The house in Nobleboro looks lovely. Just down the road is a newly rebuilt fish ladder, famous for its intrepid alewives (as well as gulls that pick off the ones who become exhausted) and two miles away is Damariscotta, a busy, pleasant town with a terrific used bookstore (always a measure of an area's worth). The acre it sits on, though, seems somewhat narrow, so that the neighboring house is too close, at least for my taste.
But that's what happens in villages. As long as neighbors don't blast their TV sets or stereos (and some people even have stereos outdoors, for God's sake), or sit on their patios smoking weed, or rent to noisy Airbnb guests doing same, it's okay to be some yards distance from the next house.
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They are all quite attractive, but there is no way of assessing the really important factor--the location. For all we know, there may be a gas station across the road directly behind the photographer.
I am sure there isn't, of course, but location and setting is really the critical factor.
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The answer: Google Map!
@Hilary Tamar
Go onto Realtor.com and find the house, then click on "map." It's very easy to see what's across the road. Or go to "Maps" on your cellphone; you might even get a street view. Doing so saves you and your broker a lot of wasted trips.
I would find these articles helpful if they included stats on how people who live in the district where the house is located, voted in the 2016 election. If you're not comfortable with the community the house is irrelevant.
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@Devo
Very easy to find out, Devo. After the 2016 election, The New York Times ran an article that listed every town and hamlet's political persuasion along with the actual numbers. Damariscotta voted for Mrs. Clinton, nearby Wiscasset went for Mr. Trump, and so on, and by how many votes. You can find that information for every state. I don't have the link, but you should have no trouble getting it.
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Nobleboro, ME is much farther than three-quarters hours from Boston, probably more like 3 and a quarter hours.
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The main thing for me is the surrounding area. The ability to go to the art scene, enjoy a good restaurant, visit a museum and not have to drive 3 hours to it or more. Otherwise the homes look nicely done and renovated with taste.
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@George...there is a strong art scene in the area, and Portland, an hour to the south, has been named restaurant city of the year by one of the major foodie mags. There is also a very strong farm to table scene in the area....a sweep of restaurants and farm markets available to you from Nobleboro, both up and down the coast.
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Location, location, location.
There are most likely few jobs in these areas so the $400K price tag may seem quite high to local folks. In cities in the west, you can't get a shed for that price. But you can get a job in 5 minutes.
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Three beautiful homes all fairly priced. I wish there was stuff like that where I lived.
My only concern with the NY home is one of those big trees coming down in a storm onto the house.
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It looks like all these homes are gorgeous, well-built, and fairly priced. I do wonder if the price can be lowered. It's unfortunate that there can't be a house like this in North Jersey. It certainly wouldn't be such a good price. Oh well, let's hope something comes up.
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You can still get a nice 3 bedroom house in Bloomfield for about $300,000, the problem is that the taxes are $8000-$10,000.
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