Divorce, real estate and how to work out the buying, selling a house in Maine.

When you are in a divorce, the song goes something like this, sang a little off key "breaking up is hard to do".

Well, splitting up the couple and dividing up the real estate properties in Maine is usually a sad song.

But over half of us are divorced and kids often involved for the better, worse or more of the same.

This real estate blog post is about what happens to the current house, how do we buy or sell any home during a divorce.

Maine law, divorce and the real and personal property means rules to abide by. This blog post is a quick easy read to focus just on the real estate, the properties. This is what I see from my experiences as a Maine real estate broker if a couple splits up.

Real Estate Expressions, Quote Tip Take Out.

Real estate expressions, those little quips, quotes and tips that are well worn but treasured wisdom.

Some expressions more popular than others and a few universal in any language. Like the one about the most important thing to remember in real estate. Right you are. You instantly hit the buzzer and gave the correct three location, location.

Here is one more for good measure.

Location. 

 Heard a new real estate expression, a tip the other day about 1, 2, 3 applied to life. It involves a property sale tip, some wisdom advice.

 This real estate agent from the Charleston South Carolina area considering a move to Northern Maine.

As the couple and I walk in an unplowed long driveway with a boisterous young K-9 pup to a log home with a lot of acreage.

 Here it comes, the real estate expression quote tip...

 She said a mentor real estate broker always said you could do no better than being 1st born, the 2nd wife, the 3rd real estate agent. The last one might not be so easy as the three "L's" answer to figure out quickly. Get why being last, the tail end "3rd real estate agent" can be your best position?

 You could wonder why would you want to be anything but the first real estate agent to list, market, sell right?

 Simple. Overpriced listings don't sell. Period.

 It can take a couple different brands of real estate listing agents  for the owner to figure out it is not the sign on the lawn colors that cause a successful closing to happen.

 But who wants to waste all those six month, year long listing contract time periods with the price stuck too high for a real estate sale to happen? Be polite, realize you can not help them when the price is wrong Bob. Too high and stuck there means you the real estate agent are going to list it, lose it. Spending a lot of marketing time and money. Then getting much flak as musical brokers happens. You can not help that seller who really does not want to sell or has unpossible property price expectations.

How's the real estate market in Maine, how are home sales shaping up today?

What's a house in Portland Maine going for today? What about if I wanted to find a place on a Maine lake or an ocean front home? If you were looking for oh, I don't know, say forty acres or raw land for recreation somewhere in Maine, you would be wondering how are land sales in today's real estate market?

This blog post housing report like others before it jumps into the here and now for current Maine real estate market news.

To sneak a peek and tell the tale of listings, property sales, days on market and actual final sale price compared to the beginning listing one. To take the temperature and report the real estate market findings. So let's hop to it and roll up the sleeve, take the pulse and check the blood pressure of today's real estate market housing report results.

As always, instead of just statewide blah blah blah, an attempt is made to make the statistics have value to a buyer or seller.

If you are in now or plan to be soon one of those two camps, real estate market values are very hot news you can use. It's the biggest investment most of us ever make right? So it's kinda important when your wallet or purse is attached to the news you peruse. That 's why we do Maine real estate market reports.

So the headlines first in Maine real estate new reporting.

This month for the entire state of Maine 7617 current listings are for sale. This compares to 9361 listings a year ago this month period, a reduction of 18.6 percent.

Further study of today's Maine Listing's housing report inventory shows for the year, inventory numbers are off, down 6.3 percent for active real estate listings.

From the latest numbers, there are 955 new Maine real estate listings in the last thirty days.

A year ago this month, 852 new sellers put their Maine property on the market. All these real estate market stats are for residential. Maine is way more than just houses for sale and a little further down the blog post let's look into land listing sales, other property types to round out your take away today. 

 The number of real Maine real estate listings sold over the last year was up 1.9 percent.

For the current month, the number of solds are up nearly 24% statewide. Pending listings,  fingers crossed and expecting to become slid into the SOLD statistics column are up six percent for the last year. The number higher by18.9 percent for this month than a year ago comparison. 

House hunting in Maine. Looking for a home starts first with finding a Maine community.

