Some positive thoughts about weather & sales ... Ocean City, New Jersey   At our regular months office meeting at Goldcoast Sotheby's International Realty in Ocean City, NJ; we talked about sales activity to date ... of course, that meant January and most of February, 2015.  Surprisingly, many realtors were pleased with the number of properties being shown to potential buyers throughout Ocean City (NJ). We continued getting input from any agent who wanted to add something to the mix.  Most of our staff indicated that it has been "as strong a start under very cold weather during the first two months of 2015.  When it came to my turn, I called it "a good cold start" trying to sum up my feelings when added to the total mix.   Well, it appears that March will not only bring in the tradition... 02/27/2015

The "Ups & Downs" of Real Estate ... Hang in There!! (Ocean City, NJ)   There is a bit of wisdom in my remembering this:  "When you were up, you were up; when you were down; you were down ... and when you were half-way up; you were neither up or down." Real Estate relates quite a bit to those words in the first paragraph.  And little things and big things ... and in-between things can certain make your day a good one or a bad one.  Of course, we all have good and bad days.   I'd love to share some of my stories covering my 17 years as a High School Principal ... my first career in public education.   But the critical point to get out of all of this is:  you will have good and bad days, but it is what you make of them, how you handle them, and where you come out of the particular issue t... 02/20/2015

What Are You Reading These Days ... from Ocean City, New Jersey   I almost hit 70 books in 2014.  That might have been a record.  I do much more reading living in Ocean City, New Jersey than I did anywhere else.  Fall, Winter, and Spring tend to be great time frames "for reading" because there are limited numbers of people around Ocean City.  Fall and Spring does have increased numbers, but the week days tend to be quite low in population ... just the 10,000 regulars who do whatever they normally do. Winter is the major time frame ... simply no one is ever around that much.  And with the severe cold weather, it is even more quiet around town. Of major importance is the requirement of a good public library, a functioning bookstore or two (in our case a store highlighting the most recent ... 02/20/2015

I'm Here, You're There ... Ocean City, NJ to Elsewhere   It's certainly a simple process to explain.  We live on a barrier island with a winter population of about 10,000 give or take, but even some of that population is away for the winter.  And as one drives around the island, you can quickly realize that most of the shore properties in Ocean City are empty. This is generally not a significant problem until it becomes one.  What starts that off is a very cold time period when temps may be down to 58 degrees, but the pipes start to freeze.  Or the burner goes out.  Whatever.  Some people have a contract with a number of local companies to check the property several times a week, or to check the property when the temperature goes below 32 degrees.  This is a busy year for all of that.  ... 02/19/2015

The "Early Bird" gets the Call, the 1st Cup of Coffee, & More  ... Ocean City, NJ   So I was up and about at my normal morning time ... about 5am.  Did a bit of reading ... my lingering mystery with about 40 pages to go.  Read THE PRESS of Atlantic City and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL which arrive about 6:20 am delivered to the door.  Had some breakfast and watched the first half hour of "TODAY" on television.   I ran into my wife before leaving, and I was out and about by 8:15 am heading down to 34th Street and the Goldcoast Sotheby's International Realty office.  So as I was getting out of the car, my cell phone rang ... which was a good thing in that I knew I had not forgotten the phone again.  But I couldn't find it fast enough to answer the darn thing. So I went into the office ... the... 02/18/2015

Getting "In" and "Out" of the Writing Habit - Ocean City, New Jersey   I've always known that I was a writer.  As a history major in college, I could knock out those "essay questions" with the best of them.  Should have read more of the assignments, but my writing style got me though it all. While a teacher and later high school principal (for 17 years) I had a better work ethic and actually got a number of educational pieces published here and there.  But my best work was doing a "Monday Morning Letter" to my faculty.  I could knock that out in ten or fifteen minutes on Sunday evening ... occasionally receiving some positive comments along with any negative ones that I didn't get to hear. For the past 8-9 years I have maintained a diary of types where I enter a variety of things ... so... 02/17/2015

Some Limited Signs Pointing to an Early Spring ... Ocean City, New Jersey   Our closing months of the short "Fall Buying Period" left a lot to be desired.  We got another bit of a buyer surge in mid-December and into early January (not expected, but well received).  So we have moved beyond the start of the 2015 calendar year into the very cold weather of February ... the next 3-4 days should be brutal, maybe another week.  And, of course, it isn't easy to predict much of anything.  Most of the agents would rather be home reading a good book or watching a sporting event or a movie instead of fighting the elements over this weekend.  Even a shopping experience with my wife might be more fun ... and I spent much of Sunday taking here to some locations that she wanted to go. Much of my offi... 02/15/2015

