Terry Driscoll Realtor Mid-Coast Maine Residential Real Estate

Snow On The Pumpkins

We actually had our first snowfall in Bath, Maine yesterday but nothing "stuck" - This morning, I woke to this pretty scene of Snow on the Pumpkins on my back patio.

I have to tell you that the cooler fall weather hasn't stopped the real estate buyers in our area (if anything, it has energized them) and it's become quite the busy season; with the imminent passage of the extended and expanded home buyer tax credit, real estate professionals may not get a break this winter! I'm working quite a bit with relocations - our area is affordable and we still have a good supply of homes for sale because of the upcoming closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station. Sellers can get motivated when it's time to fill the oil tank again!

Terry Driscoll, REALTOR - Mid-Coast Maine Residential Real Estate - Allen & Selig Realty.

Caring, Genuine, Personal Service . . .Contact me; you'll see the difference!

Summer is over, but Autumn is another beautiful season in Maine - - Take a drive, enjoy the fall foliage and end up in Bath for AutumnFest and Citizen Involvement Day. Lots of interesting, fun things to do and see. The event is sponsored by Main Street Bath - For a Full Schedule of Events click here.

Above poster from the Main Street Bath Website.

CLICK HERE to request more information about Bath and its surrounding towns or To order a FREE RELOCATION PACKAGE

Terry Driscoll, REALTOR - MidCoast Maine Residential Real Estate - Allen Selig Realty

Front Street in Bath, Maine received a major award this past week - Our own Front Street was named one of the Country's Top Ten Streets by the American Planning Association! At Wednesday's City Council Meeting, City Planner Jim Upham said, "the Association chose Front Streetfor its combination of hardscapes and landscapes, its natural environment and its reflection of local culture and history." Front Streetis in good company with streets in Williamsburg, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor and Little Rock.

When people visit Bath, they are impressed that our downtown area, while appealing to visitors, was not created for visitors - it is a real, working downtown with historic buildings that house shops, restaurants, offices, galleries, and services that every dweller in a small city relies upon. This is not a manufactured place ala Disneyworld - it's where we all shop, meet, have our coffee and carry on our daily lives.

Major Awards like this are not earned by accident - - going back to the 1960's, dedicated citizens fought urban renewal that would have eliminated Front Street in favor of a wide pedestrian mall - - shocking! Progress continues . . if you visit Bath today, you will see major improvement work happening at our recently restored train station which is being transformed (and beautified) into a multi-modal transportation hub and you will see a new Hampton Inn rising from the Prawer Block on Front Street's north end opposite, the Patten Free Library.

If you're interested in making Bath (or its surrounding towns) your home, please contact me for a FREE Relocation Packet.

Terry Driscoll, REALTOR, Mid-Coast Maine Residential Real Estate - Allen & Selig Realty, Bath, Maine

Fallacy: "Nothing is Easy Anymore." Earlier this week, I heard someone in our office lamenting, "Nothing is easy anymore." Well, I've had my share of "not easy" but it occurred to me that the last transaction I closed was "a dream." I mention this to offer some hope when, more and more, we find ourselves tearing our hair out with short sales, appraisal disasters, foreclosures and unreasonable people and events in general.

Then, I started thinking about WHY that transaction went so smoothly and the truth was that it wasn't dumb luck; it was no accident at all. It went so smoothly because there was a terrific team of professionals at every turn, working together to make it happen.

To start, I represented a Buyer who, even though he was young and it was his first home purchase, had his act together in terms of knowing what he wanted and what he could afford. He had good credit and a good job and even some savings in the bank. The Lender was professional and efficient with excellent follow-through and kept us in the loop, never missing a deadline. The Appraiser was quick on the scene and commented that he wished they'd all be this easy. There were no surprises with the appraisal or condition issues on the house. The Listing Agent was a colleague of mine at Allen & Selig Realty who I respect and admire and the Seller was realistic in terms of price and did an excellent job preparing the property for sale. The Home Inspector was thorough and a good educator for this first-time buyer; he provided an immediate photographic record of the inspection on disc before leaving the property and emailed his report the same afternoon. The Buyer was realistic in not asking the Seller to fix every little thing in the inspection report and the Seller was prompt in agreeing to address the one item requested and quickly had the work done by a Licensed Professional. The Title Company Processor got the file and paperwork going immediately and everything fell into place. Allen & Selig Realty's Administrative Staff was as efficient as they always are in completing and transferring files and pre-closing paperwork. The closing table was a relaxed, happy place with a professional, efficient and congenial Closing Agent. I could not have asked for a better experience for my Buyer.

