"Life has been a blur and is picking up speed."

That is the common theme, sentiment statement I hear from many of our down country real estate buyers. The sense of exhaustion, worrying about a gazillion things is the side effect of living where the pace is way way too fast. The conveyor belt called life with these bone weary real estate buyers is increasing in grade and speed.

     And I have had many phone callers, emailers indicating worry about when it will all snap, come undone. And doubt the guy and gal on the other end can hold it together much longer. These are not folks that arenecessarily loosing their homes. Or that are upside down financially. But they are getting tired treading water, keeping their head above that water. Wondering out loud in calls and emails of why keep doing day to day where they live now if its not safe, expensive, no fun any longer.

     This segment reads from the same script. "Where I live now is not the neat little town it was eleven years ago when my husband and I landed here" is what one Pennsylvania buyer told me this past Saturday morning on the phone. Her husband is a hunter, and with more and more population, that sport is being infringed on. More rules, beefed up zoning, becoming a more expensive place to live. That is a common theme uttered by many considering Maine, as a low cost alternative with all the things they have lost but cherished where they live now in a growing population center. They want some place with friendlier people, less population and low or no crime.

    Concern from exasperated callers who worry about their kids and the large schools they attend. Schools with german shepherds roaming the halls, full time police officers but called "resource personnel" right in the schools. To protect the teachers. Try to control the student population or learn what they can from the inside about gangs, etc. That is not Houlton Maine which is in Aroostook County where crime statistics are half the state average of 4th lowest in the nation.

     We "lock" our front doors with high security bread and button knives, wedged in to keep the wind from blowing those doors open. Everyone has jumper cables in their vehicle and stop when a idle car is along the road side that might be needing help.

     We call the shut in older lady down the street to offer a ride to the grocery store. Or to just check in on her. We follow the local basket ball, hockey,football soccer, baseball, tennis teams around the circuit. We know our neighbors, like them, trust them.

    

Bean suppers where politicians in Washington DC could benefit if they sat down with a plateful of home made food. And just listened to good old, tried and tested common sense. The logic is real and in touch from the heart of down to earth, hard working tax payers.

     If you are not happy where you are living now, think about what is going to change in your area. If over population, crime, expense of living there is on the increase, move. If you worry about keeping up with the traffic, long commute to work and back each day, consider a place where you can walk to work. Where your backyard is 200 acres and larger. And you grow your own food. Know where it comes from. What is in it. Your neighbors are not nosy but there if you need them. And you have a sense of space, peace. All at a pace you can relax, breath easy in as you fill your lungs with clean Maine air.

     Are you like many of my callers, emailers that just are fed up with where you live now..mainly because of all these people surrounding you where you live now? You and I need to talk. Soon.

info@mooersrealty.com 207.532.6573.

     There are loose ends you need to square away where you live like get your place on the market, etc. We can help guide the process. Bring you up to speed on how much different this area is than what you are used to. Ready when you are. Shoot us an email, tap the numbers for a phone call to get the process started.

     I am Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, listing, marketing, selling real estate for 3 decades. I love where I live in Maine. Have raised four kids that turned out okay with their heads screwed on straight. Their feet on the ground. And I owe it to the village that helped raise them with old fashion "be kind to your neighbor / it's not about me but others" attitude. Is that what you are looking for, needing in your life if you are on a wild day to day high seas and looking for a safe harbor before you end up on the rocks?

Last week I was part of a committee meeting at the Maine Association of Realtors to discuss how much Sold data should be released from our MLS to different vendors and ultimately the public.

What ensued was a multi-level discussion that ultimately came down to a philosophical question for Realtors: as technology involves and information that used to be owned by Realtors becomes public, will Realtors become obsolete? A look at the slow progression of data release over recent history reveals that, on the contrary, we will probably save time by allowing consumers to become educated before they contact us.

In the 1980s, when I first began to observe the workings of Real Estate as a child in my parents’ office, our bookshelves were stuffed with volumes of MLS Books, which clients would have to make appointments to come in and peruse. The books were the one comprehensive source of properties that were for sale or had recently sold. And the benefit to Realtors was that we were the ultimate keepers of information. It was nearly impossible to buy or sell without access to our information, and many Realtors sold themselves short thinking that the info was the most valuable thing they had to offer.

Then came MLS, Realtor.com, and the widespread online publication of listings. This was a huge transition, because now the public wouldn’t have to pop by the office to shop for homes – they could look on their own. Surprisingly for some, the number of phone calls into our offices didn’t go down. Of course, street addresses weren’t listed anywhere. That way, listing agents still had some control over their listings, and buyers still had to call in on properties so that they could do a drive-by. Those calls, on one hand, were an opportunity to convert a lead. On the other hand, they were often just people who were working with another agent already and just wanted to know an address – also known as interruptions, or wastes of time.

Then we began to publicize addresses, and calls on listings continued to come in; however, we have found that the calls are much more serious. Customers already know the area when they call, and have either Google mapped the property or have had a chance to drive by. They've also often researched YOU, and are looking for your professional take on the place.

Now we are asked to consider the topic of Sold data. This is a big one, because it threatens yet another reason that the public calls a Realtor – what the home down the street sold for, and similarly what their home is worth. The “free CMA” is a popular listing tool, and there’s an argument that publicizing sold data would decrease its value. However, it would be impossible to provide true analysis of the data in an automated format.

