Jersey Shore Views...: Laura Giannotta 'Your Realtor Down the Shore!' (Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Shore, NJ )

‘Green Labels’ Confuse Me!

You’ve decided a painting project will help you get through the dreary days of winter.

Simple right?  Not if you’re trying to be environmentally responsible.  Interior paints are not all environmentally equal.

There are five ‘green designations’ for paint…and they don’t all test for the same things!

Greenguard:  Measures VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) levels, and only allows trace amounts.  Manufacturers measure the paint during drying and pay $3000 or more to Greenguard for testing and logo use.

Green Seal:  Measures VOC’s, some hazardous and rates performance.  Manufacturers pay $2500 to $9500 for Green Seal testing and logo use.

Green Wise:  Limits VOC’s and odors.  Part of the membership fee that companies pay is used for product testing by the Coating Research Group, an industry organization.

GreenSure:  Sherwin Williams created and self-regulated.

Green Promise:  Benjamin Moore created regulating VOC’s in the base paint and colorants.

If you’re planning some painting this winter (especially with the windows sealed against the Jersey Shore’s wintery wind) do some research first.    

 Atlantic City’s Steel Pier Regresses (One Woman’s Opinion)

The new owners of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier plan to resurrect the diving horse act much like the original attraction made famous in the 1920’s.

The plan was announced this week, when the Casino Redevelopment Authority approved its contribution to the first phase of the Steel Pier improvement project.

The diving horse act made two month reappearance in 1993, but was cancelled following protests by animal rights groups.

The new Pier owners claim the diving horse is iconic, and people need to look at the big picture.  They claim this small part of the Steel Pier redevelopment will bring family entertainment back to Atlantic City.

To the developers my question is, what are you thinking?  I would never bring children to a spectacle like this.

Jeff Hirst, a New Jersey native who now resides in Ohio, has started an opposition petition.  This proposal to bring back diving horses to Atlantic City outrages me, if this outrages you too sign Jeff’s petition.

Barnegat NJ Homes for Sale – January, 2012 Barnegat Housing Market Report

There are 292 homes for sale in Barnegat, NJ.  This includes single family homes, condos and adult community homes.  Prices for single family homes that sold in January range from $84,900 for a 4 bedroom 1.5 bath government owned home in the Settlers Landing section of Barnegat Township to $370,000 for a 5 bedroom 2.5 bath home on almost a half-acre in the Brookville section.

Two of the homes that sold in January were in Barnegat Township’s Heritage Point and Four Seasons adult communities.  In Four Seasons at Mirage the 3 bedroom 3.5 bath home sold for $263,000, after lingering on the market for more than 500 days.  That home was first listed in March 2010 at $359,000.  The 3 bedroom 3 bath home in Heritage Point sold for $318,000, after only 32 days on the market.  Also sold in January was a manufactured home in Barnegat’s Pinewood Estates Adult Community.

The days on the market tells the story!  If you want your home in Barnegat, or anywhere in southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore, to sell price it right.  Call Jersey Shore REALTOR® Laura Giannotta to find out if your home is market ready and what it might sell for in today’s market.

This home in Barnegat’s Heritage Bay adult community is listed at $220,000.

Check out all 5 Cardinal Place, Barnegat has to offer!

The Jersey Shore Housing Market Heats Up in 2012!

Little Egg Harbor Housing Market - If the first weekend of 2012 is any indication, homes sales are on the rebound in the southern Ocean County communities of Barnegat, Manahawkin, Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor.

Judging by the inquiries on my listings of homes for sale in Manahawkin, Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat, the race is on!

Add to that, a showing on Saturday with a follow up Sunday…the Jersey Shore housing market is poised to explode!  While the faxed contract doesn’t guarantee a closing, it’s a solid offer!

And why not buy a home now in Little Egg Harbor, Manahawkin or Barnegat? 

Mortgage rates are low and home prices are low.  I’m not talking only REO and short sales.  Home prices haven’t been lower, even before the boom (bubble) years!

If you’re buying a home at the Jersey Shore, now is the time!  Contact a Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta 609-384-6121.

In June, when prices are up, you don’t want to say; would of, could of, should of!

Call 609-384-6121 today for homes for sale at the Jersey Shore!

Little Egg Harbor NJ - Has the housing Market Hit Bottom?

The housing market in Little Egg Harbor slowed in 2011, and prices decreased.  But the question most asked, "Have we hit bottom?"

First let's look at the figures to date for the Little Egg Harbor Housing Market in 2011.

So in looking at these figures, I'm looking at a reduced sale price range from 2010, but also a decreased number of homes for sale listed on the market in Little Egg Harbor. 

I know it's boring, but take a look at the 2010 figures.

 My read; We're ready for a rebound in real estatesales and prices in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. 

But take note; there will not be the extraordinary yearly/monthly increases in value that we've seen in passed year.  I think there's a leveling going on and we'll see a leveling in property values in 2012, and traditional increases in 2013 along the lines of 3% to 4%.

The unfortunate news for homeowners; that 3% to 4% increase is on your current value...not your assessed value or what you paid for the home.

If you'd like a current assessment of your home’s value Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to see how your home would be valued if it was for sale.  Or if you’re stay put you might qualify for an appeal of your tax assessment.  No guarantees, but I can provide that information to help YOU make the decision!

