Bangor Broker Specializes in Luxury Properties Worldwide

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Bangor Broker Specializes in Luxury Properties WorldwideOriginal published in Foster's Daily Democrat

You don't have to go any farther than Bangor to look into buying a 17th-century chateau in France, a villa in Argentina, an island in Uganda or a 31-bedroom palace in Egypt.

Those are among the properties that are marketed by Trimble Private Brokerage, a sales and consulting firm that specializes in luxury real estate around the world, including islands and other properties in Maine.

James Trimble, the owner of the company, has an affinity for some of the nicer things in life. This week he heads to Austria to meet counterparts who make up what amounts to a who's who in luxury real estate.

But he's also firmly grounded in Maine, where his company has offices in Bangor, Addison, Camden and Portland. He has a total of 20 employees.

Trimble fell in love with Maine when he was 20 and spent a summer at a neighbor's summer home at Hancock Point.

He moved to the state, became a real estate agent and worked for brokers in Castine and Brewer before setting off on his own in the early 1980s, working out of his house in Sebec village.

The business took off and he moved to Bangor, where he occupies a pleasant suite of offices with great views.

The luxury part of Trimble's business got its start with Maine islands, which are still a mainstay for him.

He has an impressive list of coastal, lakefront, island and various other Maine properties for sale, ranging from the John French House above Lincolnville Beach to a 6,500-square-foot French country manor home on Branch Lake with 1,000 feet of frontage.

Trimble has a fondness for islands, and says nothing beats sitting on a peaceful island with a glass of wine and a nice cigar. He said islands are becoming harder to buy all the time, and that 50 percent of island purchases are made by preservation groups.

"It's like running your own planet," he said. "It somehow seems inconceivable that you could own an island."

When he started selling Maine islands to an affluent clientele, Trimble found it natural to start marketing other high-end and faraway real estate.

With the properties in other states and foreign countries, Trimble acts as a kind of advertising agency. Without real estate licenses in those other places, he can't show real estate there.

But with his expertise, Trimble often travels to distant places to help set prices for properties, and markets them in ways local agents can't. He spends about $30,000 a month to advertise in publications that reach the rich, or people who cater to the needs of the rich, such as Luxury Real Estate.com magazine and Web site; duPont Registry, a buyer's gallery of nice homes; Unique Homes; and the Blue Book of Luxury Brokers.

When Trimble is contacted by would-be buyers, he refers them to the listing agent for a showing. The commission is split according to a predetermined formula.

His company's Web site now lists properties in Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Dubai, Egypt, Fiji, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Thailand, and Uruguay, among others.

Some of the properties are listed for tens of millions of dollars.