Knowing this, I don’t think that the presence of Sold data online will remove us from the transaction; rather, its presence will educate consumers so that when they come to us for a CMA they have some idea, based in reality, of the value of their home. And as an added bonus, the presence of this data might just weed the dreamers and the FSBOs out of our “Free CMA” queues. Serious sellers will still look to us as professionals to analyze the data, suggest a price that will get them top dollar, and help them get their home ready for sale. Not to mention attract buyer agents, schedule all the showings, help with negotiations, oversee the buyer’s financing, and use our expertise to work through any issues.

What I’ve been hearing lately is that people are looking for Realtors who can machete a path through the jungle of information out there, and get them to a closing table headache-free with their best interests intact. And in 2010 and beyond, that expertise - not our data - is the most valuable gift we have to offer.

    

If you are a kid, on a Sunday during a snowstorm, thoughts begin to play in your head revolving around "Are we going to have snow cancelled tomorrow?"

Snowstorms, plowing the white stuff, seeing folks shoveling out on the news makes you feel how? If you grow up in the North East, snow is something we look forward to, snowsled, ski on, enjoy sliding and everything else that comes with it. Ice fishing, snowsledding, hockey games, hot chocolate after snowshoeing in it. In Maine, snow fuels a 350 million dollar winter industry.

     If you live in an area that does not get much snow, any snow, no matter how much is a big deal. Panic, unfamiliarity, confusion and even excitement as long as no one gets hurt. Frustration from cancelled flights, delays and postponed events cause a daily wrinkle. But when you live in Maine, winter storms have to be pretty big to cause concern.

    

Snow fall. Pretty, evoking a scene of a log cabin in the woods, by a frozen lake, under the moon with a crackling fireplace and a warm drink? Or terror and worry about frost bite, power outages, being stranded in a snow bank, thoughts of freezing to death? It all depends on how your area handles snow, how good it is dealing with it whether it excites or scares you.

     When I worked at a Bangor Maine radio station that depended on ad revenues to pay my salary, keep the transmitter pumping out that signal and tunes, my program director George Hale issued strict orders. Never never tell the listening audience to stay home, to not bother going out unless the Maine state police called with such a directive. Which would have been rare because we get lots of snow in Maine, know how to plow it, deal with it. The right equipment, experience and training with white stuff comes with living day to day in Maine. Snow experience. George said it was okay to say leave a little earlier. Be careful traveling to that sale, the movies, the restaurant but not to stay home. I think of what George would tell us if he was watching the news today when you see video of a few inches broadcast. And how chaotic regions not used to much snow react to just a little of it. He would probably say it must be a slow news day or the media is sensationlizing, going over the top starved for something to scare the public with. My dad, who the kids call "Buppy" would roll his eyes and have said..."Mother, that is so Hollywood, not the way it is".

Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

    

When you live in Maine, practicing real estate sales, and are parked up against Canada to the east, the question is asked a lot. Can you sell property in Canada if you live in Maine? I am not licensed to list property in Canada.

The province I happen to be parked up against is New Brunswick. But on the west side of Aroostook County and to the north, Quebec is the province close to Northern Maine real estate brokers. Canadian real estate brokers in border towns with the US get asked the same question.

     I have been over the Houlton Maine, Canadian border four and five times a week when two of my boys played hockey. Nearly 99% of our games were with Canadian teams. With cross border traffic trips loaded with players, hockey equipment sometimes four games or more with tournaments, etc over winter weekends. For a year Hartland New Brunswick's arena was our home ice for practices when our local arena caved in due to heavy snow loads.

During trips to games even the border immigration/customs agents would ask how did Houlton ME make out in the game in Perth Andover, Grand Falls, Nackawic, Plaster Rock or Woodstock?

But any time you go in to Canada, the questions posed is what is the purpose of your trip? Pleasure, hockey, family the answer and on your way. Spend lots of money and hope you have loonies and toonies. For that pontine, arena food. Or something from the pro shop related to hockey equipment malfunction like need a mouth guard, skate lace, some stick tape, etc.

     My question to other ActiveRain members on the border with Canadian brokers, agents here at AR University is how each side handles the co-operating marketing? Ways they work hand in hand to tap in to the marketing on one side of the border to send a buyer across to meet the co-broke agent on the other side? When you live in Maine, on the border, your real estate marketing ray gun broadcasts in our case in a North, West, South direction. Not east..and not because of a iron curtain or cold war situation. 

     My grandmother on my Dad's side was 100% Canadian. My four kids great grandmother and great grand father were 100% Canadian too. So it is pretty hard to find folks on the Maine side of the border that are not at least quarter Canadian! Being on a border has lots of advantages, especially when the currency exchange is in our favor. Also since 911, the number of US Border Patrol, Immigration, Customs Agents that have relocated to Houlton Maine has increased tremendously to tighten that border. There are also close to 100 new kids in our schools due to this border security beefing up.

Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers 

    

Everyone remembers science projects, fairs in high school to showcase a variety of skills, talent.

The various scientific exercises with your classmates showed a wide range of interests that led to the projects being done. Here is a Houlton Maine science fair video showing this local event.

     Local events, community videos on the small town pride of everything from a canoe river race to a local Rotary Beano game and everything in between. Show the sporting events, the music bands in the park, soap box derby races and local parades with video. We live in a visual society that likes to gets its information in TV / video form. Just sit back and watch, listen and absorb. Local Maine video information that is not being covered on the nightly news on CNN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC networks.

Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers