It looks like the OP picked Maine as his residence because of the low cost of living. The trouble with that approach is the cost of living is low for a reason. There is a lot of poverty and not a lot of industry in Maine. I don't think of Maine as home to a lot of wealthy farmers and ranchers. There are a lot of small, subsistence farming operations there.
When I pick a place to invest in residential real estate, I look for a strong, growing economy. I want people with good jobs but a reason to rent instead of buy to occupy my units. I do not look at places where the economy is dying and there are not a lot of people moving in to take good jobs.
I may be wrong about Maine's economic prospects, but if I'm not, the OP is likely taking on the same risks that caused him to lose the apartment building in 2009. A downturn in the state and local economy could have his tenants vacating as they did where he was in the last recession. Without new tenants with jobs to replace them, he would be likely to lose his Maine property, as he lost the property in 2009.
The OP understands the benefits of owning and operating a rental real estate business. I'm just not sure he picked a low risk location for the business.
Our life goal was to live on a small subsistence farm, and we have accomplished that. You are correct there is a growing community of small subsistence farms here.
Since we moved to Maine we have been watching the local economy. While over 92% of the state is forest, there is no money to be made in forestry. Lumber is cheaper when it is imported. The paper industry is shrinking as the internet takes over. Our pulp mills have been shutting down, towns have been going bust.
The nearby state university campus has re-branded itself as a party school and it draws a lot of students from out of state. We have been considering renting to students only. There are a lot of locals that are under-employed or marginally employed, if a landlord ever rented to any of the locals, you would most definitely end up having to evict each one of these locals. As they simply lack sufficient income to honestly cover rent long-term.
In my travels, I have seen that cities with high paying jobs always seem to have a high COL, real estate prices are higher. I have owned properties in California, Scotland, Connecticut and in Washington. If I had a much higher income I might consider real estate in a high COL, again. But as a retiree, I simply do not have that level of income.
To be able to support my family on my pension, I needed a low COL region, which Maine is. Maine is the oldest state with the highest percentage of retirees. [I know everyone thinks this distinction should be Florida, right?] People who only have SS or SSDI for income when they find Maine, they learn that they can own a cabin in the woods, raise some chickens and pigs, and they can get by okay. If your SS is between $700 and $800/month it is extremely difficult to survive in most other regions.