By Nancy Keates

Erin and Mike Whipple had lived in their house in Yarmouth, Maine, for four years when they learned their next-door neighbors were planning to sell their Colonial home.

The Whipples had long coveted the property because of its spring-fed pond, where the neighbors let them fish, swim and ice skate with their four children.

In 2024, they paid $1.75 million for the house before it hit the market.

"They were friends and they knew we'd take care of it," Erin says.

The renovation

Built in 1997 on the site of a former horse farm, the property along the Royal River included a 1970s-era barn. In early 2025, Erin and Mike spent around $400,000 on a three-month renovation.

They redid the kitchen, tearing out a den to create a larger space and removing cabinets that blocked river views. They also converted a workshop in the barn into a bedroom, updated the main bathroom and added a security and home-automation system. They also did a lot of landscaping and put a gym in the basement.

Can't-miss features

According to Mike, the home's solar panels, wood stove and heat pumps keep energy bills low.

The property features expansive front and backyards, a path leading to the river's edge and a barn with a second-floor game room.

Reason for selling?

The couple are getting divorced. "We wouldn't have left in a million years if it wasn't for the separation," says Mike, a criminal-defense attorney who is now renting a house in Yarmouth.

Erin, 54, a sales executive, also plans to stay in Maine, but couldn't imagine living in the house alone, especially now that all of their children are grown. "I envisioned us with grandchildren there," she says.

What they'll miss

Erin will miss the kitchen's water views and the way the sun setting over the river made the room's white tiles glow orange. Mike will miss walking along the property with his dogs and sitting on the porch looking at the pond.

What they won't miss

Mike, 53, won't miss the seasonal upkeep that comes with the property, from cleaning up leaves during the fall to snowblowing the driveway in the winter.

Market snapshot

The median sales price of a single-family home in Yarmouth was $755,000 year to date, an 8.6% increase over the same period last year, according to the listing agent Jodi Federle of Portside Real Estate Group.

Write to Nancy Keates at Nancy.Keates@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 12, 2026 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT)

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