For starters, nearly every National Association of REALTORS ad will end with the tag line..."every market is different." Many of the ads have the premise that interest rates are lower than ever, the selection is plentiful and you have lots of choices. But in the back of the mind of listeners, viewers, readers, there's the nagging notion from the media that EVERY market is dire, that homes left and right are being foreclosed on. Images of long lines of sad looking, dusty former home owners looking like the Beverly Hillibillies loading up the old pickups with family heirlooms, and slowly leaving cities or where ever they live run thru their heads.  In Houlton, Maine we are fortunate to be parked in the upper left hand corner of the country.  We enjoy lower cost living across the board... 06/08/2008

What's coming up for events? There are many but some of the big ones...for June!  5th Houlton High School 2008 Graduation - Millar Civic Center 7pm  6th Hodgdon High School 2008 Graduation - HHS Gymnasium 7pm  7th Great Houlton Christian Academy Bike A Thon/Walk A Thon. Call 532-0736 For Details  8th Knowles Corner ATV Club Regular Monthly Meeting At Club House - 2pm 11th Compassionate Friends Support Group - Meeting At 6:30/7:30pm At Houlton Regional Hospital 12th McGill's Community Band Concert In Monument Park 7pm 12/13th Houlton Fair Picture Passes For Agricultural Fair Go On Sale! Visit www.houltonfair.com 14th Alpaca Shearing Clinic For More Information Dial 207 532 9696 16th Catch The Reading Bug at Cary Library. Program Begins June 23rd. 207 532 1302 20th Northern Maine Soap Box... 05/29/2008

Looking Down The... Meduxnekeag River in Downtown Houlton Maine.  Now that's a setting. The east end of the Houlton Maine foot bridge will lead to a new housing project in the Shiretown. Over 2.5 million to be invested in the Market Square parking lot development.  Coastal Enterprises, the owner of the complex, will offer units to residents meeting eligibility guidelines. Tenants will expect to pay rents in the $430 to $575 range which includes all utilities.  CEI's John Egan talked recently at the Houlton Rotary Club to announce the plans to the group.  This project is adjacent to the Temple Theatre and offers real community living with a short walk being the key to reaching everything from the post office, shopping, library and summer nights listening to McGill's Community Band. This... 05/26/2008

     You know winter is over when you can throw on some shorts after your day job, run to the Houlton Community Park and climb on a bleacher to watch an exciting little league game.  The parents are great and not matter how tired you might have been that day because of adventures at work, it all disappears when you hear the crack of the bat and see an inside the park home run.  Little league is exciting!  Here is a link to Houlton Maine's little league for sponsors and game schedule/times. Commission Ben Drew has done a super job with getting this year's program underway with lots of support from fans, coaches, parents and players.  Ben helped spear head the "Field Of Dreams" project for new fields needed due to increased popularity and scheduling conflicts for games and practices. The ... 05/14/2008

You know spring is in Maine when the canoes are everywhere on top of pickups and paddlers enjoy swollen rivers in yearly races.  Little league tryouts are over, teams begin to play this week in Houlton Maine. And fiddleheads are another part of Maine culture.  A fiddlehead is the early stage of an ostrich fern.  A delicacy to many, an unknown to most.  The plant that looks like the head of a fiddle grows in wet, moise areas along Maine waterways as a rule.  Learn everything you wanted to know about fiddleheads.  Fun to clean, steamed and with a little vinegar added eat! Have to fill your bag along the river and stream beds quickly as the little Maine black fly comes out this time of year too! The black flies don't like fiddleheads but your neck and arms look pretty good to their air for... 05/04/2008

     As real estate brokers, we help in the moving and relocation process by locating and selling homes.  Personally, have you moved a few times in your own life or pretty much stayed within a few miles of your current home? The expression "air force brat" (or other armed services branch) is used proudly by some I deal with.  I often ask if that 14 move childhood was good or bad and get a 50% return on the process being a positive thing.  Some folks are more resilent to learn about new areas, others are a tad bitter because they were uprooted and had to start the make friends / enter a new school routinel over and over.  I grew up on a Maine farm for most of my life and can remember as a little guy the move from Franklin Avenune  in Houlton to the farm. International pickup loaded high,... 05/03/2008

