Gov. Paul LePage and his wife, Ann LePage, have bought a home in Lincoln County, but it could be several years before the Republican and Maine’s first lady actually move in and make it their permanent home.

The couple will live in the Blaine House in Augusta for as long as LePage holds office. Once he leaves office, which could be as soon as January, LePage, 65, will move into his new house, a three-bedroom residence in Boothbay.

LePage is seeking re-election to another four-year term in the fall elections. His opponents will be Democrat Mike Michaud and independent Eliot Cutler.

Alex Willette, a LePage’s re-election campaign spokesman, said the LePages bought the Boothbay home, which was in a bank foreclosure, for $215,000. The town lists the appraised value of the home at $355,000.

“They had been searching for quite some time for a property on the coast,” Willette said Thursday night.

The Colonial-style home, which is 12 years old, has three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms and a two-car garage. The home has a right-of-way to the Damariscotta River. Willette said he does not know its exact address.

Ann LePage will continue to spend her winter months in Florida, where she owns a home in Ormond Beach – north of Daytona Beach. She spends time there with her mother, who has a rare disease known as sclerodema, Willette said.

The LePages lived from 2003 to 2011 in Waterville, where LePage served as mayor. He worked as general manager of Marden’s, a discount retail chain, from 1996 to 2011. Willette said the governor sold his Waterville home three weeks after the 2010 election.

“Paul’s dream was to own a place on the ocean, and we’ve been looking for about 10 years,” Ann LePage told The Lincoln County News in an interview this week. “We found a great piece of property at a great price, and frankly, who wouldn’t want to live in Boothbay?”

Boothbay Selectman Douglas Burnham, 74, has lived in town for nearly all his life. He’s a Republican, but was non-committal about November’s election, saying he will vote for the best qualified candidate for governor.

As for the significance of LePage moving to his town, Burnham replied, “It doesn’t make that much difference.”

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