Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A stately Victorian home in Sangerville that sat vacant and unlocked for years before being seized by the town is now on the market for only $52,000.
The 5-bedroom, 1-bathroom home built in 1880 has “good bones” in real estate agent speak — meaning it is well-built but needs lots of work. It has classic architectural features including a turret, a carriage house, stained-glass windows and plenty of hardwood throughout.
The home was once in fine condition, said listing agent Jaime Gilbert, an associate broker with NextHome Experience, who grew up in Guilford and knew the homeowners. They got older and could not maintain it, and it sat vacant for a few years before they sold it, she said.
But the Los Angeles couple they sold it to in 2021 — who paid $52,000 in cash for the place — never paid taxes on the property. The town of Sangerville, which lies just west of Dover-Foxcroft, contacted the couple multiple times and acquired it last month.
It was listed for sale at only $52,000, a distinction that won it a feature on the “Cheap Old Houses” Instagram account Wednesday that boasts 2.8 million followers.
“It needs a lot of work, and our area is so poverty stricken [that] there’s no sense to ask a ton for it,” Gilbert said.
There are structural issues throughout the home, including rotting wood. But Gilbert estimates that if someone were to sink $100,000 into it, it could be brought back to life as a full-time residence, or maybe a short-term rental, inn or sober living facility.
Already, there’s been a great deal of interest. The home was listed yesterday and Gilbert has fielded several calls from prospective buyers as far as Utah. Most were looking to use the home for residential purposes, but one was interested in renting it out as an Airbnb, she said.
“It was literally left unlocked, unsecured for years,” Gilbert said. “It needs a lot of work, but it could be beautiful again.”
