Sold Properties

56 Cleveland Avenue, Auburn

Sold on August 6, 2021 for $260,000

I have know this client for many years. He owns a couple properties and thought maybe it was time to sell his duplex this summer. Realtors had been approaching him for nearly a year to sell, with ready willing and able buyers. But, he had his concerns about being represented by the same Realtor as the buyers. I told him about my unique approach to only representing one-side of any real estate sale, and about my sliding commission fees to sellers, depending on where the buyer comes from. He hired me, I got to work and listed the duplex for $240,000. In a couple days we were under contract. During showings I met a lady that grew up in this house and now 30 years later wanted to buy it. She wasn’t represented and I told her I could only represent the seller, and the house already went under contract that day. I told her the best thing she could do at this point is find another Realtor and make a backup offer. And she did. A week later the first buyer backed out and the second buyer was moved to the first position, and the sale went off without a hitch. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. My seller was very happy, and so is the new owner.

18 Arcadia Drive, North Waterboro

Sold on July 13, 2021 for $302,500

This was my seller client’s first home. He bought it when he was 22 years old. A couple years back he bought some land in Jay and built a nice getaway up there, and started renting out this house. When real estate prices sored, he felt it was time to sell this home. In June we settled on a $265,000 list price and prepared the home to sell. Once on the market things got crazy really fast. He didn’t accept the highest price offer, but instead accepted an offer from a young lady starting out in her career and looking for her first home, just like he was when he first bought this home. Real estate prices have really risen in the Lake Arrowhead community. And what a great real estate investment my client made buying this property 13 years ago.

7 Labrador Lane, Scarborough

Sold on April 19, 2021 for $460,000

My buyer client is 26 years old. The neighbor abutting his parents home had decided now was the time to move north. The families have been friends forever. The seller was getting a lot of advice to sell the home on the MLS for the highest price possible in this market. The seller really wanted to sell his home to the son, but how would this even be possible? Now what? Better call Chris is what the parents told their son. He became my client, and the seller became my customer. With a good job and excellent credit, a down payment and a home to buy, anything is possible in 2021. My buyer client was qualified with my preferred lender, the home was inspected and appraised, and 45 days later my 26 year old old buyer client moved into his new home. A couple of his friends have since moved in, which helps with the monthly costs. Of course, having a willing seller as a neighbor these days makes all the difference in the world. And because of that, this client is now set up for the next 30 years to enjoy all the benefits of home ownership. This was a great opportunity for a great young man. I was very happy to help him realize his goal of buying his first home.

15 Old Orchard Road, Saco

Sold on February 23, 2021 for $239,000

This family is a good client. A couple years back we removed all the family belongings out of her father’s home, got it ready to sell and then sold it for them. They know who I am, what I can do, and we trust each other. Now his mom just passed and they hired me to sell her life-long home. Once the home was empty and ready to sell we discussed our options for selling it. They were getting calls from friends looking to buy the home without listing on the MLS. And that’s an option my clients always have with my agency. We can do full brokerage, in-house brokerage, or just help you sell your home to a buyer of your choice. Each choice has its own commission rate based on the work performed, and the seller always chooses the path they want to take. The home was assessed for $154,000 and we knew it would sell for more. We wanted to ask a fair price for the home and let the market decide, so we decided to list on the MLS at $189,000. Now it’s prep time. Since the house was empty, the plan was to set up showings for every half hour for 4 days straight. That was 22 showings a day. After 4 days we had completed 81 showings and I had 31 offers in-hand by our offer deadline. I worked with every buyer’s broker directly, to ensure I understood their offer and presented it correctly. All those friends who made contact before never made an offer. It was a long day with my clients, presenting offers and summarizing choices with spreadsheets. I told them it would be a hard decision up front, and it was. So many qualified buyers are looking for homes, and there just isn’t enough homes to go around right now. In the end my sellers accepted an offer from a 23 year old Maine Maritime graduate who was from central Maine. It was an enormous amount of work in a very short time, but that’s what this market demands, and what my clients expect and deserve from me.

5 Sunrise Avenue, Saco

Sold on June 26, 2020 for $360,000

This couple was the 3rd real buyer clients I’ve ever had. Both veterans, they were staying in a friend’s winter rental as the pandemic was getting serious back in March 2020. Who knew what was going to happen. I got to know them and soon they were ready to roll. They wanted a primary residence they could turn into a summer rental, preferably in the Ocean Park to Camp Ellis area. There were properties sitting on the market then, and sellers were a bit nervous. We decided on a strategy where you find two that you love, you’d be happy with either, and negotiate one against the other. We found two beautiful cottages near the ocean, lost the first and won on the second. It was perfect for them. They bought a one-owner home with a VA loan that was built in 1952! Now they live at the beach in a house that would be worth a lot more one year later. And guess what, we’ve become good friends and I get to go to the beach!

