Bay Area has been under new ownership for about 2 years now. Service has been oustanding…read more Communication great. The best title insurance companies thoroughly conduct a title search, investigate the property's ownership records, and ensure smooth ownership transfer for the seller and purchaser. Bay Area does all this and more. Highly recommend!

Stay away if any party to the transaction is from out of town. They seem to be flummoxed by…read moretransactions involving trusts or out of town buyers as Sue, the President, complained about both to me. I found Bay Area to be uncommunicative and rude. On the day of our closing I sent two e-mails and a voice message requesting a status update. After receiving no replies, at 4:48 PM (the office closes at 5 PM) I finally got through to Sue, the President. When I voiced my displeasure at her lack of communication, she scolded me and told me she didn't respond because she was BUSY WITH CLOSINGS. Yep, never mind I was calling about my own closing - she did not pick up on the irony. Oh, and my closing didn't happen that day, not that Sue showed any concern. I'm not surprised though since Bay Area waited until the last possible moment to send docs for signature, resulting in unnecessary overnight delivery fees. When I requested they send docs to me via e-mail for printing and signature to expedite things and save money, they refused, citing their "special" paper (this turned out to be standard stock, no letterhead, no nothing). I suspect they don't have a scanner. If this is an important transaction for you, go elsewhere. This place is in the Stone Age.

From the moment I first spoke to Mike Weisman, he gained my trust and confidence. A bit of context:…read moreA recent widower at the time, my mother wanted to relocate from her farmhouse in Maine to a +55 community in Massachusetts so that she could be near my two sisters and their families. She had a unique home and an adjacent parcel of land, each surrounded on three sides by a state park. I was facilitating the process of selling both properties virtually from San Francisco. I had called and spoken to a few local realtors. The valuations for the home deviated substantially from our expectations. One agent even acknowledged that she did not know how to price the property. What??? Mike, on the other hand, understands the market and the value proposition these properties offered to the right buyer. He was knowledgeable of the area and pursued a pricing strategy that yielded quick results. Had we pursued relationships with any of the other realtors, our asking price for the farmhouse would have started at least $80,000 below Mike's valuation. After selecting Mike, he didn't disappear. He took on a hands-on approach and kindly held our hands through the entire process. He is a super marketer; from the description, he crafted to the 3-D, immersive walk-through he created and to the professional-grade photography, he understands the value of showmanship. His work made me want to buy the property. Mike is the best communicator. On our initial call, he spent as much time as I required to understand his philosophy and approach, what differentiates his reality from his competitors, and to ask questions. He was thorough, clear, and concise. Even when I was overtaken by other, more pressing events, Mike was patient. When we started receiving offers, he was on the phone with us ready to talk strategy. Mike negotiated up the price, and we got the asking price. Mike was also adept at finding prospective buyers (outside of his marketing leads) for the property. He approached the State of Maine and others whom he thought might be interested. Again, we sold the parcel of land above the asking price. We were delighted that we sold both properties quickly and all without sacrificing price. It would simply have been impossible for my mother to have withstood the enormity of this transition had it not been for Mike's expertise, knowledge, patience, and understanding. Mike made selling the properties hassle-free (I mean literally) and fun. Even after both properties were sold, Mike cared enough to follow up with my mother and me to see how she was doing. You can't get better, more personable service from a realtor. He is the best. If I lived in Maine, he would be a good friend. Jim Allen

From the owner: Need to know how much your house is worth? Call now for your free home evaluation!…read more The home of the Real Property Team at EXP Realty, your local experts on everything real estate related in Maine.

Overall we are very satisfied with the work done for us and two other buyers as we purchased a…read moremulti-unit home from a long distance. There were a couple of times when, mixed in with the complexities of getting all of our ducks in a row, we would have really appreciated an update on how the work was gong, but in the end they produced a clean title for us and walked us through a rather complicated signing process..

From the owner: Atlantic Coast Title Company, LLC is a proudly Maine owned and operated residential and commercial…read morereal estate settlement services provider. Our staff has extraordinary longevity and depth which, combined with the Company's commitment to performing accurate and professional title and closing services, makes us who we are today--a clear industry leader.

I had a house on the market for over a year and a half. I met Steven when I was thinking of…read morerelocating to a different city. He made such an impression on me that I remembered him three months later when I decided to change realtors instead of changing cities and see if he could sell my house that was on the market. Steven came and took pictures two days later, a Friday, and had my house listed, including a virtual tour, by Monday. My house went under contract two weeks later and closed in three weeks. He's personable, engaging, knowledgeable, and simply the best. I would highly recommend him to anyone trying to buy or sell real estate.

