Have prices reached the bottom? Who knows?
The recession has changed all the old rules. One day the statistics seem to indicate
things are picking up, but then there will be another spate of bad news. So how do you decide? It all comes down to the old real estate rule
– location, location, location. With
that in mind, we had 3 key criteria that we used to focus where we wanted to
buy:

Homes have held their value – All real estate is local. Really local.
So while the country wide statistics are scary, this area hasn’t been
hit as hard. It’s a desirable
neighborhood with modest homes, built over the last 125 years. Most
have 3 bedrooms with 1.5 baths. But there are some larger and smaller homes mixed in. A nice
house that is realistically priced will still get multiple offers. And there is
a big influx of young families – so much so that the local elementary school is
adding modular buildings to keep up with demand.
Water – The crown jewel of the neighborhood is the public beach. It provides spectacular
views of the lighthouses, ship traffic and the Casco Bay islands. And you’ll see people out playing with their
dogs and kids every day of the week – no matter what the weather (Mainers are
very hardy!). So when we went looking for a house to renovate, we focused on homes that are walking distance to the beach.
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