Maine Housing Search Makes Moving Easy
A new website is making finding a new home or apartment in Maine easier.
Mainehousingsearch.org is an online rental listing service that “links people who need housing with the housing they need.” Funded by the Maine State Housing Authority, the Department of Health and Human Services, and 2-1-1 Maine, the website is designed to help Mainers with all of their house hunting needs.
Currently, the website has over 700 listings with over 7,000 units and 450 vacancies across all 16 Maine counties, with the numbers expected to grow. Searches can be done on criteria such as location, price, and accessibility features, and vacancy details are updated daily. Maps and pictures of properties are also available, as well as a calculator to help determine what’s in your price range depending on your income. All property managers and owners who list on the site must abide by Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity regulations that prohibit discrimination.
The website offers a rental checklist that can be printed and brought to properties to track what each has and what each needs, a sample moving expense spreadsheet, a calculator to help figure out exactly how much a move will cost, and a glossary of different housing definitions. The website also acts as a reference for other services that can be helpful when searching for a home, including many educational links.
For homeowners and landlords, the benefits of listing property on the website include a statewide marketing campaign and the ability to update information in real time. The information can be accessed 24-hours a day at the prospective buyer or renter’s leisure.
While the housing website is still new, the state funded programs that started the site are committed to making it the most popular rental listing service in Maine. The centralized information is free, and for those without access to the internet they can call 1-877-428-8844 for a complete housing listing. And perhaps in due time, mainehousingsearch.org will be the place to be online if you’re looking to move in Maine.
For more information about the new housing website and to view all of its resources including available homes and apartments, please visit www.mainehousingsearch.org.
