Mountain Man and City Girl

I have never been described politically as anything other than a liberal.  A bleeding heart liberal, maybe even.  I care about the common man, of which I count myself.

 But I do draw the line.

In the 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that the township of Mt. Laurel was unlawfully excluding low and moderate income families from town.  Over the course of the next nine years, the Court found the same happening in Mahwah, Franklin Township, Chester, and again Mt. Laurel.

 The result was the Fair Housing Act of 1985.  The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) was formed, under the auspices of the state Department of Community Affairs, to enforce regulations enacted to combat this practice.

COAH’s mission was and is “To facilitate the production of sound, affordable housing for low and moderate income households by providing the most effective process to municipalities, housing, providers, non-profit and for profit developers to address a construction obligation within the framework of sound comprehensive planning.”

 Poppycock!  Bullfeathers!

What the law said, in effect, was that no matter how nice or exclusive your town is, you will be forced to supply your COAH-mandated quota of low and moderate income housing.

I vigorously oppose this forced integration of different economic levels of people.  It’s un-American.

I have an above average income, but I’ve never been so foolhardy to think that I can afford to live in Palm Springs, California or West Palm Beach, Florida or Newport, Rhode Island or a hundred other exclusive locals.  I don’t whine about it.  I don’t try to force a town to make sure there is a cheap house for me to buy.

Life is economics.  You have to live in a community that you can afford.  Interference by legislative do-gooders is not right.

My first home was in rural Maine.  It’s all I could afford.  My next property was in rural North Carolina.  Again, it was all I could afford.  I understood my place in the economic pecking order and I accepted it.  I lived within my means.

My first home in Cape May County was purchased when I was 44 years old.  I scrimped and saved.  I worked two and three jobs.  I never turned down overtime.  I was aware that hard work equalled rewards - in this case a nice home at the Jersey shore.

Two communities in Cape May County are being forced to shoulder an unfair burden of affordable housing.  By 2018, Middle Township - which includes Rio Grande and Cape May Court House - must supply 934 units.  Upper Township is on the hook for 531 units.  Yikes, that’s crazy!

The effect on the two school systems, the police force, the services needed will hamper existing homeowners with an even larger tax burden than they already have.  And their way of life will change forever.

It’s time to repeal the Fair Housing Act.  Government meddles in our lives way too much.  COAH is living proof of that.

Despite media reports that the real estate market is in the doldrums, active full-time real estate agents are finding that not to be the truth.  At least here in Cape May County, New Jersey.

 With interest rates hovering around five percent and ample property inventory at rock bottom prices, savvy buyers see opportunity.

 Here’s the real estate activity in the Wildwoods - that includes Wildwood, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach - as of May 11, 2009:

 Single family homes - 268 currently for sale, 19 currently under contract, 88 sold in the past year.

 Multi-family homes - 117 for sale, 4 under contract, 34 sold.

Condominiums/townhomes - 1065 for sale, 79 under contract, 433 sold.

 The number that jumps right out is 433 condos sold in the past year.  That’s impressive.  And keep in mind that this figure is only for Multiple Listing Service sales serviced by a realtor - not private sales, sheriff sales and bank sales handled without a realtor.

 Throw in the single family and multi-family sales and it’s 555 properties that were sold.  Another 102 will close soon.  That’s hardly a “dead market” as some doom and gloomers would have you believe.

The average condo sold for $318,670, with the median for days on the market (DOM) at 154 days (or about 5 months).  The total sales were $137 million.

Multi-family properties averaged $294,695 with a median DOM of 131 days (or 4 months+).  Total sales were $10 million. 

Single family homes averaged $432,011 with median DOM of 178 days (6 months).  Total sales were $38 million.

 These numbers are just for the Wildwoods.  I’ve avoided throwing in the countywide figures because the Cape Mays, Stone Harbor, Avalon and Ocean City are so much higher priced that they unfairly make the sales figures unbelievably high.  So here goes:

Single family - $442 million in sales in past year averaging $528,008. 

Multi-family - $22 million in sales averaging $420,040.

Condo/townhomes - $306 million in sales averaging $418,917.

