Laura was ready to start a new chapter. After a divorce and the pandemic, which made working from anywhere a real possibility, she decided to make a move from Winchester, Massachusetts, to her favorite place in the country: midcoast Maine. She envisioned a cozy hideaway in a friendly community somewhere that valued the arts and the outdoors, and a hub for her two grown children and their families. But there was one major issue with this plan: Laura didn’t like any of the homes she toured in those areas. “I was driving here frequently to check out listings, and during one of those trips, my son turned up one [listing] for land and we stopped by and fell in love instantly,” Laura says of a property they found in St. George. “On my second visit, a neighbor walked over to say hello and offered to answer any questions, which helped make my decision easier.” But then a second issue came into play. “I was naive in thinking that building would be less expensive than buying a new house, or at l...