Joseph's Blog

Buy Local ... or Support My Neighbor?

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:26:44 -0600

We recently purchased a pre-owned car, a Mazda 5 "mini-wagon," from my local Ford dealer in Pennsville NJ. The salesperson and the owner of the Ford dealership live in Delaware. We researched various vehicles on web sites supported by advertising of foreign and domestic car manufacturers. Living nearby, I was able to walk to the Ford dealer a few times throughout the negotiation and purchase. We looked at a new Ford Focus there--made in Mexico. My neighbor works at DuPont's research lab in Delaware, where they make the paint coatings for Mazda--and most other cars too. The nearest Mazda dealership where I'll have the car serviced is eight miles away in Delaware. The more modern car wash facilities in Pennsville are owned by folks who live outside Salem county.

If I were lucky enough to test drive a fuel cell concept car, I would use a hydrogen fueling station across the river, as there are no fueling stations in New Jersey.

Fisker Automotive and Quantum Technologies, both of California, formed a joint venture to manufacture plug-in electric vehicles at the former General Motors plant in Newark Delaware--available by 2014.

I hope they buy their paint coatings from DuPont.

December 2009 - Mid-Atlantic Green Events Alert!

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:36:47 -0600

Green Paradigm Institute - Monthly Mid-Atlantic Events Alert!

Green Building LEED Certification - Purpose, Strategy, Philosophy - Current Events - Pending Legislation

Participate in a 90-minute forum on Green Building on Wednesday, 2 Dec 2009, for REALTORS® and Friends

Hosted / conducted by Joseph Scarpa, LEED AP, Green, EcoBroker, e-PRO, Broker of Record for Green Paradigm Realty LLC / NextRE, Inc. (NJ)

$10 at the door - Register now at www.GreenParadigmInstitute.com

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 8:30 am - 10:30 am

Light Breakfast provided by Green Grille (Program starts promptly at 9:00 am)

Why: Learn Green Building LEED Certification - Purpose, Strategy, Philosophy - Current Events - Pending Legislation.

Open discussion on marketing of green properties and future of green building industry.

Where: Energy Freedom Pioneers Eco-Industrial Park (Bldg 322)

300 Route 130, Pedricktown NJ 08067-0420
Salem County - six miles south of Commodore Barry Bridge | six miles north of Delaware Memorial Bridge

How: Bring an appetite for learning how past and current events are driving the market for third party green building certification!

Open to real estate brokers, agents, property owners, developers, contractors, architects, engineers, and concerned citizens!!

RSVP: RSVP@GreenParadigmInstitute.com or www.GreenParadigmInstitute.com

Promotional Flyer and Agenda for above event available at http://www.GreenParadigmInstitute.com/archives/

CANNOT ATTEND? EXPANDED SEMINAR PRESENTED 1st DAY OF REALTORS TRIPLE PLAY (NJ NY PA) CONVENTION - DEC 8 - ATLANTIC CITY NJ

Other Upcoming Green Events:

USGBC-NJ South Branch Presents: Highlights of Greenbuild 2009 - Westmont NJ - 1 Dec - http://www.usgbcnj.org/

Green Drinks at UD Marriott Courtyard - Newark DE - 1 Dec - http://www.greendelaware.com/calendar.htm

LEED Green Associate Exam Prep - New Brunswick NJ - 1-2 Dec - http://www.everblueenergy.com/locations?location=New+Brunswick,+NJ

Green Drinks - Cherry Hill NJ - 2 Dec - http://www.sustainablecherryhill.org/green-drinks-one-green-night-a-month/

Green Paradigm Institute - Green Building: The Prequel - Pedricktown NJ - 2 Dec - www.GreenParadigmInstitute.com

REALTOR Convention & Trade Expo - Atlantic City NJ - 8 Dec - http://www.RealtorsTriplePlay.com/ - Booth #427 & 3-hour Continuing Education

Green Drinks - Maplewood NJ - 8 Dec - http://www.greendrinks.org/index.php?country=USA&city=Maplewood

LEED Building, Design, and Construction - Carneys Point NJ - 9-10 Dec - http://www.salemcc.edu/scc-today/news/article.php?article_id=293

LEED Green Associate Exam Prep - Carneys Point NJ - 9-10 Dec - http://www.salemcc.edu/scc-today/news/article.php?article_id=293

Green Drinks (Kickoff Event) West Milford New Jersey at http://www.wineinthewoodsnj.com/ - 10 Dec

Green Drinks at Moro Restaurant - Wilmington DE - 15 Dec - http://www.greendelaware.com/calendar.htm

LEED Operations & Maintenance - 16-17 Dec - http://www.salemcc.edu/scc-today/news/article.php?article_id=293

Green Paradigm Institute - Green Building: LEED Credit Minimum Program Requirements - 6 Jan - www.GreenParadigmInstitute.com

New Jersey Gubernatorial Election Implications

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:53:15 -0600

We have a new Governor in New Jersey, effective 19 Jan 2010, Chris Christie, and--in an entirely new post for New Jersey--Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadagno. Both of these elected officials hail from a law enforcement background. What does this harbinger for diversity? There is a real estate professional on the Governor-Elect's transition team ... but the future direction that the Christie administration will take New Jersey won't be fully shared with the public until amidst the holiday season.

