# Can you homestead in Maine?



## RemysMama07 (Mar 18, 2009)

*Hubby and I found some land up in Maine that's reasonable and we were curious if it would be possible to homestead there. I figure we can build a greenhouse for our garden and be okay raising our goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits with a good heat source. Any advice is greatly appreciated!*


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## Beltane (Nov 27, 2005)

Beautiful country up in Maine.  I love living in this area but sometimes the winters can be _very_ long.


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## Jan Doling (May 21, 2004)

If you can homestead in Alaska, you can homestead in Maine. Homesteading is basically a state of mind anyway.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

There are farms in Maine, even in the northernmost part of the state. Mostly potatoes, hay, and dairy farms, but also apple orchards. Yes, you can homestead in Maine -- you can homestead just about any place if you know how. IMO, Maine is a good place to homestead; it's probably where I'd be right now if my Grandmother hadn't asked me to return to Oregon to stay with her.

Kathleen


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

Anywhere you can put a roof over your head, you can homestead. Just don't confuse homesteading with making a living. It's really rare that anyone can make a living without some type of outside income. For the average homesteader, that means having a JOB. A problem with trying to homestead where you can afford the property is the lack of jobs in the area. Plentiful jobs (in ordinary times) drives up the cost of properties within driving distance. I don't mean to sound negative, but I hate to see people get less than they had antisipated. <> UNK


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

Maine is, in my opinion, a great place to homestead. And there are a lot of us homesteaders here. Our winters are long, cold and often snowy but are not really any worse than most of the other northern states. 

Raising animals and gardening are really no more difficult than in other northern areas. Greenhouses are great but lots (probably most) do fine without them. In western Maine, where I live, our frost free growing season is generally from late May to late September. Most things grow well most years and on the years that are not so good for one thing, it's usually a great year for other things. For example if we have an unusually cool, wet summer, it might not be a great year for tomatoes but things like lettuce and broccoli might produce bumper crops.

What part of the state are you and your husband looking at? There are HT members from several parts of the state. Maybe we could give you some more specific info if we knew what part of the state you were interested in. In general though, Maine is a great place to live.


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## Quiver0f10 (Jun 17, 2003)

What part of Maine? We were trying to get started in Fort Fairfield ( Near Caribou) but Dh's job has brought us to Arkansas. We hope to go back up that was soon.


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## pyrnad (Jan 22, 2006)

What Part of Maine are you looking at? We are in Franklin county. Yes you can homestead here.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Come on... Don't lie.

We all know that it's just too darn cold in Maine. So cold & damp that years ago they attached the barns to the houses so they wouldn't freeze doing chores. Well maybe you can stead if your a snowman.. :nana:



P.S. It is a very nice state up there and yes it is possible if you can get by on the low wages. The cold also keeps out the riff raff.


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

Walter Jeffries and his family homestead in Maine and post here, as well as others. Just search or google for his name at Sugar Mountain Farm, West Topsham, Maine. ldc


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

ldc said:


> Walter Jeffries and his family homestead in Maine and post here, as well as others. Just search or google for his name at Sugar Mountain Farm, West Topsham, Maine. ldc



I thought he was in VT?

Regardless, we're moving to the Bangor area this summer and will hopefully be giving it a go up there.


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

I recommend you reading any and all of Helen and Scott Nearing's books on homesteading. They lived in Maine for many years and are considered the homesteading teachers are our time..at least in my opinion. Good Luck !!


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

Helena said:


> I recommend you reading any and all of Helen and Scott Nearing's books on homesteading. They lived in Maine for many years and are considered the homesteading teachers are our time..at least in my opinion. Good Luck !!


Isn't Elliot Coleman from Maine too?

And Johnny's Selected Seeds is in Maine.

