Heather Saul

It's finally here!! Wildwood's West Side will have an exciting new project to be proud of. K. Hovnanian has announced its plans to build 298 homes on the back bay.

The homes, which are set to be built between Baker and Garfield Avenues, will be laid out in small clusters and all will have water views. Initially, the plan was also set to include a marina, but that will be confirmed at a later time.

The announcement could not come at a better time for the city of Wildwood. There has been much talk of large companies investing in the city. My hope is that with a company as large as K. Hov breaking ground on the West Side, others will follow.

More information will follow......

Hello out there from Wildwood, NJ. Attention all boardwalk lovers: Morey's opens this weekend!! I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get my son on the rides and watch him have a great time. Morey's does such a great job on Easter. Last Easter, the bunny was on the boardwalk and children could pick an egg for a prize.

If you are planning on coming to Cape May County for the holiday - make the boardwalk part of your weekend.

Ahh.... the weather is here, wish you were... You see where I am going with this. This week was the perfect Spring week in Wildwood with very mild temperatures (dare I say warm) and plenty of sun. It was one of those weeks when you can really appreciate living by the beach and having this amazing location year round.

On Tuesday, I cut out of work early (shh..... don't tell anyone) and headed down to the beach in North Wildwood. There were surfers out and couples walking their dogs, people were out and about the island. It felt so great to be out in the sun. Hey Wildwood locals, we are pretty lucky!

I don't know what your towns are like, but Wildwood Crest, NJ is making it very difficult for an agent to sell a home. As of this week, each property is allowed to have only one sign. Think about it, in a building where there are multiple units, that one property is only allowed one sale sign. What if there are multiple units for sale that are listed with different companies? How do you swing that?

Apparently, it is up to the agents to work it out amongst themselves. Can you imagine having a conversation with an agent from another office and coming up with an argument for why it should be your sign instead of their's? Right now I am having such a hard time coming up with a way that multiple companies could work together.

What about your sellers? How are buyers supposed to know that the property is on the market? Many weekends, tourists drive around the island looking to see if anything jumps out. Hmm... I am off to see if I can think of any creative way to get around this obstacle.

Hey mom and dad, do you know that now is the time to stock up on tickets for the piers in Wildwood. Moreys is having their annual ticket sale and for those of you who have small children, the savings are huge.

Just a reminder, Mariner's Landing Pier is opening up on Sunday. Stop by the boardwalk in North Wildwood for the Easter Egg Hunt and then head on down to the rides. It makes for a great kids day. I hope to see you all there!!!

I know, I know. You want to be close to the beach, right? You want to be able to unload your car and walk the rest of the week, right? Well, it is nice to be close to the boardwalk and in the center of things when you are renting or if you have children and don't feel like packing them up for a day in the sand.

But if you like true shore living and a slower pace, then take a look at all the west side of Wildwood has to offer.

If you haven't noticed, there are some great projects going up all over the west side. Both Tacony St. and Dock St. were at one time lined with small fishing shacks. Not anymore!! Take you pick from the many luxurious townhouses and condos that are packed with upgrades. These streets offer the best of both worlds - - a recluse from the noise that comes with being too close to the boardwalk and a great water view. Here you can park your boat and enjoy a lazy day in the sun.

I received an email about 2 weeks ago from Paul Lamach who works on the website Localref. for Wildwood, NJ. He contacted me to let me know that he wrote an article about local agents who blogged. I thanked him for the shout out and he suggested that I continue to write articles that deal with Wildwood.

When I decided to post the article on the need to change the face of downtown Wildwood, I decided to contact him again and see if maybe he would be willing to help me spread the word. He said he would read the blog, and then post a similar article telling his readers to first check out what I had to say.

I just logged on to the page, and sure enough, Paul has my AR article up. To me, that is so huge and I appreciate the additional avenue that Paul has provided.

I am working on putting together a letter that I will send to city hall. I will include my AR article and any and all feedback I get. My next step will be to try to form a concerned citizens group and see if we can stir something up. I want what is best for my town. I want to help get the ball rolling.