Governor-Elect Christie recently met nice-nice with the Governor of Pennsylvania. They met at a new renewable energy industrial facility, AE Polysilicon in Fairless Hills PA, a company that produces material for photovoltaic cells, and both professed their interest in clean energy (consistent with their previous pronouncements). Given that the Governor-Elect--and his spouse, Mary Pat--are University of Delaware alumni, we just might have a more open and collaborative relationship with our neighboring states. Regional growth will be helpful to all!

Presidential Race Q & A - REALTOR Magazine - Sep 2008

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:12:42 -0500

The 2nd and 5th questions below pertain to energy and the environment. Thought this would be helpful.

2OO8 Presidential Race: Candidate Q&A

We ask the Republican and Democrat presidential contenders to detail their stands on issues that affect you. By Robert Freedman | September 2008

The Republican and Democratic candidates for president share a belief in the private sector's ability to lift the economy back into growth mode. But their paths diverge on how the federal government should contribute to this goal.

For example, both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama embrace the need to close the health insurance gap. Sen. Obama would take an aggressive approach by creating a national health insurance exchange; Sen. McCain favors providing a tax credit for households who purchase individual coverage.

To see where the candidates stand on issues vital to real estate practitioners, REALTOR® magazine went to the sources.

Q: What's the most important action the federal government can take to ease the mortgage crisis and prevent a recurrence?

Sen. Barack Obama: For the short term, the housing relief legislation [signed by Pres. George W. Bush July 30] authorizing the FHA to refinance the mortgages of struggling homeowners is the right approach. I've also called for the creation of a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund that works in tandem with state, local, and community nonprofit efforts to help households facing foreclosure renegotiate with lenders or put their homes on the market. We also need to expand the mortgage revenue bond program to give state housing agencies $10 billion in new resources to help struggling homeowners. For the long term, the Stop Fraud Act that I introduced two years ago would create criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud and increase funding for federal and state enforcement of antifraud programs. I also want to see a simplified, standardized metric for calculating the costs of a home mortgage, similar to the annual percentage rate used by banks to identify the effective interest rate a borrower ends up paying on a loan.

Sen. John McCain: First, we need to boost the economy to help borrowers in economically challenged states like Michigan. To this end, we need to keep tax rates low and increase business investment incentives while arming households with tools like middle-class tax cuts. Second, we need to help borrowers in fast-growth states forced into risky mortgages refinance into safe FHA financing through the housing relief bill. But it's important that borrowers, not lenders, be the ones to initiate the restructuring process. That way, undeserving lenders can't try to use the FHA as a dumping ground for all of the bad loans they made. We also need to crack down on unprofessional conduct among lenders and advance greater transparency about the risk of new mortgage securities that the market has developed. We also need to give the new national mortgage standards developed by banking regulators a chance to work.

Q: What role should the federal government play in reducing gridlock and carbon emission and in promoting livable communities?

Sen. McCain: We need to work with cities to help them grow-and downsize-effectively. Cities that are losing population have an opportunity to downsize in a smart way by converting obsolete areas into green space that can increase the quality of life for the people there. For growing cities, it's important not to stand in the way of local governments using federal community development block grants to grow in a sustainable way. That said, it's clear that allocations of CBDGs and other federal grants should be made based on need rather than size, with rich cities getting less and struggling cities getting more.

Sen. Obama: Our long-term competitiveness depends on the development of new transportation networks that reflect our increasingly mobile society. That's why a strengthened transportation system is a priority for me. We must renew the federal government's commitment to high-speed rail and take steps at the front end of planning processes for many transportation options. For example, I support a measure by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to require states and metropolitan planning organizations to adopt policies that incentivize bicycle and pedestrian use of roads. I'll double the federal Jobs Access and Reverse Commute program to ensure that additional federal public transportation dollars flow to the highest-need communities and that urban planning initiatives take this aspect of transportation policy into account.

Q: Even though prices have been easing for the last two years, housing affordability remains a challenge for many people. What can the federal government do to improve this situation?

