Posts Tagged ‘Wildwood real estate’

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Wildwood’s New Mayor

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Shortly after new Wildwood commissioners Ed Harshaw and Al Brannen were sworn in Monday night to join sitting commissioner Gary DeMarzo, the three picked the new mayor. 

Envelope, please.

And the winner is Gary DeMarzo. 

Maybe winner isn’t the correct term, considering the tough road ahead.  Wildwood is beset by having the highest tax rate in Cape May County, $1.83 per hundred dollars of assessed value.  The portion that is directly attributed to Wildwood’s budget is $1.11 per hundred, with the balance the county’s tax levy.

The first act of the new commission was to name attorney Daniel Gallagher of Atlantic City as interim city solicitor.  The current solicitor, Wildwood attorney Marcus Karavan, is still under contract to the city so that will have to be ironed out.  This appointment of Gallagher is apparently a pay back for being the attorney representing the recall committee.

They next named former Ocean City business administrator Richard Deaney as interim administrator.  The house cleaning continued by voting to solicit bids for a new municipal auditor, which is now covered by Ford, Scott, Seidenburg & Kennedy of Ocean City, and new municipal engineer, which is currently handled by Remington Vernick of Wildwood.

DeMarzo kept on as commissioner of revenue and finance, while Brannen became deputy mayor and head of public safety.  Harshaw became commissioner of public works.  The trio changed the two monthly commissioner meetings to the evening, instead of one being at 3:30pm.

The easy part is over for the new commission.  Collecting petition signatures, campaigning for election, and getting out the voters is in the rear view mirror.  Ahead lies the pitfalls of a small, mostly seasonal city with a $26.1 million budget and 225 employees.

And May, 2011, just a brief 18 months away, is the next election.  The pressure is on this new trio to reduce spending and cut the tax rate, an unenviable job.  They will now be in the crosshairs.

They wanted a shot at running the city.  Reminds me of the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.”

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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Banks Don’t Like Other’s Rules

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Another major bank – this time Citigroup – is paying back its government bailout money because it doesn’t like the rules that go along with the bucks.  The main rule, of course, is limiting the pay of top management.

Citigroup was one of nearly 700 banks that received bailout money nearly a year ago via the Troubled Asset Relief Program.  It got $45 billion, with $20 billion to be paid back and the balance of $25 billion secured by a 34 percent ownership transferred to the U.S.  The government is expected to sell that $25 billion investment for about $30 billion.

Now that Citigroup is taking their bat and ball and going home, the only major bank still holding government funds is Wells Fargo.  If you recall, Bank of America repaid their loan a week ago.  Goldman Sachs and Chase, the other noteworthy large institutions, returned their U.S. treasury loans shortly after receiving them upon discovering the government was putting restrictions on executive pay and dividends, while increasing government oversight.

So what’s the moral of this story? 

Banks love rules if they are THEIR rules.  But if they are the government’s rules, forget about it!  And bank executives continue to prove that even though their institutions are still losing money, they will do whatever is necessary to fatten their wallets.

- 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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Wildwood recall successful

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

“Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”, as Gomer Pyle used to say. 

To the surprise of many, including this ardent Cape May County observer, voters successfully recalled City of Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano and Commissioner Bill Davenport in Tuesday’s special election. 

The first part of the ballot asked whether voters wanted to recall the pair.  Voters went 624 to 487 to recall the mayor and 649 to 470 to unseat the commissioner.  Apparently there was enough dissent within the community to overcome the regular party machine.

The second part of the ballot then asked to vote for two of the six candidates.  With only about a dozen or so provisional ballots not yet counted, the vote went:

Ed Harshaw 600, Al Brannen 577, Troiano 496, Davenport 453, Ernesto Salvatico 45, and John Roat 42.

And so Harshaw, a real likable high school history teacher, and Brannen, who’s been a thorn in the administration’s side, take over a city with the highest tax rate in Cape May County and a mountain of debt.  They join Commissioner Gary DeMarzo, the controversial third commissioner.

The trio will decide amongst themselves who will be mayor and they haven’t hinted publicly yet whom they each will vote for. 

The outgoing mayor took a parting shot, not indicating whether or not he knows exactly who will be the new mayor.  “The only thing that bothers me is you’ll have an absolute nitwit for a mayor now.”

- Mountain Man

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

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Bank of America isn’t

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

If you have credit cards – and who doesn’t? – you probably got a notice in the last few days from Bank of America.  The letter said that your credit line has been reduced to a few hundred dollars.  The tens of thousands of dollars of available credit or cash you had the week before is suddenly gone!  Merry Christmas.