Put together (and I’ve not included commercial or land sales in our discussion) that’s $770 million in sales this past year through realtors.

As you can see, plenty of folks are putting their money into real estate.  They understand the value found in today’s market.  Don’t you?

Happy New Year Everyone!  Jewell Real Estate Agency had a good 2008, and we are looking forward to an even better 2009.  The year started off with a bang on January 2.  Our office was so busy and crowded you couldn’t move.  Both Douglas and I had people in our office looking to buy and there were people in the front office waiting to talk to us.  Instead of all the doom and gloom that you read in the newspaper, the people we talked to were upbeat and felt it’s the right time to buy.  We couldn’t agree more.  Interest rates are at an all-time low. 

I received a rate sheet today from Wells Fargo that had a 4.75% 30 year fixed mortgage rate with 0 points.  Other rate sheets I received were slightly higher but in the same range.   How long will this last?  No one knows.

Here’s some stats for Cape May County that may interest you.  Last year (2008) there were over 1900 properties sold.  The year before had over 2200 properties sold.  Properties available now in the Wildwoods (Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and West Wildwood) number around 1192.  Other areas:  Avalon - 297; Lower Township - 386; Middle Township - 425; Upper Township - 83; Dennis Township - 137; Cape May - 300; Sea Isle City - 252; Stone Harbor - 149. 

If you’re considering whether to buy, now is a good time to see what’s out there.  There are some great properties to be had.  If you’re looking to sell, it’s still a great time because the low interest rates are helping to get a lot of people off the fence and making an offer.

If the past week is any indication of what’s to come, it’s going to be a good year.  Check out our Featured Listings and the entire MLS on our website.  Give us a call or send us an email.  We’d love to hear from you.

City Girl - Joyce Jewell, GRI, ABR, ePRO, ASP

A real estate auction held last week drew plenty of prospective bidders by advertising for a couple of months that “bids begin at $175,000″.  But of the 800 who attended the auction and 600 who had requested the 300-page bid packets, less than 50 actually bid on the 26 condomimiums. 

It seems that The Pointe at Moore’s Inlet advertising didn’t live up to the billing.  When the 25th unit sold for $346,500, the 26th condo was pulled from the sale.  The sellers weren’t going to let another go so cheap.  That 25th unit was the only one under $400,000.  The 24th went for $412,500.

The unique bid format began with the highest bid, which in turn allowed the purchaser to pick from the 26 condos the one he wanted.  That high bid was $786,500 for a premium unit originally priced at $1,249,000.  The second round bid was $770,000 on a unit originally being sold for $1,049,000.

The total price for the 25 units was $14,459,500, or an average of $578,380.  There are 18 units that were held back from the auction, with most being more square footage than those offered at the auction.  It’s probably safe to say that those 18 units, plus the one pulled from the auction, will fetch another $12 million or more.  Another 17 units were sold by the developer before going the auction route.  The most expensive went for over $1 million, and four others broke the $800,000 plateau.  So let’s conservatively say they collectively reaped another $10 million.

Adding the numbers, we’re looking at $36 million in total sales, probably more.  While it’s not near as much as the developer originally hoped to tally, it should keep the project out of the red ink.

As for the buyers, they didn’t steal the units.  But they got a pretty decent deal! 

One drawback to the complex is that it is located in the heart of North Wildwood’s bar district.  That means loud, raucous crowds on summer nights until 3am, when the bars close.  Weekends find assorted festivals, with revelers on the streets practically until dawn. 

If you’re like most of us 50-something and 60-something year olds, that’s way past our 10 o’clock bedtime.  But if you like to party all night, or want to rent the unit to party-types, this might fit the bill.

- Mountain Man

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has granted a CAFRA permit for the first of six Wildwood high-rise hotels which have already gained city approvals. 

The CAFRA permit, which stands for Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, is necessary for any new project which proposes 24 or more units, 49 or more parking spaces, or is located near water.  It normally takes a minimum of two years - sometimes much longer - to satisfy NJDEP that their stringent conditions will be met.

The Starlight Resort Hotel became the first to gain the nod from NJDEP.  That project is located between Juniper and Glenwood Avenues on the east side of Ocean Avenue and would offer spectacular views of the ocean, beaches, and island.  BMF Investments, which is now expected to sell the property to a developer with big bucks and building experience, received approval for a 23-story, 255-foot tall building consisting of 264 residential units (about half sold as condos but all available for hotel rental), a 200-seat restaurant, 654 parking spaces, a spa/swimming pool/fitmess club, and some upscale retail shops.

One condition of the CAFRA permit was that the City of Wildwood create a parking authority and BMF contributes $442,000 to that authority.  The city is already in the process of creating that authority.  The city previously placated NJDEP by implementing a comprehensive municipal plan, which designated which areas of the city’s eastside could accommodate high-rise construction.

Many interested observers expected the Nouveau Wave, a 25-story high-rise to be located between Rio Grande and Andrews Avenues at Ocean Avenue, to be the first to receive the coveted CAFRA permit.  They were turned down over a year ago and needed to make a few changes to their application before gaining approval.  Reportedly, they’ve made a few project alterations by adding more hotel units so their application had to be redrawn prior to being resubmitted.

As the high-rises come on line, which should begin by 2011, the convention center should boom and the island will ascend into the next level of its renaissance.

- Mountain Man

The Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce is presenting a fabulous weekend of fun at the shore.  Starting with Friday, April 25th, Jerry Blavat will be hosting a ’60s Record Hop.  What a great way to start the weekend.  Grab your honey and dance the night away!

Then on Saturday afternoon there is a Street Fair with free live entertainment featuring “TRU” and The Mahoney Brothers, contests galore, all kinds of street  vendors, the Classic Car Show, a Doo Wop Back to the ’50s Tour and so much more.  How can you resist?

Saturday night is the Sensational ’60s Concert featuring The Temptation Review, The Miracles, The Family Stone Xperience, and “Tru”.  I’ve been to the show every year, and it keeps getting better and better!

The festivites wrap up on Sunday with free entertainment in North Wildwood.  For more information, visit www.GWCOC.com or call 609-729-4000.

You won’t want to miss out on this great fun-filled weekend.

The Cape May County Association of Realtors is sponsoring a county-wide open house weekend Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27.  It will be widely advertised.   It’s a great opportunity for buyers to view a variety of properties and help them find just what they are looking for.

Jewell Real Estate Agency will be showcasing the following properties.  For more information, feel free to call or email anytime.  Contact Joyce Jewell at 609-729-8505 or cell # 609-780-7131.  Check out our website for more details and all our featured listings and the entire MLS.  http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

 Wildwood Crest - 119 East Morning Glory Road - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday, April 27 - 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

         2600 SF. 4 bedrms, 4 baths, 2 master suites , fireplace, sunroom,  garage, $569,000

Wildwood Crest - 7601 Atlantic Avenue, Unit 203 - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday,  April 27   1:30pm to 3:30pm   

     3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 SF , ocean views, fully furnished, Pool $465,000

Wildwood Crest - 401 East Miami, Unit 401 -Penthouse - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday,  April 27 11am to 1pm 

      Entire top floor - 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, fully furnished  Oceanviews - $845,000

Wildwood Crest - 135 East Wisteria Road - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 1:30pm to 3:30pm

     4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths.   Fireplace, garage, outside shower, fully furnished.  $875,000

 North Wildwood - 507 East 14th Avenue, Unit 101 - Saturday April 26 and Sunday April 27  11am to 1pm

     3 Bedrooms, 3 baths, 2-story condo. Beach block.   Fully furnished.   $685,000

North Wildwood - The Tuscany - 1900 Surf Avenue - Saturday, April 26, 11am to 1pm

     Several units available starting at $179,000.  Pool. On-site property management.  Laundry facilities.

Wildwood - 204 West Pine Avenue - Sunday, April 27 - 11am to 1pm

     Single Family Home or Duplex - 9 bedrooms, 2 baths, furnished $329,000

West Wildwood - 7 Venice - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 11am to 1pm

     2-story condo - 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, BOATSLIP - $389,900

West Wildwood - 757 W. Glenwood Avenue - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27  - 1:30pm to 3:30pm

     New Townhome - 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, garage, wet bar  water views - $395,000

Every once in a while when you are reading the newspaper, you digest an article that gives you renewed hope that there is a chance for humanity to survive.  Maybe more folks are beginning to see the light.

This morning, I saw two newspaper pieces that kindled such thoughts.  The first was about two candidates challenging the others to “be nice”.  The other is a suggestion by the county that they’ll recycle wastewater.  Both are the type of thinking that you wish more would adopt.

The two candidates are running for township council in one of Cape May County’s 16 municipalities.  Both are Republicans, but running as independents.  They’ll face a three-way race against the Dems and GOP.  With elections still seven months away, the pair asked their opponents to follow some “fair play” rules.  Civility in civil service, so to speak.  A novel idea!

They asked for no lawn signs.  They asked that the names or photos of opponents not to be disclosed in any campaign mailings.  They also pledged to not accept contributions from anyone doing business with the county, including engineers, architects, attorneys, etc. 

The question is whether the opponents will agree to these terms.  Certainly, the two who laid out the gameplan will abide by it.  But it takes two to dance - actually three in this case.  While the outcome is still in doubt, you have to like the way this pair have challenged the rest to not dish the dirt.

The other piece of encouraging news is that the county will be irrigating the County Park and Zoo, the ACCC campus, and the nearby municipal playing fields complex with treated wastewater.  That is a concept used effectively in areas in California and Florida, amongst others, and it will become a natural part of our lives in the future.

Once these three local places have the infrastructure in place to handle treated wastewater pumped from the municipal utilities authority (MUA) treatment plant, the public will see the benefits.  This process not only saves on using precious water from our dwindling aquifers, but it allows irrigation water to percolate through the ground and eventually find its way back down to help replenish the aquifer.

This wastewater recycling has been advocated by local environmentalists, like myself, since the ’90s.  Hopefully, next on the agenda would be golf courses.  On a hot summer day, the typical 18-hole Cape May County golf course uses 400,000 to 600,000 gallons of potable water to irrigate the grass.  With a dozen courses, that’s a lot of water everyday.  At the same time, the MUA is pumping billions of gallons of treated wastewater into the ocean to get rid of it.

So let’s see.  A couple of experienced politicians want to act like gentlemen and the county is pursuing water reuse.  Do I see a faint light at the end of the tunnel?

- Mountain Man

Everything I feared about Dolly appeared to be true.  As the dominant doe in our original group of four of West Virginia’s finest whitetail deer, it was basically up to her whether the the new outsiders would be accepted.  Would she share the corn feeder with the three new deer, plus the pair she’d already intimidated, or defend it for the exclusive use of her group?

I could only hope she would share.  There was plenty for her group - Ruthie, another three year old or more (and probably Dolly’s sister), plus their two yearlings Alfalfa and Darla.  I was quite optimistic considering that 50 pounds of corn was consumed from Monday night to Thursday morning.  I had watched the four deer for nearly a year and knew they could never eat that much in 60 hours.

Hopefully that meant that bossy Dolly was allowing the other five to feed.  She was tolerating it, though somewhat reluctantly no doubt. 

No chance.  Dream on.

Thursday evening, I returned home around 6:30, just an hour or so before dark.  Six deer startled as I pulled up the 300-foot gravel driveway, but they didn’t scamper right off.  They stood and stared me down, as if wondering whether I meant them any harm.  They sent me a message, “We’re hanging out.” 

I walked from my truck to the new pole barn under construction, never lifting my head to look the transfixed deer in the eye.  I checked out the progress on the barn, sneaking peeks now and then to see if the deer were still standing and looking at me.  They were.  This only happened once in a while in the past year - when they weren’t going to leave the feeder area for others to pillage.

I got into the log cabin and within 10 minutes the hill above the feeder proved to be a battleground for warring deer.  On two separate occasions, large does attempted to approach the trough full of corn.  Both times Dolly raised her front hoofs and made an aggressive display.  They backed off.  Two outlaw yearlings, in all their innocence, also made the mistake of approaching the feeder to eat.  They were easily and summarily rebuffed.

Dolly allowed Ruthie, Alfalfa, and Darla to eat as much as they wanted while she stood guard, her head held proudly and defiantly in the air.  I almost think she was forcing them to linger at the feeder and keep chowing down, just to show the other deer her contempt for them.  Several times the foursome appeared to be leaving the feeder area, only to suddenly turn and head back, led by you-know-who.

My hope is that the other five whitetail deer will sneak back from time to time throughout the night to feed.  Over the course of the next week, Dolly will begin to accept that she can’t defend the feeder 24 hours a day.  Let the others feed.  Have compassion for those three pregnant does, who, like you and Ruthie, will be giving birth in a month.  You’re all deer.  You’re all in this thing together.

Well, we’ll see if Dolly mellows out.  My fingers are crossed.

- Mountain Man

My solo visits from our home in Cape May, New Jersey to our log cabin in Green Bank, West Virginia have to be productive.  It’s these times, when City Girl stays behind to run the real estate business, that I must make progress on some of the many home projects I have underway.

I arrived in Green Bank this past Sunday, with a construction crew due Monday to build a 24′ x 32′ pole barn with metal sides.  They were scheduled to be finished by Friday.  It’s one of those companies I found on the internet that does everything but the concrete floor, which gets poured after they’re done and gone.  The barn-building folks are located just 88 miles from here, so it’s just about as local as it gets.

I was there to “supervise” and make sure that critical first-day decisions were made by me, since I tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist (some say “anal”).  And supervise I did on Monday, making sure everything was done to my satisfaction.  I had to locate bags of concrete for the crew by calling around to various supply stores, then helped pick them up.  But after that it’s pretty straight forward.  I wasn’t really needed, and I wasn’t just gonna stand there and watch them work.

To make effective use of my time, I had two local guys - my own “crew” - work with me on a tree clearing project.  I would run the chainsaw and they’d haul the cut firewood and brush.  We’d all done it together several times in the past year, so it was kinda routine now.  We knew our roles, and how hard we’d have to work to accomplish our task.  I could check in on the pole barn guys - foreman Duane, Norman and Clint - every once in a while and still run my own gig.  All five guys - my crew and theirs - are good guys and decent human beings.  What more can you ask?

We’re located in the Allegheny Mountains at an elevation of about 2,700 feet, or roughly a half mile.  So there is very little flat land - it’s all up and down and sidehill.  Cutting and hauling trees, mostly oaks, is a challenge.  The goal of this clearing was to open a view of the mountain to the east while also benefiting from more sun in the cold months.

Lew and Clinton - my guys - started work on Monday by covering a bed of shrubs with mulch, a leftover task from October.  Then they dragged all the brush I had created on my last visit in February to the burn pile.  Tuesday found us cutting and hauling for six hours.  The view was beginning to open up, but a few remaining strategic oaks still blocked the million dollar vista.

This morning, Wednesday, we tackled the last dozen trees.  Knowing it was due to start raining by noon and then rain the rest of the day and night, we hurried along.  By 11 o’clock, we were done.  Just as we walked into the cabin to get the guys their pay, the sky opened up.  We smiled a collective smile.

Meanwhile, the pole barn trio had a much less productive day.  Their usual late start combined with the rainout made the 88-mile trip over four mountain ranges almost not worthwhile.  But still, after three days, the barn is all framed out.  Tomorrow the roof will go on and the five windows will be installed.  I can’t wait to see the cupola and weathervane.  Friday the insulation and walls go up and they are finished.  A separate contractor comes one day next week to install the two garage-style doors.

Saturday, my crew, plus my main contractor Rich and sidekick Frank - will prepare the garage floor for concrete.  That entails leveling off the gravel and dirt floor, then tying rebar in a checkerboard pattern for extra strength.  We had planned on pouring the concrete on Monday or Tuesday, but with low temperatures expected to be about 20 degrees each morning that was out of the question.

By the time I head back to New Jersey on Sunday, the barn will be standing and lacking only the two cement trucks worth of concrete which we’ll tackle in two weeks when I return.  The breathtaking view of Sunrise Mountain, so named by me due to the sun rising over its peak on winter mornings, is ready for City Girl to admire and enjoy on her next visit.  All in all, my seven days in Green Bank will be remembered as satisfyingly productive.  As usual!

- Mountain Man