Now that I have your attention...

Carpe Diem; 2009 will belong to people who seize the day and the year.

2009 will prove to be a difficult year for The United States and for its people. There is plenty of bad news to bathe yourself in if you are looking for it. The economy is terrible, people are losing their jobs, foreclosures are at new heights. Fear is gripping our country. What will it take for us to return to normalcy? When will the public sentiment turn towards optimism? FDR said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” in the same inauguration speech in 1933 he said, “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” Let’s dissect this with an eye on the Real Estate market.

Real Estate is still the best investment.

Everybody has to live somewhere. They aren’t making any more land. Prices have dropped considerably in our area. Homes that just two years ago may have been out of reach for the average homebuyer have now come back in play. In a typical Real Estate cycle home prices and mortgage rates move in the opposite direction of each other. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, home prices were low but mortgage rates were near 18%. Right now we are in the perfect storm for a homebuyer. Prices have come down drastically and mortgage rates are near all-time lows. What is happening right now will probably not happen again in our lifetime. So, why are we afraid? We are afraid to make a mistake! Nobody, I mean nobody wants to buy a house today and then see it lose value. Then the question becomes; should I wait until the market “bottoms” out before I buy? Do a quick google search on timing the Real Estate market and you will find many opinions. Fortunately most of these folks have some kind of “Real Estate System” or book to sell you. Many people who try to time the market miss out on building equity because the only way to tell the bottom is when prices start to rise again. The Real Estate cycle only becomes clear in retrospect. Buying a home is not like buying a stock. You should plan on living in your home because you like the neighborhood and the amenities of the home. Any equity that you build should be a bonus, not the reason you purchase. The longer you stay in your home; the more likely it is that you will make money. We all know people who bought their house 15 years ago or more. Very few of those people are complaining that they bought their house “at the peak”. They may have spent more than they wanted to at the time, but looking back it was a great investment.

What are our dark realities?

One of the realities that we face is that unemployment is rising and credit markets have tightened. There are a percentage of our neighbors who are “underwater” in their current homes. Their homes are mortgaged for more than they are worth. Some of our neighbors will lose their homes to foreclosure in 2009. Others will be proactive and decide to sell the home that they can’t afford before they lose it. A short sale may be the answer. When someone owes more than their house is worth they may still be able to sell it. In a short sale a homeowner can sell their home for less than what is owed on it and have the bank pay for all the closing costs; including the Realtors fee, transfer tax, attorney fee, back taxes and possibly more fees. A short sale is a complicated process, make sure that the person representing you has the experience necessary to navigate through the waters.

Final FDR thought.

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.” This quote reminds me that life is cyclical, the economy is cyclical and Real Estate is cyclical. We are citizens of the greatest country in the world. We will endure, revive and prosper once again. 2009 will belong to the proactive. Don’t be fearful; get off the sidelines, this year will bring us innovations that people would have never thought possible just a few short years ago. That is what adversity does to people. More small businesses will be created because people have lost their jobs. When times are good we have to be careful of complacency. I believe that we, as a nation, are ready for the challenge. Go and seize the day!

Get Educated. Get Empowered.

For more information on this or any other topic, call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, Marketing Advisor,

Short Sale Specialist ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187, or visit our websites: www.SalAndDawn.com or www.shortsaleguy.org

Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Country Pancake House in Ridgewood Awarded "Best Breakfast" Honors by Bergen Health & Life Magazine

This award should be no big surprise to Ridgewood Residents or to anyone who has had the privilege of eating at this beloved Downtown Ridgewood Establishment. The Country Pancake house features over 100 different types of pancakes along with every other conceivable breakfast fare you could think of - from Belgian Waffles made with Coconut and Wheat Germ to delicious Frittatas stuffed with Artichokes, Shrimp and Jack Cheese. If you plan to eat here on a weekend morning be prepared to wait a bit but the huge selection, large portions and and fresh ingredients make it well worth the wait.

Ridgewood's Country Pancake House also won the award for Best Pancakes. Go figure.

To view the full menu Click Here

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Ridgewood Schools December Advocacy Notes

This report is furnished courtesy of Ridgewood Board of Education Member Sheila Brogan.

