Episode 8: Financing with Confidence Part 2 - A Conversation with Greg Dauphinee of Androscoggin Bank

“Financing with Confidence: Local Lending Strategies with Greg Dauphinee (Part 2)”

In the second half of my conversation with Greg Dauphinee, Senior Loan Officer at Androscoggin Bank, we explore how working with a local community lender can give buyers a meaningful edge in Maine’s competitive real estate market.

Greg shares insightful stories from the field—moments where common-sense lending and local control made all the difference in getting deals done. From navigating unique title issues to helping clients purchase new homes before selling their current ones, this episode is full of smart strategies and actionable advice.

We discuss:

• Why a local bank’s flexibility and cultural understanding matters—especially in Maine.
• The increasing prevalence of parental and grandparental gifts for first-time buyers and high-end purchases alike
• How Androscoggin Bank supports medical professionals with 0% down loans based on signed contracts—even before they’ve started work
• Greg’s practical exercise for first-time buyers to test their mortgage budget and build savings
• The importance of relationships, community, and trust in Maine’s real estate and lending networks

This episode is a must-listen for anyone buying in Maine—whether you're a first-time buyer or making a lifestyle move to your dream home.

🔗 Links & Contact Info

💼 Learn more about Androscoggin Bank:
 https://www.androscogginbank.com

Contact Greg: GDauphinee@androscogginbank.com (or just run into him at Standard Baking, where he loves to get his coffee!)

Elegant Maine Living explores Maine’s homes, communities, and people—through the lens of lifestyle, values, and thoughtful living. I host conversations with leaders, creators, and advisors who help illuminate what it truly means to live well in Maine.

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Transcript

EML - Greg Dauphinee Pt.2 5.11.25

Elise Kiely: [00:00:00] Welcome to Elegant Maine Living, where we explore the beauty, charm and sophistication of life in Maine. My name is Elise Kiely, your host, and a real estate advisor with Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty. On each episode, we dive into Maine's residential real estate market, sharing key trends, inventory, insights, and notable sales, while also highlighting the extraordinary lifestyle that makes Maine such a special place to live, work, and play.

Elise Kiely: Whether you're seeking a coastal retreat. A vibrant community or an escape into nature. Elegant Maine living is your guide to the home and experiences that defined our great state. Let's get started. Greg, very [00:01:00] excited to continue our discussion about financing in today's real estate market and how our listeners can finance with confidence as they navigate the uncertainty and volatility in today's market.

Elise Kiely: And let's get started. I'm excited to get into it. Let's turn a little bit to what's happening in today's with interest rates. Last time I checked they were either side of seven, maybe creeping a little below seven. We had some big news last night. I don't know at the, the tariffs with the 90 day pause, I don't know if that's going to have an impact or it has had an impact, but where do you see things now?

Greg Dauphinee: Well, it's been a crazy week for sure. The volatility's been pretty amazing and a lot of that comes from what we talked about just a second ago. Expectations. The market likes knowing what to expect when they don't know what to expect, whether it's tariffs or not Tariffs. Now we have tariffs. Now we're going to take 'em back off.

Greg Dauphinee: It's going to [00:02:00] be at 30% and it's going to be 104. It's really, that's what drives the market volatility. And just this week it went down to, this is what is today? Today's the 10th. Yeah. In the beginning of the week it was, low six is like 6.375. Wow. Yesterday we went back up to 6.875.

Greg Dauphinee: I think today it's settled down a little bit to. Probably six, 6.75 today. So it's all over the board. 

Elise Kiely: Yeah, it really is. And there was a recent Wall Street Journal article that talked, this was a couple weeks ago, that talked about buyers coming out of the woodwork, and that buyers were starting to realize that, okay, you know what, we're not going to see 5% in the short term interest rates, let alone the threes that people were getting in the middle of Covid and that people's lives had to go on. People were starting families fracturing, families, starting jobs, moving natural attrition, and that people who had been on the sidelines were starting to come in. How have you seen deal flow recently? Are you [00:03:00] seeing more buyers or has it been steady? This beginning of this year, 

Greg Dauphinee: it has been surprisingly steady and better than last year at this time for me personally.

Greg Dauphinee: January, February, March. Last year, 24 was, volume was kinda low. I felt it picked up throughout the year and it did well, but it started out slow. Rates weren't as good. So with that improvement I've seen this first quarter start out probably double what it was last year for me. 

Elise Kiely: Wow. Yeah. Oh, that's significant.

Elise Kiely: Yes. And have you seen that more at the tail end? 

Greg Dauphinee: No. January, February, March, February we're strong too. Yeah. And now like April is super strong. That's really interesting. April and May, 

Elise Kiely: one of the things that I routinely and a lot of my colleagues do, but talk to colleagues around the country in the Sotheby's International Realty Network, and there's a common theme that people have been sharing and these networking opportunities and groups have really taken off [00:04:00] during Covid when everybody was home and we could create relationships with people in our feeder markets very easily. California, Florida, the New England area, DC New York.

Elise Kiely: And the common theme of these agents was. Was sharing ideas of helping buyers craft a really competitive offer. And price is obviously an important term, but only one of the terms. And the other term is financing. And it's been generally considered good strategy to use a local community bank, a local lender with local control.

