Sarah, I am a small local direct lender in the Houston area.

I am not sure how you are intending to manage, but beware the local labor pool is not the greatest and I think you may have some issues finding either decent management or finding decent workers if you intend to self manage. 

Both are local investor associations with plenty of vendor members that are local to us. 

They did give you info that they love your place, plan to stay forever, and accordingly you should increase the rent $250 per month if allowed by your local laws for the aggravation of dealing with them. 

The local rules and regulations for building in our area is what is keeping the volume of building low.

Labor, materials, insurance, interest, local property taxes - yes.

If you are planning on investing in Maine, make sure you work with one of us realtors that understands investing and knows the local market so we can advise you properly.

If not you, where could I get this type of mentoring and learning in my local area?

I would suggest you find a good local hard money lender.

You may want to consider a local bank for more attractive terms.