"Nothing is Easy Anymore" - - Thank goodness this is SO NOT TRUE! The key is excellent communication and everyone doing their part of the job, every step of the way. No one missing deadlines, no one procrastinating, and no one saying they will do something and then not following through.

Once the ball was rolling, the most difficult part was waiting for closing day!

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Southern Mid-Coast Maine, email or give me a call. I have relationships with outstanding professionals that will help you get the job done - - We make it easy!

Search the entire Maine MLS on my website: www.BathRealEstateToday.com

Ceremony Marks End of Era at Brunwick Naval Air Station

A couple weeks ago, Wing 5 held its “Checking Off” Ceremony at Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS). Part of the Base Re-Alignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission decision, it was announced in 2005 that Brunswick Naval Air Station would be closed - - the P-3 Orion Squadrons would no longer make their low approaches over Route 1 - - ending 35 years of being housed at BNAS with their relocation to Jacksonville, FL

Two Patrol Squadrons left earlier this year, leaving only 3 planes on base as of the Checking Off Ceremony. The last P-3 squadron will take off for the final time in early December. So, there was a week of events with a farewell theme in addition to the formal ceremony. At that ceremony, with a crowd of about 550 which included sailors, their family members, friends and community supporters, Capt. James Hoke, the Commander of Wing 5, made one last radio call, “Admiral: Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 5, checking off-station. Out.” Traditional words of farewell to Brunswick, Maine. Wing 5 will actually be disestablished at the end of March, 2010 when no one will be left to hold a ceremony.

The base closure announcement came in 2005, when more than 4,000 military personnel were stationed at BNAS. The turning over of the base to the civilian redevelopment group, the Mid-Coast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), is slated for 2011. Currently, only about 650 military personnel remain at the base; when the last squadron takes off in December, that number will drop to under 400. During the process, civilian planners have been working to redevelop the property for industrial, residential, commercial and conservation uses.

Brunswick and the other communities around the base will miss the departing sailors and their families – they are our neighbors and friends, schoolmates and playmates to our children, active members of the communities, volunteers for our local causes and non-profits. Their service, dedication, and involvement in our communities have been appreciated and will be greatly missed.

So, we continue our period of transition with the base closure. There are many challenges that must be met. We’ve already seen the closure of numerous small businesses and the vacant base housing has created its own issues. Base housing is its own odd creature in that it is managed by a private company but the land below the housing is owned by the government. This makes individual sale of housing units unlikely. Rather, entire neighborhoods have been “packaged” for sale and interested bidders, including the local redevelopment authority, have come forward. As you can imagine, rumors abound.

In addition to base housing, many military personnel owned homes in Brunswick and its surrounding communities. These homes have been and continue to come on the market. This has created a wealth of opportunities for first-time homebuyers in Mid-Coast Maine - - so much to choose from. The Sellers (assuming they purchased prior to the base closure announcement) are helped by the Army Corps of Engineers’ Homeowners' Assistance Program (HAP) which makes up the difference on a short sale or purchases the home from the Seller if a buyer cannot be found in the open market prior to the sellers re-assignment. This has been a boon for buyers – Tax Credit plus lots of inventory has gotten first time buyers plenty excited. Sellers, however, are a different story. When they say "All real estate is local," this is a perfect example. You can just imagine what the base closure has done for our area, piled on top of an already weak economic picture.

As this community moves forward, there is no doubt that Mid-Coast Maine will miss the presence of the base, but there is also no doubt that a strong, vibrant, even better Brunswick is in the works for the future.

If living in the Southern Mid-Coast Area of Maine is something you'd like to know more about, CONTACT ME today! So many opportunities await!