And this might be of interest to the original poster as well.

http://www.mofga.org/TheFair/tabid/135/Default.aspx


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

RemysMama07 said:


> *Hubby and I found some land up in Maine that's reasonable and we were curious if it would be possible to homestead there. I figure we can build a greenhouse for our garden and be okay raising our goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits with a good heat source. Any advice is greatly appreciated!*


Nearly all land in Maine is private owned. Very little state owned land. So 'NO' you can not file a homestead in Maine.

You can however buy land. I have bought forest land for $300/acre and $900/acre. I have 42 acres of forest land that is river frontage. And 105 acres of forest that has no river access.

Our property taxes have been running around $1.05 per acre.

There are many people here in Maine, who farm and market their farm produce.

Behind our house:









A bit further:









At the river looking left:









looking straight:









looking right:











We have an apple orchard, this year I am planting nut trees.

We have raised beds with garlic and onions, strawberries, beans, tomatoes and various veggies.

We have two small greenhouses, and plan to build more.

We have goats, sheep, hogs, chickens, beehives.

We have 5 acres that produce fiddleheads.

We are currently collecting maple sap, cooking down syrup.

I have been a vendor at a local Organic Farmer's Market.

We also have a lot of CSAs.



MOFGA 
http://www.mofga.org/

Is a huge resource, and a great fair each fall. Dozens of workshops teach all of the skills needed for farming.



FEDCO 
http://www.fedcoseeds.com/

Is a great seed, tree, and tuber supplier. Many of the local organic farms Co-Op with them as suppliers of their seed and bareroots.



Come on up and look around


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Fedco is in Maine, too, and so are many of their growers.

Kathleen

ETA: you beat me to it, ET1. Your place sure is beautiful!


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

RemysMama07-



> ...I figure we can build a greenhouse for our garden and


Only some crops need a greenhouse. Many folks do corn, tomatoes, and such fine outside.

We only use a greenhouse for early sprouting.





> ... be okay raising our goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits with a good heat source. Any advice is greatly appreciated![/COLOR][/B]


"A good heat source" for livestock?

Livestock are their own heat source. 

Our goats and sheep are mostly outside. We have pens, built from loading pallets. 3 pallets form 3 sides, another pallet makes the roof. Very strong able to support 4 foot of snow load easily.

We live mostly beneath a thick forest canopy, so our goats and sheep are back within the forest. They get no wind that way.



What region of Maine are you looking at?


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## RemysMama07 (Mar 18, 2009)

*We're looking in Northern Maine, just south of Edmundston. My husband is wanting to build a log cabin once we move there, do the laws up there allow that? Are there a lot of permits needed? I've gotten spoiled here, there are no permits and you can do whatever you want as long as you pay your taxes.  I'm getting excited, Maine sounds really nice.*


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

RemysMama07 said:


> *I'm getting excited, Maine sounds really nice.*


My observations, it's culturally a world of difference from the South, which is one of the reasons we are leaving where we are in eastern NC and moving up there.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

RemysMama07 said:


> *We're looking in Northern Maine, just south of Edmundston. My husband is wanting to build a log cabin once we move there, do the laws up there allow that? Are there a lot of permits needed? I've gotten spoiled here, there are no permits and you can do whatever you want as long as you pay your taxes.  I'm getting excited, Maine sounds really nice.*


Log cabins have a very low R value. They require annual maintenance as the logs shrink and the chinking falls out.

Our new home has an R of 60, at 2400 Sq Ft we use 3+ cords of wood a year for heat.

I would advise that you re-think the log cabin idea.

Would not do something cheaper?

Most of Maine [52%] is 'Unorganized Townships' {UT]. I live in a UT.

In UTs you only pay state property taxes. the state has one tax assessor.

Building permits are easy to get from the state. $75 gets a 5 year permit. that one permit can be used to build dozens of structures. So plan ahead of time.

Organized Towns have a mayor, selectmen, clerks, building inspectors, PDs, FDs, lots of folk on salary. All those salaries make taxes higher.

UTs have much lower taxes.


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

Dwayne Barry said:


> Isn't Elliot Coleman from Maine too?
> 
> And Johnny's Selected Seeds is in Maine.
> 
> ...



