RIP New Jersey COAH

February 2nd, 2010

A New Jersey State Senate bill recently introduced would abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), taking implementation of low and moderate income housing standards from the state and putting it in the hands of municipalities.  It's about time.

COAH came into existence in the late 1970's as a result of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Mt. Laurel Decision, which basically said that municipalities cannot zone against low and moderate-income housing and must supply affordable housing.  COAH set quotas for each of the state's 567 (now 566) municipalities.

The quota system was unfair to many municipalities, setting unrealistically high numbers for some towns.  Here in Cape May County, Middle Township is still required to offer 932 more affordable units by 2018 and Upper Township still owes over 500.  It's unrealistic and puts a heavy burden on taxpayers, who must fund new schools and services to meet the demand of so many new residences.

Senate Bill S1, sponsored by Raymond Lesniak and Christopher Bateman, and its companion State Assembly bill A2057, would abolish COAH.  It would also do away with State-imposed calculations of affordable housing needs.  Instead, it would permit municipalities to determine their own needs.  The State Planning Commission would assist towns in facilitating opportunities for affordable housing.

The bill would require municipalities to re-examine their master plan and adopt an ordinance that provides an opportunity for an appropriate variety and choice of housing.  They must show that they have complied with their obligations under the Fair Housing Act.  Any municipality not enacting ordinances by December 31, 2011, would be required to have any developers set aside 20% of their project for low or moderate or work force housing.

What does all this mean?  COAH and its assigned numbers of affordable housing units will be put to rest.  But municipalities aren't off the hook.  They must still offer affordable housing, but on their own terms, not Trenton's.

-Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Phil, Say it Ain't So by Mountain Man (Douglas Jewell)

January 30th, 2010

The phone call yesterday went something like this: 

"Your boy got accused of cheating," I said, speaking of PGA Tour golf icon Phil Mickelson who also happens to be City Girl's favorite golfer.

"That's impossible," she replied.  "There's no cheating in golf."

You be the judge.  The PGA Tour outlawed golf clubs with square grooves, effective this year.  They reasoned that they give the golf ball more backspin, hence lessening a player's necessity to actually make a skillful shot.  So at the PGA Tour's fourth stop of the year at Torrey Pines GC outside San Diego, tour player Scott McCarron accused Mickelson of cheating by using a square-grooved wedge.  At least three other players have used the same square-grooved club this month - John Daly, Hunter Mahan, and Dean Wilson.

The golf club in question is a Ping-Eye 2 wedge.  It seems that in settling a court case brought by Ping against the United States Golf Association (USGA), any Ping-Eye 2 iron built before April 1, 1990 was deemed legal.  The PGA Tour agreed to abide by the USGA's concession in 1993.  The Ping irons in question were manufactured from 1985-1989.  No other golf club company manufactured square-grooved clubs.

 So knowing that square-grooved clubs would be illegal on the PGA Tour this year, some savvy tour players scrambled to find the still-legal vintage Ping wedges.  While at least Mickelson, Daly, Mahan, and Wilson succeeded, most tour players weren't even aware that the obscure rule existed.  Technically, the four did nothing wrong.  They stayed within the rules. 

But, golf is known as a gentlemen's game.  What other sport has players call penalties on themselves, even if no one else saw the infraction?  They - in most cases - could get away with it, but it's an honor system.  "Gentlemen, honor" - that's a heavy responsibility.  It's not the type of lingo you'd associate with the NBA or NFL.

Did Mickelson and the others cheat?  Mickelson says, "No."  McCarron says, "Yes."  In question perhaps is the spirit of the rules versus some technicality.

Perhaps tour pro Robert Allenby's take is appropriate.  "I think cheating is not the right word.  But it's definitely an advantage," Allenby said of the Ping-Eye 2.  "There's only a certain amount of players that can find them and I think it's not right if you're using them."

The entire controversy may soon be a moot point.  Don't be surprised to see the PGA Tour find a way to outlaw the Ping-Eye 2 in the next week or so.

How are the players mentioned doing at Torrey Pines?  After two rounds McCarron and Daly missed the cut and were sent packing.  Maybe that's a factor in McCarron's strong accusation?  Allenby is three shots off the lead, Mickelson four, and Mahan six shots behind the leaders.

