Written by Stephen Ondich
Building a home in Maine is a fantasy for many. Should you buy verses build? Beautiful waterfront homes for sale exist but there are also plenty of waterfront camps for sale in Maine. Our friends, Tim and Terri G searched for a homebuilder in Maine and built their coastal dream home on 4 picturesque acres in the coastal community of Milbridge, Maine. Construction took place from 2017-2019. They answer questions about homebuilding in Maine and finding the perfect home site.
Milbridge, Maine
Location
The G-Spot Maine is 43 miles from Acadia National Park.
Building A Coastal Maine House: How Terri & Tim G Did It
Homesite Search
MaineTerrain: You and Tim are from Virginia. How did you pick Milbridge as the location to build your dream home?
Terri G: The shortest long version is that we traveled to Ogunquit Maine in 2016 because of an invitation to my Aunt’s surprise birthday party. We had never been to coastal Maine before.
In searching for a nearby hotel, prior to the trip, I began looking at the Maine coastline and was utterly enthralled. That led to searching-out real estate listings, for s__’s & giggles, in order to gauge the real estate prices up there. Then, that led to a genuine interest in finding a place for us, our “Summer Camp,” in essence.
Terri G: Our only true prerequisite was that it had to be on the ocean. If we travel regularly 12-14 hours to our Maine summer home, then it makes logical sense to travel to a place completely unavailable to us here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Meaning, the Shenandoah Valley offers numerous gorgeous lakes and picturesque rivers. However, we simply do not have access to the Atlantic Ocean. Boom, decision made. 🙂
Homebuilders in Maine: Downeast
As for building it, as soon as we saw the coastline of Maine via Google Earth, we knew that we would have a house there. Therefore, I would say that it was definitely a mutual decision. Interestingly, we officially purchased our four-acre property just one month after my Aunt’s surprise birthday party.
As for style, I’m the design person, so I knew that we’d most likely have a chalet-style home, if only for the prominence of so many over-sized windows on the main wall. With oceanfront property, that’s a given!
Maine Terrain: Although we bought an existing home in Milbridge, we also relied heavily on Google Maps and Google Earth when scouting locations. Do you or Tim have a background in construction or was your custom home design a completely new endeavor?
Terri G: No, we have no formal training. However, we both have worked hard on our previous older homes for years. We are quite adept at many aspects of general handyman work and construction.
We each have our own specialties. For example, Tim is the only one who handles anything electrical. I am absolutely NOT a fan of being zapped. He hangs the sheet rock while I’m the mud-n-taper. I have pretty darn impressive mudding/taping skills, if I do say so myself.
I’m the wallpaper hanger. We both do tile work. And we both share a love of power tools!
Maine Terrain: One comment I hear often about construction in Maine is that there is a limited pool of qualified contractors. Thus, delays are almost inevitable. How close did you come to hitting your projected timetable?
Terri G: Our home is a modular, not to be confused with a mobile home. I have always been an avid believer in modular construction. Therefore, I knew that that was the direction that we’d take.
We chatted with a couple of local modular home retailers and settled on one in Bangor. All of our contractors were employed by and affiliated with that particular modular home retailer. So that simplified the process compared to hiring our own contractors and subcontractors.
The delays, however, as with all construction projects, were frequent.
Our home was to be set in early June but it wasn’t set until July. Accordingly, that threw off the remaining timetable.
Footnote, if I may, we don’t ever want to build again. However, if we did, it would absolutely be another modular home. We are so pleased with the structure itself. It’s incredibly solid!
Maine Terrain: How much consideration did you give to buying an existing coastal home?
Terri G: When we began looking at properties in earnest, we looked at both raw land and ready-built homes.
Initially, we had no preference whatsoever. However, we found that Maine, Down East Maine in particular, seemed to have an over-abundance of breathtakingly beautiful oceanfront raw land properties. All at remarkably low prices compared to Virginia and the D.C. area. So those two factors really made that decision to purchase raw land and build on it.
Maine Terrain: Did you run into any unexpected surprises during construction? Anything just come way out of left field?
Terri G: Ha ha, staahhp! Seriously? Yes. Emphatically, yes. I think that the one thing that completely threw us off-base was the need to blast ledge, i.e., granite. Mainly because of the cost. Holy smokes!
We had heard that blasting might be necessary because Maine is the bold rocky coast after all, but we were unprepared for the actual cost and the need to find someone who could do it immediately to avoid any additional delays.
Maine Terrain: Do you have any advice for someone looking at a lot now? Perhaps someone thinking about building their own dream house?
Terri G: Do it. Be prepared for months of migraine headaches and numerous sleepless nights. Take vitamins & drink caffeine for extra stamina, but do it. It’s soooo worth it. 😉
The G Spot House
Also, we can be reached directly by email.
Heidi
10 Jun 2019Tim and Terri are ambitious people! Clearly the “G Spot” is a labor of love. Thank you for sharing their story.
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Carmen
12 Jul 2019Beautiful home ! I don’t think my husband can handle the process of a new construction. Will have to send him on a long vacation. Where does property taxes are more expensive river , ocean or bay or it just doesn’t make a difference?
Stephen
12 Jul 2019Shoreland taxes are the same whether it’s ocean, bay or river.
Carmen
20 Jul 2019Hello Stephen, I made it to Jonesport today to see a house. Unfortunately having trash dumpster and lobster trap in front of the house looking at the water doesn’t help for an AIRBNB.
The Fisherman are very proud of their cages and I will see myself having a lobster fight.
Well we are enjoying the night ,the view and company of others travelers in Machias. Perhaps another home will come my way. Until next time.
Stephen
20 Jul 2019Sorry the house won’t work. Some people find the working waterfront charming. However, it really depends on the guest’s perspective and how the property is presented. If you look on the Airbnb listings around the rural coastal areas, many of them go out of their way to let readers know it’s a working waterfront. Good luck in your search.
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