The Legislature

The Assembly passed legislation, A3002, which would require Ridgewood schools to have monthly security drills. The bill now goes to the Senate. If it becomes law the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness would be charged with developing curriculum for schools to use when conducting these security drills.

The Senate Education Committee released bill, S 1861 on 12-8-08. This bill if enacted would move the Ridgewood School Board elections to the November General Election. It would also eliminate the budget vote on school budgets at or below cap. Only second questions would need to have a vote. However, voting on second questions would be in November and out of the budget cycle. The new DOE regulations make it more difficult for districts to propose second questions. The Assembly approved a similar bill in May. It is uncertain as to whether the Senate President, Senator Codey, will post S 1861 for a vote. He has expressed reservations about the bill citing concerns about the partisan nature of the November elections and that School Board elections are non-partisan.

State Board of Education

In testimony before the State Board of Education some educators voiced concerns that the new high school redesign curriculum which includes a number of college prep courses and exit exams will cause an increase in the number of students who drop out of high school. The redesign plan requires students to pass tests in biology, chemistry, language arts, foreign language, and Algebra II in order to graduate. There are also questions from some districts as to how they will fund the lab science courses that might need to be added to meet the state requirements. The vocational schools testified before the State BOE with concerns that these new standards would leave little time for students to take vocational training courses.

NJ Depart of Education and New Regulations

The NJ Department of Education released 178 pages of regulations on November 18, 2008. Included in these regulations are the guidelines for Executive County Superintendents to establish committees and subcommittees to look at consolidating and regionalizing school districts. The regulations also devote over 25 pages to travel and sustenance guidelines for Board members and school district staff and page after page on budgets and the role of the Executive County Superintendent. The Executive County Superintendents are granted increased authority to oversee budgets and to make changes to budgets (reduce or change line items) that do not meet the efficiency standards listed in the new regulations. There will be no public hearings on these regulations since the legislature passed S1911 last June which allowed the Commissioner to promulgate regulations on an emergency basis without public hearings.

NJ Courts

The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) will be heading to state court to sue the Department of Education for regulations that require contracts for currently employed superintendents, assistant superintendents, and business administrators to be reviewed by the Executive County Superintendent. The new regulations limit payouts made at retirement for unused vacation and sick days and eliminate some contract provisions such as life insurance policies payments and providing lump sums for travel reimbursement. NJASA argues that their contracts have been negotiated with their Boards of Education and to have the Executive County Superintendent change the contracts denies administrators their due process.

The NJ Supreme Court remanded the case against the new school funding formula, the School Funding Reform Act, to a lower court for further study and assessment. This suit was brought against the state by the Education Law Center representing the Abbott districts. ELC will argue that the adequacy budget as determined by the state for each district in NJ are below what is needed to provide a thorough and efficient education as require by the NJ constitution. Dollar$ and Sense submitted an amicus brief. Hearings on the case will begin December 15 and a report of the findings is scheduled to be issued to the Supreme Court by the end of March.

State Budget

Estimates on next year's state budget indicate a $5 billion deficit.

Governor Corzine
Governor Corzine met with President-elect Obama last week and advocated for the Federal government to fully fund Special Education costs. In 1975 when Congress approved the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA) the intent was for the Federal government to pay 40% of special education costs annually. In the 33 years since passage of the bill the Federal government has not paid more than 18%. Governor Corzine asked that increases to IDEA funding be part of the second stimulus package. Funding special education costs at 40% would give needed relief to state and school district budgets.

School Construction

On December 9, nineteen NJ school districts will be presenting bond referendums to voters. These bond referendums amount to $235 million. Among these 19 districts are two districts in Bergen County. Northern Highlands Regional will ask voters for $1,397,080 to replace emergency generators and boilers at the high school. The state has approved $558,832 in debt service aid. Upper Saddle River is seeking $3,563,430 for roof repairs, installation of solar panels and renovations to all three of their schools. Upper Saddle River is eligible for $1,092,904 in debt service aid from the state and they will receive an $87,000 grant from the NJ Clean Energy Program.

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Jennifer Casper joined Marron Gildea & Donohue's rapidly expanding Ridgewood office, a company spokesperson announced today.