Chase Bank and Bank of America, which merged with Merrill Lynch in 2009, pretty much have the credit card business all to themselves.  These two giants of the financial world control the credit destiny of tens of millions of Americans.

So why would Bank of America suddenly cut off five or ten million hard-working American families from having credit lines?

 

This past Tuesday, December 8, Bank of America paid back the $45 billion it got from the U.S. Government in the big bank bailout.  It did it with about $19 billion in cash and the balance by selling off securities.  To make sure they had the cash on hand, B of A apparently needed to make sure you couldn’t borrow any of it.

Here comes the kicker.

Bank of America paid back the $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury so that they would no longer be bound by the rules that were instituted as a condition of using the bailout funds.  Since the CEO of B of A recently announced his resignation as of December 31, the board of directors has been searching for a new CEO.  It seems they feel that they can’t offer “proper incentives” to attract a quality CEO and accepting the government grant money limited the bonuses allowed to be paid to the company’s top management.

So, to make sure they can offer their new CEO $50 million or $100 million in bonus incentives, they cut off the credit of millions of American families! 

Where’s the public outrage?

- Mountain Man

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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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Political Speak

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

In the October 2009 issue of New Jersey Realtor, the magazine did a typical pre-election article asking the governor candidates – incumbent Jon Corzine and challenger (now Governor-elect) Chris Christie – a series of position questions.

Their answers were mostly, well, carefully worded non-answers or non-commitals.

The first question asked was, ”what steps will you take to reform our property tax system?”

Gov Corzine gave a long-winded eight paragraph account of his accomplishments in office, but sidestepped the actual question.  Christie gave a better answer, but limited his solution to “a smaller, leaner, more efficient government” and that he would keep the property tax rebate in place.

The second question dealt with repealing the Realty Transfer Fee, which averages $2,958 for each transaction.

Christie called it “one of the best examples of a tax that was imposed to capitalize on a booming real estate market that has now proven to be incredibly damaging”.  Good answer, but he stopped short of proclaiming he’d repeal it.  Corzine again completely avoided directly addressing the question.

The next question asked, “Do you support efforts to partially eliminate the property tax deduction?” and would they support “imposing a sales tax on rentals or professional services?”

Corzine basically said, “Leadership is about making difficult choices” and “I cannot guess what actions we will be required to take”.  Typical incumbent evasiveness!  Christie did step up by saying, “I do not support either the further elimination of the property tax deduction or expansion of the sales tax or any other tax.”  He stopped short of saying he’d veto such attempts.

The fourth question was “What actions will you take to encourage stabilization and growth of the real estate market?”

Christie spoke of “restoring the vitality of our cities” and “an elimination of the outrageous quotas and requirements of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)”.  Good answers, but they don’t really address stabilization and growth.  Corzine talked about business development and his Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, but it fell short of being reassuring.

The final query was concerning the government’s right of eminent domain, especially seizing a person’s property and giving to another private property owner for redevelopment purposes.

Both candidates gave “feel good” two sentence answers, but no concrete proposals.  Hmmm.

I must admit that I voted for neither of these candidates but instead voted for an alternative choice, which pollsters interpret as a dissenting vote.  I guess I’m becoming increasingly disenfranchised from the system.  Can you blame me? 

Governor-elect Christie has inherited a giant pile of chicken manure.  Let’s see if he can turn it into chicken salad.

- Mountain Man

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Feeding at the Public Trough

Monday, December 7th, 2009

While most folks are struggling to make ends meet in this depressed economy, New Jersey government and municipal retirees are cleaning up.  In fact, 428 retirees pull in over $100,000 per year in pension money.

In 2008, the median pension in New Jersey was $61,800 for police and fire retirees, $81,700 for State Police, and $43,200 for teachers.  These figures are more than the salary – yes, salary – of the average New Jersey worker, which is $37,900.

In a state with an $8 billion budget deficit this year, the $5.7 billion in pensions is an unfair drain on taxpayers.  To add insult to injury, the state and many municipal governments have failed to keep up with fully funding these pension funds, meaning the public will get increasingly larger bills each year.

So what to do?

Obviously, the system needs to be changed.  The thought that a fireman or policeman can work from age 21 to 46 and collect substantial sums of pension money after this 25 years, then start a second career, is unconscienable.  Newly hired state employees, who could retire at age 55 as of 2001, have seen outgoing Governor Corzine increase that back to age 60.

It appears that legislators are fearful of reigning in the money grab by retirees.  So taxpayers will continue to fund this act of greed through real estate taxes, which are already the highest in the United States.