Yes, he is. In addition to companies already mentioned, Pinetree Garden Seeds is also here in Maine.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

I have seen realtors with nice websites showing property asking far more than the local price for land.

If you are looking at any land selling for more than $1,000 per acre, I would suspect a scam.

Folks from away, may be used to seeing land prices that are higher. So they are easy prey for scams.

Now there is land in Maine that is being marketed for higher prices. And every now and again such transactions do happen. Folks come in from 'away' not knowing what local land prices are.

I paid $300 per acre for forest land that has easy access to freeway, power / phone / DSL available at the pavement.

I paid $900 per acre for land that has the river frontage.

There is one adjoining property that a realtor is currently listing for $2000 per acre, hoping that someone from 'away' will buy it thinking they are getting a deal.

I have another adjoining property that is for sale asking $300 per acre.

Just keep in mind that some folk who market land for a living want higher prices, to increase their profits.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

RemysMama07 said:


> *Hubby and I found some land up in Maine that's reasonable and we were curious if it would be possible to homestead there. I figure we can build a greenhouse for our garden and be okay raising our goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits with a good heat source. Any advice is greatly appreciated!*


It would be a big help if one has a good job while getting started.:happy:


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

edcopp said:


> It would be a big help if one has a good job while getting started.:happy:


I agree.

It has very little connection to today's current recession either. Maine has not had a strong economy since, since, well 1920.

A very depressed local economy, and it has been for decades.

If you come here, you really need to job lined-up, or your own self-employed business that you can move, or a pension.

I have a pension, and my Dw has a part-time job that transfered her to this area.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

ET1 SS said:


> I agree.
> 
> 
> 
> If you come here, you really need to job lined-up, or your own self-employed business that you can move, or a pension.


What I tell people wanting to move here is better bring your own money, not 
many decent paying job opportunities north of Portland.


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## Tom in TN (Jun 12, 2007)

RemysMama,

You sound like a very intelligent person, so you've probably given serious consideration to this possibility. Here are my observations:

1. Have you ever been in Maine during the winter? It's brutally cold.

2. Have you ever been in Maine during the summer? The mosquitoes and black flies are plagues.

3. Have you ever lived in Northern culture? It's nothing at all like Southern culture.

4. Do you have any relatives in Maine? It's very difficult to leave parents, children, cousins, grandparents, close friends behind and move out of their lives.

5. Do you have children? What to do you want for them? Is that available in rural Maine?

As you might guess, I wouldn't leave Tennessee for Maine. I lived there for three years when I was in the Navy back in the early '60s. I made a concerted effort to blend into the culture away from the Navy. I found it to be interesting, but not something I'd want to commit my life to.

Good luck with your choice.

Tom in TN


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## fin29 (Jun 4, 2003)

I'm from exactly where you're thinking of moving and I'm there often, and while I'll say that yes, you can homestead there, you better come with lots of cash or a medical degree or teaching certificate if you plan to be employed. I know people who homestead on the St. John and a family that did it on an island in the Allagash, and they are some of the toughest people I know. The economy is very depressed right now, and while incomes don't rise like they do everywhere, costs (esp. fuel oil and gasoline [around $2.25/gallon right now]) do. Land's cheap but the higher costs of amenities and services WAY more than offsets that. The cost of groceries are off the charts. Potatoes are cheap, though..

All that said, I love the place. People are friendly once they know you're vested in the community. Anonymity or even simple privacy is impossible unless you're anti-social, so be prepared for that. And you better learn French, because you'll be missing out on two out of three words if you don't.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

ldc said:


> Walter Jeffries and his family homestead in Maine and post here, as well as others. Just search or google for his name at Sugar Mountain Farm, West Topsham, Maine. ldc


He's in Vermont.



Tom in TN said:


> RemysMama,
> 
> 1. Have you ever been in Maine during the winter? It's brutally cold.


For a short period of time. It's seldom too cold to be outside enjoying the snow.


