Chief Justice Roberts buys home in Maine

ST. GEORGE – John Roberts, the chief justice of the United States, has bought a house and land from among “This Old House” personality Steve Thomas’ properties on Hupper Island off Port Clyde.

The transaction was recorded this week in Knox County Registry of Deeds.

According to the records, the Robertses secured a $275,000 mortgage and a $100,000 credit agreement to buy the property. Both loans are for 30-year terms – the latter mortgage was at an 8 percent variable rate.

The home sits about 225 feet from shore with a water view toward Port Clyde General Store on the mainland. It has a right of way to the beach.

Island Institute estimates that Hupper Island comprises 350 to 400 acres and has more than a mile of shoreline. It has 20 to 30 homes, none of which are lived in year-round, a town official said Thursday

It is located about 500 yards from the tip of the peninsula, across from Port Clyde. The island is generally accessed by small boats.

On Thursday, Rockland attorney James Brannan confirmed the chief justice and his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, bought a home on Hupper Island, noting he had power of attorney to seal the deal. He declined further comment.

The Robertses recently had their attorney inquire about registering a skiff and purchasing a mooring in town, Brannan noted.

Roberts, 51, was confirmed as chief justice of the United States last fall. Before joining the Supreme Court, Roberts was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

His wife is a lawyer, former legal counsel for Feminists for Life, and a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

They live in Chevy Chase, Md, a Washington, D.C., suburb, and have two adopted children.

The Robertses’ two-story white colonial was recently assessed at $891,000, according to tax records of Montgomery County, Md.

The home they purchased this week on Hupper Island is assessed at $172,800. The 2005 assessment is for a 2.1-acre parcel assessed at $50,800 and building assessed at $122,000, according to a town clerk.

Thomas, former host of “This Old House”, and his wife, Evelyn S. Blum of Salem, Mass., sold the property to the Robertses. They own another property on the island.

After 14 years, Thomas celebrated his final year as host of the home improvement series “This Old House” during the 2002-03 season, according to the show’s Web site.