David Width Jr.

With all this hype about the 100 days in office, the big question is what grade is Barrack Obama going to receive for his works in the first 100 days in office. I can see this blog getting heated already, but I am going to ask the big question....

You are the teacher and you get to fill out the report card, what grade are you giving our President for his first 100 days, A,B,C,D, or F, and why?

With times a changing and the economy the way it is, I am starting to see more and more buyers compromising there location for other aspects of the property.

First and foremost, buyers are compromising location over PRICING. Pricing is what sells a home right now, it doesn't matter in what country, state, city, or town you are in, it is pricing that is going to be the #1 determining factor on a buyer's purchase decision. It is like the American way of bargain shopping has hit the housing market and the buyers are only concerned about the deals. "Well I don't really know how much I want to spend, I am really looking more for a deal than anything." That is one of the key phrases I am hearing right now. If I have a buyer qualified for $250,000.00, they might look anywhere from $200,000 to $280,000, and it is the "value factor" that makes all the difference.

The second biggest thing, literally that buyers are compromising location for is SIZE. When it comes to home buying SIZE matters. 3 bedroom seems to be the most popular "minimum" request right now for buyers, generally they have at least one child or would always like that extra space for a computer room/ office.

There are many other little things that I see coming into play when it comes to compromising location, but those are the two biggest aspects I keep encountering My advice to buyers is just make sure that you are considering the re-sale of the property when purchasing, no matter the location or size, or price. Try to foresee if you think when buying this home it will be a positive invest for you in the future.

The following statistics were pulled from the Jersey Shore MLS for the first quarter of the year, January 1st, 2009 through March 31st, 2009, relative to home sales statistics in the Little Egg Harbor &Tuckerton area.

# Units Closed Avg. DOM* Avg. List $ Avg. Sales $ Highest Sale Lowest Sale

** Please note that these are average listing and selling prices. Pricing and value regarding listing and selling prices will vary from home to home. For the most realistic clarification for the value of your home, please contact a Real Estate Professional. **

THERE ARE ALSO 48 HOMES UNDER CONTRACT AWAITING CLOSING IN THE LITTLE EGG HARBOR/ TUCKERTON AREA.

Tuckerton/ Little Egg Harbor NJ. These two communitites are basically intertwined (Tuckerton sits in the middle of Little Egg Harbor). Here is some history of the area.

History

Originally part of Burlington County (now Ocean county) Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg harbor (known now as Little Egg Harbor) by Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first account of Little Egg Harbor was made in 1614.

The first man to settle the township was Hanry Jacobs Falkinburg Sr. He arrived a little before 1698 and would trade with the local Native Americans, giving him farmland and plots of land known now as Wills Island and Osborn Island. Later, as Falkinburg could speak fluent Lenni Lenape, he acted as an interpreter between the Indians and settlers.

One of the first recorded ships of the township was a sloop belonging to Thomas Ridgway Sr. John Mathis Sr. also had a ship which his son, Daniel, sailed the West Indian routes. They made a profit from selling clams and oysters.

Today

Little Egg Harbor is growing rapidly, adding 2,500 more residents since the 2000 Census. Kleiner Group and Kara Homes are the main developers of the community, with Kleiner building three separate developments since 2001: Holly Lake, Sunrise Bay, and Cranberry Creek. Sunrise Bay and Cranberry Creek are both adult communities and Holly Lake is single family; and Kara Homes building three developments: Winding Run, Hartley Estates, and Waters Edge.

Major developments in Little Egg Harbor Township include Tall Timbers (Townhomes, Radio Road and Center Street), Atlantis (Single Family Homes, Radio Road and Great Bay Boulevard, also home to Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis), Holly Lake (Single Family Homes, Radio Road), Holly Lake Park (Single Family Homes and Condos, Oak Lane), Harbourtown Villas & Estates (Townhomes and Single Family Homes, Radio Road), Tavistock (Townhomes, Radio Road and Mathistown Road), Cross Creek (Single Family Homes, Center Street), and many more.

Mystic Island is a master-planned community built in the 1960s with lagoon-front homes. Most of the homes have either been expanded on or torn down then replaced with larger homes, usually set on pilings. The Tuckerton Wireless tower was located here.

Most of this information was received through Wikipedia. For more on the area
click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Egg_Harbor_Township,_New_Jersey

Here are some additional photos of the area.

Atlantic City Skyline from Great Bay

Tuckerton Seaport, located in the Heart of Tuckerton. A great Attraction and feel for the town.

From the Osbourn Island Bridge, a beautiful view of the wetlands and homes in the area.

Little Egg Harbor Administrative complex.

Hope you have enjoyed the neighborhood. I will be sure to post more about upcoming events, and history regarding other pieces throughout the town.

Being that April is "tax month," we have decided to show you another benefit of home ownership from an angle of items you can write off against your income. I am sure some of you are already aware that property taxes, mortgage interest, points paid to lower the interest of your loan and in some cases moving expenses are tax deductible. All of this, plus for the first time homebuyer (first time home buyer, meaning you haven't owned a home in the last 3 years) you benefit from the $8000 tax credit we had talked about in our last issue. So below we have included a very simple example of the benefits.

Current Rent: $1,200
Mortgage Payment goal: $1,500
Actual Mortgage Payment: $1,800

Mortgage Amount: $225,000
Interest Rate: 5.5%
Yearly Property taxes: $3,500

Tax Deduction Calculation:

Multiply mortgage amount by interest rate to get interest deduction
(i.e. $225,000 x 5.5% = $12,375)
Then add interest and taxes to determine total deduction:

Interest: $12,375
Taxes: $3,500
Total Deduction: $15,875

Take the total deduction times the standard tax bracket (30%) to get you annual savings:

$15,875
X 30% (tax bracket)
$4,762.50 Annual Savings

$396.88 Monthly Savings

Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty nor any of its employees are a tax advisor. The above information is for illustration purposes only. Each individual should consult with their own tax advisor to determine the amount of tax savings that can be expected from home ownership tax deductions.