Kennebunkport

It was announced yesterday that Green Heron Inn in Kennebunkport is Under Contract. I remember when Green Heron had a breakfast restaurant open to the public and we would make sure to get down there early enough for showings to be able to stop in.

GHI is a great property - I'm very happy for the buyers and sellers. The Swan Agency Sotheby's International Realty's Keith Henley is handling the sale.

Buyers are telling us they want properties with year round possibilities, larger owner's quarters with a separate kitchen from the inn's , nice location and financially feasible. GHI fits the bill.

Kennebunkport is a very popular community for Inns and B&Bs with some of the best in Maine located here. December's Christmas Prelude weekend is as busy as some parts of Maine's July 4th. Extended season and close proximity to Boston make Kennebunkport an especially attractive destination for get aways.

Hopefully we'll be sharing another under contract announcement very soon - there is definitely buzz in the Inn/B&B market right now.

Negotiation

Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree. Dean Acheson
I really like this quote. It is so true that in order for a negotiation to be truly successful both sides need to start with the right attitude and both sides have to feel that they won.
A negotiation on an inn sale is particularly complicated as there are two things at work, valuing the business and valuing the home which, in this case, are the same thing.
A large part of the negotiation involves the seller realizing that their business value is the biggest component, this is what banks are going to look at most seriously.
The emotional part of the negotiation kicks in with the living quarters at the inn, are they minimal or are they almost like having a whole additional house? Key here is how much value the current sellers put on this when they were the buyers.
The bottom line is that inn negotiations are different than residential or commercial real estate negotiations. Once again, we see that these unique properties are a hybrid and must be treated by all involved as such.

Increase in Inquiries

We are seeing a definite increase in interest in our Inn/B&B listings. Bear Mountain Inn http://www.bearmountaininnmaineforsale.com/ Captain Lindsey House http://www.captainlindseyhouseforsale.com/ and East Wind Inn http://www.eastwindinnforsale.com/ have ALL had a spike in visits over the last week.

There were several showings this week and my colleague Dana Moos and I finished the negotiation on a pending sale of a high profile, beautiful Inn property in Southern Maine.

I am very encouraged by this level of activity.

Western Lakes

We are planning a tour of inns in the Lakes area of Maine for next week, a favorite! So many think of just coastal Maine and that is SO not all there is to Maine. In fact, it is fun to meet people that don't know anything about the Coast, they are all about the Lakes and Mountains, skiing and summer camp. I'm looking forward to it.