Don't worry, City Girl.  Your boy still has a chance to win again this week.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

One Take on ‘Avatar' and the Vatican

January 30th, 2010

The movie ‘Avatar" doesn't have enough "curb appeal", as we realtors say, to get us to go pay $12 apiece to see it.  It's just not the kind of movie we like.

So when the Vatican gave the movie a thumbs down, it piqued our curiosity.  This morning we read a Letter to the Editor in the Atlantic City Press by Sharon Hutchinson of Buena Vista, NJ.  Here's her take on the Vatican's reaction to the movie:

"As a nontheist, I am amused at the Vatican's condemnation of the movie ‘Avatar' as nature worship.  A respect for and communion with nature is one of the most positive experiences that a person can undergo.

"The fact is, we depend upon nature for all the necessities of life.  The religions that worship land - yes, those awful pagan religions - develop a respect and appreciation for our planet that is sorely lacking in our modern society.  The belief that Earth's resources are put here solely for man's benefit has led to not only an estrangement from the natural world around us but also the plunder and devastation of the world.

"If I were to choose a religion, it would make the most sense to worship that which provides the necessities of daily living, rather than some ephemeral being who has supposedly placed man above all creatures.  The destruction of the Earth and its resources is the result of such mythical and arrogant thinking.

"It is no surprise to hear this protest from the Vatican, as Catholicism and other forms of Christianity continue to lose ground as science and reason grow.  That ‘Avatar' has struck such a nerve is but another sign that religions are aware that more people are coming to the realization that it is the ground under our feet, not some spirit in the sky, that helps to sustain our very lives."

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

The Majestic Redwoods

January 29th, 2010

The Coastal Redwoods are a sight to see.  Ranging along the fog-shrouded California coast from Big Sur to just over the border into southwestern Oregon, these giants can live up to 2,200 years.  There are 137 of these behemoths over 350 feet tall, with the tallest living redwood measuring in at a whopping 379 feet.  The largest redwood girth is a mind-boggling 26 feet across.

The battle between environmentalists looking to preserve the trees and loggers looking at profits and jobs has been going on for a century, and the fight intensified beginning in the 1960s.  It's an emotional issue, with both sides resorting to vandalism or violence at times to protect what they believe is right.

National Geographic ran a feature article in October, 2009 about the redwoods and their future.  It was a politically-correct, safe article.  As is NatGeo's philosophy, they strongly presented both sides while not taking a stand. 

Here is an interesting Letter to the Editor that I just read this morning in my new February issue of NatGeo, written and submitted by John Ruch of Boston, giving his views of the validity of the redwood article's points.

"Regarding your paean to capitalist "forest management" as the solution to saving redwoods, forests already have a manager.  It's nature itself, which has a head start of hundreds of millions of years on our wisdom.  Conservation has become hubristic meddling, capitalism still is barely tamed greed, and the unholy alliance of the two is a scam masquerading as hipster realpolitik.

"Here's the truth:  Redwood lumber is not a vital resource.  It is a luxury item that no one has any need or right to cut.  The key to an ecological future is reducing our own population by three-quarters, not turning even more people into luxury-slurping consumers.  The key to ending global warming is paying people who don't drive cars at all, not paying forest companies.  And anybody who kills any living thing more than a thousand years old is simply a jerk.  Your article used the word "cut" a lot.  What it meant is "kill"."

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Our Real Estate Market

January 29th, 2010

We realtors can talk all we want about our local real estate market, but there's nothing like good, hard numbers to bring out the true picture.  So here are the numbers for the Cape May County, New Jersey market since 2005.  These statistics are for properties sold through our local Multiple Listing Service and don't include private sales.  They also don't include Ocean City, which belongs to the Atlantic County Association of Realtors and MLS.

In 2005, there were 3,628 properties sold.  The asking price total was $2.01 billion and they got $1.92 billion, meaning sellers got 95.5% of asking price on average.  The average property was listed at $555,000 and it sold for $530,000.  (All prices are rounded off).