     Weather is a drug...a good elixir for whatever ails you.  Maine had an old fashioned winter with record snowfall like many northern states.  So as the sunshines, snow melts, locals are venturing out to rake lawns, walk at dusk, and to just be glad to be outside full time as season's change. Maine canoe races underway with plenty of water for spring paddling in canoes and kayaks.  Plans for opening summer homes, taking school vacations with kids, building decks, washing down home exteriors, and general busy bee industry is evident thru out Maine.  In Houlton, the local dairy bar just opened so you know little league games are not far behind either as ice get removed from the Milliar Civic Center too.  Living in Maine and enjoying all four seasons is such a blessing. Blue blue skies,... 04/19/2008

     The beauty of four seasons in Maine.  The best part of living in Northern Maine is what we don't have. We lack crime, traffic, pollution, mean pushy people.  Family and work ethic is top priority. Community and volunteering and helping others is key. With 11 people per square mile, space is not a problem.  Here is a collection of over 260 images that just stratch the service and begin to give you a taste....the flavor of Aroostook County Maine.  Maine is the way life should be. Maine is way way more than lobsters, seacoast, potatoes and Mt Katahdin. Get a taste...take a look. View the slide show here. 04/17/2008

     Happened may years ago, but still makes you silent, reflective and haunted. Did a blog about a trip thru Halifax, Nova Scotia cemetary that is another experience for the family to quietly take in. Blog with some neat images here.... http://activerain.com/blogsview/73186/Titanic-grave-site-in  . To the left is a monument to World War II participants.  When you see monuments, or observe milestones of something proud, tragic or that represents loss of life, you have to stop and count your blessings and put everything in perspective.  We live in a fast paced world, and work hard at our occupations, raising a family and contributing to our area.  But there needs to be a time of silence, reflection and perspective to make all of it make sense and sink in.  What moves you this way in your... 04/15/2008

     For starters, many job searches in Aroostook County start with the local newspaper.  The Houlton Pioneer Times will have a few employment ads, but the tradition in this area of Aroostook County is to stop in or call the Career Center. That office has a book with a number of job opportunities to consider.  The Bangor Daily News would also have an employment section and career fairs are going on now in Maine.  The weekend's edition would also be more populated with jobs possibilities.  But in Houlton Maine, watching the local paper for a job would be a limited way to tackle the problem.  The Career Center takes down the requirements and perks an employer has to offer and applicants go thru this "clearing house" to save everyone time.  When I hired a new secretary 17 years ago, or pre... 04/11/2008

The first week of May, the annual Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race with lots of water volume this year will happen in Houlton Maine. Heavier than normal snows mean no shortage of water for the race in Aroostook County. Paddlers from around New England and Atlantic Canada take canoes, kayaks, boats and rafts down the the river named by local Maliseet Indians. "Meduxnekeag" means rocks at its mouth.  Past race Chairman Peter Blood told me today that in the beginng he wondered why there were a number coolers with lively party canoers celebrating spring. He felt the tradition may have been because college kids were behind the intial races.  The Houlton Rotary Club took over the race rather than see it not happen as new blood to coordinate the race was needed.  Then a local group including Peter... 04/08/2008

     This country has a cheap food policy.  The farmer is at the beginning of the food production but there are lots of middle men in the process to get the vittles served on your dinner table.Organic food production is rising and oats, wheat and corn acreages are increasing. The USDA has not made a decision on whether land in the CRP (Conservation Resource Program) or soil bank program might be released for crop production if supplies tighten nationally.  Corn prices have increased and diversion to gas production is part of the reason.  But with rising fertilizer and fuel costs, farmers are adjusting to the market faster than they used to to survive and stay viable. In Northern Maine, potatoes, broccoli, limited silage corn, grains are the major crops produced.  With rising fuel costs ... 04/04/2008

The Link For Lots Of Houlton Maine / Aroostook County Flickr Local Photos Below....Take a Peek!http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=8099231@N08&lang=en-us&format=atom      Where you live is special.  You may take for granted the many local events, special people that you live with and the incredible outdoor beauty and recreation opportunities though.  When you capture the local flavor of your area, and post it on Flickr or a slew of other available platforms or outlets, you become a "mirror" that reflects and spotlights your special area.  Only you can know what day in and day out "looks like".  The feed for our Flickr photo collection is here.  Every reader or view knows what it is like where they live so your images help give them a sense of what is similiar and w... 04/03/2008

