blog: Late Winter Newsletter - 03/08/11 09:48 PM
THE WORST IS OVER
Knock on wood, the worst weather that winter has to offer has already been served up. The daylight hours are longer now and the smell of spring is in the air. Even a few daffodils are popping up.
Winter did get off to a horrendous start here in Cape May County. The average temperature in both December and January was about six degrees below normal. Brrrr! After getting hit with 17 inches of snow the day after Christmas, the future looked bleak. Surprisingly, that was it. The next six snow-storms basically started as rain and left a … (0 comments)

blog: Civil War in West Wildwood - 01/16/10 06:02 AM
Civil War in West Wildwood
January 16th, 2010
It's the Hatfields and the McCoys, the Blue and the Gray, the Union and the Confederacy.  Whatever label you attach, it is an all-out war in West Wildwood, pitting neighbors against neighbors, one political faction against the other.
The war has taken the form of employee suspensions, court ordered re-instatements, lawsuits, and even an upcoming mayoral recall election.  It's Peyton Place by-the-Bay.
There have been undercurrents of one side versus the other for a long time, but the war intensified in May, 2008 with the election of a new set of three … (1 comments)

blog: LPGA Returning to South Jersey - 01/11/10 09:40 PM
LPGA Returning to South Jersey
January 12th, 2010
After a three year hiatus, the Ladies Professional Golf Association will once again be staging a golf tournament in southern New Jersey.  The gals have been missed.
The LPGA began its 21-year run in the area in 1986 with the Atlantic City LPGA Classic, held at the Marriot Seaview CC.  Two laters later the venue was changed to Greate Bay CC in Somers Point, where it stayed through 1997.  The tournament was moved back to the Seaview in 1998 and it played there through 2006.  The event was called the ShopRite Classic beginning … (2 comments)

blog: Arctic Terrorists - 01/10/10 04:26 AM

My husband definitely has a sense of humor.  Something we all need on these cold winter days.
Arctic Terrorists
January 10th, 2010
It's an arctic jihad.  And we've got proof!
The weather the last couple months has been, well, extreme.  Just look at the facts.  The resort town of Whistler, British Columbia received an incredible 18 feet of snow in November.  That's November, mind you.  That's 216 inches of the white powder and nearly four times the November average of 58″.  In fact, it's nearly 20% more snow than the snowiest month ever at Whistler.
In England, it was … (2 comments)

blog: The Decline of Sports - 01/08/10 10:22 AM
The following is written by my husband, Douglas.
The Decline of Sports
January 8th, 2010
I don't usually write about sports.  Well, that's not exactly true.  Let me rephrase that - I don't usually write about sports on this blogsite.  I am a retired sportswriter, having penned over 5,000 articles from 1991 through 1999.  That's about 1.4 articles a day, every day, for nine years and eight months.  But, that's in the past.
Anyway, allow me to make some observations about sports.
Sports on television are being started too late in the evening.  Last night's college football championship game between Alabama … (6 comments)

blog: Atlantic City Woes Continue - 01/07/10 02:59 AM


Atlantic City Woes Continue
Mountain Man and City Girl
The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505
January 7th, 2010
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's expected signature today on a bill to allow table games in addition to its existing slot machines is another bit of bad news for Atlantic City.  The bill passed the state Senate 28-22 previously and the Assembly 103-89 yesterday.  Rendell threatened to layoff 1,000 state workers if the bill wasn't on his desk by tomorrow (Friday, Jan 8, 2010).  That got legislators moving.
Pennsylvania will now permit up to 250 table games … (1 comments)

blog: Words are Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - 01/05/10 11:14 PM
Words are Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
January 6th, 2010
Isn't the English language "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".  That 34 letter word, sung so handsomely by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the movie Mary Poppins, means wonderful.  It is the longest non-medical, non-technical, non-foreign word in the English language.  Did you get all that?
Well, that is unless you consider it not really a word, since it was made up by the two brothers who wrote the song for the Disney movie.  In that case, the longest word is "antidisestablishmentarianism", at 28 letters.  Can't you remember back in the 1950s or '60s being so smug because as … (7 comments)

blog: New Jersey Entices Solar - 01/05/10 06:51 AM
New Jersey Entices Solar
January 5th, 2010
New Jersey has the reputation of being one of the most business-unfriendly of the 50 United States.  It's well deserved.  They did it the old-fashioned way - they earned it!
But solar power is the exception.  New Jersey is mandated by the state's Energy Master Plan to provide 20 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2020.  To reach that lofty goal just 10 years away, the state is offering monetary incentives to get it done.  And alternative energy providers are lining up to cash in.
The state set up a system … (1 comments)

blog: Distressed Properties Affecting Appraisals - 01/05/10 02:45 AM
Distressed Properties Affecting Appraisals
January 5th, 2010
There are typically three main issues that can stop a potential real estate transaction dead in its tracks - the home inspection, the mortgage approval, and the appraisal.  Let's talk about appraisals.
The problem with appraisals in today's real estate market is that properties sold via a short sale, sheriff sale, or foreclosure are being used as comparables when evaluating the price of a regular home.  About 25% of realtors have had a sale fall apart because of a low appraisal.  The National Association of Home Builders reported that 25% of their new home … (2 comments)

blog: No Repeat of Bubble Burst? - 01/04/10 09:29 AM


No Repeat of Bubble Burst?
Mountain Man and City Girl
The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505
January 4th, 2010
As the United States slowly pulls itself out of the depths of the recession, many still wonder how it happened and whether it can happen again?  Good questions, and the answers all have to do in some way with real estate.
The biggest cause of the housing bubble was that the Federal Reserve and then chairman Alan Greenspan did not recognize what was happening soon enough.  But they took the course that seemed logical … (1 comments)

blog: A Realtor's Sad Day - 01/03/10 04:13 AM
Mountain Man and City Girl
The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505