> 2. Have you ever been in Maine during the summer? The mosquitoes and black flies are plagues.


They're temporary. By black flies are are usually gone by July. Maine Nature News (mine) has weekly black fly reports. Mosquitoes settle down during the heat of the day. Neither pest likes the wind so if there's a good breeze you get a break.

RemysMama, we farm in Maine. There isn't a vegetable we haven't been able to grow. We start some seeds inside and move them to a heated greenhouse to give them a head start. Otherwise, they might not ripen before frost. Tomatoes, peppers and squash that take more than 100 days are started this way to be on the safe side. I use high tunnels, low tunnels, hoop houses and greenhouses on my farm for season extension but it's not necessary to have these to feed yourself. We have apple and cherry trees. Wild harvesting is an option - blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and mushrooms come to mind quickly.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

ldc said:


> Walter Jeffries and his family homestead in Maine and post here, as well as others. Just search or google for his name at Sugar Mountain Farm, West Topsham, Maine. ldc


Walter Jeffries is in Vermont


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## Riverrat (Oct 14, 2008)

If you want the log cabin look, build a normal home and put on log cabin siding, great R value and still gives the log look. I have family in Edmundston, and we are up that way quite a bit. Beautiful country but does have cold winters. I live in New Brunswick, and we grow large gardens, and we do not have any green houses to start then in. 

It is a different life style up this way, lots of snow in the winter, cold temperatures, and long nights. But to walk out on a cold winter night and look up at the sky, see the stars that look close enough to touch. Hear trees crack from the cold. In the summer there are bugs, but you adept, wear a bug jacket if necessary. I have lived next door to Maine most of my life, went to a few different places, but ended up back home and this is where I will stay. I love it here!

Good luck with your move....


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

I was just thinking, there are home builders in this area who specialize in fairly modern homes where they have split logs and attached them as siding on the outside. So they 'look' like log homes, but have good insulation.


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

"For a short period of time. It's seldom too cold to be outside enjoying the snow."

Right, especially if you're active. OTOH, when it's 90+ degrees and high humidity (we have about 3 or 4 months straight of that weather in eastern NC) there isn't much you can do to be comfortable.

"Mosquitoes settle down during the heat of the day."

Down here they're particularly bad in the evening, when it might just be cool enough (not really though) when you can go outside and work without getting drenched in sweat. Regardless, it's never cool enough to put on clothes to keep them off you.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Short answer...yes you can buy rural land to farm....

BUT!

You will be taxed and fee'd to death and I'm not talking just about property tax which can be cheap if you live in unorganized areas or file for ag discount. And laws will prevent you from selling much beyond eggs from your place....

You will need an outside source of income whether it is retirement, SS or a job, a good job in Maine pays $40 k a year with expensive you pay healthcare.....

If you can live with small potatoes lifestyle....yes! But the money has to come from another source to pay the necessities.

My neighbor with a hundred head of dairy cows has his wife work to keep insurance for example...


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

mpillow said:


> ... You will be taxed and fee'd to death and I'm not talking just about property tax which can be cheap if you live in unorganized areas or file for ag discount. And laws will prevent you from selling much beyond eggs from your place....
> 
> You will need an outside source of income whether it is retirement, SS or a job, a good job in Maine pays $40 k a year with expensive you pay healthcare.....
> 
> ...



LOL

Yes that is a very common complaint.

It happens in the high tax states too 

The cost of health care is high everywhere stateside.

Fortunately Maine is no longer among the highest 'tax burden' states.

But even with our current low taxes, the feeling lingers on among old timers.

We were very fortunate to have moved here. In our travels we had never experienced such a low cost-of-living or low taxes, in our travels.

It is hard to beat property taxes of $1.05 per acre 

And our vehicle taxes are a joke 

But it is said that back in the 1980s and before that Maine did have comparatively high taxes.