In 2006, there were 2,386 properties sold, a volume drop of 34% from 2005.  The total asking price was $1.43 billion and sellers received $1.34 billion, or about 94% of asking price.  The average asking price was $601,000 and the selling price averaged $563,000.  Did you just notice that the 2006 price average was up 6% over 2005?

In 2007, there were 2,279 properties sold, a slight drop of 4% from 2006.  The asking price total was $1.33 billion and sellers received $1.28 billion.  The average asking price was $583,000 and sellers averaged $539,000.  So even in 2007, prices were still higher than in the benchmark year of 2005.  Of course, sales were off 37% in volume in 2007 from 2005.

In 2008, there were 1,901 properties sold, a drop of 16.5% from the previous year.  The total asking price was $1.07 billion and they got $978 million, or about 91% of asking price.  The average property listed at $564,000 and sold for $514,000, which is still in the ballpark of 2005.

In 2009, there were 1,879 properties sold, a 48% drop from the gold rush era of 2005, but still close to 2008 totals.  But here's where the numbers dive.  The total asking price was $889 million and sellers received $813 million.  The average listing price of $473,000 went for $432,000.  Selling prices dropped 16% from 2008.  That's substantial.  Hopefully the market found the bottom and will now level off.  Short sales were a big part of 2009, driving down price averages.

Here at Jewell Real Estate Agency, our figures for sales and commissions from 2001 to 2009 tell our story.  Our most sales, in order, were 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2003.  Those four years had double - and sometimes triple - the sales volume of 2001, and 2006 through 2009.  Our best year of gross commissions was 2005 (no surprise there), followed by 2004, 2002, and 2003.  Again, 2001 (our first year in business, so it might not be a fair comparison) and 2006 through 2009 were the dog years. 

We do expect 2010 to be our best year since 2005.  In January, we've already had 25% as many transactions closing as in all of 2009.  And the phones are ringing and the offers are coming in.  Yeee-haaa!

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Teaching Life Lessons

January 28th, 2010

It's kinda sad that so many "twenty-somethings" in America have no clue about how to manage their lives.  They make bad decisions when it comes to the financial aspects of surviving and thriving.  However, they're not entirely to blame. 

We were both excellent students in school.  We did our homework, got good grades, and didn't cause trouble.  What more could a school expect from us.  We did our part.

But in retrospect, the schools didn't hold up their part of the bargain.  Upon graduating from high school (City Girl in Philly, Mountain Man in a Boston suburb) it was time to strike out into the great, big world awaiting us.  We weren't prepared.

Like most our age, we had never been taught in school how to manage our lives.  We had never been schooled in how to rent an apartment, buy a house, finance a car, pay our utility bills, and set ourselves on a monthly or weekly budget.  We hadn't been taught how to apply for a job, do our taxes, or raise a family.  Through 12 years of school, we had never been offered a course on LIFE.

Fortunately for us both, we were quick learners and we each navigated the bumpy road of life.  Like every twenty-something, we still made our share of mistakes.

Today's post-school young adults have had a different experience than us.  The majority can't form a complete sentence.  They were more interested in MTV and video games and texting than what we called "book learning".  Much of that can and should be blamed on the parents.

We had three young men - 18, 19 and 20-years old - working for us a few years ago.  None were married, but each had at least one infant kid.  One had an apartment but was constantly behind in rent and facing eviction.  The other two had their kid and girlfriend living with them and their maternal unit - one a mother and the other a grandmother.  They had no financial responsibility for house bills as the mother and grandmother - both only semi-literate - had become "enablers".  Only one of the three young men even owned a vehicle.

One particular week, the guys worked long hours and on payday each received about $600.  As we paid them, each was warned to spend it wisely.  "Don't blow it," we said in a big brother-type way.  Each had children to feed and clothes to buy.

Monday morning, they each returned to work with big grins.  "Guess what we did?" they said proudly.  Unbelievably, each rolled up their sleeve to reveal their new $300 tattoo.  "You mean you each spent half your paycheck on tattoos?" was our heartbroken reply.

And so it goes.  Each is trapped into a life of underachievement and wasted potential and hardship.  The parents didn't have the intellectual tools to give proper guidance.  That said, didn't our educational system drop the ball on several generations? 