Elise Kiely: And that's a philosophy I espouse very strongly. 

Greg Dauphinee: Do your colleagues in bigger metropolitan cities feel the same, or is that, is it different in those markets? 

Elise Kiely: That's a great question. I would say that is a consistent strategy that I'm hearing, whether you're in a big metropolitan city or a smaller market like Portland, Maine it.

Elise Kiely: That feeling of control has been, is just been considered very helpful. And do you see yourself, when you're in competition, [00:05:00] do you see yourself in competition with big national lenders, or is it, do most people recognize, do you think the value of a local institution? 

Greg Dauphinee: I think agents like yourself have positioned it well with the client before it gets to us. So they know why they're talking to me and why they're talking to a local community bank. Sometimes they don't, and sometimes they like having bank of whatever, and they'll question me sometimes it's like why would we getting pushed to, I said you're not getting pushed.

Greg Dauphinee: I said, when if you're selling your house and you have three offers and your agent's advising you saying, okay. This one's cash or this one's got this financing with it. I know this lender and I know this institution because they've referred clients themselves probably. They probably did some financing personally with that community bank, and they can assure them that this will close.

Greg Dauphinee: If I have an [00:06:00] issue, I can get ahold of the lender and the lender's reputation is on the line. If I don't get a deal done. Like I said, would, that's future business, right? That I won't be getting. But if you're dealing with bank of whatever and your loan officer's in a cubicle in Cleveland somewhere, 

Elise Kiely: that's, it's much harder to control.

Elise Kiely: He doesn't care. And the, and to relate. Yeah. I think, and to be fair, a lot of clients come with established relationships with larger institutions, and it's, I can, I completely understand. It's easier. They already have all the documentation, they already have access to the accounts or whatever, and it's just.

Elise Kiely: When I'm representing a client here, I am focused on getting this deal done as elegantly and painlessly as possible, and you and I both know there, there are several pain points even before there's the getting all the documentation together, the prequalification, the making the application, but there are potential pain points even after all the documentation is in to the closing.

Elise Kiely: There is appraisal, there's appraisal review, there [00:07:00] are last minute changes, and I've just found that local control is super important when it comes to avoiding those pain points. The last thing I want is all the furniture in the moving truck, the house is clean and maybe the buyer and the seller had a little bit, they drew swords a little bit on price or inspection or something, and then I have to call a listing agent and say, I know that your clients have moved out and are counting on these funds to buy their next home.

Elise Kiely: We've got an issue, right? It's a solvable issue. But there's going to be some pain and it, we might delay closing a week. That's not a, that's not a fun phone call to make and nor is it a fun one to receive.

Greg Dauphinee: And a lot of times it's things the client wouldn't even think about . You don't know about a private road maintenance agreement or there's a, an issue with title.

Greg Dauphinee: If you're coming from, if you're coming from Austin, Texas, and everything is just. These big developments and it's all cookie cutter. That's one thing. But if you have, weird title stuff because it's from 18 whatever, 

Elise Kiely: or I love, in New England and [00:08:00] maybe other states too, but in Maine, how many times have we seen?

Elise Kiely: There's a private road, I don't know, there's six homes on it. We get together. We get together at the holidays and everyone puts money in the kitty, and that's how we do the road maintenance, right? And it's just a handshake. There's nothing written down. And frankly, some people would be offended if they were asked to write something down.

Elise Kiely: That doesn't fly with some national lenders. Exactly. But a local bank understands the culture Exactly. A little bit, which is super helpful. Let's dive into a little bit about the different types of loans that you're seeing now. Are you seeing conventional, jumbo?

Greg Dauphinee: I did a lot more jumbo during covid 

Elise Kiely: and let's back up.

Elise Kiely: What is jumbo rates right now? 

Greg Dauphinee: The jumbo level, right now, the conventional loan limit is $806,500. 

Elise Kiely: $ 806,500 Your loan amount is a above, is above that , if it's above that, then it's jumbo, 

Greg Dauphinee: it's jumbo. So I did a lot more jumbo probably during COVID and then for whatever reason this last year just now, conventional loan limits [00:09:00] went up the last couple years. So there's partly that partly the cash out there people are putting more down so they're not needing to finance as much. But I'm right at that 600 to 800, 600 is pretty, it is pretty solid. A lot of. Doctor loans right now. 

Elise Kiely: So I wanna ask you about both of those.

Elise Kiely: I definitely wanna ask you about doctor loans, but let's go back to, there's a lot, people are putting more money down and we are right at the beginning, in my opinion, of this 84, $87 trillion transfer of wealth from the greatest generation. Baby boomers empty nesters to their adult children or maybe even grandchildren are.

Elise Kiely: Are you seeing it's, I'm seeing that in my practice that being a quite an influential piece to people's acquisition of property. Are you seeing gifting? Yes. Yes, I am. From that transfer of wealth, can you talk a little bit about that? 

Greg Dauphinee: It's pretty common for people to get gifts of 50, 60, a hundred thousand from parents and. [00:10:00] Then sometimes it comes from competing parents, so her father's going to give this much, so now his father's going to give, and it's, it is a dueling situation in that sense. 

Elise Kiely: That's interesting. And you can accept the, those gifts from a parent as part of the down payment, right?

Elise Kiely: Is that right? 

