A Private Island Off the Coast of Maine Sold for $339,000—But There Was a Catch

When actual property agent Billy Milliken listed his personal island on the market final June, it was neither the place nor what one would count on. Listed for $339,000, the 1.5-acre Duck Ledges Island will not be in a tropical Caribbean paradise, however somewhat wedged between Acadia Nationwide Park and the Canadian border, off the coast of Maine. With just one small dune shack just a few toes from the coast, the small plot is as rustic as they arrive. And although its worth was compelling, it was this sudden caveat that captured the information cycle’s eye final summer time: Whoever purchased the land would first must spend an evening on the distant isle.

Milliken’s rationale for this request was rooted in his love for the homespun escape, which he bought unexpectedly in 2007. Like many personal islands, the one method to entry Duck Ledges is by boat, so when Milliken was providing a tour of the place to a potential purchaser, he was absolutely ready to promote it that day. Nevertheless, one thing concerning the new potential proprietor didn’t sit proper with Milliken: The person introduced with him sufficient firearms to begin a small military, and he meant on utilizing them to slaughter the island’s wildlife for enjoyable. Milliken didn’t deem the person worthy of the island’s pure magnificence and, together with the proprietor, refused to promote it to him.

So Milliken purchased Duck Ledges Island himself, spending the final 15 years falling deeper for its secluded lure. He mounted it up, too, constructing a 540-square-foot cottage that’s as quaint and charming because the island itself. Through the years, he had introduced his household and pals for alfresco dinners and campfires, sharing the majesty of the unassuming island with anybody keen to develop into the sufferer of some mosquitoes. However when he bought an even bigger island close by—11 acres in complete—he knew he couldn’t give Duck Ledges the eye it deserved and put it again in the marketplace, enthusiastically keen to promote to anybody who may very well be not simply an proprietor, however a steward of the house. Although lovely, the island is uninhabitable within the winter as a consequence of excessive climate and doesn’t have working water, so the request to have a future proprietor spend the evening was additionally a method to make sure patrons knew what they have been entering into.