Well, here goes. The start to our trek North to Maine, our new home-state. (Brunswick: renting, credit)

[CatherineG123]

I've been following this thread as I am considering making my way up to Maine in the next couple years. The part that has surprised me is Maine's housing prices increasing post COVID-19. My rental property is in the Portland, Oregon. According to Zillow value of my home, I have lost 60K since March 1st. I assumed prices were going to lower in every state, this thread has taken me by surprise.


Cuffler, we must have been typing near the same time and I hadn't seen your post. Congratulations are in order! I am glad your offer was accepted!

[phoebesmom]

Congratulations, that is great news!

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by CatherineG123

My rental property is in the Portland, Oregon. According to Zillow value of my home, I have lost 60K since March 1st. I assumed prices were going to lower in every state, this thread has taken me by surprise.

Using Zillow for values is not a wise thing to do, unless your house is in a highly populated area (large statistical base), and is a generic house in a large neighborhood of generic houses. It just uses very generic formulas and will be very far off of actual market value as often as it may be close.

[WhoFanMe]

Congratulations Cuffler, you're almost home. Your agent did a terrific job of representing you and selling your offer.

If I was advising you, I'd tell you be careful about posting pictures and addresses on a public forum prior to closing, strange things can happen, particularly when you win a multiple offer. I'm sure the readers will be anxious to learn about your inspection, town hall due diligence, appraisal and financing progress. There may be bumps in the road, but with your good attitude, teamwork and her skill, you'll get it done. That will keep us on the edge of our seats until the end of July.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

Using Zillow for values is not a wise thing to do, unless your house is in a highly populated area (large statistical base), and is a generic house in a large neighborhood of generic houses. It just uses very generic formulas and will be very far off of actual market value as often as it may be close.

Absolutely correct, until Zillow enters a home, examines the finishes and systems and analyzes recently sold homes and in your case income and expenses, it's just a guess.

[JD_MD]

Congrats Cuffler! So happy for you and your wife. And best wishes selling your Mom's home in CT; seems like New Yorkers are doing a good job helping those in CT sell their homes so wish the same for you. Would love to see pictures of your new Maine home once the sale is final, etc.

[nm9stheham]

Hey Cuffler,



Good deal for you and your wife, and glad things are moving along the way you want. Let's hope the bumps ahead are all overcome with ease! Is your youngest moing with you? If, so she may find a whole new great world.

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by LarryLogger

So, as I said, I'm just going to be cautious and try to get info about any specific house that is on a well. If that means getting a water well expert to check pressure, I'd consider it just part of home inspection.

FWIW... checking pressure is not meaningful as that is a function of the pump and pressure tank. A couple of worthwhile things that you can do:
- Check the drilling records; some agency in each state keeps that, either statewide or at some municipal level.
- The most important thing you want to see if the flow rate measured when it was drilled. It will be pumped out for some period of time (typically an hour in our neck of the woods), and then well flow rate is tested. If you are at 5 gallons per hour (gph) that will suffice with most families with few outages and just moderate attention to water use. 10 gph would be pretty good. If you want to do a lot of watering of the garden, then more is needed. 1-1.5 gph means you need to be conservative with water use all the time.
- As info, our well in VA, on top of a mountain is pretty slow; it was 1.5 gph when drilled. When it is wet we don't have issues, When a drought comes, we have to conserve more. We never wash cars on this well and sometimes stagger laundry loads through a few days. Go 150' either side to the neighbors wells and they flow 8 and 15 gph respectively! The rock formations there make it highly variable.

- Realize that flow rate and static well depth will vary with wetness or drought. A slower flow well may be fine in wet times but then get reeealy slow in droughts. It all depends in the water table depth versus the well depth and pump depth.

[carnivalday]

Congrats! What a long journey this was. Glad you're almost "home".

[BaltimoreBruiser]

I've been keeping my wife in the loop on this, and we are both super excited that you've managed to find a home! Congratulations! We were equally excited when you were finally able to sell your old home, and eagerly await pictures, news of your MIL's home, and all the great Maine things that you do and encounter. I hope you remain active on this forum long after you settle in!

It also provides us a little hope and inspiration that we might some day also be able to take that leap. It's been our dream for over three years now since I first discovered what I've been missing up there, and every visit and every article just grows that longing. We're wishing you the best!