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. So we have a boilerplate gift letter, and it's just to be able to track the money to show that they weren't getting a loan from. Another institution somewhere. And that's why there's 75,000 now in their account, dropped in the new account. 

Elise Kiely: I love that competition of parental giving.

Elise Kiely: Wow, that's interesting. 

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. A good problem to have, right? Yes, exactly. 

Elise Kiely: And because I see that quite a bit in my practice as well. In fact, I was representing some lovely buyers buying a very high end home in the greater Portland area, and we were talking about how they were going to transfer the funds to the title company, and he shared with me that he was transferring a significant amount of cash to their child so that they could be competitive with a mostly cash, if not all [00:11:00] cash offer out of state because.

Elise Kiely: In where the, where their son was living, it was still very competitive, multiple bids. And to be successful, they felt like they needed to be in a strong cash position. And early in COVID, I remember seeing people were hesitant or almost embarrassed to say that there was going to be this gift of money, and now I am seeing it so common that I assure my clients, I please do not feel badly about this.

Elise Kiely: This is a competitive strategy. Without this, you would be at a disadvantage. And because I'm seeing it so common. Yep. It's interesting to see the influence of cash and there was a recent Sotheby's International Realty Survey done and of the responders of real estate advisors within Sotheby's, over 50% of the deals were cash, which is extraordinary. And I think often they were cash not contingent. And maybe the buyers would buy with cash, had [00:12:00] financing set up, or would finance after closing because their gift tax consequences. And please know, listeners, this is not accounting advice refer to your professional advisor, your accountant for that type of advice.

Elise Kiely: But it is a trend that, that we're, that I'm starting to see. Greg, let's talk a little bit about the doctor's loans, because you and I both have a lot of doctors who are clients and we're so grateful to have them. We're so grateful that they're coming to some of our medical institutions and hospitals here.

Elise Kiely: What sort of products do are out there for doctors? 

Greg Dauphinee: So we internally have a proprietary. It's really a medical professional loan. It's not just for doctors. It's for anyone that can prescribe medication. So it's a little bit different than others that you might see out there. So doctors, dentists, vets, PAs, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, anyone that can prescribe medication.

Elise Kiely: It's pretty broad. 

Greg Dauphinee: It can be pretty broad. So if they have educational debt that's in deferment, we won't count that against them in their debt [00:13:00] ratio. And it's a lot of times people going from. The residency where they're making 60, 70, but now they're getting the big contract. And it's three, 400,000.

Greg Dauphinee: So it helps 'them with that transition. 'because a lot of times they don't have a down payment because they've just been grinding. 

Elise Kiely: So they'll have a higher percentage loan because of you, because the institution sees the income potential. 

Greg Dauphinee: So we will go to 90 or a hundred percent if need be. Wow. Still a hundred.

Elise Kiely: Still hundred. That's interesting. Yes. So are you seeing that a big part of your practice? The phy, the medical professional loans.

Greg Dauphinee: It's probably, honestly it's a big part, but it's sub substantial. Especially right now. Now's the time where they're coming in, they're interviewing, starting to get their contracts for August.

Greg Dauphinee: July, August. So another thing that we will do as a local community bank that others won't, we will qualify 'them off the signed contract that they've accepted. Even though they haven't started yet. 

Elise Kiely: Oh, wow. So they might be starting in [00:14:00] August, but you can use that 

Elise Kiely: contract if they wanna close in May.

Elise Kiely: Wow. 

Greg Dauphinee: So a lot of institutions want you to start within 60 days of closing. But if there are ways out, we'll help 'them navigate that. 'because a lot of times they're coming here, they already have families. They want to get the kids registered in schools. Get them into camp. Start making friends.

Greg Dauphinee: Exactly. Just transitioned in. And they don't wanna have to wait until. Mid-summer. 

Elise Kiely: That makes perfect sense. Are most of the medical professionals aware of these loans or is this news to them?

Greg Dauphinee: A lot of them talk to each other so they know that there's a doctor loan out there. It's more about the fine guidelines about different doctor loans that would affect them in ways that they wouldn't understand.

Greg Dauphinee: So it's important. The agents out there that do have these doctors that come in know who has what to offer. 

Elise Kiely: That's, I think it is. It just shows. Again, communication is so important. Being aware of what loans are out there is so important for real estate advisors and the relationship that you [00:15:00] have with the network of real estate advisors you work with and the relationships I have with lenders like yourself and others, that we are always aware of what the options are so we can advise our clients. 'because that's the most important thing. Yeah. Is that we best serve the client. 

Greg Dauphinee: I'd say good loan officers. I.

Greg Dauphinee: It is not just making sure the agents know, but we talk amongst ourselves. So I'll know another local community bank that might have a specific product right now that would be better for a client than anything I have. Or they have someone in this situation that wants to close now, but he can't do the deal 'because his doctor loan doesn't allow him to be that far out from starting so. I get calls often from other lenders, 

Elise Kiely: so you refer each other, right? 

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: I will say, Greg, that's one of the lovely things about living in Maine. I always say we have a really good real estate brokerage community. There are I can't think of a real estate broker that I wouldn't want to sit down and have lunch with or dinner with or share ideas with.

