All Forum Posts by: Jen Whitehead

For my sales agent license, I took an online course through Arthur Gary's school in Westbrook. They have a different name now, The Real Estate Institute of New England. For me, this was great because I have three children and at the time I was also on the school committee in Gorham, which was very time consuming. I was able to do a live course for my associate brokers course. I took that one through the Real Estate Learning Group with Ed Getty. It was very nice to meet so many other agents from around the area but I don't think it's necessary for you to be in person. 

Oh yes definitely possible! I was an investor before becoming a licensed Realtor in Maine. At first i intended to use my license just for our own investments, but quickly fell in love with helping others. This year Ive been able to help my clients buy and sell 27 properties, over $7 million. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to talk about the process of becoming a real estate agent in Maine!

That is a great question! I'd love to know if there is one too. Last time we listed our rental in Gray, Maine, we just used apartments.com. We didn't need to list anywhere else since we received well over 20 applications. I often look at apartments.com, facebook marketplace and craigslist but I don't know of any others. 

The rental market is extremely competitive in southern Maine. I get emails from other real estate agents everyday looking for rentals for their clients. I also see friends and family posting on facebook looking for apartments for their friends. I have a few friends that do property management and they all have waiting lists. 

@Matt Maitz, Yes I am a Realtor! I'd love to talk with you and see if I can help. 

@Gregory Mizzi Wow, over 80 acres sounds amazing!!! You'll most likely be able to build just outside of shoreland to make things easier for you. A lot of people moved here from out of state since the coronavirus because of the ability to work from home. I would definitely check into the internet and cell coverage of the area you're looking to buy. I'm not sure if it's the same in the Bangor area (I live outside of Portland) but everywhere I go businesses are desperately looking for employees. I think another really cool business that would do well on 80 acres up north would be a bunch of small hunting/fishing lodges for rentals, and if you became a hunting/fishing guide that could be another income stream. 

Hello! I'm originally from Maine but lived many years in NYC before moving back home. We have a cabin on Little Sebago that we use personally and rent out a few weeks in the summer and then we rent it out on a longer term basis from October to May. There are a lot of small cleaning businesses that would help you clean it out and prepare for the next renters at an affordable rate.

But I just wanted to mention you will definitely want to pull permits in Maine for any building. If you don't, chances are very good you'll pay a lot more in the end. I know of a neighbor who had a long expensive court case and still had to tear down the house they built without permits. 

Another thing to consider is if you're trying to build near shoreland, there are a lot more rules. This is a good guide for you on that. https://www.mainerealtors.com/...

Best of luck to you! You're going to love it and may not want to return to NYC. 

@Jillian Reber, I have more experience with the areas west of Portland. I live in Gorham and work throughout this area. The values have gone up tremendously this year but I have noticed some listings starting to stay on the market more than 3/4 days and reducing their prices.  A lot of people who work in Portland look for housing west of Portland for affordability. My husband and I own rentals in Westbrook and Gray. We have done very well. Our last vacancy, last September, we had close to thirty applications and many were excellent candidates. One of my friends is a property manager in Portland and she said they have huge waiting lists for apartments. Nearly every day I get emails from other Realtors about clients looking for rentals and see friends posting on fb trying to help someone they know looking for rentals. 

I have sold homes west of Lewiston/Auburn as well such as Oxford, Bridgton (one of my favorite towns in Maine) etc. From what I've noticed, the prices in these areas are definitely lower than west of Portland but the rentals are similarly lower. 

I may have missed this but have you been to Maine before? If not, I would recommend coming for a visit and checking out these four areas. You can most likely find a place that will work in terms of numbers but will you be happy there? 

@Jillian Reber, Hello, as others have said Maine is a a big place and you'll find there are a lot of differences among regions but even between the towns and cities. I grew up in South Portland and some time in Lewiston. I currently live in Gorham and work as a Realtor and investor throughout York, Cumberland and Androscoggin Counties. I'd be happy to chat with you about those areas if you'd like to learn more. Also, once you narrow down your search, you'll find fb has a lot of specific community groups where you can connect with locals and get an even better idea of the location. 

As far as an exit strategy, I can speak to southern Maine, you'll find the appreciation has been incredible! I have a client who bought exactly a year ago. She decided to sell one year later and even after selling costs she is making a profit. Also just like most of the country, housing is very limited in Maine, properties for sale AND rentals, so you would not have a hard time finding renters or potential buyers. 

Hi Eli! I’m also an agent from Maine. You’ll find so much great information on the bigger pockets website. 

I’d recommend that you speak with your accountant or tax preparer and lender to make sure you have a good tax strategy. As an independent contractor, I’ve found i have to be careful about how much i claim in deductions if i want to purchase a certain amount of properties over the year. And now is a GREAT time to have that conversation! 

If you plan to live in the next place you purchase it will be much easier to finance compared to an investment property.

There are also several investor groups in the area that you could join. Wishing you the best of luck! 

It is your home and investment and it is absolutely within your rights to negotiate what you will pay for these services. But I believe, like most things in life, you'll get what you pay for.

I work with sellers and buyers. When I am representing a buyer, they agree to pay the difference up to a certain percentage if the seller's agent is not offering what I deserve to be paid for my time, experience and expertise. For example, if the seller's agent is offering 2% and the buyer signed an agreement that I would be paid 2.5%, then they will pay the difference of .5% at closing. 

If your listing brokerage offers a very low commission to the buyer's agent, then the buyer's agent will inform the buyers that they will pay the difference of the buyer's agent fee, on top of their down payment and closing costs. This may or may not work out in your favor. I'm sure it will depend how badly the buyers want your home and if they even have the additional money set aside. Will they be willing to pay that additional price? You're basically increasing your purchase price for most buyers. It may work in a seller's market, but I doubt your property would sell for full price in a buyer's market.

Also, I just wanted to mention that the buyer's agent job entails so much more than finding properties for a buyer. I spend a lot of time and care on my clients. I am honest with them and they trust me to point out all the good and the bad that they wouldn't have known or thought of if they weren't working with me. I can't tell you how many times I've saved my clients from bad deals, or helped them deal with serious issues that are uncovered in inspections and/or saving deals that I guarantee would have fallen apart if they didn't have a level-headed agent on their side. 

Before becoming a Realtor, I was a therapist and a teacher. I had a passion for real estate investing but hesitated becoming a Realtor because I thought of it as just being a sales person and I always wanted to help people. What I have learned over my time as a Realtor is that I am still every bit a therapist and teacher and advisor. 

Personally, I am not worried or angry about some sellers not wanting to pay the buyer's agent fee. In my opinion, they will end up paying in the end, whether it's through negotiating the sales price or negotiating inspections issues.  I've always saved my clients more money than I was paid and my clients consistently tell me that my help was worth every penny and more.