Ever dreamed of living like a character from a Hallmark movie? This central Maine home complete with a Christmas tree farm might fit the bill.
Moose Hill Farm is a 27-acre property in Fayette, a small town in Kennebec County’s lakes region, listed for $755,000. Its main farmhouse was built in the 1860s, and it has been a working Christmas tree farm since the 1960s, according to listing agent Dana Curtis. The same family has owned it for nearly a century, Curtis said.
“It’s a landmark of not just Fayette, but of the general area,” Curtis, the Fayette-based owner and designated broker of Maine Homes and Camps, said. “There’s a lot of people from other towns that will drive there in the winter to get their Christmas trees.”
The Moose Hill Farm owners also sell homemade jams, pickles and other handcrafted products. The owners have been leasing out two apartments in a second building on the property to renters. One is a long-term rental, the other is an Airbnb. Curtis said that that monthly stream of income has helped “supplement” the farm’s operations and its mortgage.
“It’s this residential property, but it absolutely has this commercial flair to it,” the broker said.
Other businesses, not just rentals or Christmas trees, could flourish at the farm, Curtis said. There’s plenty of field and garden space for growing and farming other produce, like vegetables, he suggested. Whatever the case, a new buyer would have to be willing to put in some time and effort to work the land.
Despite its Civil War-era provenance, the colonial-style main home itself has been remodeled and kept updated through the centuries. The home does still have some of its original features including exposed wood beams, a wood stove and a tin ceiling in the living room.
Moose Hill Farm was only listed Wednesday, but people have already reached out to Curtis about it. Many have expressed their admiration for the “magical” place. Though it’s in rural western Maine, the farm is roughly a half-hour to Augusta and Farmington.
Though the property invites a good deal of whimsy, at this price point, the broker said he expects it to sit for a few months. In Fayette, the average home is valued at around $378,000, according to Zillow. Curtis is still confident that it will sell.
More and more buyers, especially those from out of state, are looking for properties that either already have a short-term rental business attached to them, or could be converted into such rentals, Curtis said. He believes that’s exacerbating Maine’s housing inventory shortage.
“This is the type of property that brings people to Maine,” Curtis wrote in his online listing.