Elise Kiely: I think it's a very [00:16:00] professional, collaborative community and clearly we compete and we all want business. But it's. It's a very civilized way, and I think the same is true among the lenders. We have a great local community bank network in Maine. We're very fortunate to have that. And obviously they're competing and the loan officers are competing, but there are some that are skilled in one and experts in one area and others in another area, which I just it's such a lovely community in which to work.

Greg Dauphinee: It is. It's I also find it too, when they're more established. They're more eager to share.

Elise Kiely: Isn't that true? I mean it's You have a more of an abundant mindset. 

Greg Dauphinee: Exactly. I don't need this deal. This isn't going to make or break my month. That's right. And it's What would you do if you didn't need the check, if you were, my brother and I knew that was 2% lower over there.

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. You need to go talk to John. 

Elise Kiely: And it may be that you've filled your. Your pool of loans for that month or that quarter, that time period? 

Greg Dauphinee: No, I always, never, [00:17:00] always take a loan. Never, always take a loan. Said. 

Elise Kiely: Greg, let's talk a little bit about you. Some stories.

Elise Kiely: You have had some really unique experiences where you have come in. Maybe you've been the second lender that's come in. When the first deal fell apart a little bit. Can you share some of those sort of war stories with us? I think they're very interesting. 

Greg Dauphinee: Ah, good stories. I have one right now where it, I am, I'm the third lender on it, and I was actually at lunch with another lender and he's I got this deal I think you, you're going to be able to do 'cause I can't do it.

Greg Dauphinee: And someone was, they were selling a house, wanted to buy another house, it was under contract. 

Elise Kiely: The house to sell was under contract. Or the house to buy. 

Greg Dauphinee: The one they, the buy to buy. Okay. So they bought one and 'cause the lenders, the first lender thought, oh yeah, I can do this. And then they figure out later, a lot of the down payment was coming from a gift.

Greg Dauphinee: An inheritance, but it was not in their name. So the, a lot of the down [00:18:00] payment wasn't available to them. So the lender couldn't use it as down payment. Also, the fact that. They needed to buy the house before selling their current house. 

Elise Kiely: Always scary. 

Greg Dauphinee: And they're basically going to be paying it down to nothing almost when they're done.

Greg Dauphinee: So we was able to. Common sense underwriting. Look at this. See that he was the beneficiary of these funds. They are going to be coming. Some of 'em had come already 'cause they're coming from different investment accounts. So we understood that piece had a good portion down, and then we allowed them because they had a listing agreement on the house that they're going to sell.

Greg Dauphinee: We knew that it was going to go to market and that debt's going to go away. So we. Eliminated that debt and the debt ratio, knowing that they could be paying it down soon. And it did allow them to, be able to buy this first and then we will just have them put money down and [00:19:00] recast the loan at the end and lower it to what it would've been if he had the proceeds from the sale of the home prior to buying a home.

Elise Kiely: Wow. And could they keep the interest rate? 

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. We'll just, you just recast it. We'll just recast it. 

Elise Kiely: Wow. And so are that, have you seen a lot of. I wanna buy this new house. Have you seen a lot of that situation? That's a lot. But I'm going to be selling this house.

Greg Dauphinee: I see a lot, especially coming in from outta state.

Greg Dauphinee: So the bank has been really accommodating to help people with those transitions. And sometimes it's helping them access the liquidity in the house that they're going to sell. If it's in Maine, we will do a home equity line of credit or something like that to take some of that so they have a down payment, help 'em get into the new house, and then once the other house sells, they either pay it down, we'll recast it and lower it to what it would've been if they had the money up front.

Elise Kiely: We're still in an environment where sellers are not. Very excited about accepting a house sale. Contingent. Contingent on another sale. Exactly. So you have to go in and buy that [00:20:00] without that sale of house contingency, which means you have to be comfortable that you can hold both. And the lender has to be comfortable that you're qualified.

Elise Kiely: And that's part of also, if it's a Maine. Transaction. That's part of the advantage of being with a local lender because you're going to know the community. If the house they're selling is in this community, you're going to know the Exactly probability of selling the house and what the house will probably sell for.

Elise Kiely: Yes. Which is, yeah, which is super helpful and I think we're going to start seeing some more of that as we start seeing more activity. And I think we will start to see more activity people going ahead and buying their dream house, their lifestyle house. And I see this a lot of buyers coming in have a certain idea of what they want the next chapter of their life to look like.

Elise Kiely: And whether that is as a couple, as an individual or a family, or a retired couple or empty nester couple, they have this vision. They realize life is short. I want this house on the water. [00:21:00] Ocean River Lake, or I want this downtown Portland condo or downtown bath Condo or Brunswick, or the new Biddeford Condos.

Elise Kiely: And I, I want, I want to start living that life. I don't want to wait. And I want that life, and I want it now. We have, very low tolerance for patience. Now and I understand that because. Life is uncertain and there's a great phrase, why wait.

Greg Dauphinee: When you're seeing people come in, are they surprised that Maine, I know we've mentioned before that a lot of times it looks like a deal, but do you find that there's also a contingency of people that.

Greg Dauphinee: Are you like, oh, we're going to go to Maine. It's a small little rural place. And then they're like, oh, crap. These prices are 

Elise Kiely: Greg I definitely see that I was that person. I moved to Maine with barely two nickels to rub together and thinking, oh, we'll save some money and we'll have this beautiful house on the water with a rolling green lawn, and there'll be a dock and it'll be a beautiful kitchen thing.