There is one group that won’t be funding the pension through real estate taxes.  Did I mention that one-third of these pensioners have moved out of New Jersey?

- 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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Tax Credits for Homebuyers

Monday, November 30th, 2009

The popular homebuyer tax credit program, which was due to expire November 30, 2009, has been extended to April 30, 2010.  Adding to the good news is the fact that it is no longer confined to just first-time homebuyers.

The rules are that the first-time homebuyer can not have had interest in a principal residence for three years prior to the purchase.  A current homeowner must have used their existing home as a principal residence for five of the previous eight years.  The first-timer gets an $8,000 credit ($4,000 if married filing separately), while the existing homebuyer gets a $6,500 credit ($3,250 if married filing separately).

All other provisions of the Tax Credit are the same for both first-time homebuyers and current owners.

The prospective property must be put “under contract” before May 1, 2010 and the transfer must take place by July 1, 2010.  The income limits are $125,000 for a single person and $225,000 for a married couple (up from $75,000 and $150,000) for a full tax credit.  A partial tax credit is given for $125,000 to $145,000 for singles and $225,000 to $245,000 for married couples.  Above those incomes is no tax credit.

The maximum price of the property being purchased is $800,000.  The property transfer can not be between dependents (parents and child or grandchild) and documentation of the purchase must be attached to the tax return.  Parents can still, however, co-sign on the mortgage and the child gets the tax credit.

All in all, the homebuyer tax credit is a good deal.  If only it was permanent.

- Mountain Man

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COAH is Un-American

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

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.

- Mountain Man

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North Wildwood Auction

Friday, May 16th, 2008

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! 

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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

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A Reason to NOT Buy

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

I got a call recently from a real estate client.  Whenever the mood hits him, he phones us to find out the real estate market conditions here in Cape May County, New Jersey, and more specifically in the Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest shore area.  He knows we have our finger on the pulse of the market.  And he knows I always have an opinion, good or bad.  There’s no BS.

Our conversation began with my monologue on how busy we have been since mid-Summer, 2007.  He heard the same thing from me back in October during our last talk.  “It’s still going great,” I added.  “We’ve just had plenty of closings in January and February, plus we’ve got several more properties ‘under contract’ and we’re in active negotiations on a few other deals.”

Sounds like typical realtor hype, right?  Actually not.  This client knows that when the market started to stall in mid-2005, even though few recognized it, we were quick to alert anyone who’d listen that it was NOT the time to buy.  Conditions were changing.  We could just sense it.  Something was amiss.

Just like a recession, the signal that a real estate market is going up off the charts or down into the hopper isn’t generally acknowledged until you are a half year or more into it.  The thinking is that it isn’t a trend until it has been sustained for a while.  That’s fair enough.

By 2006, much to the chagrin of City Girl, I openly admitted that, as realtors, we were losing our shirts.  The real estate market was dead, the phones weren’t ringing, and we went weeks at a time without any walk-in traffic.  It was disheartening.  And we told our clients so.  Honesty is so much more refreshing than deceit, and definitely easier on your conscience.

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Fast forward to my recent phone call.  “Give me a reason to buy now,” the client queried, “Why buy?”  I was ready.

“Give me a reason to NOT buy,” I quipped.  “Interest rates are at near historic lows, inventory is plentiful, and the range of selection is great.  And as you know, prices are down $100,000 to $150,000 or more from 2005.”

“Remember all those sellers you were envious of back in 2003 and 2004?  The ones who had bought in the bad real estate market times of the late 1990s,” I continued.  “You thought how smart they were to be cashing out on their investment a few years later and making $100,000 or more, sometimes much more.  Well, the cycle is repeating.”

“You’re right,” he said, the wheels turning in his mind.  “Tell you what.  Email me some investment property listings, then I’ll pick a few and we’ll go look at them this weekend.” 

 ”Is Saturday or Sunday better for you?”, I replied, knowing that another client – and friend – was about to make some money.

- Mountain Man

To find out more about investment properties in Cape May County, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Roll the Dice

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

When people think of Cape May County, New Jersey they focus on the fabulous beaches, fishing and boating opportunities, world class boardwalks, great restaurants, the laid back atmosphere and low crime rate.  Let’s face it, these are the attractions that swell the yearround population of 100,000 up to 750,000 in the summertime.

But Cape May County offers the accessibility to much more.  Millville, just 20 minutes up country roads, unveils its new 700-acre Thunderbolt Raceway this August.  A 2.3 mile road course, plus a 1.7 mile road course, will assure that sports car and grand prix car racing will be a regular weekend venue.