The location of  where you decide to live in Maine is everything. You know the three "L" real estate chant about what's the most important thing to remember. Picking the best location for this point in your life requires home work.

Because Maine is one tall and wide expansive state to navigate even with GPS or a compass to avoid getting lost house hunting.

So to avoid running in circles and losing your bearings, one by one take the steps to select the right Maine community first. 

This must happen before the eenie meenie miney moe in house hunting from the current inventory selection for the entire state of Maine. Before getting too hot and heavy serious about a home, make sure you have fallen in love with the area first.

The purpose of this real estate blog post is to help outline the best steps house hunting in Maine to avoid getting lost.

I hope it is especially helpful for someone brand new to Maine. That visitor who never or just a couple of times actually stepped foot in Vacationland for a short fun visit. No significant time spent in Maine when you decide to move and relocate here. Kinda makes house hunting like shooting in the dark. Even native Mainers living full time in the Pine Tree state would be a little fuzzy if quizzed on specific areas in the sixteen counties. Maine is a hike to explore and you come for a day, end up staying a lifetime. Find an area of Maine to concentrate on first. Then one by one do the cake walk parade of what is for sale today in your price range and with the feature options you desire.

So on with the blog post show, house hunting in Maine, picking the location.

The areas you study, the one that works best considers many factors. The cost of the house you track and hunt for varies greatly in Maine real estate markets. The long and short of it? Expect to dig deeper, pay more for housing in and around Maine's handful of cities.The cost of housing gets cheaper the further you go up into Maine away from the green bridge on the southern end.

Like anything you purchase, you consider the pros and cons before removing your hand from the chess piece and committing  to the major move. How far the location is from quality community health care, shopping, work if not retired, schools is looked at. So is the lifestyle hobbies you enjoy and that the area of Maine encourages easily and inexpensively.

Mortgage loans to buy a home in Maine.

What types of home buying financing options are out there today to consider? Well for starters, always check with your local Maine mortgage lenders for the best service, lowest rates. To get  advice you can trust. Local bank mortgage financing outlets remove the disconnect. The expensive time delay that out of your real estate market area home loan mortgage providers deliver. Remember, if financing is too slow, if the closing keeps getting pushed ahead, sellers can pull the plug. Decide to not extend the home buying contract agreement.

Let's face it, just talking all the initials jargon and hearing the bank mortgage financing lingo can make your eyes gloss over.

All you know is you want the best interest rate, the lowest closing costs and to have someone study your situation to pick the loan program.

To come up with the best home loan mortgage solution. This blog post outlines quick and easy the types of mortgage loans out there today for buying a home in Maine.

Mortgage loans to buy a home in Maine come in a variety of flavors.

You have your low down, no down payment options. Without a 20% down payment expect to pay for private mortgage insurance buying a Maine home. Maybe an adjustable rate home loan works best in your present situation. Or that local mortgage lender points you in the direction of a fixed rate loan. Regardless, remember to stop renting, start owning and don''t wait for interest rates to become more attractive.

Time is money, and what ever loan option you decide on remember. Your landlord would rather you kept renting than venture bravely out into home ownership. You can always refinance, make an extra house payment and maybe you won't even be in this same home in say five years time. 

Mortgage loans to buy a home in Maine, what are the kinds to consider.

If you are now or were a veteran and served Uncle Sam honorably, take advantage of anything offered in your GI bill benefits. VA loans have many advantages. Veterans buying a home in Maine will find fees others have to pay are not required for the GI.

More on VA home loans.

FHA is another mortgage financing option to buy a Maine home. To know the best lending program to fit your needs best, you have to also consider the home you are buying. The handyman special,  Mr Fix It home you the buyer plan to take your time overhauling. The mortgage underwriting department at your bank lender for a picky loan program may have other ideas. Wanting you to fix this long list of items outlined by the home loan property appraiser before the closing in three weeks. Don't assume the home seller will pick up the tab or to apply  the hammer to in the areas to make the changes the bank loan officer expects. 

12 real estate myths.

Real estate myths, the kind agents, brokers, REALTORS fight and slay like dragons one by one. How they happen and why they keep circulating. A dozen real estate myths that can impact a sale negatively. How they start, why buyers and sellers of homes and even agents keep them going strong.

This blog post is a short read, will list the real estate myths I experience and why in my local property sale market.

Real estate myths. For starters, you, I, everyone likes a good story right?

Not the kind to put someone to sleep like you use on the kids.

But yarn spinning ones sprinkled with not too much fact, the truth stretched a tad for lots of reasons. All seasoned with a little humor. And please and thank you, make it short, sweet, highly entertaining. To go down easy and sound reasonable. Craft it like a good joke worth repeating. 

(Rustling crushed ball of paper being unfolded slowly sound)

On the scribbled blog post list outline, the number one for real estate myths. "Put the price high to end up selling for more" thinking.

Just the opposite happens with that kind of flawed approach to how to price your home for sale. Over priced homes develop ten foot pole marks on their exteriors. Get avoided and lonely because buyers and eventually agents too neglect them. The longer the houses are on the market, the more buyersavoid them and consider them dogs. That's no real estate myth, we hear the reaction from clients practically daily.

Over priced properties help sell other reasonably stickered real estate listings. Makes them look like even better deals in comparison to listings with the sky high price treatment. Double, triple the value or let's build in $50,000 worth of wiggle room properties just don't ever get to closings. They clog the MLS like parked dead in their track cars in the middle of a very fast super highway. The reason overpriced properties don't sell is often off handedly blamed on "must be a poor real estate market". It's not the economy, it the wrong pricing pure and simple. Ignore fair market value and plan to stay in the home for years to come. That's no real estate myth.

Other reasons real estate listings do not sell.  (PSSSSsst. Making a low ball offer works the same way.. very poorly. The seller does not take you serious or is insulted or figures you are a piker. Can't afford a home priced in his bracket on the MLS merry go round of available listings.)

There must be something wrong the home buyer thinks because why is this place still on the market?

Looks okay from the photos, out on the street driving by. Often the only thing "wrong" is the price. All by itself the one factor keeping the home for sale parked way too high up in another MLS property price bracket. It's the price.

The folks searching for where it should be priced don't see it showing up on their devices. The people in the higher price brackets expect more features that it does not have. It's like the Sesame Street song about one of these things does not belong here, is not like the rest.

I blame real estate agents not just the seller myth that they alone are to blame for bloated pricing.

Can you say hanging around too long and developing shelf life with too many DOM (days on market) ? I knew you could. Real estate agents need to tell the truth on home values even if the red faced upset seller hollers "I'm not going to give it away". It does not matter how much the owner has poured into the sticks and bricks. Only so much is coming out according to current real estate home market values.

Homes for sale in Houlton Maine under 100,000 dollars.

It's no hoax or cruel joke. Happens all day long. Check out and see for yourself what's available for current housing available in this price bracket. Affordable homes, plenty of selection is never a problem when you are house hunting in rural parts of Maine. Most of Maine is sparsely populated, pretty much spacious and not jammed in. We are a tad off the beaten path which makes it peaceful not expensive or crowded.

Living in Maine when housing costs are lower, you find you don't need to be chomping at the bit for a pay raise.

Getting by on less and learning to take money right out of the equation is what simple living in Maine is all over. Is it like that where you live now?

What do you get in the price point of homes for sale in Houlton Maine under $100,000 ?

If you scan the sneak a peek link for this price bracket, you see garage, extra bath, fireplace, lots of land and get a place to call home that is not neglected, not a foreclosure property. The extra value in buying a home in Houlton definitely helps the relocating buyer moving to Maine after a recent house sale out of state. Heading to Maine is definitely the right direction to point the car you drive or horse you ride. The out of state home buyer considering small town simple living in Houlton Maine gets more bang for their buck.

Even living in Maine, the housing market values can swing wildly.

The listing prices go up the closer to people you get. Maine only has a handful of cities and is predominantly small rural locations. In the country locations, the price for a home does not spike way up or hang on, down low.

The same home for sale in Houlton Maine for around the $70,000 price point costs in access of $200,000 for apples to apples housing. The land under the home adds considerable costs for the buyer. The larger lot sizes are more precious unless you head further out into the bedroom communities for a Maine city.

Homes for sale in Maine with land.

Maine land listings. One of the largest tapped flavors of real estate listings people in the local Houlton Maine area and from out of state search. How much Maine land to go with the homes for sale depends on the lifestyle choice. If all the home buyer wants some extra land surrounding their house, it may be for a little added privacy. To raise that big vegetable or flower garden. To  build an added shop for restoring furniture, an old boat or antique cars.

Tinkering and having a hobby is so important to the newly retired. Who goes from forty hours or more a week to zip. Oh sure, the first thirty days are a wonderful experience but then boredom knocks on the door. I hear it often. I need a project to keep me busy and occupied when I retire and move to Maine. Those folks buy an old New England farmstead that may need repairs. But the buyer has the time and DIY skills to tackle those updates and renovations head on.

Some Maine real estate buyers are after acreage to wrap around their home.

Or just hankering vacant Maine land. Because the intention is to build now something brand new. Or they purchase the land with the thought of someday, down the road slowly putting up a structure or two on the property.

How much extra Maine land acreage house or no home depends on their budget.

You can be land poor and overloaded with so much acreage that it becomes a property tax burden.

Unless you rent out the fields or farm them yourself is the plan to make money playing in the fertile dirt.

When you live out of state in a populated, expensive area having lots of land around your home does not come cheap.

In Maine, big surprise ... come and get it (dinner bell triangle ding ding ding) low cost land.

Served up hot and ready and even cheaper and super sized larger acreages too the further north east and west you push up into the state. A home for sale in Maine with land becomes so so much easier to make your own. Less expensive prices, not so many people, no traffic, and little crime happens too. Those bonus features and the four season beauty of Maine's outdoor simple living  helps the real estate listings sell themselves. Because it is not like this many other places. And the price tags hanging off the Maine land acreages are impressive. 

Our job as a Maine real estate broker for forty years has evolved from less of a salesman to more of a good listener taking very detailed notes.

To glean what the real estate buyer on the other end of the phone call, the email request or the office visitor is saying. Those buyers if you provide them the time will tell you what they like or don''t enjoy about their present and past homes.

Selling your home and wondering how to make it worth more for resale?

Every real estate market behaves differently.

What expenditures yield the biggest return bang for your buck varies depending on the community.

But we can all agree on one thing selling your home in Maine?

Everyone wants to know what helps or hurts a home sale so they don't waste time or money.

This blog posts drills down into the topic of how to make your home worth more, to sell for a higher price in shorter time.

In a small rural real estate market like most of Maine is, it is always easy does it making home selling adjustments.

Because assuming you have the funds to update the house for sale, what you funnel into a place does not automatically show up dollar for dollar and then some in the closing check proceeds. The more money you pour into a place could be in the wrong areas for return. Or there is a point where no matter how much extra cash you stash into the home for sale, it is wasted. Gone for good and down the drain without added any horsepower to the home's resale value.

Lots of other homes for sale just like yours?

If you are the property owner selling a home in Maine, make sure to not over price it. The longer the place lingers on the market, like food, it goes bad. Real estate mold from hanging around hurts the value more than anything you will ever do to update a home. Make the home under the cross hairs clean as a whistle. Stage it for no clutter. Make it known across the land this one includes a quick occupancy.

Look at the home for sale from all four sides with a critcal eye and a clipboard.

Fill the driveway potholes and mow that grass to bring them in from the curb. But price is right. Nothing to stress more times to make it loud and clear that a realistic price is the cornerstone of a successful and profitable home sale. Nothing works better than bolting on an attractive price to cause a quicker, smoother real estate closing experience. Unless you want the house sale to take years to happen. Is the price tag figure inline with the current housing real estate market inventory? 

Too many projects started and all those loose ends for a home buyer in Maine to absorb during the house tour.

The torn or missing faded flooring when you step into the entry. The missing shutter or broken window. Damage from pets using door trim for a scratching post. Smells where your buyer shifts over to breathing with an open mouth rather than through their nose. Those factors do hurt the sale. But the long list every home owner has tucked away inside their head that they dream someday about doing to the sticks and bricks. Time to scrap that to do list check out and complete any repairs already started just never completed.