Elise Kiely: And of course it'll be it'll just be [00:22:00] much more affordable. I think there's definitely that and then, now people search online so much, they get an idea of the price point in the market, but. There's definitely this feeling of I will get the estate on the water for a fraction of the cost.

Elise Kiely: It is a fraction. It's a fraction of what you'd pay in California or Florida or Georgia. The Hamptons, of course, of the islands, but it is still, we have drawn because of our brand, because it's such an attractive place to live, work, raise a family. We have been very attractive and we've drawn some lovely people from out of state and who have the means to buy significant properties. And it is still a significant investment to have certain lifestyle properties and it's well worth it. The value is there for the cost without a doubt. 

Greg Dauphinee: I, and I just personally can't, I don't see it going down. 

Elise Kiely: A hundred percent. I totally agree. I think if you look at the demographics that are present right now and what we [00:23:00] expect in the next 10, 15, 20 years, I think there will be continued demand for that signature Maine property and that signature Maine property might be on the coast.

Elise Kiely: It might be on a lake. It might be in one of our wonderful communities where everybody's heading out to the soccer fields on Saturday mornings together, because that's when the children play soccer. It, signature property means different things to different people.

Greg Dauphinee: It depends on what stage of life they're in.

Elise Kiely: 100% and every stage is a great stage Greg? That's right. It is. I feel so blessed that I was able to raise my family here, and I will tell you, my children are incredibly proud to be from Maine. It says something when you say you're from Maine. People find that interesting. What do they.

Greg Dauphinee: How do you know that? What do they say? What do you, what do your kids have? They mentioned that in, in passing now that they've been gone for a little bit. 

Elise Kiely: That's a great question. So both of my children are out of college. One lives in Utah, one lives in Boston. I. And [00:24:00] whenever we would travel, my daughter was very much into ballet, and so we would go down for auditions for a bunch of different things and we'd go out of state and I would be talking to other families that were there doing the same thing, or my son was very much into baseball.

Elise Kiely: And so we traveled all up and down the East coast for baseball, and I could see when I said, we're from Maine. What the people's eyes would light up. And then I would see my children, when they would talk to people their age their new friends about, they're from Maine. It just, you could tell the recipient of that information.

Elise Kiely: They were intrigued. They leaned in a little bit. Yeah. And I will never forget. Going to drop off my daughter first year, freshman year at UVM and telling people from Maine, and it just said something, it just, it did. 

Greg Dauphinee: It has a wholesomeness to it.

Elise Kiely: It does. It's, it's this, it's the same brand as LL bean.

Elise Kiely: It's outdoors. It's healthy, it's activity, it's it integrity. It's hard work. It's humble. It's understated. It's not flashy. [00:25:00] It is authentic. 

Greg Dauphinee: That is so true because I, when we moved, we used to live in, I lived in San Diego for a long time after I got out of the service and then we were getting ready to have kids.

Greg Dauphinee: My first was born and we wanted, I wanted to come back to Maine the way life should be. I read the brochures and 

Elise Kiely: you drank the Kool-Aid.

Greg Dauphinee: I drank the Kool-Aid and coming back, I really, it was noticeably apparent to me and the word was moderation. Meaning, that's a great word for Maine. Yeah, for Maine.

Greg Dauphinee: 'cause it was, the ice cream store on the corner is opening up and everyone's excited about it. Why? 'cause it's only going to be open for three months. That's right. In San Diego you can get ice cream all day, every day, all year. It was 74 degrees all day. Every day it got to a point where it's I wanna wear a sweater.

Greg Dauphinee: But Maine was one of these places where moderation was one of these things. Whether it was the weather. Whether it was [00:26:00] homes, cars, how people dressed. Everything was moderation. And that's why you appreciate it a little bit more because it's limited. I think that's the amount of time 

Elise Kiely: I think that's, I think that's so true, Greg.

Elise Kiely: And there's some communities where I've been traveling where you can tell it's an arms race in terms of clothes, purses, cars, whatever. And here, understatedness is valued more than are you wearing the right shoes or the right carrying the right handbag. It is authentic. It is intentional, and it's it's really an oasis.

Greg Dauphinee: It's a slower pace. 

Elise Kiely: It is a, it's a slower pace and it's more, it's a little bit more real. It's something too where, and you just 

Greg Dauphinee: get to a different stage in life where you can appreciate it more. I remember when we first came back and I. I'd probably been living here just over a year and a half.

Greg Dauphinee: And everything was just obviously slower pace. And I went back to Boston to [00:27:00] see a friend. I was, it was a conference or something and I went in and was meeting him at a restaurant. So this is about a year and a half of being in Maine after being in the city. And I was sitting there waiting for him, and I'm looking around the room.

Greg Dauphinee: It was like a downtown restaurant. Busy people coming in and out. You wanna see? Yes. They got power suits, everyone's, and I'm just sitting there and he comes and he says, Hey, how you doing? He says, I said, can you feel it? He says, what? I said, I can feel the competition in the room. Oh, wow. It was, whether it was the bar manager, making sure everything's working the way it can so he can get his bonus and these guys, having power lunches, trying to do deals, it's like. I could just feel the difference and it really stood out to me how much being in Maine just lowers your blood pressure a little bit. 