Laura Giannotta
Click on any of the links below to:

How to Proceed with a NJ Tax Appeal
Search the Jersey Shore MLS
Find out about buying or selling a home at the Jersey Shore
Contact a Little Egg Harbor REALTOR®

And take that we will…from the ‘What Exit’ jokes to attorneys vs chemical plants…the Garden State has been at the brunt of many jokes.  This one’s for real ... We’re rich according to tax rates but do we expect too much?  We, New Jersey, are listed as 14th out of a list of 15 as the worst run states.

" New Jersey

State debt per capita: $6,551 (6th highest)
Pct. without health insurance: 13.2 percent (21st lowest)
Pct. below poverty line: 9.5 percent (4th lowest)
Unemployment: 9.2 percent (15th highest)

Despite having the second highest median household in the country, New Jersey in recent year  performed poorly in a number of areas. Most notably, the state has the sixth highest state debt per capita. Its credit rating was also downgraded from AA to AA- in February 2011 due to concerns over its massive state employee retirement obligations."

New Jersey is trying to turn it around, so if you like to be part of the process, first thing to do if you live here is call me or go anywhere and register to vote.

This is a real estate blog, because you invest in the place you live…So expect Little Egg Harbor a REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at the Jersey Shore to send you a voter registration card, and the most up to date information on state, county and municipal elections!

{The attorney vs. chemical plant joke goes this way…”Why does New Jersey have more chemical plants than attorneys ?  Answer:  Because California had first choice.}

Open House Sunday November 20^th Heritage Bay Barnegat New Jersey

Join me at 5 Cardinal Place in Heritage Bay from 12noon until 3 pm Sunday November 20^th.  You’ve got to see this expanded 2 bedroom 2 bath home.  It’s offered at $220,000.

Heritage Bay, a 55+ community in Barnegat at the Jersey Shore, offers active adult living in a small community with only 292 homes.  While Heritage Bay is relatively small compared to other 55+ communities at the Jersey Shore, there are plenty of activities in the clubhouse, and social clubs for every interest.

Heritage Bay is located on West Bay Avenue in Barnegat, across from the Genudari’s Shopping Center.  It’s convenient to the Garden State Parkway, shopping and the Barnegat Bay.

Need directions to 5 Cardinal Place in Heritage Bay?  Click here for bing map directions to Barnegat

Little Egg Harbor’s Winding Run Development 

The history of the Winding Run development in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore is an interesting one.

Kara Homes began construction at the height of the housing market.  At times it seemed like the price point for these homes was increasing monthly.  The sale price for these new homes topped out at almost a half million dollars.

The bottom fell out for Kara Homes, a New Jersey based development company in 2006, and they declared bankruptcy.  That was the beginning of the housing market decline in southern Ocean County.

The uncompleted homes were finished by another builder.  But many Winding Run buyers, whose homes were not started, lost big.

The undeveloped portion of the small Winding Run development was then sold to Ryan Homes.  Ryan built and offered their own models.  Those homes are smaller and were priced far below other new homes in the area. 

This has caused problems for home owners of Kara built homes, because along with the overall decline in home prices over the last several years, new homes could be had for far less.  The result is short sale and REO’s. 

There are currently 5 homes actively being marketed in Winding Run.  They are priced from $290,000 to $370,000.

As a result of Kara bankruptcy the roads are not properly paved and storm drainage system in the development is inadequate.  Little Egg Harbor has already claimed the Kara performance bond. 

It’s unknown if or when or if the Township of Little Egg Harbor will step in to remedy the situation.

If you’d like more information on homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore, contact Little Egg Harbor Realtor® Laura Giannotta at 609-384-6121.

There is this fellow, as the story goes, that had been lost and walking in the NJ Pine Barrens for about 10 days. (It could be true, the Pinelands of NJ is more than one million acres and very confusing once you get in there!)

Finally he sees the home of a religious 'Piney'.

Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The 'Piney' finds him and nurses him back to health.

Feeling better, the man asks the 'Piney' for directions to the nearest town and on his way out the back door, he sees a horse.

He goes back into the house and asks the religious 'Piney', "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"

"Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop," the religious man says.

Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, ok."

So he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God," and the horse starts walking.

Then he says, "Thank God, thank God," and the horse starts trotting.

Than man was feeling brave, so he said, "Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God" and the horse just took off.

Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

"Whoa, stop, hold up!!!!"

Finally he remembers and shouts, "Amen!!"

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff.

Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God."

Foreclosures Are Making Us Sick!

What are the full effects of foreclsoure on society?  

New research by a joint Princeton University and Georgia State University study inidcates the threat of foreclosure is making us sick!

Two economists and have measured just how unhealthy the foreclosure crisis has been in some of the hardest-hit areas of the U.S.  They showed a direct correlation between foreclosure rates and health in residents of New Jersey, Arizona, Florida and California.

Each state was analyzed by ZIP code, comparing foreclosure rates to reports of emergency-room visits and hospital admissions for stress-related conditions from April 2005 through December 2009.

Their conclusions published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that an increase of 100 foreclosures corresponded to a 7.2% rise in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for hypertension, and an 8.1% increase for diabetes, among people aged 20 to 49.

This will cause bigger problems in the future because many of those seeking emergency room services are unemployed and without health insurance to pay the hopsital bills. 

Now there's a call for health care dollars in any government funding to deal with the crisis in the housing market!!  Read the NY Times op-ed .