411 Main Street, Springvale

Sold on December 13, 2019 for $192,000

A long-time friend and real estate client decided to sell one of several, multi-family properties she owns. She knew the local real estate company, and also knew my work ethic and past results for her. And Springvale isn’t far at all when you want to help a client through selling their property. Multi-family units are a bit of a challenge in preparing everything necessary to sell, but have become a real passion of mine. Sure, investors are always looking for nice, positive cash-flow properties. And this was one. But you also get young buyers looking to purchase multi-family properties as an entry into real estate ownership. In this case it was both. A young couple from the area looked at the house just before it was listed on the MLS. He was a broker and they already owned one multi-family. They did their due-diligence and made a full price offer. They needed some assistance, and everything was negotiated to be a win-win for both seller and buyer. My seller client was very happy, and blessed to pass the torch to a younger couple, following in her footsteps.

113 Abby Lane, Portland

Sold on November 14, 2019 for $400,000

I have known this family for at least 15 years. Our renovation company completely remodeled the home when the kids were young. Now they are grown and gone, and it was time to look for a home more suitable for the next chapters in their lives. They found their new home and purchased it quickly. Now it was time to get this home on the market. We listed it for sale at 11 AM on a Wednesday, had three showings that day, and it was under contract that evening for $11,000 over list price. I don’t believe in showing a house and collecting offers, only to use one offer against the other for the best possible price. Portland-market buyers are tired of this practice, and so are the brokers. When I was asked on that Wednesday (by a broker) if we were collecting offers to be reviewed collectively at a later date, I said no, my clients were looking at offers as they came in. If they received a good offer, they would accept it. Thank goodness for his buyer, their broker was old school. He took his client out to their car and wrote an offer right there and then. They had made offers on two other homes in Portland, only to loose out in bidding wars. Not this time. Their offer was a great one, and my clients accepted.

299 Back Belmont Road, Belmont

Sold on November 7, 2019 for $92,200

I don’t represent buyer-clients as much as I represent seller-clients. It takes a special connection for me. This buyer-client is a young man just married, with a newborn baby girl and a wonderful wife. I met them in the summer of 2016, without child and not married. We talked about real estate ownership, and since then they have been diligently saving and working on getting ready to buy their first house. It’s amazing to watch and to help young adults buy their first home. I made several trips to the Belfast area, looking at properties with them, from both a real estate value and home condition perspective. Buying the wrong property in the wrong condition can sink a first-time home buyer quickly. They finally found this home, which was well taken care of and had been in the same family since it was built. Family members are still neighbors down the road. So now the family traditions of this home will continue with its new owners. And everyone is so thrilled. A special thank you to Fran Riley of United Realty in Belfast for having the same special connection in her practice, and helping to create a win-win for everyone, even with a broker from southern Maine.

40 Moose Pond Road, Otisfield

Sold on September 20, 2019 for $20,000

I first sold this property for a family friend in 2016, after he had owned the property for 15 years. We sold it to a grandfather, who enjoyed the property with his grandson, fishing and hunting for three years. The buyer was my customer, the seller my client. This past summer the grandfather contacted me and told me he and his wife just bought a bigger piece of property further north, and no longer needed this property. He asked if I wanted to help him sell their property. And of course I did. We found a lovely, young couple from Massachusetts that was looking for a getaway in Maine. Great Moose Real Estate represented the sellers as our clients. The couple from Massachusetts were our very happy customers.

4 Inverness Road, Falmouth

Sold on July 19, 2019 for $690,000

One of my closest and most dear clients over the years decided it was time to downsize from their family home. In April they came up with 5 key challenges that needed to be satisfied, and selling their home was only one of those challenges. They asked a lot of questions to a lot of Realtors. Everything had to work according to their master plan and in the correct order. Anything completed out of turn would add unneeded stress and upset the other challenges they faced. This is where providing whole-product solutions for seniors, and not just the brokerage of their home, always creates auspicious results every time. My clients are so happy! Everything worked out according to their plan, and everything they needed was provided to them through our companies. Great Moose Real Estate represented the sellers as our clients in the brokerage of their home. Great Moose Lake Corporation provided the invaluable whole-product solutions.