Elise Kiely: Yeah. Yeah. It is. That it is true. It's the way, it's the way life should be and on through this podcast.

Elise Kiely: I want to talk to people that have been here for generations and very proud families that have been here for [00:28:00] decades, and to people that have newly discovered Maine. Maybe they went to college here and they wanted to come back, raise families here, or people that are just dreaming of boy, it would be nice to live and raise my family or live myself and my partner in Maine and we welcome people to Maine. And that is one of the surprising things. I think when I first, we first decided to move to Maine, I was a little apprehensive. Being from away, I thought, I'll never get invited to a party. It'll be very hard to integrate into the community 'because my family is not from here. And I had a certain narrative about how difficult it would be to integrate and I have never met nicer people than I have when I moved to Maine and it's a very low barriers to entry to get involved. And you can have a significant impact by your involvement and pick your passion, right? Literacy children, senior citizens, food insecurity, housing. There's a place for everybody and it's not just go to a cocktail party, write a check and leave it.

Elise Kiely: You can do that and [00:29:00] all those organizations would love that, but it's also, would you like to teach English as a second language on Saturday mornings we have a slot from nine to 10 at the Portland Public Library, or would you like to mentor young girls through the Olympia Snow Leadership Institute and girls in high school right there?

Elise Kiely: There are different ways you can have a real direct impact and. I'm at a stage in my life where that's super attractive and to be that involved in the community, and I think that's one of the elegant things about living in Maine. 

Elise Kiely: Greg let's turn it a bit and let's talk about where we see the lending environment and the real estate market going in the next six to 12 months. We talked a little bit earlier about the volatility going on right now. You and I both shared that we do not see correction in terms of prices. I see a variability and appreciation. COVID, right? I think there was one year we hit 20%, 12%, I think we're south of 10%.

Elise Kiely: North of five. 

Greg Dauphinee: I [00:30:00] agree. 

Greg Dauphinee: But where do you see from a lending practice, what do you see any trends coming or predictions? The biggest thing right now, especially we have a new administration right now the biggest thing that's going to affect interest rates is going to be inflation. And if inflation can get under control the rates will subside.

Greg Dauphinee: I think it was two summers ago, we thought, inflation was keep coming down and rates would be back into the fives again. But that didn't happen, right? 

Elise Kiely: We kept waiting for it and it didn't, so we kept waiting.

Greg Dauphinee: It never happened. And there's a lot of people that said, oh, I'm going to do an adjustable rate 'cause I'm just going to refinance in 18 months.

Greg Dauphinee: It's here we are 24 to 30 months later and that's not happening. I think it's important for people. If you need a house and the house fits, you buy the house. Because if you wait till next year, it's going to be another, it's going to be more. You can always with Bill, the saying is, date the rate.

Greg Dauphinee: Date the rate. Marry the house. Marry the house. Because [00:31:00] you can refinance that rate later. But you can't renegotiate that price. 

Elise Kiely: That's right. And if you keep waiting for the rates to come back to where your brother, your cousin, your neighbor got a three, it's not a competition. It's not a competition.

Elise Kiely: And you'll be waiting a long time, ultimately paying more for the property. 

Greg Dauphinee: And they have to understand too I explained this to, I think it was last November, not just past, but the prior, I had a young woman like buying a condo downtown and she was wondering, should I wait? 'because rates are so high.

Greg Dauphinee: I said, once again, we can refinance this later. But you have to understand and there were rates were like seven and a half, 7.75 at the time for every 1% lower in interest rate. Nationwide, it's about another 5 million people can qualify to buy a house. Can you say that again, Greg? That's a really important statistic.

Greg Dauphinee: So as the rates come down, more people can now afford a house especially at certain price points. Or you, if you're [00:32:00] buying a house and the rate's 7%, your payment's going to be X. Now if it goes down to 6%, you can, for the same payment, buy more of a house. When the rates go down now when you have more people in the market that can afford it, you have more competition, which is now going to drive the price up.

Elise Kiely: That's and you'll be in competitive bidding situation with that, right? With your, with those other buyers. So you have less competition at the higher 

Greg Dauphinee: rate, right? You get the house and then later on when the rates get better, you can refinance that. 

Elise Kiely: That's right. That's right. I think that's, I think that's great advice.

Elise Kiely: Let me ask you a real quick about appraisals. Have you seen, with the appreciation going up, have you seen appraisals be an issue? I haven't seen it be an issue for the clients that I've dealt with, I probably had two in the last six months not come in at value. But the clients that I'm working with on, like in those situations, they were putting so much down it didn't affect their finance 

Elise Kiely: and the deal still closed.

Greg Dauphinee: The deal still closed. 

Elise Kiely: Because they were, had so much gifting ca cash or they had cash reserves themselves, 

Greg Dauphinee: they were putting 40% [00:33:00] down or 30% down. So if it comes in. Two, 3% light, it didn't affect their qualifications. 

Elise Kiely: What advice would you give to people who are either first time home buyers or seasoned homeowners looking to trade and they're starting to get ready for their home search and they're going to be financing a percentage of the purchase.

Elise Kiely: What advice would you give them to start getting ready? 

