Properties for sale in Maine needing work or repairs.
A picky no or low down mortgage financing program lending outfit might not be so hand stand happy about a Mr Fix It / Handyman Special home. But the public in rural Maine sure does gobble them up. This real estate blog post points out why less than perfect homes in need of repair are a still a pretty popular category of Maine listing sales. There is a good reason. We are home grown, DIY hands on and farm to table kinda people. Not store bought expensive or flashy nor hired out costly on all the house repair work.
Every real estate market behaves oh so differently. Sparse populated Maine does not rock and roll the same way as urban hot spots of crowded home owners in Atlanta GA, Boston MA, LA, CA or NYC, NY do. Local home buyers have an amazing skill set or know someone that does the is more than willing to lend a hand.
Had a relocating house buyer who was recently widowed and looking to move back to Maine from Florida in the office yesterday. He and his little Heinz 57 variety dog Baxter wanted a country location, some acreage wrapping around a solid but cosmetically challenged home. We toured a country home for sale that did the trick on paper and based on his video cyber walk through experience.
The former builder of the home did an admirable job in house construction. In many ways the Jack of all trades real estate buyer appreciated what he saw on the actual you are there showing. He was ready to buy with cash in hand something from the properties for sale in Maine needing work bargain bin of real estate listings.
The property for sale in Maine needing work had been rented too long and the home seller already owned another house.
She too had been widowed, did not like carrying the burden of two properties to keep up with so a cash buyer showed up at the right time. Sure location times three is pretty darn important. But what trumps that real estate triple stutter is timing, timing, timing. It is time to sell and a buyer pointing out the tasks ahead of him that is shared in a discussion with a home owner was reacted to with positive joint agreement. Discount for cash means the seller does not have to tackle the deferred maintenance issues. Or replace the month to month renter scheduled to move in two weeks.
Properties for sale in Maine needing work or repairs.
Often part of the great attraction is I can buy them outright with no bank appraiser pointing out the obvious. Cash buyers cut to the chase and purchase with an experience eye and the clout to back up their less than listed price offer. Cash is king and with no delay. The motivated seller can hand over the house keys and walk away. Stop the monthly bleeding if there is a mortgage on top of being saddled with the property maintenance, real estate taxes, house insurance, lawn maintenance, snow removal and all the rest the joys of ownership entails.
Sure a secondary mortgage market finance lender on a home loan will want the property deficiencies one by one addressed and removed from the appraisal value check list of required repairs. But when it is reduced to less layers of players… and only a buyer, a seller, a Maine real estate broker to mediate the deal, everything get crystal clear simple. When the buyer is a do it yourselfer who has done the work before as a DIY home improver.
In the most recent example outlined earlier in this real estate blog post, the buyer was ready, willing and able with a certain amount of cash. He could pay this much, have enough left over in the cash reserve from his Florida home sale. To replace the roof, the wood around dormers needing new lumber and then applying the protective aluminum trim.
Doing a lot of the work himself as he and his friendly little dog looking for a DIY project home were ready to roll. So was the seller just losing a house renter on the place for sale so the timing for both cash buyer and property owner could not have lined up more perfectly.
The fact Maine real estate property listing prices are low to the ground helps the process. Moving the less than perfect, not so shiny real estate property listings.
Moving current inventory listings that are anything but stellar needs certain life situations to fuel them. If Maine was crowded with house buyers seeking mostly very expensive homes that could only be bought with a happy mortgage lender things would be different. The tide would turn on property needing repairs or urgent updating.
Helping improve the condition and the limits of the real appraised value figure of the property would be factors. All reflected and addressed in any house sale for the bank approval green light to shine brightly. Pleasing bank underwriting standards would be a given. To create the clear to close memo to circulate between buyer, seller, all the layers of players involved in the lending exercise.
The impact on the transfer in the sale of properties for sale in Maine needing work would not run so smoothly if house prices were sky high.
Maine has lots of affordable housing across the board in all the sizes, types, locations. It just what has a for sale sign out front might need some TLC due to weather, smaller pay checks, the economic conditions of a small town rural economy. Welcome to New England, the land of bartering and trade outs with skills sets shared generously. 
Properties for sale in Maine needing work are tackled by families of tradesmen.
Or groups of sporting enthusiasts that love to hunt, fish, hit the waterfront or ply the recreational trails.
They want a handyman special home that is better than a camp.
That can be used year round anything the vacation in Maine bug bites.
The less than perfect homes for sale in Maine that might be a little neglected are just what the house doctor ordered. Especially for a low income resident that a church groups helps like a houses for humanity tackle. Or a better surroundings for a divorcing family member low on cash but with over the top family support that take on the housing project.
When a relocating buyer looking for a Maine house to buy with a job jar shows up with cash in hand, the more inventory needing love and attention the better.
