What’s Going On?

I know that a lot of our owners feel as if they have no idea as to what they should be doing with their properties here in Sea Isle City and that’s not good. People need to think they know what is going on in their world and in their lives. They count on it like they count on the sun coming up in the morning and the moon at night. Some people call it security and some people don’t call it anything. They don’t call it anything because they don’t even consider it. They take it for granted. It’s always there and when it isn’t they notice. They notice it in the way they feel. Restless.

Last year in August 2008 I felt that our Fall would be very busy. I met people all summer that qualified as real prospects for a purchase here in Sea Isle. They had satisfied themselves as to the markets corrected condition and were ready to act on their dream as others had before them. When the unprecedented events of this fall hit the National news things didn’t slow down here in Sea Isle, they stopped. Those people that were investigating the idea of a purchase this past summer are still there and they have started to shop again. The question as to their desire for and capacity to afford the product has never been the question. The question always has been and always will be as to the question of the TIMING. When they will satisfy themselves on the critical issue of timing is now back to being a very solid “not now” for many of them

The buyers market was going away last spring and now it is back. Kind of like a stray cat that you feed. It will not go away until it stops being fed. And even after you do stop giving it food it will sit outside your door and scream for a good while. We had reached the point this summer where our prospects had stopped making that awful noise and were getting serious.

What Should I Do?

The simple fact for most of our owners is that before we moved into this recessionary period a few years ago they were not even thinking about selling. They had been thinking about owning here in Sea Isle for a long time and now that they had realized their dream they were enjoying the experience. For most of those owners things have not changed so this recession will be handled like the ones that came before it. Our corrections are regular like they are in every market and they are predictable in their habit of following themselves with a period of growth. At least that has been the case in my lifetime as I have experienced these cycles.The game of follow the leader is how we got here. Everybody is selling so I’ll sell. Everyone is buying so I’ll buy. The idea that there is one direction is attractive because you get to look at the guy next to you doing the same thing you are and it makes you feel safe. The problem with that kind of safe thinking is that it does not take into consideration that everything we do is absolute and specific. That we cannot just follow the pack and have it work out best for our families specific situations. The absence of a plan in a critical situation can serve no good end. You need to have a plan if you want your ownership to be successful. I guess that leads us to this question.

What should my plan be?

People will tell you that if you are not thinking about selling you don’t need a plan. That is probably not true unless you think you are never going to sell, never going to rent and that some day you will just walk away from the your property with no concern. If that is your thinking then doing nothing is a plan. Those people need not read any further.  If this does not describe you keep reading, because the rest of this piece has been written for people that need making a plan that will work.

Many of our owners that need to sell right now are back to being subjected to aggressive lowball tactics as buyers return to the advantage position. If you need to sell then you have to be aware of the things you need to do before you list. The days of just throwing it out there and “seeing what happens” are over. In fact, that kind of action hurts more than it helps. It hurts the individual and the collective. If you are in this category  you should not list your property without knowing just how much has changed and what you need to do to be competitive.

If you do not need to sell you still need to have a plan. Maintaining your property so that it can achieve maximum rental income will have an effect on your sale price when that day comes. Not maintaining it will put you in the position that some of your neighbors are in today. Trying to sell a house for a price that no one wants to pay and feeling confused and angry.

We have developed an exciting new program to help owners with their 5 and 10 year plans. Give us a call and let’s talk about it. We will perform a full rental income analysis  and unit condition inspection. We have seen why  the top performing properties in every category are succeeding and we know how to help you with yours. Let us advise you as to how to best position yourself in the future so that you can maximize your investments value.

I have worked more these past six months than I have in the past two years combined. I had to because things have changed so much in my business that I needed to re-educate myself in almost every area of my work. I found something during my investigations and it was something I did not expect to find but knew I was looking for. Hope.

Our small world here in Sea Isle has changed but one very important thing has not. It is why you bought your property here in Sea Isle and it is why so many others hold onto their dream of owning a second home here at the Jersey Shore. This is a magical place for a lot of us. It is the magic of nostalgia. The magic of collective memories so good that you can’t help but smile when the thoughts come to you. That is a very powerful thing and it can not be changed by any economic cycle.

Thanks

Steve