My brother recommended Steven to us in early 2015 (Steven had helped him find and purchase a lake…read morehome.) Steven helped us find and purchase our vacation home this past year. He was great. Always provided answers to our questions in a very timely manner sometimes this included weekend texts, emails and calls- he was always available. This was Our first real estate purchase since we married. Steven helped us through the process and was always patient with all of our quirky requests.

The Hatcher Group is a professional and successful real estate team. They had an offer on my house…read morelast year within two days of it going on the market, for asking price! John and his team do an amazing job with marketing your house - like no other in the state. Highly recommend!!

The best real estate agent in the Southern Maine area! So much experience, very professional, and…read moregets results! I highly recommend John and his team!

I have worked with Jon at MaineLand Real Estate on a couple of properties, and would highly…read morerecommend Jon for anyone looking to buy or sell ...

From the owner: Real Estate Services, Real Estate Buyer Broker, Real Estate Listing Services, Real Estate Agentsread more

I recently sold a home in a neighborhood managed by Reese, and when I reviewed a draft of the…read moreclosing statement 2 days before closing, I learned that Reese told the settlement agent that I owed more than $1,300 in past due HOA fees and late charges covering 8 months of dues as far back as 4 years ago, and that amount was being withheld from my sales proceeds and paid to Reese. I had never received any notice from Reese before that moment that they were showing an unpaid balance, and I could see through my online banking that I had paid on time every single month. But when I called Reese to protest they said the statement in their file showed I owed that amount, but they had switched banks and switched accounting systems and couldn't verify transaction detail that far back. I would have to present them with canceled checks in order to clear the balance and eliminate their claim to $1,300 of my sales proceeds. I don't keep paper records that far back, and only about 18 months of statements are available on my bank's website, so I needed to submit a records request to the bank for evidence of my payments to Reese. That can't happen in 2 days. So I had to sit back and watch Reese use its power to hold up my sale to effectively extort $1,300 from me. On top of all this, they did a bad job of caring for the grounds in the neighborhood, and showed poor responsiveness to the 2 or 3 requests/issues I had during my years of home ownership there.

Very UNPROFESSIONAL management company. They have managed two different HOAs I have been associated…read morewith. They are completely incompetent with regard to resale information which sabotages sales in communities. They drag their feet in supplying necessary information IF they admit to receiving the request at all (even when requested multiple times). When asked to drop off paperwork or funds in person, they are adamantly against it. The staff especially Lee Koch who is the atty in charge are very rude. Mr Koch has even gone as far as making threats to members of the HOA. I advise any HOA board who is using Reese to get out of the contract/not renew and I advise any HOA considering them for management to look elsewhere. Consider yourself warned.

Selling our Portland, Maine townhouse after 25 years was a daunting task. Reports of a changing…read morehousing market, coupled with a complicated & unfamiliar real estate process, made clear 'For Sale by Owner' was not an option for us. From the Vitalius Real Estate Group market reports & newsletters received in the mail, we determined Elise Loschiavo had the experience & knowledge to sell our condo. Elise didn't disappoint. Elise demonstrated the expertise on how to best market our townhouse and kept us abreast on each step, explaining the real estate process, terminology & contracts in terms we understood. Elise's resource network, including a stager & photographer, was critical in making our townhouse competitive with other condos listed for our area. Appreciation of Elise's services & resources grew when, after selling our condo, we relocated to Oregon switching to the role of Buyer. Exploring area listings on internet sites and onsite tours, we found several houses profiled the Sellers' life in residence, not a place my wife & I could make our new home: * Oversized/numerous pieces of furniture giving a room a cramped look; * Personal photos or knickknacks throughout the home; and * Spaces, especially closets, filled with clothing, toys, storages boxes, etc. Thanks to Elise & her network of resources, our listing avoided these shortcomings by presenting our condo in a manner a Buyer could picture themselves living in. The Result: Our condo was under contract within two days and $20k over the asking price. Our cross-country move from Maine to Oregon required making numerous & daily decisions. One of our best decisions was enlisting Elise as our real estate agent to sell our Portland, ME condo.

Elise was wonderful to work with selling our townhouse. She was patient especially since we had…read moresome tight timelines. Her estimate of what our unit would sell for was very accurate. Communication is also one of her strengths. I highly recommend Elise and Vitalius Real Estate!!!