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

My Toyota

January 28th, 2010

After owning three successive Dodge Dakotas, we bought a new Toyota Tundra last May.  It is a 2009 4-wheel drive pickup truck with the full-sized backseat.  We asked the dealer to make three modifications as a condition of purchasing the vehicle.  They agreed, then did none of them.  No wonder car dealers have a reputation for "say anything to make a sale."

Anyway, our Tundra was one of over four million Toyotas recalled last summer because of a reported problem with the driver's floor mat slipping underneath the pedals.  Our mat is secured by a big plastic clip and it can't be moved even with force, so we filed the recall notice in the "if it ever becomes a problem" folder. 

Now Toyota has begun a recall of over one million vehicles - again ours is on the list - because the accelerator sticks.  An advocacy group, Safety Research and Strategies, has said that since 1999 Toyotas have had 2,274 incidences of "sudden unintended acceleration" leading to 18 deaths in 275 crashes.

We haven't received the recall notice yet, but even when we do there is no hurry to get out Tundra back to the dealer.  Toyota hasn't yet come up with a solution to the problem.  It's some sort of multiple problem concerning interconnected linkage.  It's not just spraying it with WD-40 or replacing a single part and everything is okay.

Our Tundra is our third vehicle, so we don't drive it often.  We use it to get from our home in Cape May County, New Jersey to our vacation log home in mountains of Pocahontas County, West Virginia.  It's 396 miles each way. 

We needed the 4-wheel drive in case of snow or ice going through the mountains, and the large size gives us plenty of room to bring along all the tools, supplies, etc that we always seem to need.  But other than those trips (about 12,000 miles a year), our Toyota stays parked under cover in New Jersey.  We each drive smaller, more economical vehicles in our everyday New Jersey life.

Toyota has put out some warnings of what symptoms to look for in advance of your gas pedal sticking.  They say the pedal may gradually become harder to depress, and there may be a roughness or chattering when pressing or releasing the gas pedal.  It that happens, call your Toyota dealer.

If the pedal does stick at full acceleration, follow these steps:  Brake hard, but don't pump the brakes, just depress the brake pedal enough without going into a skid.  Then throw the engine in "neutral".  While the engine will still be running at excessive RPM's, it won't be pushing you along anymore.  Don't turn the engine off until you're safely stopped and off the road.  Got all that?

We're sure Toyota will figure out a solution to the problem soon, then we can all take our vehicles to the dealer for the repairs.  We're just sorry that we have to go back to the incompetent dealer that we bought it from.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Special Interests Win Again

January 26th, 2010

It's sure tough to be the little guy - the common US citizen - isn't it?  Despite all the guarantees put forth in the Constitution, our government is still controlled by special interests.  Not us peons.

The Supreme Court set us back a few decades last week when a 5-4 decision okayed companies and unions ability to spend freely on ads that promote or target particular candidates by name.  It also lifts a ban on corporate and union-paid issue-based ads in the final days of a campaign.

How easy is it now going to be for a politician to climb into bed with special interests?  Quite.  If not, their opponent just might and then steal the election.  It's a field day for graft.

President Obama lashed out at the decision over the weekend.  "We don't need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drown out the voices of everyday Americans," he said.  "And we don't intend to."

The White House will attempt to legislate away the impact of the Supreme Court's decision, which basically used the First Amendment's "freedom of speech" as the reason to allow these transgressions against decency.  The House of Representatives and Senate must approve any bills on the subject before Obama could sign it into law.

The White House has a number of measures it is proposing: require the approval of a majority of shareholders before a corporation can run a political ad;  require the CEO to appear at the end of the ad;  limit the ad spending of corporations who received bailout money;  and/or limit privileges that come with corporate status concerning political ads.

If this Supreme Court ruling is allowed to stand, any candidate that stood for environmental or social issues would likely be squashed by the big businesses whose profits would be trimmed. 

Isn't democracy grand?

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

My husband, Douglas, wrote the following blog.  Enjoy.

Changing Face of Retail

January 26th, 2010

Many scoffed 20 years ago at projections that internet retail sales would be a major factor in the future.  "I'll never buy anything on the internet," so many of us said.