 A Realtor's Sad Day
My husband looks like a mountain man, but he can be such a softie inside.
January 3rd, 2010
Being a realtor has many rewards other than financial.  There's nothing like finding a young couple their first home, helping them navigate through the various stages of buying a property that are still so alien to the inexperienced.  They're thankful for everything along the way and often we become lifelong friends.
Here in Cape May County at the southern tip of … (2 comments)

blog: Good Realtors have Passion - 01/02/10 02:02 AM
Good Realtors have Passion
January 2nd, 2010
Like all our fellow realtors, we know that there are all different calibers of realtors.  But when you really think about it, what makes a certain percentage of realtors stand above the crowd is PASSION.
My wife Joyce and I opened our first office in 2000, then 10 months later opened a branch office.  Later this month will mark the 10th anniversary of us working six days a week - we try to take Wednesdays off together but often spend half the day on our cell phones - and answering our phones 6am to … (4 comments)

blog: New Year's Resolutions - 01/01/10 12:26 PM
This is a humorous blog written by my husband, Douglas (Mountain Man)  not to be taken seriously.  Have run reading.
New Year's Resolutions
December 31st, 2009
I'm not really the type of guy to make New Year's resolutions.  I guess it's because I've pretty much always been in control of my life.  Okay, so I always want to lose weight and I guess that is the one resolution that I might think about each December.  But it probably has more to do with the overeating I enjoy from Thanksgiving through January 1st and it's just a coincidence of calendar.
But, … (6 comments)

blog: The Demise of "da inglish langwij" - 01/01/10 12:20 PM
 
The Demise of "da inglish langwij"
Maybe it's me.  But I'm really amazed at how the majority of the American public has no sense of correct spelling and grammar.
Since you are reading this blog instead of sitting home on the couch watching Jerry Springer or hanging out in an alley sipping some Boone's Farm Apple Wine and puffing on a cigarette, you are also probably confounded by how the English language is being butchered.
As a realtor, I am actually getting used to the fact that so many people spell realty as R-E-A-L-I-T-Y.  Duh!  Isn't reality one of those … (5 comments)

blog: Just a Feeling - 12/30/09 10:02 AM
Mountain Man and City Girl
The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505 Just a Feeling  
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 As realtors, we often get hunches about our own individual local real estate market, whether it's Monterrey, California or Baton Rouge, Louisiana or Bangor, Maine. 
Here at Jewell Real Estate Agency, we have a feeling about 2010.  A strong feeling.  All the pieces seem to be falling into place that 2010 is going to be a great year.  The best since 2005.
Our local real estate market is Cape May County, a small tourist-oriented county at the … (0 comments)

blog: Trading Card Program for Wildwood Students - 12/27/09 08:47 PM
I just finished reading a truly inspiring article in this morning's Press about a trading card program that was started by teacher, Betty Harshaw, 10 years ago.  Wildwood Elementary and Middle school students earn the trading cards for such achievements as good attendance and being on the honor roll. 
These trading cards are not some super star athlete, but Wildwood's own junior and senior students who participate in the All-Star Trading Cards program by being role models to the younger students.  There are presently 51 in the program and in order to be featured on the cards they must have at least a 2.5 GPA, … (4 comments)

blog: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs - 12/27/09 09:24 AM
Mountain Man and City Girl
The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
December 27th, 2009
As realtors, we have found that the main factor in whether a family can buy a second home here at the Jersey shore is job stability.  If a family has a solid income that will not be affected by a cut in salary or loss of job, they seem willing - even anxious - to take advantage of the incredibly low real estate prices and interest rates. 
But should their job be iffy, it's better to sit this one out.  … (0 comments)

blog: Atlantic City Gambles on Future - 12/26/09 03:41 AM
Atlantic City Gambles on Future
December 26th, 2009
Since Atlantic City, New Jersey approved legalized gambling back in the late 1970s, the city has always been in the shadow of Las Vegas.  Everything the tarnished city did to revitalize and rebuild and build a world-class casino atmosphere drew comparisons to Vegas.  And frowns.
Meanwhile, the "Little Engine That Could" plodded on, eventually erecting 13 casinos.  The first, Resorts Atlantic City, opened in May, 1978.  A year later Caesars debuted, then in December 1979 Bally's opened.  The Sands, Harrahs and the Hilton each opened in the latter half of 1980 and the Playboy Casino … (4 comments)

blog: I Wanna Be "Dave" - 12/25/09 10:39 PM
I just love some of the ideas my husband, Douglas, comes up with.    If only life was so simple and an ordinary man could become President.   Read below and let me know what you think.

I Wanna Be ‘Dave'
December 26th, 2009
You probably have seen the 1993 movie Dave, which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.  To refresh your memory, Kline plays Dave Kovic, an unassuming and likable man who heads a "temp" agency in Ohio.
Dave is hired by White House bigwigs as a one-time only stand-in for President Bill Mitchell, who has identical looks.  When the President … (7 comments)

blog: A Christmas Blessing - 12/25/09 03:07 AM
My Husband surprised me and wrote this blog this morning.  I, too, am truly blessed with a husband that supports me in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  Our wish for the world is peace, health and the wisdom to try to make this a better place for all.  MERRY CHRISTMAS! A Christmas Blessing  
Friday, December 25th, 2009 Everyone is blessed at Christmas, whether they are aware of it or not.  And you don't have to be a Christian for Christmas to have an effect on your spirituality.
I'm a perfect example.  I'm not a Christian.  I … (3 comments)