Mainers Are About To Get A $104 Check In The Mail From the State

I'm not sure I feel comfortable using the term free money, but that's what it sure feels like when you get random checks in the mail. You open your mail box, and BOOM! Free money. However, I bet there's a lot of folks that may feel this really isn't a good use of money. Such is life.

First of all there's a small catch. You do have to be in the Homestead Tax Exemption program. That's for folks who've lived in Maine for at least 12 months, and intend to make the property their permanent residence. So seasonal property owners will not qualify.

But because of a new state law, those who do qualify for the homestead exemption are eligible to be part of the Property Tax Relief Fund. When this fund reaches a certain threshold, folks that are eligible will receive checks of no less than $100. And right now, some 300,000 Mainers qualify, according to WGME - TV13.

They'll begin sending them right away, issuing about 20,000 checks a day, and going alphabetical order by town. So Bangor and Brewer, woohoo! Winterport...maybe not so excited. Tomorrow they open their hotline for any questions. That number is 207-624-7477 and select option 3.

For a lot of us, a little extra cash right after the holidays can't possibly be a bad thing. But naturally, there will be a bunch of people who hate this too. And I get it. They feel our current state government gives away too much money, and maybe they're right. But I bet they still cash the check.