A Vineyard Primer Not Just For The Obamas

When I was a young child, my family would “summer in the Hamptons”, which describes the three towns near the far end of Long Island, NY. I remember the trip out there as if it were yesterday. It was an easy but boring 3-hour ride from Westchester County in our 1949 Ford “Woody” station wagon. We knew when we were getting close because the scenery would turn into potato fields and all you could smell was duck and chicken poop. The houses my family rented looked like the barracks I lived in during my military basic training and none of them were air conditioned, but they were right on the water. We would stay all summer and we rarely had a TV, but life was wonderfully simple.

The other night I watched the pilot program for a new TV series, ROYAL PAINS, on the USA Network. It’s about a young surgeon played by Mark Feuerstein who is fired from a hospital, sued for malpractice and blackballed. He decides to go to the Hamptons with his brother, the accountant, for a weekend of party crashing and debauchery, but he ends up staying for the summer as a concierge doctor to the rich and famous. What I like so much about the show is that it presents a showcase of the Hamptons in 2009. It sure has come a long way since I was a little boy or even since I went back there during my college years for fun and mischief.

Martha’s Vineyard could become, maybe it is already, the new home of the rich and famous --- the CEO and celebrity playground. With properties like Steve Rattner’s newly completed 15,000sf plus compound on Obed Daggett Road on Cedar Tree Neck, and the equally excessive estate properties belonging to high rollers like Brian Roberts, Dirk and Robert Ziff, Jerome Kenney and Bill Graham in the area, Martha’s Vineyard is losing its battle to stay small and simple the way it was 40 years ago when I first drove my yellow Corvette roadster off the ferry.

Many of us have received calls from the White House advance agents inquiring about accommodations for August rental lodging. The general consensus here is that the President will be renting a house on Temahigan Avenue close to the State Police headquarters, maybe the old Gloria Swanson house on the water side. There is still no definitive word on what the Clintons are planning, but we keep hearing about Ted Danson’s home up-Island and Chelsea’s wedding plans at the large Chilmark estate of long time Clinton friend and Washington power broker Vernon Jordan.

I guess we will just have to accept the fact that we are no longer inaccessible and anonymous; we have a reputation now that people like to brag about, and complain about. Maybe one day we will change our name to Martha’s Vineyardton. Here is a short essay that appeared in the Boston Globe titled A Vineyard primer for Obamas that provoked dozens of reader comments. The comments section is always fun to read because people have such strong views for and against what is Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard is all about passion and emotion and trying to hold onto what most of us remember as being so special and what so many new comers imagine still is so special. It is all of our jobs and responsibility to do all we can so that we don’t become just another East Hampton. Sure we have famous people here, but on Martha’s Vineyard no one gives a damn and we leave them alone. If you ‘GET’ the Vineyard and you want to be here, I can help you get the right place to live your dreams and balance your life. SplitRock Real Estate represents Buyers Only and their dreams.

Martha's Vineyard Is Now Open For The Season --- Game On!

Our high season has finally arrived with this Memorial Day weekend. Old familiar faces are reappearing in the check-out line at Cronig’s. Young impatient preppy kids with newly minted driver’s licenses driving Daddy’s Mercedes act as if they own the road. Day trippers who have no clue where they are going whiz around precariously on mopeds, and islanders who are no longer able to day dream while behind the wheel of their cars or come and go as they please in pursuit of their daily chores are snapped back into reality, reminded that their space is no longer theirs alone, at least not for the next ten weeks. The Vineyard has awakened like a huge pinball machine once a quarter is inserted. Game on!

I hope it is a wonderful summer for everyone who really loves and appreciates this Island, understands its pace and recognizes that it is one of the only places on earth where you can recharge your physiological battery, redefine your spiritual center, nurture relationships with family and friends, and just “BE”. This is a special place and I love it. Having said that, I am going to go spend time with my wonderful wife, visit with good friends, go fishing, eat some great food and just “BE”.

To Fish or Cut Bait, that is the Question….

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I planned a fishing outing with a good friend of mine for this weekend. He came to the Island this morning, and I really wanted to go fishing. Instead, I am working for several buyer clients who are going fishing; they are not sitting on the dock cutting bait. They recognize the time is right and the fish are in; they are getting rigged and ready to catch their prize winner.

Remember a few months ago when the property inventory was up around 800 units? Today the inventory of available SFR, Vacant Land, Condos and Commercial properties in all towns totals 658. There are 17 properties under Purchase and Sale Agreement and 10 Offers to Purchase. This is only a count of those properties updated in our LINK system. I can assure you there are more properties under negotiation and it is not uncommon to have multiple offers and bidding wars on the nicer properties.

To a great extent, the public opinion about the depressed state of the real estate market is based upon other parts of the country that are not as special as Martha’s Vineyard, not even close. But did you know property sales in some of those depressed real estate market areas are up? According to an article in this week’s WSJ, some of the states with big sales increases from the depressed levels of a year before included Nevada (up 117%), California (up 81%) and Arizona (up 50%) and Florida (up 25%).

