Best towns in Maine to buy a home (Portland, Bar Harbor: oceanfront, how much)

[mkraney]

My husband and I are looking to purchase a 2nd home on the waterfront in Maine, to be used by us (mostly during the summer) and also, on occasion, as a vacation rental. We are looking for a home that is not too far from one or more 'cool/interesting' and/or picturesque towns and also has a decent grocery store. We have about $800,000, more or less, to spend on a house. What areas/towns would you recommend? We are just turning 50, so not in the 'elderly' category, yet!

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by mkraney

My husband and I are looking to purchase a 2nd home on the waterfront in Maine, to be used by us (mostly during the summer) and also, on occasion, as a vacation rental. We are looking for a home that is not too far from one or more 'cool/interesting' and/or picturesque towns and also has a decent grocery store. We have about $800,000, more or less, to spend on a house. What areas/towns would you recommend? We are just turning 50, so not in the 'elderly' category, yet!

800K for deep water oceanfront might buy you a fixer upper. But wherever you buy, check out the local burglary rates.

Also keep an eye on where they're thinking of building those offshore wind turbines, which will spoil the view and hurt whatever equity your oceanfront investment might accrue.

Also take into account sea level rise, unstable shorelines, and Maine's regulations governing the use of shoreline property (you just can't cut down that tree to get a better view).

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

800K for deep water oceanfront might buy you a fixer upper. But wherever you buy, check out the local burglary rates.

Also keep an eye on where they're thinking of building those offshore wind turbines, which will spoil the view and hurt whatever equity your oceanfront investment might accrue.

Also take into account sea level rise, unstable shorelines, and Maine's regulations governing the use of shoreline property (you just can't cut down that tree to get a better view).

be careful outdoornut....you keep hurling boogers around....I'm going to ask a wiccan witch to cast a burrowing tick spell on you!!


for 800k in the market you can get much more than a fixer-upper,,,,, I think them ticks are already getting to you..

[retiredtinbender]

You could get a nice place just about anywhere on the coast with that. Definately more than a fixer. Have you narrowed down an area or just in the beginning stage? Best advice I could give you is VISIT. Scope the place out a bit and see what you like. And what you don't. But be leary of advice from folks that don't visit the state.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by mkraney

My husband and I are looking to purchase a 2nd home on the waterfront in Maine, to be used by us (mostly during the summer) and also, on occasion, as a vacation rental. We are looking for a home that is not too far from one or more 'cool/interesting' and/or picturesque towns and also has a decent grocery store. We have about $800,000, more or less, to spend on a house. What areas/towns would you recommend? We are just turning 50, so not in the 'elderly' category, yet!

It's going to depend on whether you are looking at lake front or ocean front property, how much frontage and what kind of community you are buying into.

[RMoore007]

Originally Posted by mkraney

My husband and I are looking to purchase a 2nd home on the waterfront in Maine, to be used by us (mostly during the summer) and also, on occasion, as a vacation rental. We are looking for a home that is not too far from one or more 'cool/interesting' and/or picturesque towns and also has a decent grocery store. We have about $800,000, more or less, to spend on a house. What areas/towns would you recommend? We are just turning 50, so not in the 'elderly' category, yet!

You sure have a lot of positives working for you. I would think "on the waterfront " could mean many different things. I'd stay in the southern third of the state. Lots of rivers, lakes, inlets and bays to choose from and you'd be nearer a few more states to play in. Can you adopt me? j/k

[mkraney]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

You could get a nice place just about anywhere on the coast with that. Definately more than a fixer. Have you narrowed down an area or just in the beginning stage? Best advice I could give you is VISIT. Scope the place out a bit and see what you like. And what you don't. But be leary of advice from folks that don't visit the state.

So far we are looking at places between Portland (and maybe just a little bit south) to Bar Harbor. We will be vacationing in Maine in the Spring, but want to have an idea of those gems of towns and/or locations that are super.

[mkraney]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

It's going to depend on whether you are looking at lake front or ocean front property, how much frontage and what kind of community you are buying into.

We are interested in Ocean front property. How important is the deep water dock? My husband wants a purchase a boat that we can meander around in - do we need a deepwater dock or is it better to keep the boat in a marina or something? Also, how can I look up the depth of the water at high and low tide? We have visited Maine 15 years ago and I remember a large variance in the tide.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by mkraney

We are interested in Ocean front property. How important is the deep water dock? My husband wants a purchase a boat that we can meander around in - do we need a deepwater dock or is it better to keep the boat in a marina or something? Also, how can I look up the depth of the water at high and low tide? We have visited Maine 15 years ago and I remember a large variance in the tide.

Tide Charts for Maine-Downeast | Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors

The further up the coast you go,the higher the tides. York, I believe are about 10 ft (just looked, that's the highest normally) and Eastport will be about 22 foot (sometimes higher). If you find a place with a dock it will be easier than arguing with DEP and possibly Corps of Engineers (Boston) on putting one out. Just sayin'

[slyfox2]

Where do you live now? And are you planning on actually moving into the vacation home sometime in the future?