Well, guess what?  In the third quarter of 2009, US internet sales were $34 billion.  Out of a total of $922 billion in US retail sales, that figure represents 3.7% of all sales being done with a mouse and keyboard at hand in front of a computer screen. 

For someone who knows what they want to purchase, the internet is the way to go.  It sure beats driving 45 miles each way to a retail store to come away either empty handed because their product wasn't what you wanted, or with something you paid 20% or so above internet cost.

Forbes recently released its list of retail stores that are in serious economic trouble in 2010.  Some are a victim of the internet, some the economy, and some have been trumped by discount big box stores like WalMart, Costco and Target.

Borders and Waldenbooks may be the first to fold in 2010.  Amazon.com has stole the show.  It's so much easier to order a book over the internet and have it at your door in a week.  But there's another factor that has doomed the book retail stores.  I sell my book through Amazon and 79 other internet sites, plus my own website at http://www.RoadtripBabyBoomer.com .  They are printed "on demand" and I make about $5 per book.  But to put your book in a retail outlet you get about $1 per book, and have to buy back any they don't sell at full wholesale price.  That often makes authors owe money instead of making it.  Hence, the big box bookstores have a less diversified inventory because unknown authors shy away.

Blockbuster is also in deep doo-doo.  Netflix and avenues to download movies on-line have made going to the video store to pick out a movie a fading memory.  The movie rental business is on its last legs.

Ritz Camera has also been identified by Forbes as a candidate for euthanasia.  If you know the camera you want, it's less expensive and usually less of a hassle to buy it on-line.  And really, who needs film developed anymore?

Other outlets that Forbes put on its death-watch list are KB Toys, Zales Jewelers, and Starbucks.  The first two are basically victims of the poor economic times.  Excessive purchases of toys and jewelry are easily eliminated from a family budget as unnecessary. 

As for Starbucks, they expanded too rapidly.  There's only so many yuppies out there.  I'm a guy's guy.  I don't care about a Sumatra and Guatemalan coffee blend, a Frappuccino, a Ski Cinnamon Dolce Latte, or an Espresso Truffle.  I don't know what those are, but I'd be downright embarassed to stand there and order one.  Give me a break!

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Walking Away from a Mortgage

January 21st, 2010

The family's decision to allow their house to go into foreclosure isn't an easy one.  But often there is no choice.  The loss of a job by one of the spouses can cripple their finances.  Even having a significant cutback in salary, such as being dropped from a full-time to part-time employee, can be enough to throw a household budget into a tailspin.

Until the past year or so, a family could rescue themselves by taking an equity line on their house, or even write a credit card check to bolster their checking  account and get them through the tough times.  But too many Americans have now found themselves cut off from being extended credit through these means.  Banks are taking the hard line, even if one's credit score is still hovering around 800 and payments are always on time.

In 2009, there were over 2.8 million foreclosures filed in the United States.  It's a sad statistic that puts a damper on many families' American dream of home ownership.  Is owning a home and then losing it worse than never having owned one?

But there is one facet of these foreclosures that is particularly upsetting.  About one-fourth of last year's foreclosures were not  because the mortgage payments couldn't be afforded, but instead because families decided the mortgage payment simply wasn't worth paying.  It's called a strategic default.

Suppose a family owns a home they bought in 2004 for $450,000 with no money down.  Their mortgage payment is nearly $3,000 a month, plus PMI and real estate taxes ($500 a month average here in New Jersey).  Add in minimal upkeep and necessary repairs and it's costing about $4,500 a month.

If a family can handle that $4,500 but has nothing left at the end of the month, they begin to wonder if it's worth the hassle.  Especially because the house is now only worth $315,000, using the typical decline of 30% in value in the US.  When that family crunches the numbers and compares paying $1,200 to $1,500 a month to rent a similar home, many opt to take that route.

So, despite the fact that their credit will be ruined and the pleasures and comforts of home ownership will disappear, they decide to walk away from their home.  They stop making the mortgage payments - which gives them six months or so with no $4,500 payment (saving $27,000) - and prepare for life as a renter.

It's a sad scenario.  But for many, a reality.

Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com