Sen. Obama: I've proposed a universal mortgage interest tax credit for families that aren't benefiting from the mortgage interest deduction. They would get an average credit of $500 a year. And I worked to pass the bipartisan homeownership tax credit. That's a strong incentive because it gives developers a credit to bridge the gap between the cost of building a house and a sale price that's affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

Sen. McCain: Housing affordability is really a question of good-paying jobs and making sure wages aren't eaten up by taxes and escalating costs like health insurance. If wage earners have to sink all their money into health care, they can't save for a down payment or meet a monthly mortgage payment.

Q: How should the federal government help millions of small-business owners and the self-employed obtain affordable health insurance?

Sen. McCain: The solution requires a two-pronged approach: First, lower the cost of health care by emphasizing prevention, early intervention, new treatment models, more competition in drug markets, expanded use of coordinated care, and reforms to payment systems. Then, improve insurance options by building on our existing employer-based coverage. I support a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 per household to help offset its insurance costs. Families would use the credit to buy the coverage that works best for them and put any balance remaining into their own health savings accounts. We would also work with states to establish a guaranteed access plan for individuals who are otherwise unable to get insurance.

Sen. Obama: Let's build on our existing private health care system by allowing small employers and independent contractors to participate in a "national health insurance exchange" so they can purchase affordable health coverage similar to the plans available to federal employees. Individuals who need help paying for premiums will receive tax credits to ensure they can afford coverage. Employers that do not make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small employers that meet certain revenue thresholds will be exempt. The plan will reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee these savings are used to reduce workers' premiums.

Q: What's the federal government's role in promoting energy efficiency in commercial properties?

Sen. Obama: I'll establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon-neutral by 2030 and work to improve new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade. To achieve that, I'll seek to make federal buildings zero-emission by 2025, starting with a goal to make them 40 percent more efficient in five years. I'll create a competitive grant program to recognize states and localities that take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency. I'll also seek to provide a federal match for states with public benefits funds that support energy-efficiency retrofits of existing buildings. In addition, I'll invest in green-collar job training programs and create a "Green Jobs Corps" to connect disadvantaged youth with job skills in high-growth clean-energy industries.

Sen. McCain: Government can encourage developers to make buildings more efficient with incentives for using what's already available-such as energy-efficient lightbulbs. But there shouldn't be a mandate. It's appropriate to use the White House as a bully pulpit on green building, motivating the private sector to migrate to a smarter way of doing things. What we don't want to do is go into a building and start measuring its carbon footprint.

Q: What IRS code changes are needed to spur growth while ensuring tax burdens are spread evenly?

Sen. McCain: We have to keep tax rates low because that's what spurs business expansion. I would reduce the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent, keep taxes on dividends and capital gains low, and allow for immediate deductibility of business equipment. We also should scale back the estate tax and eliminate the alternative minimum tax. The mortgage interest deduction should be left alone; it's embedded in the U.S. tax code.

Sen. Obama: We need to reform our tax code so that it's simple and fair and advances opportunity rather than loopholes for special interests. I'll end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and reward companies that create good jobs here. I'll encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by extending the research and development and renewable energy production tax credits and eliminating capital gains taxes for small and start-up businesses. And I'll provide broad middle class tax relief-a "Making Work Pay" $500 tax credit, among other things-to help working families struggling with stagnant wages and skyrocketing energy and health costs.

Robert Freedman is a senior editor of REALTOR® magazine. He can be contacted at rfreedman@realtors

Solar Economics ULI Roundtable - 8 Oct - Pedricktown NJ

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:54:32 -0500

ULI Philadelphia - South Jersey/Delaware Regional Committee Eco-Industrial Park Behind the Scenes Tour - Solar Economics

Date: October 8, 2008
Location: Pedricktown, NJ
Venue: Energy Freedom Pioneers Eco-Industrial Park

As a result of a Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision, a former Nike missile defense site in Salem County NJ is being redeveloped as an Eco-Industrial Park. Reconstruction, remediation, renovation, and leasing of space are approximately 10 percent complete. The redevelopment, equidistant between the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Commodore Barry Bridge, is on U.S. Route 130 (just off I-295), just a few miles south of Gloucester County's DREAM Park.

The Salem County Eco-Industrial Park offers "energy freedom" to its tenants (targeting firms in the clean energy and sustainability sector) with on-site distributed bio-diesel generators, a centralized anaerobic digestion generation plant, geothermal closed loop heating and up to a 1.25 MW photovoltaic array (solar electricity), along with traditional shared services.

Construction planned for 2009 includes retrofitting existing buildings with unique R-40-equivalent insulation and condensation control systems, as well as multi-zone air handling systems using a geothermal closed loop base ($1.25 million); and construction of the photovoltaic array (up to $7.25 million) in phases.