Just 30 miles to the north of Cape May County is Atlantic City, which as their slogan says, is “Always Turned On”.  As you may know, gambling came to Atlantic City in 1978.  There are now 11 casinos, with many touting expansions and new ones are on the drawing board.

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How big is the casino business?  There are a total of 35,603 slot machines, and they paid out 3.46 billion dollars last year.  Note, that’s billion, not million.  There are 1,612 table games, which forked out $1.45 billion in 2007.  The casinos currently employ 40,788 folks.  That’s a lot of impact.

The 11 casinos, with the year they were opened are: Resorts (1978), Caesars (’79), Bally’s (’79), Harrah’s (’80), Hilton (’80), Tropicana (’81), Trump Plaza (’84), Trump Marina (’85), Showboat (’87), Trump Taj Mahal (’90), and the Borgata (2003).  A new downtown oceanfront casino, plus a 140-acre mega-casino at the edge of town, appear to be the next to add to the city’s appeal.

The future of AC looks bright, so expansions are in the works.  The Borgata, which is AC’s first Las Vegas style mega-resort, completed an expansion in 2006, and a new hotel tower nears completion.  Harrah’s new digs open next month.  Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal will be opening its new addition this fall.  Resorts pushed skyward in 2004, the Tropicana expanded in 2004, Showboat added in 2005, and Trump Plaza remodeled in 2004.

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The casinos have realized that to expand their patron base, non-gaming activities had to be implemented.  Restaurants, spas, and retail stores were the answer.  The Borgata has many restaurants, with three featuring celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, and Michael Mina.  Harrah’s has 172,000 square feet added for restaurants, retail, and entertainment.  The Showboat added the 2,380-seat House of Blues music club.  The Tropicana opened The Quarter, a sprawling ground floor retail, restaurant, and entertainment mall.  Several upscale non-casino shopping malls, catering to Boardwalk and casino foot traffic, have brought hundreds more name outlets into the fold.

Nightlife is what Atlantic City is all about.  All the casinos have showrooms, bringing the biggest names in comedy and music to the public every night of the year.  There are also Broadway musicals, holiday spectaculars, and specialty events, like the popular Mummer’s bands.  Bally’s, Borgata, Tropicana, and now the Showboat regularly host boxing cards, highlighting some of the biggest names in the sport.  Caesars hosts boxing at the AC Boardwalk Hall, also a venue for everything from Andre Rieu to college basketball to midget car racing and monster trucks.  AC has minor league baseball with its Atlantic City Surf.

As you can see, Cape May County life offers a lot more than the county itself.  If you can’t find something to do here within a half hour’s drive, you’re not trying.

- Mountain Man

To learn more about Cape May County, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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For Sale By Owner

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Every now and then we see that little red sign sitting in the window of somebody’s home.  “For Sale By Owner” it proclaims.  Occasionally, a person can pull off selling their home without the help of a real estate professional.  Just like sometimes a person can figure out what’s wrong with their car’s engine and fix it themselves.  But most of us leave that to a mechanic – an experienced professional!  He’s got the computer diagnostics and the right tools and knowledge.

A seller tries to sell their home without a realtor for one main reason.  They want to save on the commission.  The problem with that is that most buyers immediately deduct that same commission amount from what they feel the real price is.  If the property is listed at $500,000, the buyer already has the real asking price pegged at $470,000.  They’ve subtracted the 6% commission from the price.

So eight months later, a prospective buyer, the third to view the home, offers $420,000.  The seller feels somewhat insulted.  In negotiating face to face, it will be difficult for the seller to mask his annoyance with the buyer. 

Let’s say the two, somehow, eventually reach a verbal agreement on price.  A week or so later, the buyer submits his written offer that he has had prepared by his attorney.  The agreed upon price is there, but the contract is asking for the seller to take care of any repairs or treatments necessary due to termite inspection, septic inspection, water test, and home inspection.  The seller finds he could be on the hook for an unexpected $10,000 of possible remediation.

More tense negotiations, more animosity, veiled threats, more stress.  You get the picture.  The seller never saw it coming.

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Let’s back up and suppose the seller started by listing his property with a local, licensed real estate agent.  Upon signing the listing, the agent goes room by room and tells the seller what needs to be addressed to make the home more attractive to warrant the $500,000 price tag.  It’s just cosmetic stuff mostly, maybe touching up some woodwork with paint.  Outside, the leaves might need to be raked and that doggie poop cleaned up.