More selection means a better fit in the house buying matchmaking. Instead of a bank loan process eating up six to eight weeks of valuable time, the cash buyer side stepping the bank mortgage lending delay is a welcome sight. Showing up right on time to save the day for the seller. And buying a property quickly without strings attached and at the same time getting a project to work on for the satisfaction and investment return on the sweat equity.
When you retire from a full time job that creates a big void. Puttering on a place less than perfect is a satisfying challenge for the guy like Bob Vila with all the Craftsman or whatever tools hanging off the belt with the nail pouch and hammer hook.
Unless you have a lot of hobbies to pursue and fill your time, it can be depressing, not all it is cracked up to be in the start of the Golden Years. The something different everyday that a property for sale in Maine needing work provides is therapeutic. And the place under repair and updates is carefully, slowly reworked to make it into the house that reflects the new home buyer feathering his nest how he likes it best.
If the foundation to the dirty but nice home with key location but ridden hard and put away wet house has large crack, major movement. It the roof not only has a new leak around chimney flashing or where the maple tree recently rubbed a hole in the shingling, that is not the end of the World. The real estate buyer looking for properties for sale in Maine needing work and repair is happy.
Grinning ear to ear and chomping at the bit to get started with the rehab house repairs and updates to make it over into the image in his head.
To move forward, take on the risk of a place needing immediate attention. He will dig out the ladder, get up on the roof to seal and protect. To put down a temporary tarp to stop the leakage to avoid most costly damage if let go for a period of time.
He lives for this like it is shop class and chasing down a high grade competition. He can see what it used to be, should be and knows just how to get the place let go back on crack to its original glory.There is a extreme satisfaction or a severe fear fine line between the real estate buyers we deal with daily.
Hydraulic cement in a hair line pour or settling crack foundation separation is one thing. The foundation where you see too much daylight and hear the colorful Maine expression used “the space is big enough to throw a cat through” you know it is more serious. But again, anything can be fixed on a neglected home and the person buying it with the expertise will scoop it up if the price is right. Like a scratch and dent discounted sale price on a blemished household appliance, anything will sell if fairly priced.
Retail me not, clipping coupons and scanning codes. People shopping for real estate, a deal will go to great lengths to secure one.
Look to the great lengths any of us will stoop to nab say a lower priced plane ticket. Changing days of departure and return. Up before the cows to clear TSA inspections for the crack of dawn early bird or red eye flights.
Bringing your own lunch snacks. Less luggage pieces to avoid the surcharge but being highly creative with carry ons to score the lowest flight fare. On the silver bird that soars the friendly skies to vacation destinations. House buyers with the big ticket purchases plan and scheme the same way and it is just being frugal, good business living in rural Maine.To stretch the house buying dollar and have money left over to rework whatever you do buy that always needs remodeling to fit our individual personal tastes right?
Often the colors are all wrong, the shag carpet has got to go in the property under the microscope needing repairs.
Easy peasy ones or the total down to the studs, subfloor and ceiling roof rafters if a total gut job overhaul.
Like the floral curtains, gaudy wallpaper and harvest gold appliances that don’t work anyway. The quicker the better.
With a discounted price, the cash and carry ready to roll buyer has his own color scheme a house vibe to create for his crypt. He or she can not wait to tackle the man cave or she shed or granny flat.
And if no bank is stalling the process, any delay is avoided in the change of ownership of the low cost property with loose ends but the discounted price tag hanging off the real estate listing. If he can pull the trigger. Make it happen.
Clean up, roll in the big dumpster to fill ‘er up to the brim with trash and the delicate sorting out the treasure involved going into house work repairs.
Old car tires up overhead the garage, the dead water heaters on their sides and resting peacefully in the cellar. Just waiting for the heave ho, gotta go. Stripping the wall paper, applying new inside and out house paint. But not until after a scrubbing the decks and total wall to wall gut job or sanitation exercise top to bottom.
Whatever is needed to correct housing deficiencies and to remove the wrinkles and sag to tight up and make better than it was. It can be solved with the right amount of cash infusion along with the rolling up the sleeves love, sweat and tears. Plus lots of creativity and boatloads of patience. No pain, no gain right like most things in life worth working toward in your goals.
After four decades of listing, selling, trading real estate listings in Maine. Nothing would surprise us on what the buying and selling public want to do with their properties. Especially if a death, divorce, relocation or financial hardship is involved.
We get it and realize not all house buyers want loose ends in their single family residence dwelling. A labor of love poured into reshaping the sticks and bricks is not for every house buyer. Especially when they have little or no time and require a bank home loan mortgage lenders approval. A cash buyer can save the day on properties for sale in Maine needing work that a seller is sick and tired ready to sell today.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com | MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA
