Posts Tagged ‘Cape May’

New Jersey: Not Business Friendly

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Let’s face it.  If the economy is to recover quickly, the bottom line is jobs, jobs, jobs.  Put people to work and everything else falls into place.

Businesses, of course, are the key to creating jobs.  And two-thirds of jobs are with small and medium size businesses.  So to get businesses to hire more employees, the economic climate must be favorable.

New Jersey, unfortunately, ranks last or near the bottom of every business-friendly list generated, based on several factors. New Jersey ranks well in transportation, easy accessibility to large markets, having an available labor pool, and having the third lowest gasoline tax in the nation.  That’s the end of the good news.

New Jersey has the second highest individual capital gains tax and sixth highest corporate capital gains tax.  Property taxes are amongst the highest in the United States.  Wading through the multi-levels of government and environmental bureaucracy adds to the negatives.  Why would a business relocate to New Jersey with the high cost of doing business, plus the time delays in getting construction completed due to getting bogged down in permitting?

New Jersey – and newly-elected Governor Chris Christie – need to make some changes to spur business.  Tax rates on corporations and small businesses must be reduced.  The state will make up the loss in revenue by gaining more businesses, which in the long run makes a more stable tax base.

And as we all know, real estate property taxes must drop dramatically.  With six out of every 100 workers in New Jersey actually employed by the state, it’s not hard to figure out where the first cuts should be!

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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Real Estate Settlement changes January 1

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), a consumer protection statute enacted in 1974, will have a new face beginning January 1, 2010.  RESPA was basically designed to give effective disclosure to homebuyers and sellers prior to initiating the real estate purchase process, so there were no “surprises” at the closing table.

The new RESPA reforms are aimed at giving the consumer better information earlier in the process and the ability to shop for the best deal by comparing service providers.

Potential buyers need only give six pieces of information – name, monthly income, social security number, property address, sale price, and loan amount desired.  They can do this with several banks or lenders and get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) within three days.  The GFE results can then be compared side-by-side so the consumer then can make an informed decision on which scenario and providers to use.

The GFE has three parts – charges that can not increase, those that can only increase a maximum of 10 percent, and those that can change at settlement if you don’t use the service company identified by the lender.

That said, here’s the downside of the new RESPA. 

There will need to be a huge increase in communication between the lender and whoever is doing the closing – either a title company or attorney.  That’s a scary thought, especially when a lawyer is involved.

The other concern we have as realtors is that lenders – who are often located 100 or 200 miles from us here in Cape May County – are going to be supplying names of home inspectors, termite inspectors, etc., to the prospective buyers.  The only way we can sidetrack a potential logistic fiasco is to give these buyers a list of reputable local puveyors to submit to the lender upon first contact.

The new HUD-1 Settlement Statement used at closing, which is now three pages instead of two, also has two drawbacks.  Closings will take longer and the HUD-1 is less detailed and more about total costs.

The federal goverment received 12,000 public comments prior to designing the new RESPA and its GFE and HUD-1 forms.  Once realtors, title companies, lenders, attorneys, sellers, and buyers get used to the new format and procedures, hopefully all the parties concerned will be pleased.

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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Baby Boomers will be replaced

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Most people would agree that the real estate market of the last 15 or 20 years has been fueled by the Baby Boomers.  As you know, that’s the 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, and now ages 45 to 63 years old.  They’ve had careers and saved money and invested in real estate, stocks, and retirement plans, amongst other things.

The next generation has been called “Generation X”, originally called the “Baby Bust” due to the low birthrate in America.  They were born from 1965 to 1979, with the latter half mostly children of early Baby Boomers.  They are now 30 to 44 years old, but they are just 48 million strong.  With the average age of a first-time homebuyer pegged about 33 years old, they are filling that niche right now while the Baby Boomers upgrade to add vacation homes or downsize to smaller homes as “empty nesters”.

The next group to arrive was Generation Y, those born between 1980 and 1995.  Now 14 to 29 years olds and children of the latter half of the Baby Boomers and the early Gen X’ers, they will be the next group to arrive on the real estate scene.  The exciting news for the real estate industry and the economy of the United States in general is that there are 74 million of them.  They should eventually have the economic impact equal to that of the Baby Boomers.  Tattoos and piercings and all, this generation will soon enter the first-time homebuyer market and take their place on the economic ladder until they are perhaps 60 years old or so.

As the population demographics shift from one group to another, there will always be a new generation to carry the day.  Isn’t that why we reproduce?

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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A Real Jump-Start

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Nearly a year into the Obama administration I think Americans can see that the No.1 issue in the nation’s mind – the economy – is still sputtering.  Bank bailouts and all that stuff just aren’t working fast enough.

