Waterfront in Maine direct sale

[Benjamin Smith]

Hello, I haven’t posted here in a while. I relied heavily on bigger pockets to help guide me through the sale of a 4 plex in pittsburgh that we now own. It’s nice to be back. 

We are getting ready to purchase our first single family home. We have been renting a really special place right on the water in Penobscot Bay in Maine. The landlords are aging and are sick of maintaining the house which has some significant issues. They’ve offered to cut us an obscene deal on the place and we are gearing up to move forward. 

A couple of questions. First of all we’ve never done a private party sale, we used an agent on the last one. Should we get an RE lawyer? Does ours write the deal or does theirs? Should we just use an agent?

Anyone have any experience with waterfront homes in Maine? The house has some drainage issues and will require some hardscaping and foundation work. What permitting agencies will we need to consult? 

What should we consider regarding taxes? It looks like we are only getting an acre and a half out of the deal which, I think will actually work to our advantage because our taxes will be almost as much as our mortgage. Will we be reappraised immediately after repairing/renovating or can we stay under the radar?