The agent now advertises the property in a number of effective Cape May County homes magazines.  Plus the realty’s internet site, which is also widely publicized and linked to chamber of commerce and other popular sites.  The  realtor also puts the property on a half dozen other high viewer websites.  This will lead to many potential buyers viewing the property.

Once negotiations begin with a buyer, the agent does your bidding.  You’ll often never meet the buyer until closing, so no hard feelings.  The agent can advise the seller as to contract conditions, inspections, down payments, etc.  Once the contract is signed, the agent oversees many details such as inspections, is the mortgage process progressing, survey, deed, the title company, etc.  You’ll even know your approximate closing costs before you ever sign the contract.

In the end, the price realized may be exactly the same, though it’s often more.  But consider the ease with which the transaction was completed.  No sleepless nights, no big surprises, no agata!  Wasn’t it worth it?

- Mountain Man

To find out more about what realtors do for you, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Good Time to Buy in the Wildwoods

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

The old adage in real estate is “location, location, location”.  But in the latter half of 2007 and now 2008, I believe the phrase should be “price, price, price”.

The media, while finally admitting that real estate trends are “localized”, isn’t exactly beating the drums to announce that the real estate market here at the southern New Jersey shore has rebounded.  The reason is clearly price.

That’s especially good news for first time home buyers, who were shut out of the market back in 2003 when prices wildly escalated.  In our market, sales prices rose 3% per month in 2003 and 2004.  That’s a whopping 36% a year!  So a home priced at $200,000 in 2002 jumped to $270,000 a year later and $360,000 in 2004.  Young couples just couldn’t afford it.  Neither could many families contemplating a second home in the Wildwoods.

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In the first half of 2005, prices rose another 1% per month.  So by July, that home was now $380,000.  With so many folks looking to cash out at these higher prices, plus people trying to buy new condominiums and flip them for a profit, the market suddenly had too much inventory.  The rest is history.

Prices stabilized in the second half of 2005, then dropped in 2006, although many sellers didn’t want to admit that the market had changed so they stuck to their high asking price …. and didn’t get it.  Their properties just sat on the market - few lookers, even fewer offers.

In 2007, reality appeared to set in.  Sellers dropped prices again and again, in increments of $20,000 or more each time.  That home we talked about that went from $200,000 up to $380,000, had now dropped back to a more respectable $260,000.  At that price, buyers got off the fence and started buying again. 

We have seen a big increase in business since mid-2007.  The phones are ringing again.  Buyers are walking through our doors.  Our fellow realtors are reporting the same upsurge in business.

So before prices start to creep up again, don’t you think it’s a good time to buy?  The price is right!

- Mountain Man

To learn more about our real estate market here in the Wildwoods and Cape May County, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Realtor Satisfaction

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

There are many aspects of real estate sales that make being a realtor an enjoyable pursuit.  I’m not talking about the money – though that helps - but instead the pleasure of helping assist your clients in completing a successful transaction.

The interaction between us, as realtors, and our clients has brought us countless lifelong friendships.   It may sound a bit corny, but our motto, “You’re more than a customer, you’re a friend” actually is our philosophy and not some corporate gimmick.

Our real estate agency is quite small – we are a husband and wife team along with our loyal secretary and assistant Chris.  That’s it.  The buck stops here.  Our name is on our business, so everyone here in Cape May County, New Jersey knows that when you are dealing with Jewell Real Estate Agency you are dealing with the Jewell’s.  Not some part-time agent, not some rookie straight out of real estate school.

That’s makes it more possible for us to have a true relationship with our clients.  Answering phones 6am to 9pm 365 days a year doesn’t hurt either.

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We enjoy our sellers and our buyers.  All folks entering the real estate market have a need.  For Sellers, it may be the first step in upgrading to a larger unit, selling because of inheriting the property, a divorce, or simply giving up their shore home because the kids are grown and don’t use it anymore.

Buyer’s needs range from changing primary homes to getting a vacation home to buying a motel or pizza shop.  There’s nothing like seeing that twinkle in the eye of the husband and wife when they walk into a prospective property and know “This is it!”

My personal favorite, the thing that gives me the most satisfaction, is a first time buyer.  It’s a new frontier for them.  The culmination of their dream.  Whether they are buying their first-ever home or their first vacation home, they are at a benchmark moment in their life and you are part of it.

I guess everyone enjoys helping people realize their goal, their dream.  It makes me nearly as happy as they are.  No, it makes me happier.  That’s satisfaction!

- Mountain Man

To learn more about our agency, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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