Greg Dauphinee: Getting pre-qualified. What, like a good agent would tell them, 'because you don't want to show 'them a bunch of properties, and they'll find out later that they can't afford it. And it's so competitive. You want to de-stress the situation as much as possible when you're in it.

Greg Dauphinee: 'cause when that, oh, we're just kinda looking because we're not really. In the market. But then I get a call, on a Saturday morning, this just hit Yeah. The house is never on the market until it's on the market and then it's full speed ahead. So it's like a pressure cooker and it's whatever you can get done and off your plate before you're under duress and have to make an offer.[00:34:00] 

Greg Dauphinee: And how much over asking price are you going to go? Are you going to do an escalation clause or not? You want to know all those numbers. So what's the cap? If the perfect house came along? And what's the max number that you would want to offer? 

Elise Kiely: So do people call you often and or existing clients? Future clients or client, existing clients, children.

Elise Kiely: Are they welcome to call you, have a conversation, share with you, this is what we make, this is our debt. Roughly, where do you think we could qualify? Do you have those conversations? 

Greg Dauphinee: I have those all the time. All day. I'll get off one call, I'll be on another call and a lot of times it's figuring out where they want to be at the end and working backwards.

Greg Dauphinee: Reverse engineer. What they can do and afford. Okay. A lot of times with younger, I don't say younger, but first time buyers. A lot of times they'll think, oh, I can afford this much of a house, and I like to go through a drill with them. A lot of times they'll be living with parents trying to save up money, [00:35:00] and the houses that they want are, I don't know, 3 75 or 400 or something like that, and they think that they can afford it.

Greg Dauphinee: It's okay, let's. Let's play this game and they're going to save money for the next six months, they're saying, or whatever. I said, okay, set up a separate bank account. 'because now the payment's going to be, let's just save $3,800. And they're used to paying nothing. I said, okay, set up a bank account and then the two of you put that mortgage payment into that account for six months.

Greg Dauphinee: See how that feels. That's great advice. Okay. When you do that, it's okay, role play. After six months or four months. It's no, I don't like this. I wanna go out to eat more. Or I want to, I want to travel. I want to travel. Now you know that you need to buy less of a house. And congratulations.

Greg Dauphinee: Now you have $10,000 right. In that account. It goes. Travel what? 

Greg Dauphinee: That's actually, I haven't heard that advice before, Greg. That's a great strategy. I love that. I'm going to, I'm going to borrow that and share that with my children. That's wonderful. Greg, I cannot thank you enough for coming on.

Greg Dauphinee: I think [00:36:00] you have such valuable insight. You're so approachable, so professional. I do have some signature questions I ask every guest because I think they're interesting and they help us get to know you better. What do you find elegant about living in Maine? 

Greg Dauphinee: I think it's the moderation that I talked about.

Greg Dauphinee: I, I feel, and I don't know if El maybe it's not elegant, but I appreciate each season for what it is. And, winters, no one likes a long drawn out winner. The skiers. The skiers do. But at the same time, spring serves its purpose. Summer's enjoyable. I totally love fall, and I just look at it like, like the ages of your kids. There's different stages, and if you don't appreciate the one you're in, you're missing it. You're missing it. 

Elise Kiely: You're missing it. That's so true. You have to keep your eyes open. What about a favorite hidden gem or special place in Maine for you? 

Greg Dauphinee: Right now we have a place on a lake.

Greg Dauphinee: So going camp, as we call them. In main camp. Yes. Yep. So being [00:37:00] there and, paddle boarding and that's my special place. But bef before that. For a long time, we took the kids, we would we'd go up to Bath, and then you go down one of those fingers towards Popham Beach. Yeah, that's a beautiful beach where they film the notebook and all that, right?

Greg Dauphinee: You keep going and then down towards the end, if you go past it, there's a Herman Island, small point beach. It's a little conclave, beach. It's real gradual, the kids, you didn't have to worry about, the waves coming and sucking 'em out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Greg Dauphinee: And they could play. And because it was so gradual, it was warmer than most Maine waters. And we would go pack a cooler, get a half sun tent, and just be there all day. Wow. And they had like little bathrooms there. They had a, a little grocery store and we'd spend the day just. Looking for seashells and doing stuff like that.

Greg Dauphinee: And then it's just, it was a special place. We, that sounds wonderful. We do it every year. 

Elise Kiely: And they weren't on the phones, weren't on the tablets. 

Greg Dauphinee: They weren't on the phones, weren't on the tablets. 

Elise Kiely: And yeah, there's something about being in [00:38:00] water that's so restorative, I think. I love that. How about a favorite coffee shop where you meet clients or colleagues?

Greg Dauphinee: I love, it's not really a coffee shop, but I love going to Standard Baking. It's near the office. It's a great European bakery and they have great coffee. There's signature coffee there. So just get a cup of that. Get a warm croissant. 

Elise Kiely: And then I was going to say, you walk out without a baked good then 

Greg Dauphinee: yeah.

Greg Dauphinee: Grab a baked good. And then, just do a walk and talk down. Yeah. Commercial. 

Elise Kiely: That's a great spot. You and I talk a lot about different books that have been impactful to us and podcasts and everything. Do you have a special book that has meant a lot to you? 

