I'm a survivalist Realtor in Western Maine. I will work with buyers on
the many retreat-type properties in the foothills of the northern
Appalachians in the region of Rangeley, Maine.There are many, many properties that I have access to which are further away from me - at least 3/4 of the state has retreat-type properties - so can travel further, or refer buyers to another broker. Maine is loaded with reasonably priced (and going lower!) large lots with, or without buildings. Lots of grown up old farmland from 5 - 500 acres - one remarkable 20,000+ acre parcel nearby that I'm very familiar with! Only about 1.3 million folks in this whole isolated state, mostly large forested tracts owned by corporations far away, and we have an excellent long seacoast.
Plenty of game
from moose & deer to turkey, waterfowl, fish, and tasty partridge.
One hour from our office to the closest stop-light!Maine has low property taxes for these types of places and relaxed gun laws, in fact it's a good place to buy guns without registration, as there's a statewide weekly publication where people sell things, including lots of guns, directly, not to mention livestock, feed, building supplies, etc., etc..
Zoning generally isn't a problem as far as efforts at farming go.
There are a few small cities - Portland is the largest with only about 100,000 people, so someone could possibly continue to work, and be 1 1/2 hrs. from their retreat, and there's not enough people to clog the roadways.
The area by our agency, near Rangeley, is a mountain and lake resort-type area, so properties are a bit higher, and if anyone were to look at our web site, I wouldn't want them to be turned away by prices. However, prices that seem high to me are considered cheap to people from other areas. Having said that, I would also say that the few large properties yet undeveloped nearby (say 40 acres for $175,000, or 23 acres for $150,000) are just gorgeous, and in a very beautiful area that will provide lots of fun recreational things to do while waiting to see what happens with the economy.
There are plenty
of affordable retreat properties in back of the more expensive coastal
areas - you can choose to be closer to a little civilization, or to be
at the end of a dirt road in an unorganized township, and the taxes on
those can be really cheap, like $130 per year for 150 acres! Wooded
lots a little further out (that may have some fields remaining) in what
were farming areas can be had for as little as well under $100,000 for
100 acres, and plenty of 5 to 40 acre parcels for $12,000-to-$39,000.
Generally water is easily accessible in the state, and dug wells are
still very common. If you look at a map of Maine, you'll see that it's
absolutely covered with ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. It is very
possible to harvest ice (from ponds) for refrigeration. I've done it
myself more than once, it works well, and isn't too hard to do.Homes sell for a good bit below the national average statewide, and in the outlying areas they are much cheaper.
As
a native, it's been my experience that locals will be very friendly if
you are outgoing with them, or if you like, they will leave you alone.
Generally speaking, Mainers are self-sufficient, helpful, fairly
educated, and all in all, good folks.We are quite far from any possible military or terrorist targets. New York City is about nine hours drive away. Where I live is 185 miles from Quebec City, 215 mi. from Montreal, 230 miles from Boston, and 120 miles from Portland, Maine, while being very close to New Hampshire and Canada if someone wanted to skip over the border for whatever reason. New Hampshire, for instance, doesn't have an income tax, but they hit you hard on real estate tax.
I am happy to chat, or e-mail with any curious or interested preparedness folks. Every cent I make goes into my own preparations and I'm very interested in meeting like-minded people to possibly with whom to partner-up. Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst - I feel there's no better example of "erring on the side of excess!"
This (and the picture at the top of the page) are of a cabin on a 70-acre parcel near Andover. There is a 4 acre hilltop field and absolute dollhouse of a log cabin built by the
lady who began to import Jotul wood stoves into this country. It is very private, surrounded by forests and mountains. Near Andover, Maine.$290,000
15 off-grid acres out of Eustis on a river.
$95,000
61 private acres of old farm land. Phillips, Maine
$69,000
Secluded cabin on 18 acres on Hunter Mountain, near Strong.
$69,900
How about bugging out to Maine, business & all ? Nearly 20,000 sq. ft. modern light manufacturing facility on very private 7.85 acre lot by a tiny village. Have fresh appraisal for $495k, selling for bank at repo price of $250k !! 'Puritan work ethic' abounds. (#706), or how about something at a major 'port of entry' adjacent to U.S. Customs? (#606) Or ask about very, VERY large parcels of wilderness land.
Richard Frost, Realtor
E-mail: richard@morton-furbish.com
Cellular phone: 207-491-8970
Ask for me at Morton & Furbish Agency Phone: 207-864-5777