As Mighty Mouse used to say, “Here I come to save the day!”  So here’s my simplistic approach to ending the Recession.

The United States of America has the highest bond rating possible – AAA.  That rating means that the U.S. is not likely to default on debt.  Thanks to the Bretton Woods Accord back in the 1970s, the U.S. dollar is no longer backed by the gold in Fort Knox.  The American dollar – of which there are 829 billion – is backed by the government’s ability to generate revenue to pay down it’s debt.

New dollars are issued when the Federal Reserve elects to fund the purchase of debt, which is usually through U.S. Treasury Bonds.  Done in excess, this can cause inflation, but bear with me.

The net worth of Americans is currently $53.4 trillion.  Prior to the Recession, it was $64.5 trillion.  In other words, we’ve lost 17.2% of our worth.  By the way, $348 billion of our collective $53.4 trillion is household real estate holdings, i.e. your house.

That’s the background, now my proposal.

Let’s give each American household $10,000 tax free.  With 105,480,101 households, that’s $1.05 trillion.

There are 7.7 million businesses in America.  Let’s give them each $100,000 tax free.  That’s a mere $770 billion. 

So add it up and the American government can print and distribute $1.82 trillion.  This isn’t money raised by taxes.  We’re just gonna print it and give it out.  There’s just one stipulation – the money can’t leave the country.  It can’t be sent to relatives in Nicaragua or used to hire workers in China.  It has to be spent in the 50 states.

Think of the ramifications.  The boost to the economy will be incredible.  Some people will pay down debt or save their homes, while others will buy TVs, cars, and yes, useless junk.  Some might even use some of the money for booze, cigarettes, and methamphetimines, but that can’t be helped.

All this will turn into many of the 7 million people laid off from work since the beginning of the Recession getting gainful employment again.  For every dollar currently in circulation, there will now be three dollars.  Banks will start lending again and the good times will roll.  States will see an increase in sales taxes collected, easing their budget pains.

The nay-sayers will yell that my plan will cause inflation.  Sure, it will.  But it’ll be manageable, maybe 10% at most and it will be a one-time thing, just like my giveaway windfall.  But the trade-off of jobs and reduced personal debt is well worth it.  The American economy will have the jump-start it needs.

Some might call my plan crazy.  But at least I have a plan.

And I bet you’re smiling and already thinking about how you’d spend your $10,000. 

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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A Real Person on the Phone

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

I read a Letter to the Editor in today’s Press of Atlantic City that addressed one of my many pet peeves – not getting a real, live person on the phone when you call a business.

Isn’t it annoying?  Especially when you know there’s a bunch of slackers sitting there probably drinking coffee and eating doughnuts and listening to the phone ring.

Automated answering systems are impersonal and make you feel like your business is not appreciated.  As the Press letter states, the worst scenario is when your first prompt is “Press 1 for English”.  Arrrgh!

And this all brings me to mention Jewell Real Estate Agency.  We don’t have an automated system.  We ALWAYS have a live person answer the phone.  I’m not talking just during business hours, but 6am to 9pm every single day of the year.  That’s 15 hours a day that one of us is there to actually take the receiver off the hook and say, “Good morning (or afternoon or evening), Jewell Real Estate Agency, Joyce (or Chris or Douglas or ….) speaking”. 

We will NEVER, NEVER, EVER have an automated system.  You’ll never hear “Choose from the following menu options” or “If you know your party’s extension, dial it now”.  It upsets me just thinking about the idiot companies that do this.

In this fast-paced world, isn’t it nice to know that somewhere out there you can speak to a real live person.  If you ever call 609-729-8505 or 609-463-8423 and you get an automated system with extension options, then guess what?  You missed my funeral!

- Mountain Man

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Lower Township tax assessment

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Lower Township, which includes such areas as Diamond Beach, North Cape May, and Villas, has decided to do an in-house reassessment of properties.  No, not to increase the value of properties, but to lower them.

It seems that when Lower did its last assessment in 2007, the implications of this recession were not fully evident.  But now three years of a down market in real estate have seen these assessments appear to be 20% or more too high.

That 2007 assessment tripled the township’s ratables from the 1992 figure of $1.5 billion to over $4.5 million.  The new reassessment will be done by the municipal tax department, meaning there will be no on-site inspections.  It’s strictly a numbers crunch.  It also means that the cost will be just $25,000, instead of the million dollars for a full-blown reassessment by an outside company.

Properties expected to see the biggest drop in values are those near the water, i.e. the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean.  Hopefully Diamond Beach owners, who have historically been a cash cow for Lower despite fewer services and no fire station, will get a fair shake this time around.

