Road Associations Important to Maine Lakefront Property Owners

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Road Associations Important to Maine Lakefront Property Owners

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When marketing your lakefront home, it’s important that you belong to a road association. Prior to the credit crisis of September 2008, a private road association, or lack thereof, was of little concern to lenders. But the reforms ushered in after the crisis made membership in a road association vital in meeting the standards of the secondary market, Fannie Mae.



So . . . if your camp is located on a private road, there needs to be a road association that maintains it year round and plows it in the winter. If not, the secondary market won’t buy the paper from a mortgage broker or bank. Banks are forced to write the deal as a portfolio loan at a much higher rate, making the seller’s property less attractive to potential buyers.
Camp roads, which are privately owned and therefore not maintained by municipalities, have been known to greatly contribute to lake water quality problems. Their sub-standard construction often features unstable and undersized culverts, poor surface materials, inadequate ditch size or no ditches at all and erosion. (Not to say that municipalities’ roads are any better).
State laws require landowners to maintain “adequate and timely measures to prevent unreasonable erosion and sedimentation” and are set to protect our natural resources.
The State of Maine has specific rules, guidelines and templates available at this Web site to help you and your neighbors organize a road association:  www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/roadassociation.
Besides helping you sell your house, a road association provides the following benefits:
•    A voice to local government on issues affecting your community
•    Preservation of the environment and natural beauty
•    Monitoring of street drainage and erosion controls
•    Appropriate street repairs and sign maintenance
•    A unified neighborhood organization to monitor proposed changes that affect all
An example of a road association success story is Kimball Pond in Vienna. According to the 30 Mile River Watershed Association, “Growing year-round usage of the Day Road had created more costly road maintenance and traffic performance problems for land owners, as well as threatened the health and water quality of Kimball Pond. The Day Road Association took the first step toward improving its camp road and protecting the lake by contacting 30MRWA for help.
The goal was to create something that would be affordable, fully functional and long-lasting. Last year a formal road association was formed, using the new statutory model as a guide. With guidance and assistance from 30MRWA, as well as the help of many landowner-volunteers who contributed their time, equipment and resources, the newly-formed Day Road Association has begun making and implementing work priorities and continues to set budget priorities as a planning process for continuing the road work. As a result, the storm water from normal and heavy rainfall and snow melt is being properly drained, which reduces road deterioration as well as protects the water quality of Kimball Pond from polluted storm water runoff.”
It sounds like a win-win situation. The water quality improves, you meet and work with your neighbors and buyers seeking a mortgage have an easier ride.
To aid in the sale of your lakefront property on a private road, we strongly encourage you to have a legally binding private road agreement for joint road maintenance with your neighbors.
To learn more about lakefront properties for sale on Kimball Pond, click on the green box above.
To learn more about the Vienna area of the Belgrade Lakes Region, check out the blog links below.
Parker Pond in Fayette and Vienna, Maine: A Perfect Place to Let the World Slip By
Flying Pond, the Best Kept Secret in the Belgrade Lakes Region

Contemporary Cape on Parker Pond, Fayette, Maine: Neat as a Pin Lakefront House

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