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

ET1 SS said:


> Fortunately Maine is no longer among the highest 'tax burden' states.
> 
> But even with our current low taxes, the feeling lingers on among old timers.


We're not? When did that change? From a study of fiscal years 1994 to 2004, Maine was the second highest taxed state in the country (overall, not just property taxes). http://www.heartland.org/custom/semod_policybot/pdf/19897.pdf 

I love Maine and its people and think it is a great place to live and homestead. I can't deny though, that we are a heavily taxed state.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Murray in ME said:


> We're not? When did that change? From a study of fiscal years 1994 to 2004, Maine was the second highest taxed state in the country (overall, not just property taxes). http://www.heartland.org/custom/semod_policybot/pdf/19897.pdf
> 
> I love Maine and its people and think it is a great place to live and homestead. I can't deny though, that we are a heavily taxed state.


In 2008 Maine ranked 15th.

The highest Maine has ever climbed wsas fifth.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/

My income is not high enough to qualify to pay Maine income taxes.

$15 each year for my cars' taxes are not bad in my book.

And $1.05 per acre per year for property taxes are nto bad at all.

You really need to look at the tax level in other states.

I have paid as high as $5k per year for property taxes for a home, $500 a year for vehicle taxes.

In my experience, I have never lived in such a low taxed state before


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

ET1 SS said:


> In 2008 Maine ranked 15th.
> 
> The highest Maine has ever climbed wsas fifth.
> http://www.taxfoundation.org/
> ...



I guess it all depends on which source you look at. I like yours. It sounds much better. I didn't realize things had gotten as much better as your source says. I am glad of it. 15th highest still isn't great bit it's better than it was.

I envy your $1.05/acre property taxes. You've got to admit though, the vast majority of Mainers don't live in UT's like you do and pay much higher property taxes. In the town I live in, for example we're taxed at a rate of, I believe, $13.90 per $1000 of assessed value.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

The simple majority of Maine is UT, it is rural.

52% of Maine's land is all within Unorganized Townships. The majority Maine townships are Unorganized.

You are correct that most people in Maine locate themselves in the more heavily populated urban regions. The denser urban areas are organized so they can provide a higher level of municipal services and have hordes of folk on tax-funded salaries; which raises property taxes.

For anyone considering moving to Maine, as I recently did. I would have to recommend that any future 'homesteader' look at Maine's UTs. 

If you have all of Maine to choose from; why choose the minority of towns who pride themselves on having higher taxes? When Maine does have so many rural UTs.

If you are going to be farming, ranching and trying to earn a living from your property to support your family; why start the process with a higher tax burden?

IMHO, It makes no sense to do so.

Most of Maine is under-populated rural; most of Maine is forested; most of Maine has lots of rivers, lakes and ponds; and most of Maine has a very low tax base.

Forest land is available at $300 per acre, or less.

We do share a short growing season, though every where you look is lush green vegetation.

Since most townships of Maine are rural and blessed with such low taxes, it makes sense to me that these areas are an excellent choice for prospective farmers.

Folks who want to live off the land, away from urban noise, crime, bureaucrats, and high taxes, can find near paradise in Maine.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

There is a new trend in some of the remote areas to start value assessing/taxing the first acre at $30k in "recreation" areas. Our camp is in a plantation and this has affected our taxes GREATLY (almost doubled)
My parents in a UT area saw an almost $300 increase so if trends continue I'm sure that Maine will return to the top taxed states....
Health insurance premiums are high because no out of state competition.....


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## perennial (Aug 23, 2004)

We considered moving to maine from MA as a fair amount of our family live in Maine. It is a beautiful state - I love midcoast Maine. The things we considered where:

1. Job for hubby - he's is a technical guy and his line of work there were NO jobs or ones that paid decent and/or what would be options if he lost his job.

