The process of buying or selling Maine real estate is emotional.
Because it involves red bloodied people with feelings. Not Vulcans, not just the sticks and bricks. And think about it. In a home, babies are brought into them to grow up. 
Celebrate birthdays, play with neighbor kids in the backyard. Get local jobs for money to spend.
Often at some kind of eatery.
Go off eventually in a couple decades to their own homes for a repeat of the same history.
The old familiar house of Gram and Grampy when too frail to stay there alone gets put up for sale.
Moving, shuffling has to happen to a new place. From an old one called home for generations.
If no one in the family steps up to the plate to buy the Maine home to preserve the heritage.
But that kind of raw emotion, excitement full of new hope for the first time Maine home buyer. Or deep sadness for the owner who passes on, no longer lives there. But that was a fixture in the local Maine area. Both can cause feelings good or bad to build up, take off and to soar.
In the case of regulations, what needs a permit and the simple what you used to be able to do that you can not now. We run into lots of heated emotions with waterfront property in Maine.
Because the lower cost waterfront listing offerings give the buyer plenty of hope, excitement. But they are priced that way for a reason. Come with snags, limitations. Buyers don’t like bubbles burst.
Limitations, like buying the runt of the litter of something cute and furry.
Much of our job in real estate is education, tour guide, to set expectations.
But the imagination, the wouldn’t it be nice if I could do this. That all creeps in too.
If the real estate professional does not keep a hand on the pulse.
Watch the reaction and listen to comments on what the buyer is planning to do.
And steps in to make sure in conversation, in writing too that it’s acknowledged by everyone in the room.
Prior to the Maine real estate closing. A lot. And again the discussion with witnesses all made aware. To put the expectations with the waterfront property listing do’s and don’ts into perspective.
Set in concrete with lots, plenty of rebar reinforcement.
Explained fully. Education is powerful but works best early on. Not after hurt feelings, jumping to conclusions, expensive lessons that could have been avoided take place.
So later when “no one told me comes up”, because yes we did. Had to, lots of folks from the town level to the attorneys, bankers closing the deal, an appraiser or soil tester if involved all did too. Echoing loudly like a Maine lake loons shrill cry. 
It is the law, what shoreland zoning in Maine allows or not without detailed steps to get a permit.
Stop them, rein them in and clearly, calmly spell out that you will not be able to build closer than 100 feet from the Maine lake on an empty lot.
That a septic system soil test to see if the lot is even buildable is needed. With thought, concern about neighboring wells, septics, boundary side line set backs. To know for sure if what they expect to happen actually can.
Without buying more land to go with the Maine lake lot. To put the septic system, the expensive one in that costs more than they planned for across the road… pumped up a hill. All part of the oral discussion, put in writing to give it teeth too.
So after the Maine property sale when suddenly the waterfront 
development limitations that no one seemed too concerned suddenly are.
Air raid sirens going off.
Finger pointing, accusations, it is all escalates to level crazy. Causing one major stir.
Even claims that the seller, Maine real estate agent, broker, lawyer, owner all knew I wanted to do this. And would not be able to when it’s years down the road.
The Maine waterfront buyer could in the beginning but not now years later.
And they did not get their foot in the door, do what you could before the options dried up. Or became beefed up big time.
As Maine shoreland zoning only gets more protective, restrictive. Enviromental legislation makes existing waterfront property listings more valuable but empty lots to develop more restrictive.
Part of the sour grapes is on a Maine lake you see other cottages, camps, homes that are right on the edge of the shoreline. Big sweeping lawns, cleared out and rock free along the water line. 
Pretty white fine sand hauled in, retainer walls slid into place.
And all the other taboo improvements the creative Maine waterfront home owner had pop into their mind.
Because a bulldozer pushed the boulders to the sides or removed them all together years ago.
Before shoreland zoning regulations kicked in. Were inked into law.
The new buyer wants what the old grandfathered in Maine waterfront property owner has.
But can not afford to buy the property with all those added features not possible to create from scratch today.
Have had Maine real estate buyers with a dream of being on the waterfront, with a very small budget to pull it off. And being attracted to issue riddled smaller Maine waterfront properties they could afford. That come pre-loaded with problems that don’t go away.
Restrictions and when pointing out you can not do this, or because of that this is not possible. The buyer can get annoyed and think I am raining on their parade. Being a wet blanket. Pointing out what you can and can not do upfront just works better than finger pointing, hot under the collar after a 
sale.
We work with waterfront properties, shoreland zoning daily.
Over the years have seen the evolution from do whatever you want to better check with the local muncipality.
To see if anything new has been put into place that removes freedoms. Offers more natural resource protections. Has to be that way in Maine. Because if no one watchdogs, protects the waterways, they won’t be clean for long and all the wildlife, man too suffers.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton ME 04730
