Looking to Portland Area (South Portland, Brunswick: sale, renting, condos)

[gdubs31]

Been looking at different places outside of Massachusetts to possibly live. We were looking down South initially in Virginia, but I don't think my fiancée wants to be too far from our family. A lot of the searches we have are where my company has offices. One such place is Portland.

Part of the move is just a change of pace from living in Mass my whole life, the other is looking for a lower cost of living. Mass is pretty ridiculous with home prices and taxes. I looked up houses in Portland, Yarmouth, Falmouth, and Cape Elizabeth. Any homes in the latter 3 that are in our price point of about $280k max seem like they would need to be fixed up & not something I'd be looking to do after trying to keep costs down.

We would want to be by if not in the city. My fiancée is a social worker, so I'd imagine there'd be jobs out there for her. We don't have any kids at the moment, but want a place that is safe. Does anyone have any recommendations on places to check out or avoid?

Also a random question, do none of the houses have central AC in this area? Once I put the search criteria in realtor.com it eliminated just about all of the houses.

[HighTechRocker]

Central AC is very rare in Maine due to the age of the buildings. You'll mostly find it in newer complexes and renovated mills. Honestly, you don't need it, especially on the coast. We haven't put in any window units yet and it's July 11th. Nights cool down here.

[River Runner]

I would second what HighTechRocker said on the AC. And we haven't put any window units in yet either. And given that fall comes here in Maine slightly sooner than Massachusetts the period you need it is slightly shorter as well. I say this because I used to live in Massachusetts (having moved down from Maine) and used to drive back and forth between Maine and Mass. to visit relatives and in Mass. we were always slightly ahead in spring coming and Maine was slightly ahead on fall. I can recall driving down the highway and in Maine the leaves would be fall foliage and by the time I got down to southern Mass. (half hour from Providence RI) it felt and looked like summer again. It wasn't a huge difference but enough to notice.

When you said "We would want to be by if not in the city." what is your idea of by? Portland is a very small city and you are in it one minute and then just a few minutes later you can be where you feel like you are in the country. I mean even Brunswick and some of the surrounding towns which are cute towns are only a half hour drive into downtown Portland despite on the map looking like it's a further drive. Gorham about the same. Westbrook is about fifteen minutes. Those are just a few examples off the top of my head but being close to Portland and living somewhere with space and less expense is doable with some looking.

[atrixwolfe]

You can find something for $280 that doesn't need fixing up. Sound like you want new construction though. Look in scarborough, gorham, cumberland. All are a very close commute. You won't find central AC...how ever you can budget into your sale to have a heat pump heat/ac unit installed. They are not expensive and very energy efficient.
I'm looking to ad one in the next few years.
I only just put my window unit in and only turned it on 1 day so far, for the dog more than me.

[WhoFanMe]

I am working with a buyer currently renting in Yarmouth who wants to buy in that price range and it's very difficult as inventory gets gobbled up in days, often in a multiple offer. It will be difficult for you to be nimble enough from MA when competing with buyers who see the house and write an offer the day it's listed (seldomly on the weekend).

I showed 4 homes today to 3 different buyers in Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth at a higher price point than you are looking at and 1 had Mitsubishi wall mounted units, 1 had window inserted and two had neither. I am seeing more of these wall mounted units than I used to see.

[ilovemycat]

I would suggest South Portland. My daughter and SIL bought their house there in the low 2's a couple of years ago. Their good friends, another young couple, bought earlier this year in the low 2's as well. I know prices have risen since a few years ago, but with a max of $280,000 there should still be some. It is a great little city.

I concur about the AC. We don't even have window units. We do have ceiling fans in most rooms and there are a few days each year I wish we had AC, but it is livable without them.

[gdubs31]

Thanks for the input. I think I don't really want to be anywhere more than 30 minutes from my job. I'm okay with suburbs, but I still want to have local amenities without having to make a big trip somewhere to just get groceries or go to a restaurant.

The houses in Portland & South Portland seem very reasonable, however not sure if the neighborhoods are good. We're going to make a trip up on labor day weekend to look at the area. When I search I've been looking at 3 bed, 2 bath houses with a garage. There are really nice townhouses & condos that are updated & wouldn't need immediate work. I am finding the single family houses that are like that but they seem to be mostly in Saco & Biddleford & are 45 minutes from my job. When I expand to $300k better options pop up from closer suburbs.

River Runner or others from Mass, would you be able to tell me how taxes and general cost of living compares with Mass? Currently I have a house on a half acre for about $3900 (doesn't include trash pick up) a year.

[ilovemycat]

Taxes will be much higher in Portland than South Portland. I would attribute it to the number of schools in the two cities. My daughters taxes are similar to yours, they abut a park on about 1/3 acre, or maybe more.

[jeremywolf81]

Saco and Biddeford are 45 minutes from Portland? Maybe if you're going slow and taking the long routes... but given some of your other criteria you really probably wouldn't want to live in Biddeford at least (Saco is a bit better).

[jeremywolf81]

Originally Posted by ilovemycat

Taxes will be much higher in Portland than South Portland. I would attribute it to the number of schools in the two cities. My daughters taxes are similar to yours, they abut a park on about 1/3 acre, or maybe more.

That and the fact that the City of Portland looooves to spend money