2. If you want anything near the coast (i don't mean beach front), it's very expensive;

3. grocery food was taxed - i think 4 or 5%;

4. For us, we didn't want to still be shoveling boat loads of snow when we were old;

5. the old saying by even members of our family - 10 months of winter, 2 of summer;

6. Black Flies are the evilest little things that about take a piece of you with one bite! 

For these reasons, we didn't move there BUT if we ever won lots of money we would have a tiny cottage to visit for vacations!

It is a beautiful place and if we had been independantly wealthy or didn't need to make a living, we may have ended up there. THEY HAVE THE BEST BLUEBERRIES IN THE WORLD! I miss visiting so, so much.


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## Ken in Maine (May 10, 2002)

Just a little cryptic comment...

If you can't make it where you are living... you probably can't make it in Maine... especially northern Maine.

Maine is a land of very harsh climate.. poor leadership.... (remember Collins and Snowe are only two of three republicans who voted for Obama's bailout) not much oportunity for advancement. It is also one of the "greyist" states... by that more people are retiring here than other places which means increase in health care and costs.

If I was looking for a nice place to move to it would not be Maine but rather North Central Tennessee or South Central Kentucky. Nice climate... Nice country and nice people.

Watch the Discovery channel American Loggers and you'll get a reasonable idea what the population around here is really like.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

ET1 SS said:


> In 2008 Maine ranked 15th.
> 
> The highest Maine has ever climbed wsas fifth.
> http://www.taxfoundation.org/
> ...


What the heck are you drivin'? The wife paid almost $600 in excise tax and registration last year for her 2007 Ford Fusion. We live just outside Bangor and property taxes on our modest (under 1000 sq. ft) home were $1,800. Any of the decent property I've seen, other than wetlands or large tracts of remote, recently logged land, is going for $1,200 to $1,500 an acre and up.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

gilberte said:


> What the heck are you drivin'? The wife paid almost $600 in excise tax and registration last year for her 2007 Ford Fusion. We live just outside Bangor and property taxes on our modest (under 1000 sq. ft) home were $1,800. Any of the decent property I've seen, other than wetlands or large tracts of remote, recently logged land, is going for $1,200 to $1,500 an acre and up.


Vehicle property taxes in Maine are base on the vehicle's blue book MSRP, and then is a percentage which drops each year. Until the vehicle gets to be 20 years old. Then it shifts to a flat fee of $15.

We drive older vehicles.

We are seven miles from the freeway, on forested 'Treegrowth' land in a nearby Unorganized Township [a UT]. Most of Maine is UTs [52% of Maine]. UTs have very low tax mil rates.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

ET1 SS said:


> Vehicle property taxes in Maine are base on the vehicle's blue book MSRP, and then is a percentage which drops each year. Until the vehicle gets to be 20 years old. Then it shifts to a flat fee of $15.
> 
> We drive older vehicles.
> 
> We are seven miles from the freeway, on forested 'Treegrowth' land in a nearby Unorganized Township [a UT]. Most of Maine is UTs [52% of Maine]. UTs have very low tax mil rates.


You aren't talking about the same state...

These folks are moving to downeast maine. Taxes are high, land prices are high, cost of living is high....Pay is low. And the mainer dirty little secret...

Only a family that was there for the war... counts. This would be the Indian wars.. 1600's. The rest are new comers period. The locals treat you well because you have money and don't need a job. If it was different.... It would be different.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

mpillow said:


> There is a new trend in some of the remote areas to start value assessing/taxing the first acre at $30k in "recreation" areas. Our camp is in a plantation and this has affected our taxes GREATLY (almost doubled)
> My parents in a UT area saw an almost $300 increase so if trends continue I'm sure that Maine will return to the top taxed states....
> Health insurance premiums are high because no out of state competition.....


Your taxes are high simply because your right by Augusta. Area's by you took part in the MBNA real estate prices....


For those that don't know...
MBNA moved their call centers to down east Maine.. They came in before the official announcements and bought up 1000's of acres in close proximity to the local towns. They then got the towns to give them the tax breaks.  They built buildings etc. promised high dollar jobs. Well the locals didn't have the "training" needed for the high paying jobs. So they only got the 9$ an hour caller jobs. They brought in all the finance folks...They then sold the property back into the market and made a fortune. Payed for the total move. This is of course good business. But it caused the property values to increase. This caused higher taxes. So basically the simple mainer got it put to them again.