"I am thrilled that Jennifer decided to join our Ridgewood office," said Aloysius Donohue, a managing partner at the firm. "Jennifer is a successful, tech-savvy agent and she really understands the needs of today's buyers and sellers. She is an excellent match for the environment and culture here at Marron Gildea & Donohue."

Casper graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Marketing. She quickly rose up the ranks in the fashion industry and eventually worked as a Vice President for several well known brands including Tommy Hilfiger and JLo by Jennifer Lopez. It was during her highly successful 12-year career in the apparel business that Casper developed an appreciation for design and architecture. She was responsible for multi-million dollar budgets and she helped create the marketing and sales presentations that ultimately sold the merchandise.

"One day it just struck me that a career in real estate would allow me to use my sales and marketing skills and still indulge my love of architecture and design - all without having to commute into Manhattan," said Casper. "Once this light bulb went off I knew I had to pursue a career in real estate. I knew my years of living and working in Manhattan would give me special insight into the needs of clients who were considering a move from the city to the suburbs."

Casper currently lives in Glen Rock with her husband and four young children and is an active member of several local organizations. She says she chose Marron Gildea & Donohue because of its reputation as a progressive real estate firm filled with technically astute agents. She is looking forward to participating in the company's lead distribution program and sees herself flourishing in the firm's Ridgewood office. She feels that her years as a corporate executive will enable her to easily speak the language of MGD's clients who are typically corporate executives and business owners.

Marron Gildea & Donohue is a full-service real estate firm with offices in Ridgewood, Saddle River and Ho Ho Kus. For current information on the local real estate market contact Jennifer Casper at 201.445.8880. If you are interested in learning more about a career at Marron Gildea & Donohue please contact Aloysius Donohue at 201.445.8880.

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Jennifer Casper Joins Marron Gildea & Donohue's Ridgewood Office

47 (and counting) Portly Realtors are Each Putting up 50 Bucks to See Who is the Biggest Loser…and Help Out Their Favorite Charity

I entered a similar contest last year that was associated with Ridgewood Dad’s Night and had mixed results. In other words, I was a big loser but not the kind of big loser I wanted to be. This contest has a charity component so I am banking on this aspect to give me some extra motivation. The winner’s charity will receive the contest pot which currently stands at $2350.

I am playing for the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Beth Israel Medical Center. Epilepsy is a disease that gets very little publicity and also, unfortunately, very little funding. Below is a quote taken from noted epilepsy activist and Hollywood director Jim Abraham’s testimony before Congress on the subject of the lack of epilepsy funding and its affect on children.

“I will not burn my time by repeating the inequity you can clearly see, however I will comment on it by saying that until you’ve seen your own child’s eyes go dead and roll back in her head as she drops to the ground, until you’ve watched your own child slowly fade into retardation, one painstaking day at a time, until you’ve seen your child decay from a drug reaction, or, you’ve buried your own child after she drown in her bathtub after a seizure, you can’t possibly appreciate the cruelty of this disparity [in funding for Epilepsy vs other diseases].”

Consider these facts:

• Roughly the same number of people die every year from epilepsy related causes as from Breast Cancer - yet Epilepsy receives a tiny fraction of the funding that is given to Breast Cancer.
• More Americans have epilepsy than muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease combined.
• Of the roughly 181,000 new cases diagnosed each year, 75% will be children.

This is a charity that is near and dear to me because my son Luke has a severe form of Epilepsy called Doose Syndrome. He is one of the lucky ones. His seizures have been controlled for years due to the help of God and a brilliant doctor at Beth Israel named Stephen Wolf. I still can’t bring myself to say Luke “had” Doose Syndrome, as in the past tense, even though he has been in remission for years. I have this irrational fear that saying that the ordeal is over will somehow bring it back. Luke is doing extremely well but so many children who suffer from Doose Syndrome and other forms of epilepsy are not. I try to raise awareness of this horrible disease and its pitiful lack of funding whenever I can - but probably not as much as I could or should.

Ok, time to get off my soapbox and onto the scale. Below is my initial weigh-in number. On February 1, 2009 whoever has the largest percentage weight loss wins. Click here to learn more about the contest which was set up by Jay Thompson.

Click Here to Dontate to the Epilepsy Foundation

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I Want to Be The Biggest Loser…For A Good Reason