Speaking of Diamond Beach, the new Grand condominium complex, located beachfront on Atlantic Avenue, was originally touted by developers and officials as bringing as much as $6 million in new property tax revenue to Lower Township.  With one of three buildings completed, just $400,000 is being added to the coffers this year. 

The Grand may someday make a big difference in the tax rate, but for now, with Lower this year paying an extra $289,000 in pensions plus a 3.7 % salary increase to municipal employees, that $400,000 from the Grand property taxes has been negated.

Seems like no matter what townships throughout New Jersey do to lower their budgets, the greedy, whiny employees – current and retired – milk the taxpayer far beyond the limits of reason.  That, sadly, will never change in our current political climate of patronage and deal-making.

- Mountain Man

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Recreation Subsidies

Monday, November 30th, 2009

When the recent “Veterans Day Storm” slammed the east coast November 11-15, some Cape May County island homeowners suffered water damage and wind damage to their properties.  For most, it was business as usual and they cleaned up the mess and moved on.  It’s life at the shore for those in the few scattered low-lying streets in Wildwood, North Wildwood, and West Wildwood.

The beaches are another story.  So that local governments could score Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money, New Jersey Governor Corzine obligingly declared a state of emergency.  The damage to Cape May County, originally ballparked at $89 million, was determined to actually be $27.3 million.  Those beach erosion figures are based on $10.40 per cubic yard of sand to be replaced.  Sand for dunes is calculated up to $20 per cubic yard.

The bigger question here is whether the U.S. government should be subsidizing beaches.  Is it fair to someone living in Iowa to pay for beaches in Avalon rimmed with $4 million vacation homes?

What would homeowners who cry for FEMA beach funds in their communities think if the federal government started funding ski resorts?  Heck, they want snow by Thanksgiving to have a good year.  Should we be subsidizing snowmaking operations at the hundreds of ski slopes throughout the U.S.?  Let’s take it a step further and put refrigeration lines under each ski slope.  That’ll make the millions of American skiers happy.

While we’re at it, why not have FEMA subsidize all the golf courses in America?  In a drought, ship in tanker trucks of fresh water from the Great Lakes and major rivers.  That would please the 24 million Americans who play golf.  They want lush green golf courses, not those spotted with burned out patches of grass.

Do you see my point?

With oceans rising as the Arctic, Greenland, and Antarctic melt, the beach erosion problem has intensified.  Many local shore towns will be doing two beach replenishment projects this year.  Ten years from now, it may necessitate three or four a year, which isn’t going to happen.  FEMA will finally say, “No Mas”.

So it’s time to be proactive.

Where beaches habitually wash out in storms, it is time to rip rap with massive walls of boulders, much like the seawalls recently constructed at the north end of both North Wildwood and Avalon at the inlets.  FEMA should offer to pay for the rip rapping of the ocean.  Sure it means less beaches, but once the seawalls are built, the beaches will come and go.  After all, beaches are always in transit.  It’s just in the last 100 years that civilization decided they’d try to tame Mother Nature.

There will always be plenty of beaches in Cape May County, but people will have to search them out.  Here today, gone tomorrow, but another beach pops up a mile away.  And certain beaches, like Wildwood, which is over 1,000 feet in depth, will always be there.

Like it or not, the days of FEMA beach handouts are numbered.  As they should be.

- Mountain Man

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Developers Know

Monday, February 25th, 2008

Many folks are fooled by the lack of new construction activity here in the Wildwoods and throughout the island communities of Cape May County.  “I knew it would never happen,” the backseat drivers shout about new 20+ story hotel/resort projects touted in the newspapers but not yet started.  They are wrong.

In the state of New Jersey, any new construction project that is within 300 feet of water, has more than 24 units, or more than 48 parking spots, needs a CAFRA permit.  This Coastal Areas Facility Review Act, administered by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, is a thorough and lengthy process.  It takes a minimum of two years to two and a half years to obtain the CAFRA permit, and in the case of the seven high-rise hotels in Wildwood, can take four years.

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So while developers are exerting an inordinate amount of effort and $100,000 or more in fees for their environmental attorneys, engineers, architects, and endless environmental studies, an uneducated Joe Public sits on the sidelines and proudly pronounces the project DOA.

Unfortunately, these uninformed zealots are given a public forum to make their opinions widely known.  In the local weekly county newspaper there is a gutless section called “Spout Off”.  In it, anyone can basically say anything and push it off as fact.  Right or wrong, it is printed.  The authors don’t have to sign their name.  It’s a disgrace!

The newspaper is owned by a far right, ultra-conservative snob who labels wind power and solar power band-aids, global warming a left-wing hoax, and promotes the drilling of the arctic and nuclear power.  He’s a small town version of William Loeb and his Manchester Union Leader.  You can see why he not only allows this journalistic embarrassment, he’s proud of it.