This is the way it works in maine. The poorer folks take it on the chin.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

stanb999 said:


> You aren't talking about the same state...
> 
> These folks are moving to downeast maine. Taxes are high, land prices are high, cost of living is high....Pay is low. And the mainer dirty little secret...


Really?

"We're looking in Northern Maine, just south of Edmundston."





> ... Only a family that was there for the war... counts. This would be the Indian wars.. 1600's. The rest are new comers period. ...


Such has not been our experience.

On Maine forums I know many other folks from away living in Maine. Not everyone feels they are treated in such a manner.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

ET1 SS said:


> Really?
> 
> "We're looking in Northern Maine, just south of Edmundston."
> 
> ...



I'm WRONG!!! LOL

What I meant was that the folks talking about high costs are talking about DownEast....


I said you'd be treated well because you have cash. It's your kin that will notice it when they go into the job world.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Actually here in China our taxes are low....really....only $100 more yearly then our camp in Coplin PL that gets the recreation tax. (granted we do not live in a Mcmansion and have no road frontage but our camp is real nice as far as "camps" go) 

Its not that cold here!!....I've already heard frogs in our pond.My chives are an inch high! But you can spend all your free time working just to stay shoveled out and warm thru the winter and swatting flies and weeding/harvesting and preserving thru summer and Fall. Work is my friend. 

What Ken said is VERY true....Maine is not a state that would be considered easy to live in....preparing for what each season requires and offers is key. Cutting/burning wood and farming/gardening and hunting/foraging have been the means to being able to pay for health insurance(over $1000 a month), eat and be warm plus afford the taxes.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

mpillow said:


> Actually here in China our taxes are low....really....only $100 more yearly then our camp in Coplin PL that gets the recreation tax. (granted we do not live in a Mcmansion and have no road frontage but our camp is real nice as far as "camps" go)
> 
> Its not that cold here!!....I've already heard frogs in our pond.My chives are an inch high! But you can spend all your free time working just to stay shoveled out and warm thru the winter and swatting flies and weeding/harvesting and preserving thru summer and Fall. Work is my friend.
> 
> What Ken said is VERY true....Maine is not a state that would be considered easy to live in....preparing for what each season requires and offers is key. Cutting/burning wood and farming/gardening and hunting/foraging have been the means to being able to pay for health insurance(over $1000 a month), eat and be warm plus afford the taxes.


Of all the advise I've seen on this thread.... This is spot on. Life is hard up there.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

stanb999 said:


> ... What I meant was that the folks talking about high costs are talking about DownEast....


I agree.

I often hear it called the 'Volvo' line. Down South in Portland, along the NH border and following up the coast; folks do whine that everything is expensive.

As you go North and / or go more rural, we walk away from that expensive-ness.

The further North and / or the further rural you go; the cheaper land prices are and the lower taxes are.

One state with both urban and rural, does not get along well. The urban center has the voters, so they control a lot of statewide spending. There are rural areas in California too, but that state is controlled by L.A. and S.F.



Fortunately most of Maine is UT.

When you have 10 people or less per square mile, you just can't built much of a city. And it is the cities that demand more municipal services and demand higher taxes.





> ... I said you'd be treated well because you have cash. It's your kin that will notice it when they go into the job world.


Could be.

My pension is about equal to flipping burgers full-time, minimum wage.

My Dw works part-time in a grocery store. [In fact they have been having problems convincing anyone to work as vender-stockers so 2 weeks ago I started stocking shelves. I am still amazed that nobody wants to stock shelves. We have told most of our friends about the openings, too.]

But you are right, the economy here is so low that one adult with a minimum-wage job can support a growing family. It has been this way for ever.

A family with two minimum-wage earners does appear to be wealthy. 