148 Burnham Road, Scarborough

Sold on April 25, 2019 for $394,000

Great Moose Real Estate helped our clients purchase this home at auction last spring. The plan was to completely renovate the home for one of their children. Our sister company, Great Moose Lake Corporation performed all the renovations throughout the summer. The home looked beautiful when it was completed. And then plans changed and we listed the home for sale. A wonderful local family purchased this home to raise their family in. Great Moose Real Estate represented the sellers as our clients.

197 State Street, Gorham

Sold on January 4, 2019 for $150,000

Great Moose Real Estate met the children of the original owners, who were their parents. They grew up in this house. Mom was the last to pass and the home had been empty for more than a year. I offered to go out and took a look at the property and give them some options. On that visit, the stories told of growing up in the house and having life-long neighbors as good friends were very emotional. The grand daughter of the original neighbors may be interested in the home. Her parents now lived next door in their parent’s home. After all their choices were discussed, the sellers agreed they wanted the home to go to the grand daughter. We were happy to honor the seller’s wishes, and worked with the grand daughter to purchase her new home! Great Moose Real Estate represented the sellers as our clients. The grand daughter was our happy customer.

8 Noble Avenue, Scarborough

Sold on November 27, 2018 for $110,000

The original owner passed in 2014 and left this property to his three sons. Since then, two of his sons also passed. Great Moose was introduced to the remaining son, by the buyer. They had agreed on price and terms, and the buyer needed an experienced broker to bring their handshake deal to a closing. It was soon discovered the brother’s heirs needed to get through the probate process, before they would be legally able to sell the property. And time was of the essence. After two months of steady work and constant communication to all parties, this sale closed a month ahead of schedule. Great Moose represented the sellers. The buyer who introduced us, was our customer.

111 Bradley Street #6, Saco

Sold on October 1, 2018 for $172,500

The original owner of this home was 91 when he was moved to assisted living, two years after his wife passed. His children live in Florida, New Hampshire and Maine. And the house was filled with a lifetime of possessions. The family thought $150,000 was a fair price for the home, with everything in it. They just didn’t have the heart to remove their parent’s possessions. And what would they do with everything? Our sister company specializing in personal clean out, clean up situations like this, offered the family a better solution. Everything in the home was re-purposed, valuable items were set aside for the family, items were stored for the family to pick up at a later date. And once the house was empty it was cleaned up and it sparkled. The home was on the market for 13 days at a list price of $175,000.

31 Highland Avenue, Scarborough

Sold on September 21, 2018 for $175,000

The original owner of this home is 87 years old. Her husband had passed 2 years ago. It was time for her to move to her daughter’s home nearby. Several friends of the family were made aware of her plans to sell and offered to buy her house. She was not happy with their offers. Her daughter then contacted me and explained their situation. She asked if I would take a look at the house and meet her mother. Mom is a very charming lady with a lot of spunk, who was adamant that the home her husband built for her was worth $175,000. And I agreed. Great Moose listed her house with her instructions to tell everyone she would take not a penny less. We showed the house 31 times and had eight offers. We were under contract in less than two days, to the first person who offered $175,000. Great Grandmothers are always right. And Great Moose Real Estate loves going to bat for them.

16 Hillside Avenue, Biddeford

Sold on June 7, 2018 for $193,000

The owner of this home was 87 when she passed. Her children live in Massachusetts and Maine. The house was filled with a lifetime of possessions and they thought the home was worth maybe $130,000 in its present condition. They just didn’t have the time or heart to remove everything and find contractors to do the repairs. Our sister company offered the family a better solution. Everything in the home was re-purposed and valuable items were set aside for the family. Repairs were performed to get the house ready to sell. And once the house was empty it was cleaned up and looked great. The home was on the market for 3 days at a list price of $185,000.

9 Old Sawmill Lane, Arundel

Sold on May 11, 2018 for $372,000

Our banker introduced me to this frustrated seller. For the past 2 1/2 years he had been trying to sell this property with two of the biggest commercial real estate companies in southern Maine. Their results were only one showing between them in 2 1/2 years. And no one had ever talked with the abutters. So we did. There were some past disagreements identified to be settled, however abutters are many times the best buyers. Everything was worked out and it was the perfect win-win outcome for both parties. Great Moose Real Estate represented the seller and the buyer was our customer, who after purchasing this commercial building hired our sister company to do floor plan redesigns and upgrades for their new tenants.

Auspicious Results!

Proven strategies, whole product solutions & exceptional results are what you can always expect from Great Moose Real Estate. 

Considering a different approach?  Better call Chris and see for yourself.

Chris Griffith
Designated Broker/Owner
Great Moose Real Estate
210 Payne Road
Scarborough, ME 04074
(207) 232 8817
cgriff@greatmoose.com