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 $1.6 million home with a river view and an indoor heated pool is for sale in Orrington.
It’s a 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom home built in 2004 by its owner, a lawyer who picked up a couple trades including masonry and concrete work when he grew up in Washington County, according to Perry Antone, the property’s listing agent.
“He built it the way he wanted to, and he had a certain level of quality and care that he put into it,” said Antone, a real estate agent with NextHome Experience.
The owner is a boating enthusiast, so he built his home overlooking the Penobscot River. The house itself includes a partially screened-in wraparound porch, cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, a field-stone fireplace and an indoor heated pool, which is a fairly uncommon feature in Maine homes, Antone noted.
Another feature of the 4,500 square foot property that’s been attractive to potential buyers is a 2-bedroom in-law apartment in the basement, Antone said. That’s something more and more homebuyers are looking for, either to accommodate extended family, guests or even to generate rental income.
Additional rental income could be generated at the property at its adjoining lot, which has a commercial grade garage on it that the owner has used to store his boats, according to Antone. That lot is available for purchase separately.
The home has been listed for about three weeks, and already has received several inquiries, including a couple of people looking from out-of-state, Antone said.
It’ll take some time to find a buyer. Though the home is 15 minutes from Bangor, its amenities and airport, it’s in Orrington: a quieter, more secluded area where the median home value is about $325,000, according to Zillow. The only somewhat comparable property for sale in town is a listing of three duplexes in town for $1.5 million.
“It’s unique, and it’ll take a unique buyer,” Antone said. “It’s not a medium-income home.”