     You have a stressful job where you live.  You want to have a place to getaway...a vacation home!  In Maine you can afford a second home easy.  Or consider buying a parcel of land, and put a cabin on the acreage.  Or if you needs are small, park a travel trailer and use the place as a base to explore from.  What to do? Depends on the season but in the winter months, down hill ski in Mars Hill's  Big Rock, or head across the Canadian border into the province of New Brunswick to down hill ski Crabbe Mountain in Upper Haynesville.  Snowsledding trails are the 8th best in the nation according to Snow Goer magazine. Over 3500 miles of trails to see wildlife, lake scenery and unspoiled woodlots as you discover the beauty of Aroostook County...population 11 people per square mile! That's e... 04/02/2008

   Is where you live filling you with excitement, contentment, peace and harmony? Or are you feeling overwhelmed, rushed, pushed, exhausted and drained?Grab the reins of your life and seriously consider this question.  Are you where you and your family should be at this time in your life ? Can you live within your means where you are and do you feel satisfied with the quality of life where you are currently parked on the planet? If there is doubt, if the fire in your belly for your community is not burning brightly but merely smoldering, you have a choice.  Do some homework and consider if you lived in Maine part or full time, how would it change your life? If you do not keep the fire fueled, it will go out. For information on Houlton Maine / Aroostook County please contact me at info@m... 03/30/2008

    Don't try this at home kids.  Actually, don't ever try this method to remove a bad, non paying / high damage tenant. A home owner decided they were not going to wait for the process of eviction to be served. No time for the slow, expensive wheels of justice to turn. The renter had taunted him with "you can't get me out for months...I have rights and know them and do this move in, don't pay dog and pony show each year."This renter helped produce the video on "How To Park In A Property, Never Pay Rent And Then Watch Owner Waste Months Trying To Get Me Out". This owner after being told by renter they were not going to move without deputies serving them and dragging their personal belongings out to the curb, calmly went to his shed to locate the chainsaw.  He put the choke partially on,... 03/28/2008

     Year 13 for the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby race on Derby Hill. Youngsters 8 to 17 learn "the thrill of the hill" with gravity racer stock, super stock and master race kit cars. Houlton Maine's 2008 race is June 21st.My daughter Amanda and son Alex won different years during the five year largest race reign.  Close to 200 cars raced during the 1998 and 2001 years! Consider sponsoring a car in your local and if thee is not one, start one. Watch the video I threw together from 2007's race on You Tube!         Largest race in country five years running.  Visit the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby site! 03/21/2008

Neat collection of Maine You Tube Videos To Explore, Enjoy And Learn More About Aroostook County, Maine And Great Houlton Area! Property And Area Events! See The Property And The People! Maine...The Way Life Should Be. Fewer Friendlier People, Bluer Skies, Brighter Stars, Unspoiled Landscape & Wildlife! There Is No Better Place To Live, Work And Play Than Aroostook County. 03/16/2008

Your animal is special, an old friend, been with you thru thick and thin.  You are buying a Houlton Maine property, what about Fluffy? Fluffy and you will sleep better nights knowing if you need a vet, Houlton Maine has a good selection of caring, qualified people. Animal Hospital Of Houlton on 48 Court Street is reached at 207 532 4800. Aroostook Veterinary Services on 32 Access Road Behind York Ford off US Rt 1 is another option. Reach Pat Colville at 207 532 4081. Dr Ray Newman has practiced for many years in the Island Falls area and can be reached 207 463 2204. His practice is located on Harding Street. 03/08/2008

 January was not only banner month for snowfall in the state it was a super month for home sales localy here in Aroostook county! Again proving that real estate markets are local and driven by factors not related to the dismal news constantly beraded by the national news networks. The Maine Real Estate Information System is reporting Aroostook county single family home sales increasing 12.85 % in comparison to January 2007. Staewide sales decreased 28% for January 2008. This years large near record snowfall for the state may have had some influence however that trend was not the case for our area.   The stage s set with lower rates and plenty of opportunity for Maine home buyers. The season has provided bountiful snow for all who enjoy the winter sports and outdoor activities now that t... 02/27/2008