The Impact of Cold Weather in a Resort Town (Ocean City, New Jersey)   Weather plans a significant role in what we do, how we do it, and where we do it.  But maybe moreso when you live on a barrier island off the coast of New Jersey and only an hour away from Philadelphia. Cold weather and even hot weather can play distinct roles in our local weather ... and the outlook by those not here, who might want to be here.  Probably "the winter weather" is the classic example.  So we are slowly, ever so slowly, drifting into our "spring buying period.  It will definitely kick off in early March, but often the weather gives us a bit of a lift with warmer weather in February resulting in some buyer action here at the shore.  However, doubtful this year. So many real estate agents like to get a ju... 02/12/2015

Real Estate:  What do you do when you're not Busy?  (Ocean City, NJ)   Let me start topic by stating that most of us tend to slack off a bit, or a lot, when we're not busy.  We all tend to be quite strong in responding to "being busy," but when we encounter those "more frequent than not" slower times in real estate ... what do we do? Let me start my thoughts by returning to my first career (32 years in public education in Pennsylvania) with 17 years as a high school principal and four earlier ones as an assistant high school principal and one as a middle school principal.  My jobs were varied and often arrived at my desk without warning.  My work with students, teachers, district administration, parents, and the rest of the stuff were often arriving to be settled right away.  But what d... 02/11/2015

Back From A Mid-Winter Vacation (OC/NJ)   That really means that we left our barrier island in South Jersey (Ocean City, NJ) to travel to the Gulf side of Florida for a mid-winter vacation.  We stayed for a week in Marco Island ... and spent a bit more time seeing some Ocean City friends who winter in a variety of locations on the Gulf side. The major drawback was returning to New Jersey where the temps reflected a 30+ change in temps upon our return So what does a realtor in our very cold and low winter turnout of listing owners, buyers, or renters do during the rest of February and possibly part of March.  For one thing, we have had some practice during the time from Thanksgiving through the end of January as well ... that being the start of our slow winter season. Well, the rental se... 02/08/2015

The Northend & Gardens sections of Ocean City, New Jersey   Let's highlight the actual locations for both of these areas in Ocean City ... the Northend begins on the northern part of Sixth Street and continues to the southern part of North Street ... from the bay to the ocean.  That is probably the widest section in the city ... with the 700, 800, and 900 blocks being the major rental locations in that area.  The Gardens starts north of North Street and runs to the end of the island at the Longport Bridge.  That section has an entirely different arrangement which can best be explained by referencing it as that area on the bayside of the Gardens Parkway and the ocean side of the Gardens Parkway.  Now there are a few additional areas that don't fit that "Parkway" definition, but another d... 01/18/2015

Winter at the South Jersey Shore ... Ocean City, NJ   I just put on my winter gear today ... including a warm sweater, a top collar long sleeve under the sweater, and enough to get around if I should be outside too long today.  It's winter at the beach in Ocean City ... on our "not as lovely as during the summer" barrier island just across the bridge from Somers Point. Now don't get me wrong ... I really enjoy the winter months here as well.  I like spending a quiet evening reading a good book, or watching a movie that we selcted and saved with my wife, or going out for dinner all over the place without the summer crowds.   I enjoy driving around OC in the winter without all of the normal traffic that tends to make it a much slower and crazy event during the busy summer months. I even l... 01/17/2015

The "Summer Wind" & the "Winter Wind" at the Jersey Shore (Ocean City, NJ)   Most of the readers of this blog posting are familiar with the "summer wind" here at the shore.  Down on the beach the umbrellas are flapping around most of the days.  The evening breeze across the porch causes tenants to want to simply sit on the porch and enjoy  the summer breeze.  Often biking down or up the boardwalk one finds a wind slowing you down or picking you up. However, how many of my readers ever get down to the Jersey Shore in the winter months. The "winter wind" is the one that most summer visitors never get to see or feel.  Even second home owners tend to forget the Jersey Shore during the winter months.  It is just too far away from "the real world" which may have its own winter breezes, but ju... 01/07/2015