Hey Paul, here is your shout out. Thanks!!!

Each town has a local hangout - "the" place to go and grab some great food and run into friends. A place where the owners know the customers and treat them like family. In Wildwood, NJ that place is the Alumni Grill.

Located on Pacific Ave. - one of the few businesses that actually thrive on the street, the Grill serves up an amazing lunch with a pretty diverse (read unique, creative, fun, delicious) customer inspired menu. A menu, I might add, that received a big old shout out from the City Paper. Check out the article and you will get a good idea of what I mean.

So what do you order when you visit the Grill? Well, because the menu is enormous it might take you a few minutes to decide. I love the chicken quesadillas - my absolute favorite. If you still are not sure, just wave down any Comcast, Verizon, public works or police vehicle on the island and ask them what's their favorite item from the menu. They ALL eat at the Grill!!

The owners, Mike and Jenn, live and breathe the restaurant. Open year round, (thank you) the brother and sister work from open to close and in the summer, that is one long day. How do the two of you do it??

When in Rome... do as the Romans. When in Wildwood... do as the locals and have a great lunch at the Alumni Grill.

I can't tell you how many times I have thought about this article. Driving into the office, down Pacific Ave., trying to picture what the town looked like in its hay-day, I wonder how this could have happened.

Let me begin by saying that I love this island. There is no better beach town around. We have beautiful beaches and the most amazing boardwalk. During the summer, the town is packed with visitors who know they can spend a week on the island and not run out of things to do. I, being slightly hyperactive, love that.

But Wildwood, something is missing. What happened to the town you once were?

Pacific Ave. is the "Main St." of Wildwood and at one time it was the center of town, filled with shops and life. If you wanted to go out for a night on the town, Pacific Ave. was the spot. I hear stories from family members and friends of the great times that were had and the friendships that were formed on that one strip of land.

That's powerful stuff. That feeling can't be forgotten. We need to remind ourselves of what once was and do better. Come on Wildwood, I know we can do better.

The people of this island are amazing and they deserve a town they can be proud of year round. They deserve a town with a constant heart beat.. a community.

So what I am really trying to say is enough is enough. Let's work together as a community and get back some of the town's glory.

I am tired of seeing empty, boarded up stores that once were. We have too many "second hand" shops (I guess that's what they are attempting to be. Who even knows!!) We don't need any more small convenient stores. If Pacific Ave. is the center of our town, if it is the main strip - then what does that say about us??

We need a plan and we need one now!! City officials, anyone out there, let's do what we can to entice business owners to come to Wildwood and invest in our city. Let's come up with a redevelopment team to design a downtown we can be proud of.

Please, for the sake of Wildwood's future, let's act now. We do not have to be a great town three months out of the year. We can be the best American town year round.

There have been other articles written about Wildwood and I respect all of the view presented. Check out Tom Giansante's view of the island in his article, "Are you nostaalgic for Wildwood?". I respect Tom's love of the island and am glad to have another member on my team.

I just got finished reading an article put out by Eugene Miller on RISMEDIA entitled "Maximizing Second-Home Sales." I list and sell in Wildwood, NJ - a resort market - and a lot of what Miller said made sense.

According to NAR, second home purchases accounted for 40% of all sales in 2005. That is music to my ears and I am hoping that the trend will continue. Miller's point was to market your buyers - know who your buyers are and where they go when shopping for a second home. Gone are the days when you can solely rely on mailings and ads in publications. Where do second home buyers begin their search? Online of course and many agents are missing the boat.

None of this is news to any AR members. Why are we here? To network - to exchange ideas - to grow our business. I am surprised at the number of agents who are working in my market and have not jumped on board. Some agents are waiting for the buyers to come down when the weather breaks and walk into their open house. Some agents are waiting to get calls from their postcards and mailers. Others are doing nothing and waiting for the phone to ring off of their sign. I am way too impatient for any of that. I need to be proactive and am constantly trying to find new, creative ways to market myself.