I have noticed this before.

Long term depressed economy however is exactly what you want when your looking at trying to support yourself with a farm.

In an area where families prosper on one minimum wage income, means that everything is cheap.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

mpillow said:


> Actually here in China our taxes are low....really....only $100 more yearly then our camp in Coplin PL that gets the recreation tax. (granted we do not live in a Mcmansion and have no road frontage but our camp is real nice as far as "camps" go)


I am not familiar with recreation taxes for camps.

About half of the properties in my township are camps, what is this recreation tax?





> ...
> Its not that cold here!!....I've already heard frogs in our pond.My chives are an inch high! But you can spend all your free time working just to stay shoveled out and warm thru the winter and swatting flies and weeding/harvesting and preserving thru summer and Fall. Work is my friend.


Our garlic is coming up 

Soon it will be fiddlehead season 





> ... What Ken said is VERY true....Maine is not a state that would be considered easy to live in....preparing for what each season requires and offers is key. Cutting/burning wood and farming/gardening and hunting/foraging have been the means to being able to pay for health insurance(over $1000 a month), eat and be warm plus afford the taxes.


True.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I think that because our camp is on the ITS and near Flagstaff, Rangely, Dead River, Sugarloaf Appalachian trail etc. The town(part of Stratton/Eustis) did real estate research that showed 1-2 acre lots routinely selling for 40-50k....location is (was) everything....and they aimed to cash in by instituting the first acre be valued at $30k plus add'l land and structure. Tax value in 1997 was $18k in 2008 it has reached $66k (30k being the first acre) so 2007 was tax value at 36k....this move saved them the trouble of paying someone to do abatements....and guaranteed them big bucks in taxes. The mil rate is $8.55.

The tax value is still much lower than market value....by at least half. The amount of winter shoveling required is more than double, however!


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## Ken in Maine (May 10, 2002)

In Maine water is King when it comes to taxes! The highest rates, of course, are on the coast but even here way inland your rate is based on how close to water you are. You are taxed higher on a lake or pond than on a river but it is still based on water. Our property (28 acres) is just one lot away from the Sabasticook River... keep in mind that because of the lay of the land I have ABSOLUTELY no view of the river from any point on my land BUT the last tax assessor wanted to raise my taxes based on this unwritten rule of thumb.

Where we are located the property had been subdivided in 2001 into 8 lots of varying size and one common lot of 5 acres. The common lot is nothing more than a played out gravel pit and can only be used by the lot owners in the subdivision. The gravel, under no circumstances, can be sold and only used within the subdivision. The lot owners have to split the taxes equally by lot. The assessor evaluated this useless property at $22,000.00 because it is one lot removed from the water and is taxed at several hundred dollars per year. It is taxed higher than a lot that is in the subdivision that can be used and bought and sold. One 7 acre lot's taxes was $145.00 but not within the rule of thumb regarding the water.

I raised a stink a few years ago and suffered the " law of unforseen consequenses".

What's that law you may ask?????

The tax collector had the Code Enforcement officer visit my property because of some bedding ( from my goats) that was being turned into compost... They said I was polluting the aquifer...

The Department of Environmental Protection came for a visit ( with the COE) because it appeared I was illegally crossing a seasonal brook on my property with my tractor without a crossing permit. ( People put in culverts for driveways all the time with out permits) The Forestry dept. visited because supposedly I had cut wood without the necessary permits. That was nonsense because I had in my possession all the permits and paperwork that was filled out by my logger

The nutrient management expert from the Dept. of AG also came out because of my composting activity.

All this was to no avail because every item and issue was done legally and with proper permits.

The other item of interest is the fact that the nearest corner my property is 1500 feet from the public road. All of which goes to say that as soon as they came off the public road they were tresspassing... a point that was made to each of these individuals and to which they all agreed they were trespassing but for some reason it didn't matter.

Oh well... enough rambling... Maine is a great place to live if you have the stomach for it.


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