Jewell Real Estate Agency Newsletter - Late Winter 2012

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WHAT WINTER?

This is more like it! After two straight winters that we’d all just as soon forget here in South Jersey, the winter of 2011-2012 has been delightful. We’ve had just two dustings of snow so far and the snow shovels and bags of rock salt still sit in the shed gathering dust.

When Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter back in early February, we had to wonder. More winter? We haven’t had one yet.

With the sun rising sooner and setting later, spring can’t be that far away. Baseball spring training is in full swing and the daffodils and other early bloomers are peaking above the ground gauging when to sprout and offer their annual colorful display. We can’t wait. C’mon spring!

SOUP KITCHEN NEEDS HELP

The Free Meal Center, Cape May County’s first-ever daily soup kitchen scheduled to open this summer, has hit a bump in the road.

Founded by us, Joyce and Douglas Jewell, the facility will serve anyone who walks through its doors. That should be hundreds of folks a day, considering the county has 4,000+ families living under the poverty level and 9,600+ households surviving on social security as their sole source of income.

We have been fortunate in having a benefactor to pay the entire $325,000 cost of the 2.36 acre prop-erty on Route 9 in Burleigh with a 4,275 square foot restaurant. Unfortunately, the funds to be donated by the generous benefactor have not been released to him yet. So our quandary is that we know the money is coming, but not when.

Now the owner is demanding that the property be transferred to TFMC by March 31st or we must vacate the building by April 1st.

Although we expect the funds to arrive in time, we have gone to Plan B as a safety net. Our sales contract allows us to put down $50,000 and the owner will hold the mortgage until mid-2013. We’ve raised $20,000 by mid-February, with $30,000 to go.

If you can help or know someone who can, send a check made out to “Shore Title Company” and mail it to TFMC, PO Box 863, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. If we don’t make it to closing, we’ll mail back your check. You can check out the soup kitchen at http://www.FreeMealCenter.com

AC’s NEWEST CASINO

What may be the last casino ever built in Atlantic City, the new $2.4 billion Revel is scheduled to open April 1st. At 47 stories tall, it is the second tallest building in New Jersey and second tallest casino tower in the United States. Besides the gaming space, it will feature 12 restaurants, 44 retail shops, six pools, three theatres, two nightclubs, and a 5,800-seat arena. The two-acre rooftop area will host 30,000 live trees and plants amongst the pools and bars.

With 26 states now offering casinos, it appears that the casino boom in Atlantic City is over. What you see is probably all you’ll ever get. But that’s not so bad. The Hilton is remodeling and is now called the Atlantic Casino. The former Trump Marina Casino is now the Golden Nugget, and it too has undergone extensive renovations. It seems as if all 11 casinos are constantly modernizing and upgrading their facilities.

The only other possibility for a new casino is the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The boutique casino would have 200 rooms and only 54,000 square feet of gaming space. Construction of the $460 million facility is slated to break ground this July and open in the spring of 2014. Time will tell if the project moves forward or is delayed.

The state approved the building of two boutique casinos in January, 2011. The group which was awarded the second casino has now put their plans on hold due to “economic conditions”. It seems like the state, which mandated only new construction, should reconsider giving the second boutique casino permit to the Chelsea, owned and operated by Cape May businessman and Congress Hall owner Curtis Bashaw. He was squeezed out when the state decided not to give the license to an existing facility.

WILDWOOD DEMOLITIONS

Tired of looking at a dilapidated, deserted building in your neighborhood in Wildwood? Call city hall.

It worked for residents of Youngs Avenue. The house has only been occupied by pigeons the last few years. A sign on the door states that the building will be razed by the city within six months.

Having the city demolish these eyesores is long overdue. However, if Wildwood didn’t have such rigid CCO requirements when a property sells, no doubt more property owners would have made necessary improvements to make the buildings habitable. The CCO standards derail many potential sales.

FIRE DEPT’s AVOID VOTERS

It’s nice to see that every school board in Cape May County has consented to move their elections to November, when voters go to the poll in large numbers.

The local fire departments are another story. Most still steadfastly refuse to move their elections to November, even though it saves taxpayers $10,000 to $20,000. You can guess why they have balked. Right, it’s their bloated – even outrageous – budgets.

Let’s look at Middle Township’s fire budget. Fire District No.1 wants $1.168 million, plus a $600,000 fire truck. No.2 wants $536,000. No.3 is asking for $463,000 and No.4 requests a mere $148,000.

Do you think taxpayers would throw nearly $3 million their way if the election was in November. Of course not. So they stick to a February date when only their cronies are motivated enough to show up to vote. Shame on them.

FLIP FLOP

Two newsletters ago we reported on the City of Cape May moving to ban smoking on the beaches and certain pedestrian areas. We applauded their effort to protect the public from the second hand smoke and cigarette butt litter.

We thanked them too soon. The city commission, when put to a vote, bowed to political pressure and rejected regulating the disgusting habit. Cowards!

WOOD BURNING FURNACES

In that same October newsletter, we criticized Lower Township for passing an ordinance allowing township officials or residents to sign a complaint against a property owner with an outdoor wood-burning furnace. A wood-burning furnace heats water surrounding the boiler, which then travels via pipes underground to heat the house. The smoke seems no more objectionable than a fireplace, but it’s much, much more efficient.

The newest ordinance introduced in February allows no new installations. If that’s not bad enough, an existing wood furnace can not sit idle for seven consecutive months or else it must be removed. The township will remove the furnace and bill the owner, plus attorney fees, if they don’t comply. So, if an owner only used their furnace December through March, the coldest months, it has to go. Sounds like too much Big Brother!

JEWELL REAL ESTATE AGENCY

We love to talk about real estate and our island. We’re always glad to share our insights, observations, and vision with you. 

Stop by our office at 5602 New Jersey Avenue and chat. Or give Joyce or Douglas a call at 609-729-8505. We answer phones 6am to 9pm EVERYDAY and you always get a real, live person. That’s service!

www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com