This blog is directed to our Maine Real Estate Family, readers, valued clients, and many friends who work, live, and vote here in Maine. It is very important that you pay attention to the upcoming election this fall. How you choose to vote on local and state referendums here in Maine this Fall, will matter. Please read this very insightful article published this week in our local Portland Press Hearald newspaper:
In a nutshell, the article spells out how you may lose the right to rent property that you own. Though the idea certainly has merit in some instances, allowing for broad-sweeping changes meaning to help the common good, it also may result in not allowing for what is best and important for a majority of home and property owners in the state of Maine, when it comes to short-term rental policies.
The well written article noted above, points out a key fact that many “seasonal” properties are not set up, nor will they ever be “fit” to be year-round homes, which is true not only in Island locations such as Peaks Island in Portland, but think of the thousands of lakefront and freshwater, waterfront and water access properties here in the Maine Lakes Region and far beyond in our State, that will never be anything other that 2 to maybe 3 season inhabitable structures, camps, and uninsulated homes due to demographics. Some may propose “well with so many able to work from home now” that these locations should be winterized, the reality is that the infrastructure necessary like High Speed Internet service will not ever appear in a majority of these locations due to lack of telecommunications infrastructure, strictly due to population density realities.
Make sure that you educate yourselves, and please help educate others, as to the importance of voting wisely this fall when it comes to short-term rental rules and regulations as presented by Referendum.