtor.com) in Auburn and some in Lewiston also.....the prices were excellent.......but the taxes were a killer...if you project out the cost over some years...the difference was a deal breaker.
One person asked us "if you don't buy here because of the taxes....please write to city hall and tell them....they don't seem to listen to us."

Right, when I looked in my price range the houses were awesome, but the taxes gave me heart failure. Once you add that kind of payment onto your monthly mortgage, wow, it's like you could borrow an extra $50,000 for a house in another town at the same price! And I don't think the homestead exemption is going to help a lot.

OTOH, with gas prices the way they are, we also have to consider the cost of commuting. At least you get to write off some of your taxes. Money for gas is just gone. But I don't know how retired folks ever come up with that kind of cash each year for their taxes. Not that I think I'll ever be able to afford to retire , just mulling things over.

Also floating the idea of going totally freelance on at least one salary, which has some benefits in claiming home office and perhaps some travel expenses, but I'd really have to find out more about that.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by Boomerang

Hi everybody,

As some of you may know, we thought --- after a lot of research and planning - that we might be settling down somewhere between Cumberland and Harpswell, but the fickle finger of fate has intervened. Back to Square One.

Now we have the possibility to relocate job-wise to the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Frankly I've only run in and out of L-A to take family members to their doctors or the hospital, go shopping, whatever, but never toured around the back roads.

Well, today we toured and I fell totally head-over-heels in love with some of the surrounding areas. Some fantastically beautiful views out there, and real pride of ownership in the homes, farms, and gardens. Flourishing agriculture makes my heart go pitty-pat

Turning to realtor.com I got sticker-shock looking at the taxes on some houses in Auburn. Holy moley! On paper, Brunswick has a worse tax rate ($22 per thousand while Auburn was around $19 I think) but at least with B'wick the most expensive houses seem to have the highest tax bills, while in Auburn, I'm seeing taxes all over the place - sometimes even inexpensive houses have pretty stiff tax numbers. Can anybody 'splain please (Flycessna?)

I hate to get my hopes up again, but just in case things work out for us, I'm wondering if y'all could give me your ideas, opinions, facts, feedback, any house-hunting tips at all about the towns within reasonable commuting distance of L-A. We'll know within a short time if things are looking good or not; if they are, we'll have to make some vital decisions fast.

I'd sure appreciate it - thanks!

Its all in the value. realistically, city values of properties are supposed to be what the home would actually sell for. The problem is that city valuations are kind of locked into a time capsule.....and then to complicate things even more, a real problem is that the city actually allows people to argue that their property is overvalued.....in which today....that could be true because of the recent down turn in the market....which brings me back to the real reason we have city valuations....it is nothing more than to create an even playing field over time and make it so everyone is paying their fare share compared with their neighbor. we all know how some areas of town may see bigger increases in their homes value compared to another part of the city....maybe because of a new school or something....so at leat with respect to fairness....it would be better if the city locked in those values and kept them until they completed another city wide valuation.

Now with auburn taxes in general.......looking at photo's online will confuse anyone when your not familiar with an area. Its all about location. Auburn is 67 square miles and has some areas of town similiar to downtown lewiston and other areas similair to the nicest neighborhoods of yarmouth ot cape elizabeth. Actually, Auburn....mostly....is extremely scenic with many nice to very nice to wow, i'll never afford this neighborhoods.

So basically in a nut shell....those homes that look nice but the taxes are lower might not be in the best area.

Also keep in mind that realtors are selective how they photograph a home. There many occasions that I went to an open house that looked great online but when I got there was a tear down.

DM me with any listings your interested in and I'll take a look. I can generally figure out where they are

[juststoppinby]

As far as some of the surrounding towns within a commutable distance, check out the following towns:
Hebron, Minot, Turner, Sabattus, Lisbon and Greene.
There are other nice towns but these are fairly close and have beautiful neighborhoods. Easy commute for the most part and maybe lower taxes.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by flycessna

Its all in the value. realistically, city values of properties are supposed to be what the home would actually sell for. The problem is that city valuations are kind of locked into a time capsule.....and then to complicate things even more, a real problem is that the city actually allows people to argue that their property is overvalued..... So basically in a nut shell....those homes that look nice but the taxes are lower might not be in the best area. DM me with any listings your interested in and I'll take a look. I can generally figure out where they are

Ah, I see....and of course, because I was born with a champagne taste and a beer pocketbook, naturally I'm going to like the locations I can't afford...(why isn't there a smiley handy with a tear rolling mournfully down? )

Thanks very much for the offer to pinpoint any interesting listings I'm gathering a wish-list and if things go well, will be looking really hard (and planning to throw myself on the mercy of the tax clerk if necessary )

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by sdstlouis

As far as some of the surrounding towns within a commutable distance, check out the following towns:
Hebron, Minot, Turner, Sabattus, Lisbon and Greene.
There are other nice towns but these are fairly close and have beautiful neighborhoods. Easy commute for the most part and maybe lower taxes.

Sdstlouis, thanks for the additional votes on these towns. We've liked (a lot!) the portions of Hebron, Minot and Turner we've seen while travelling along the western edge of Auburn - will have to dig deeper <fingers crossed>

[moughie]

How about Gray or New Gloucester?

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by moughie

How about Gray or New Gloucester?

They're on my list I've been through these towns more often than the ones closer to Auburn and like them.....but I'm very much attracted to the views and countryside a bit farther north and was hoping I might be able to settle up that way.

[mainepics]

Consider Sabattus. It borders Lewiston and is an easy commute to just about anywhere in Lewiston or Auburn. As for taxes, you'll have to check, I know my parents, who pay that bill, aren't crazy about it, but I don't know how they compare to L/A. The new exit there is nice and as for scenery...think woods and farms. My parents bought their place about 6 years ago. They got a great price for such privacy (20 acres on a dead end road), have neighbors who actually check in on my mom durring storms when the power is out, and yet they're still close to everything. A bonus of Sabattus as far as location is that it's the same distance to go to Brunswick/Topsham area to shop as it is to go to L/A area (depending on exact location of course). There are things in the B/T area that L/A doesn't have and vice versa, so it's nice to be in the middle. I'm in the process of adding some pictures of Sabattus to my album right now, feel free to check them out.