Maine Real Estate Information blog

A double or single-wide manufactured home is now eligible for RD (Rural Developement) financing only when purchased from one of their approved dealers. The manufactured home requirements are:

Rural Development - Manufactured Homes
Basic Requirements:

 Units must be new
 Placed on a private lot (not in a park)
 Put on a permanent, approved foundation
 Purchased through approved dealer-contractor

Restrictions:

No furniture, including drapes, beds, chairs, sofas, lamps, tables, televisions, etc.
Furniture does not include refrigerators, ovens, ranges, washers and dryers, etc.

Certification and Inspection Requirements:

 Foundation Plan:
 Must be stamped by a Maine Registered Professional Engineer
 Must be approved/stamped by State Office
 Must transfer all loads below the established frost line
 Home must be permanently anchored to foundation

Manufactured Housing Unit:
Unit must have a properly affixed certification label indicating the construction of the unit is in accordance with Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (FMHCSS):

Must meet agency thermal requirements:
Comfort Heating and Cooling Certification
FMHCCS Uo Value Zone 3 for all of Maine

Required Contractor Statements:
Statement by dealer-contractor that any cash payments/rebates will be deducted from price of unit and not paid to applicant

Statement by dealer-contractor that the proposed cost is the full price of the unit and all development activities

If the applicant is purchasing furniture with other funds, a lien will not be filed against the Agency/Lender’s security property
 
Required Inspections for Manufactured Homes:

Stage 1 Inspection:  Prior to or during placement of permanent foundation, but prior to backfill
Stage 2 Inspection:  Final inspection when construction is complete, unit is in place but prior to occupancy
-FMHCSS Sticker
-Comfort Heating & Cooling Certificate for Zone 3

 Approved Dealer/Contractor to provide:

 Lien Release  for all materials or labor furnished
 Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin indicating that the unit is free and clear of all encumbrances
 Builder’s Warranty
 All manufacturer’s warranties to the applicant

Lender Requirements:

 Recertification or Satisfactory Completion Certificate
 Water Test, where applicable
 Septic System Approval, where applicable

For a list of approved manufactured home Maine dealers,  call our office at: 207-784-2525  or email - mike@meservier.com

Maine has received $19.6 million in federal funds to help communities buy and resell homes in foreclosure, according to the Portland Press Herald.

The funds are part of an effort to prevent communities and neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosures from deteriorating. Which communities will benefit from the program is not known yet, but Michael Baran, acting director of Maine’s Office of Community Development, told the newspaper that Sanford will be a likely beneficiary.

The program is expected to help more than 150 moderate-income Maine families buy homes from the municipalities, which in turn will stabilize real estate values by taking properties off the market.

MREIS PRESS RELEASE:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports 928 homes were sold statewide in September 2008 statewide compared to September 2007’s statistic of 1,028 homes, a decrease of dipped 9.73 percent.  Maine’s median sales price for a single-family existing home is $177,750 in September 2008, down 6.45% from one year ago. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  Nationwide, NAR reports single-family existing home sales were up 3.8% in September compared with the prior year; and the national median sales price of $190,600 represents an 8.6% decline. Regionally, sales in the Northeast are 7.7% lower than a year ago.  The regional median sales price was $246,800 - a decrease of 5.4 percent. 

Here’s a look at the year-over-year change in median sales price (MSP) in Maine’s 16 counties during the three month period between July and September.

MaineHousing yesterday closed its sale of tax-exempt bonds to Maine investors, pulling in $38.7 million to finance its homebuyer program.

The agency put the bonds on the market last week exclusively for Maine investors, with a goal of selling $23 million, according to the Kennebec Journal. The bonds are exempt from state and federal income taxes, and the interest rates ranged from 3.5% on a two-year bond to 6.25% on a 15-year bond. MaineHousing plans to put longer-maturing bonds on the national market in about three or four weeks, according to the paper.

The money will fund the agency’s first-time homebuyers program, which provides low fixed-rate mortgages and other assistance to people who qualify.

Well it’s done and we rolled it out today! It’s a new buyer’s guide to inform Maine home buyers. We had this wonderful idea of helping Maine real estate buyers feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about the home buying process through the use of a user friendly website at http://www.HowToBuyAHomeInMaine.com

Here you won’t be in the least bit intimidated by the Maine real estate home buying process with great content like an easy to understand flow chart, link bookmarks and a glossary with definitions of real estate terms. We discuss key points needed to make informed decisions on your journey into home ownership. Whether you’re a first time home owner or an investor, you’ll see great value in these free tools, documents and information. We are here for you and want to be your REALTORS for life!

So if you are currently renting, moving to Maine or investing in Maine property, visit http://www.HowToBuyAHomeInMaine.com and you’ll soon see why the professional REALTORS at Meservier & Associates of Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine are your trusted resource to home ownership.

This Maine real estate web site is brought to you by Meservier & Associates of Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine - 34 Center Street Auburn, Maine 04210 - Office# 207-784-2525 - 43 years of combined service! Visit us online at these great sites: www.meservier.com - www.mainemls.info - www.mainerealestateexperts.com - www.MaineWaterfrontRental.com 

Maine has a higher percentage of foreign-owned agricultural land than any other state in the country, as well as 16% of all foreign-held agricultural land in the country, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The majority of the foreign-held agricultural land in Maine consists of forest and timberland totaling 3,270,362 acres.

Here’s a list of the 10 states with the highest proportion of foreign-held agricultural land to privately-held agricultural land as of February 28, 2007.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency

Foreclosures in Maine are on the rise, but the trend does not threaten the state’s financial institutions, according to a study released last week by the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions.

Maine’s 34 state-chartered banks and credit unions completed 67 foreclosures in 2007, a 29% increase from the 52 foreclosures completed in 2006, according to a press release from the bureau. During the first quarter of 2008, there were 28 completed foreclosures, up from 25 for the prior three months.

The state’s financial institutions held 88,000 mortgage loans between October 2006 and March 2008, according to the study. During that time one loan in 528 was in the process of foreclosure.

More information on the status of residential real estate lending by Maine’s financial institutions is available in the bureau’s 2008 Annual Report to the Legislature.