Brian Blair, President, Energy Freedom Pioneers, will lead this luncheon roundtable discussion regarding the technical characteristics and financing of the proposed photovoltaic array and its implications for various stakeholders. The solar project is relevant for LEED certification of the various buildings on the campus; registration and progress towards LEED certification will be discussed.

Thank you to event sponsor: Energy Freedom Pioneers. Lunch will be catered by the Green Grille. Lunch will begin promptly at 12:00 pm followed by discussion and tour. Roundtable is limited to 25 participants so register quickly!

Directions and more information on Delaware Valley's only Eco-Industrial Park can be found at www.EnergyFreedomPioneers.com

Looking forward to seeing you ... be sure to register at http://philadelphia.uli.org/

e-PRO Workshop - 1 Oct 2008 - Salem County NJ

Joseph Scarpa (Green Paradigm Realty LLC | NextRE, Inc.) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:34:43 -0500

e-Pro Workshop - Energy Freedom Pioneers Eco-Industrial Park - Pedricktown, Salem County, NJ

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Don't miss this free e-PRO Workshop, compliments of NAR and InternetCrusade. Attending this workshop will teach you technology tips that will immediately help differentiate you from your competition!

The e-PRO Workshop is free to attendees and covers the benefits of taking the online e-PRO certification course. It will also cover many beneficial technology tips you can apply right away. e-PRO is the only online technology certification course offered by the National Association of REALTORS and it's NAR's fastest growing certification course.

Anyone who attends the e-PRO workshop can receive a FREE full-featured Web Site.

At the e-PRO Workshop, attendees will also have the opportunity to take advantage of the $25 discount for enrolling into the online e-PRO course.

All existing e-PROs (and those currently enrolled in the course) who attend and bring a guest will receive an e-PRO pin ($25 value).

e-PRO is recognized for elective credit in the designation requirements for CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative), and CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist).

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

8:30 am - 9:00 am Registration & Light Breakfast by Green Grille

9:00 am - 10:30 am e-PRO Workshop by Joseph Marovich, ABR, ABRM, e-PRO, GRI, PMN, RSPS, SRES

Location: Energy Freedom Pioneers Eco-Industrial Park, 300 Route 130, Pedricktown NJ 08067 [former military base in Salem County]

From Delaware Memorial Bridge: Take Exit 1-B (Route 130 North) ... six miles north thru Penns Grove ... take left into park onto Artillery Drive ... [Yellow] Bldg 322 on right (free parking on both sides of Artillery Drive)

From I-295 Exit 7: (if going south on I-295, go right at top of ramp onto Straughns Mill Road ... if going north on I-295, go left at top of ramp onto Straughns Mill Road) ... go 1-3/4 miles west to five-way intersection (at cemetery) ... take soft left onto Penns Grove-Pedricktown Road (County Road 642) ... go 1-1/2 miles till dead end on Route 130 ... go left (south) for 100 yards ... take right into eco-industrial park onto Artillery Drive ... [Yellow] Bldg 322 on right (free parking on both sides of Artillery Drive)

From U.S. Route 322: 6-1/4 miles south on Route 130 ... take right into eco-industrial park onto Artillery Drive ... [Yellow] Bldg 322 on right (free parking on both sides of Artillery Drive)

From U.S. Route 40: Go west thru Woodstown and past Cowtown ... bear right onto State Route 48 ... go four miles through Carneys Point into Penns Grove (Incollingo's Market) ... turn right (north) onto Virginia Ave (Route 130) ... 2-1/4 miles north on Route 130 ... take left into park onto Artillery Drive ... [Yellow] Bldg 322 on right (free parking on both sides of Artillery Drive)

To register simply visit http://ePROworkshop.InternetCrusade.com or call toll free 866-ePRONAR (866-377-6627)

Can't make 1 Oct? Try Oct 2 at New Castle County Board of REALTORS in nearby Wilmington Delaware....

Joseph Scarpa, LEED AP, EcoBroker^®, e-PRO^®
Broker Associate

Legend Properties, Inc.
20000 Horizon Way Ste 280
Mount Laurel NJ 08054-4321

www.LPRE.com o: 856 231 1010 x108 f: 856 231 1111 c: 856 981 2973

www.SalemCountyRealEstate.com

Graduate, Downtown Revitalization & Management Institute
Member, International Council of Shopping Centers
Member, Urban Land Institute
Member, TriState REALTORS^® Commercial Alliance
Member, Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Delaware CCIM
Member, Commercial Industrial Realty Council of New Castle County Delaware
Member, Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow (SMART)
Member, New Jersey Green Building Council
Member, Southern New Jersey Development Council
Member, Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce
Member, Salem County Chamber of Commerce