Anyway, Spout Off perpetuates the so-called decline of the real estate market and the county in general by letting these ”doom and gloom” know-it-alls have their say.  Then more naive citizens read it and believe it.  Soon they talk about it in public as if it was fact.  After all, they read it in the newspaper so it must be right.  Right?  Wrong.

The truth is that these projects, along with large hotel complexes in Cape May, North Wildwood, and Diamond Beach are moving along, slow but sure.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.

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As realtors, we see more and more developers in the area looking for tracts large enough to host more hotel or condominium projects.  At our agency, we have several conglomerates with upwards of $100,000,000 to invest in the shore area of Cape May County.  We are constantly calling them with leads on new vacant properties, along with faxing and emailing tax maps, lot descriptions, comparative market analyses, and more.

Large projects don’t happen overnight.  From concept to completion is about an eight year process.  Unknown to most local residents, that concept faze is already underway!  The developers are busy shaping the county’s future, secure in the belief that the real estate market is on the brink of another boom.

- Mountain Man

To learn more about the Cape May County real estate market, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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It’s in the Numbers

Monday, February 25th, 2008

Having been a mathematics major in college, I’m understandably enamored with numbers.  Talk is talk, but numbers give substance.  There’s nothing like good, hard numbers to bring a topic into focus, to cut down on speculation and misleading conclusions.

Let’s see if the demographics support that the real estate market in Cape May County will see another boom.  Not just a rebound, which is already happening, but a boom!  It’s an interesting prospect, one that many insiders like myself support and others just can’t fathom.

The state of New Jersey has a population of 8.724 million people.  The median age is 38.2 years, with 12.9 percent of folks 65 or older.  The median household income is $64,470 and the homeownership rate is 67.3 percent, meaning two-thirds live in a home they own.  Of adults, 33.4% have a college Bachelor’s degree, and 12.4% have even higher degrees.

What this all means is that New Jerseyans, on the whole, are pretty well off.  The median household income in the entire country is $48,451, so we’re a third higher.  New Jersey has the highest percentage of millionaires in the USA.  Throw in metropolitan Philadelphia and suburban New York City, and there’s a lot of affluence in our region.  All this fuels the second home market, which comprises half of all properties in Cape May County.

Experts keep tossing out that 40,000 new employees will be needed in the Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland county region.  Most of this is centered on Atlantic City, whose 11 casinos already employ 40,788 people.  Several casino expansions are in the works, with at least three new casinos slated. 

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MGM Mirage will be breaking ground within a year on its $5 billion megaresort, located on 72 acres next to the Borgata.  This largest resort in AC, scheduled to open in 2012, will feature 50 stories, 3,000 hotel rooms, a 7,500 seat concert arena, and a half million square feet of space for retail, restaurants, and entertainment.  Revel Entertainment has already broken ground on a $2 billion casino complex, located on the strip next to the Showboat, slated to open in 2010.  Pinnacle Entertainment, which tore down the aging Sands Casino last October, should have their new $1.5 billion casino in operation by 2012.

With 128-acre Bader Field going out to bid in the next year, the possibility of another mega-casino, or up to four smaller casinos, will add to the need for new employees.  So where will all these new employees live?  Rounded off, the current yearround populations of the three counties are Atlantic 250,000, Cumberland 150,000, and Cape May 100,000.

Let’s suppose that keeping with the statistics, two-thirds of the 40,000, or 26,680 will purchase their own home.  Forget the island communities, where summer folks have driven up prices.  I’m talking about Longport, Ventnor, Margate, Ocean City, Sea Isle, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May, etc - places where a single family home would be prohibitively expensive for a working family employed by casinos, retail, or restaurants.

That leaves the mainland towns.  Arguably, Egg Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton townships, all Atlantic County towns situated in the Pinelands “growth zone”, would pick up the brunt of the new residents.  But many families will look to live a little farther from the hustle and bustle of the AC area. 

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Cape May County, just a 20-35 mile commute, fits the bill.  The mainland communities – Lower, Middle, Dennis, and Upper townships, plus Woodbine – currently have 822 single family homes listed for sale.  With the number of housing developments already approved in those towns doubling the number, that’s about 1,600 available homes.  An influx of 40,000 people over the next half dozen years or so will surely result in most of those homes being snapped up.

In the world of supply and demand, especially in real estate, this demand will create more building and higher prices on the mainland.  Doesn’t that add up?

Throw in the seven 20+ story hotel/resort projects on the books in Wildwood now awaiting NJDEP approval, and a couple big resorts upcoming in North Wildwood and Diamond Beach, and you have the recipe for another real estate boom.  Numbers don’t lie.

- Mountain Man

To learn more about the Cape May County real estate market, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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