A Sale & Rental Thought for 2015 ... Ocean City, New Jersey   As we drift along through the holiday and new year time frame, let me share some real estate thoughts with you.  Whether you are a possible summer rental tenant, or a potential buyer of shore property, or an owner who might be interested in renting, selling, or buying ... I always like to encourage one and all to take a little time and talk with me. My background has been public education in Pennsylvania ... teaching and administration including 17 years as a high school principal.  But I retired after 32 years in education and moved to Ocean City where I became a real estate agent now starting my 23rd year. Finding the right person to talk to about your particular interest is often a bit of a challenge.  Many interested peop... 12/27/2014

A Long Cold Holiday & New Year Break - Ocean City, New Jersey   The days seem shorter, the darkness comes along sooner, and the cold weather is here for quite a spell.  For most people who know about Ocean City, New Jersey ... this does not seem to be a normal thing.  But once winter arrives, it is exactly what it is.  The hot summer sun, the crowds on the Boardwalk, and the traffic getting to, going from, or all around the City of Ocean City was the "real normal."  But not these days.  No one is really standing and waiting to cross the street.  Taking my drive from the Gardens to 34th Street to our office is a very relaxing ride ... not at all like the summer drive. The "Fall Buying Period" ended around Thanksgiving ... and we still had some buyers getting down for the next couple of w... 12/22/2014

Your best approch is to do something that most buyers won't do   .... and at a time when buyers are not even thinking about l estate.  That immediately gets you into a location where you can meet agents who wANT TO HELP YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING WHAT THEY (THEMSELVES) LIKE TO DO.   The colder the better because we want you to suffer a bit in the process of findig a short property  Try to push for a cold damp day with some good rain or a bit of snow.  Dress warm with warm shoes, a scarff, gloves, a hat ... because many of the traget properties will not be heated meaning it will be colder in the house than outside.   Will pick 5-6 properties (maybe 8) so that you get an opportunity to stay busy, stay a bit warm, make notes, and enjoy.  Figure to be out about 3-4 hours ... with maybe one s... 12/15/2014

What do you do at this time of year ... in Real Estate?   We're reviewing our notes, our back log of contacts, the emails coming in, and all of the other types of contact out there.  It's a slow time for real estate here in at the South Jersey Shore in general and in Ocean City in particular. We now start to connect the dots between what else must get done in the real estate field this year, where and what to buy for all our imporant family and friends, and finally, prepare for the three months of cold weather starting to arrive here at the beach. Mostly the selling efforts including open house efforts and Broker Open Houses are about over based on the cold weather.  And the continuing rental effort for next summer rental property takes a break for the holidays. But there is even more t... 12/06/2014

Thanksgiving Break ... Just in Time (Ocean City, NJ)   Coming and going "from the shore" and "to the shore" is always a type of holiday tradition. Mostly, a short visit to the shore is the traditional thing to do.  Have a great Thanksgiving Day, hit the downtown stores on Friday, maybe the Boardwalk, and possibly a walk on the beach depending on the weather expectations. And for others who live at the shore, they make what is usually a short visit ... mostly back again the same day, but definitely back by the next day.  As a realtor, you tend to get a few extra days off in spite of the many visitors to our little barrier island in Ocean City, NJ. The "give-and-take action" that takes place here at the shore is always an interesting fact of life.  Many owners from "the real world" make t... 11/24/2014

Ocean City, New Jersey ... In the late Fall & Winter   The calendar reads Friday ... November 21, 2014.  It's cold outside.  No snow like the "lake-effect stuff in the north, but it certainly feels like winter.  It warmed up just a bit yesterday, but cold again today.  The holiday season is slowly arriving.  You can tell in the real estate office that it is a type of slowdown taking place.  There are still about fourteen of us in the office ... some upstairs, others downstairs.   Although we may sell a few properties between now and the end of the year, it is slowly starting to be the holiday period leading into the long winter nap for two months.  Not much will be happening with real estate until the beginning of the new year ... and that will only be rental activity for next summer. F... 11/21/2014

We're Closing Out the Season Here in Ocean City, New Jersey   It appears like we're always closing out another season here in our resort town, the most northern and the largest community in Cape May County ... and the only one on a barrier island. So as we start to conclude the "fall buying period" which mostly occurs about the time of Thanksgiving ... only this closing also leads into the December holidays including First Night which is a major celebration here in Ocean City (NJ).  In other words, our closing out another season this time will tend to run through all of December, January, and February ... a definite three-month closeout. Yes, there will be a significant crowd here for "First Night," but that will last just a bit less or more than 24 hours ... then "the real world" intru... 11/20/2014