Greg Dauphinee: I think number one would probably be the Bible.

Greg Dauphinee: That's a special book. And as far as other books I like John Gottman for relationship books. If his biographies like Walter, Isaccson is it I Is ? I, yes. Yes. Steve Jobs, he did one on Musk. Benjamin Franklin. He did one on Musk recently. It was so good. Yeah. So good stuff. 

Elise Kiely: You mentioned one to me when we were prepping for this, about that a [00:39:00] senior officer had given you when you were accepting a new position.

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah. I got selected towards the end of my career to be on a three star Admiral staff. And it's a position you interview for and. The first day the senior enlisted guy is checking me in and everything, and he hands me this little book. He says, this is the attitude you have to work here. And the, it was just a little book that's called Message to Garcia, and it is, it's all about mindset.

Greg Dauphinee: It's about someone not having to tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, but just giving you the task and you going and doing it and getting it done. Yeah. Yeah. Message to Garcia, 

Elise Kiely: I love that. I love that I could talk to you for hours about books and mindset and intentionality and, a growth mindset.

Elise Kiely: Favorite sports team. I. 

Greg Dauphinee: I've gotten to a point where I don't want to be that emotionally attached after the Patriots, lost Tom Brady. And it's hard. And Bellecheck is hard. Yeah. We got so [00:40:00] used to winning. It's, I know it's hard.

Elise Kiely: I know you could you, Maine can be it too if you've, if you're a main person, great.

Elise Kiely: That's fine. How about one talent you wish you had that you don't think you had? You may have it, but you don't think you have.

Greg Dauphinee: I wish I had a photographic memory. Is that a talent? 

Elise Kiely: I think so. Let's call it one. 

Greg Dauphinee: Yeah, let's call it one. I think that would be helpful. Help with a lot of things. 

Elise Kiely: Yes, for sure.

Elise Kiely: I agree. Greg, thank you again. Any final words of wisdom for buyers navigating the market right now? 

Greg Dauphinee: I think one of the biggest things buyers can do is have a really good agent, and I'm not just saying that 'cause you're here, but. 

Elise Kiely: And there are lots of them in this community. There really are.

Greg Dauphinee: And I can't tell you how many times I've seen offers taken and selected, whether it's financing or not financing, because of the agent's reputation. The listing agent advises their clients, okay, this agent over here with this offer, that's a strong offer. She's going to help it get across the finish line.

Greg Dauphinee: This is going to happen. If there's something comes up, [00:41:00] it's not going to be a drama. We'll solve it. So it's not going to be seen. It's, we're going to navigate through this and work it out. And I think because it's such a small community, it's really important to have someone that's connected.

Greg Dauphinee: And it might not even be negotiating, maybe it's just 'cause they're connected and they know stuff coming on the market. 

Elise Kiely: A hundred percent. There's so much of that you, 

Greg Dauphinee: when you can get into a house and not have it be on the market and competitive, but you gotta be connected. You have to know what you're doing.

Greg Dauphinee: And. Just you, I'm sure you get calls. Might not even be your listing. It could be somebody else or a client because you're out there in the community so much. You're at, your spin class or whatever, and absolutely, someone's going to list a house, but they don't want to have to thousand people running through their house.

Greg Dauphinee: And you'd be like, yeah, actually I know someone that is looking in that neighborhood.

Elise Kiely: And it, that house may still come on the market, but because you have advanced notice, you have time to breathe. You have time to drive around the neighborhood. Exactly. You have time to do a little research.

Elise Kiely: You have time to really think about it, because [00:42:00] once that valuable signature property comes on the market and inventory levels are still very low, that you have to move quickly. And there's some, there's four personality types, there's some personality types that's really hard and extremely uncomfortable.

Elise Kiely: And if you get. A week, 10 days, three days notice, at least it gives you some time to breathe and live with it for a little bit right before you have to pull the trigger.

Elise Kiely: So Greg, thank you so much. This has been, 

Greg Dauphinee: it's so great to be with you today. 

Elise Kiely: So helpful. I really appreciate your time. I know how busy you are and I appreciate the words of wisdom on, setting expectations if you find the right house buy the right house you can refinance later. You can, but that house will become probably more expensive in the future. And in these times of volatility and uncertainty, really lean on your trusted advisors, whether they are your local lender, whether they're your real estate advisor, your attorney, really lean on the resources that you have, and [00:43:00] I appreciate your love and affection for our state.

Elise Kiely: Thank you for joining us on Elegant Maine Living. I. And remember, if you are dreaming of a lifestyle in Maine or already living it, this podcast is for you. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. And I invite you to take this journey with me. Please share it with your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.

Elise Kiely: I would love a review and welcome feedback and encourage you to reach out with questions or topics you would like to hear about. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or simply an email to elise@elisekiely.com, and all of those links will be in the show notes. And remember, this podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not create an attorney-client, or real estate advisory relationship.

Elise Kiely: I am happy to engage. If you have any questions or if I can help in your [00:44:00] real estate journey, simply click on the links in the show notes to contact me through social media or email. I am always happy to help in any way that I can, and we welcome you to come and explore Maine. Thank you for listening to Elegant Maine Living, where elegance isn't just an aesthetic, it's a way of life.

Elise Kiely: Until next time, keep living with [00:45:00] elegance.