Ellsworth Maine real estate: financing a home in Hancock County

Ellsworth is the county seat of Hancock County and sits where the Union River meets tidewater, just below the Leonard Lake dam. High Street is the direct route toward Bar Harbor and Acadia, and it carries the biggest shopping district in the county. US Route 1, Route 1A toward Bangor and Route 3 toward Mount Desert Island all run through the city.

That mix brings three kinds of buyers to my phone when they search Ellsworth Maine homes for sale or houses for sale in Ellsworth Maine. Some want a year round house close to work, schools and stores. Some commute out along Route 1, Route 1A or Route 3 every morning. And some started out looking at Mount Desert Island, found the numbers or the inventory tight, and widened the search to the mainland side of the Trenton bridge.

All three are fine starting points. I just want to know which one you are before we pick a loan, because the answer changes the program.

When homes for sale in Ellsworth Maine come up, they range from older houses in the walkable streets near Main Street and the Union River to newer places on bigger lots out toward Ellsworth Falls, North Ellsworth and West Ellsworth. Closer to downtown, many homes are on the city water system. Farther out, you are more likely to be on a private well and septic, a gravel road, or both.

Neither one is a problem for a lender by itself. What the appraiser wants is a sound house with working heat, water and waste systems that a person could live in through the winter. On an older house in town, I would pay attention to the roof, the heating plant and any past additions. On a rural lot, test the well and have the septic inspected so you know what you are buying.

A lot of Ellsworth Maine real estate is really lake real estate. Graham Lake is the reservoir on the Union River above the city. Branch Lake, north of downtown, is the city's drinking water source, and the city keeps its own water supply protection rules for the lake and its watershed, so read them before you plan changes on a lot there. Green Lake sits between Route 1A and Route 180 on the way toward Bangor.

Camps on these lakes vary a lot. Some are insulated houses with a furnace and a plowed road. Some are true summer camps that get drained every fall. The first kind can often be financed like any other home. The second kind is a hard fit for a standard mortgage. For the deeper version of that conversation, including camp roads and shared lake lots, my Maine camp and lake house loans page goes further.

Plenty of people searching Ellsworth end up buying just over the line. Surry sits along Union River Bay where the river opens toward Blue Hill Bay. Lamoine is home to Lamoine State Park. Trenton holds the Hancock County Bar Harbor Airport and the road onto Mount Desert Island. Hancock lies along Route 1 heading east.

These towns bring more shore frontage, more private roads and more seasonal stock than the city center. Treat them like coastal files: check the flood map, ask about the road, and confirm the house works in January.

If you are set on the island itself, my Mount Desert Island home loans page covers Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor and the villages there. Blue Hill, Deer Isle, Castine and Washington County are on my Downeast Maine second home loans page. Buyers working in Bangor can use my Bangor home loans city page.

My name is Travis Penny. I am a Senior Mortgage Broker licensed in Maine and Florida. I am not tied to one bank, so I compare your loan across several lenders, and you talk to me directly from the first call to the closing table. I started in 2004 and I'm still here.

If Ellsworth will be where you live, the menu is wide. Depending on you and the house, I may look at a conventional loan, an FHA loan in Maine, a Maine VA loan if you have served, or a USDA loan where the exact address and your household income fit that program. A lot of Hancock County is rural, so it is worth checking USDA eligibility on the specific property instead of assuming.

Buying your first place? My Maine first time home buyer page walks through how that works. If you run your own business, my self employed home loans in Maine page explains how I document that income for a home you will live in.

If you already own a main home somewhere else and want a place near the park, Ellsworth and its neighbors can work as a second home. The loan is for a one unit property you and your family actually use for part of the year. Renting it for a few weeks while you are away is generally okay. Once a management company or rental program decides when you can stay, it stops being a second home.

Rent you expect to collect on a second home usually does not help you qualify, so the payment needs to work on your own income. If your real plan is to rent the place to Acadia visitors most of the summer and count on that money, I would set it up as an investment purchase. That means more down, and with some programs the rent can help you qualify. A DSCR loan is one path, and it is for investment property only. I offer DSCR in 38 states, and the details are on my DSCR investor loans page. Check local short term rental rules before you plan around rental income. Not everyone will qualify. My vacation home loans page explains second home use in more depth.

Below the dam, the Union River is tidal all the way to Union River Bay. Houses on low ground near the river, the bay shore in Surry or Lamoine, or right at the edge of a lake can land in a FEMA special flood hazard area. When that happens the lender requires flood insurance, and that premium becomes part of your monthly cost. Ask for a quote on the exact address early, while you can still walk away.

Out past the city center, a lot of houses and camps sit on a private road. A road that someone maintains and plows all winter is usually not an issue. The lender will ask who takes care of it and how the costs are split, so ask the seller for any road association papers or written maintenance agreement as soon as you are under contract. A road that is only passable in summer is a different conversation.

Found a lot near Branch Lake or out in Surry and want to build? A conventional one time close construction loan in Maine can cover the land and the build with a single closing, and on the conventional side it can be used for a primary home, a second home or an investment property. Attached condos are not eligible. VA one time close is only for a home you will live in. If you want to buy the land first and build later, read my Maine land loans page. Not everyone will qualify.

If your main house is in Maine or Florida, its equity can help with an Ellsworth purchase. A Maine HELOC, a Florida HELOC or a home equity loan can cover a down payment, and on a smaller camp it may cover the whole price. I will lay that next to a mortgage on the new place so you can compare. After you have owned a second home for a while, usually at least six months, some second mortgage programs go as high as 85% of its value in combined loans. That is an educational maximum only. Not everyone will qualify.

Many Ellsworth buyers live in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York or farther away. That is normal. The house has to be in Maine, and we can do the whole thing by phone, text and email, including a remote closing in most cases. The primary and second home loans I arrange are for property in Maine or Florida. DSCR investor loans are available in 38 states.

• The listing link or the address
• Whether you will live there full time, use it part of the year, or rent it out most of the time
• City water or a private well, and sewer or septic
• Whether the road is town maintained, private, or open only in season
• How the house is heated
• The flood zone if the listing shows it, and any insurance quote you have
• Your planned down payment and where it is coming from
• Recent pay stubs and tax returns, or a quick note on how your business pays you

With that in hand I can tell you which loan fits and point out anything that might slow down the appraisal. Already have a house picked out? Contact me.

Call or text me at (207) 615-7770, email travis@travis.mortgage, or use my contact page. For a shorter version, read my Ellsworth Maine home loan blog post.