Here on Martha’s Vineyard, prices are down, Sellers are ready to deal, FHA guidelines are easier and first time home buyers who qualify are taking advantage of the remarkable $8000 tax credit opportunity that will sunset at the end of this year.

I’ve got to get back to rigging fishing tackle for my clients, but I tell you if you want to catch one of those big ones you have got to get your line in the water very soon. Cast away or sail away. This is your time, so please, don’t miss the season.

Is it Time To Go Real Estate Shopping on Martha's Vineyard?

During the last week I have been talking to other real estate agents and professionals in ancillary services about their market observations and workloads. The general consensus is clear; the Vineyard real estate market is rounding the corner, at least in the lower to mid-range.

Personally, I am seeing a lot more serious interest from consumers and clients. When I go to property showings with a client, the seller agents we meet say the same words right up front. “The seller is very motivated”. Normally, I think that is a silly thing to say because why else would anyone put their property on the market, and especially in a market like this. However, the truth is they are more than motivated; they are nervous as hell, and this is when deals are made.

I was looking at ‘Off Market’ low-end properties removed from the inventory around the first of the year and there really isn’t anything worth talking about that is not back on the market today. What is for sale is on the market and even though it may not be priced right, the sellers are ready to listen and work something out with buyers who are willing to put an offer on the table. The property inventory is saturated, rentals are soft and interest rates remain low. I think this is a perfect time to get into the market and see if you can get that dream home you have been wanting at a price that makes sense to you.

President Obama’s NEW Housing-Aid Plan – who WINS and who LOSES?

The new Housing-Aid Plan, according to the administration, is estimated to cover as many as nine million mortgage holders nationwide. It has two main components.

PART 1: Loan Modification
The first part supports borrowers who have kept up with their mortgage payments, but have lost so much value in their homes that they don’t have the equity necessary to refinance. Therefore, they are unable to take advantage of the present record low interest rates, which are hovering around 4%.

You WIN if you have payments of more than 31% of your pretax monthly income and you can prove hardship.

You WIN if you occupy a single-family home and can prove the home is your primary residence.

You WIN if you have an unpaid principal balance of $729,750 or less.

You WIN if you have a mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009 and make all the modified payments over a trial period of three months or more.

You LOSE if you are not about to default.

You LOSE if you are an investor with a home that is not owner-occupied.

You LOSE if you have a home that is vacant of condemned.

You LOSE if you have an unpaid principal of more than $729,750.

You LOSE if your mortgage is packaged into securities whose rules explicitly forbid modification.

You LOSE if you have loan servicers who can’t be reached or are unwilling to consider modification.

PART 2: Loan Refinancing
The second part of the plan is geared toward borrowers who are already delinquent in their loan payments or are in eminent danger of default and aren’t able to refinance, perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home.

You WIN if you have loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

You WIN if you are current on your mortgage payments.

You WIN if you can prove the ability to afford the new mortgage debt.

You WIN if your mortgage balance is no more than 105% of your current estimated home value.

You LOSE if you have loans owned or guaranteed by a company other than Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

You LOSE if you have been more than 30 days late on a payment in the past 12 months.

You LOSE if you can’t afford the new mortgage debt.

You LOSE if your home price has fallen so that the loan is more than 105% of the market price.

Good Property Opportunities on Martha's Vineyard

BANK OWNED PROPERTY (REO): This property was officially listed for resale by the lender on January 26, 2008 at an asking price of $564,900. The price was just reduced to $555,000, and the current town assessment is $697,100. The fact that the price has been reduced is standard procedure for a lender after 30 days without substantial interest in the property. This is a good sign for prospective buyers. The property is located in a nice neighborhood equidistant to all down-Island towns and is a lot of house for the money.

Click here to view property > Edgartown - 6 Mockingbird Drive

Everything is Coming Up Roses, Or Are They Tea Bags?

Rick Santelli was reporting from the pit at the Chicago stock exchange the other day and got everyone stirred up with his suggestion of a Chicago Tea Party . I thought it was marvelous and right on.

Here we are now with a $787 billion stimulus package that includes anemic elements like an $8000.00 tax credit for taxpayers buying a primary residence between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009. Single taxpayers making less than $75,000 are eligible. That tax credit doubles for married couples. Think about it, an 8k credit is just a drop in the bucket for a buyer in areas like Martha’s Vineyard, and no not everyone who lives here is rich. It’s just not enough. And what about the $75 billion mortgage relief plan the President announced. It’s not right. The Wall Street Journal says, "By investing in failure, the Administration will also prolong the housing downturn and make financing a home purchase more difficult for future borrowers." The New York Times says it is "a good start, but given the dire state of the economy, we fear it still may not be enough."

But what is enough and actually too much is the idea that people who did nothing wrong, the 92 percentile, are being asked to help the 8% that either had no business getting a loan in the first place or defrauded the banks intentionally out of sheer avarice. It’s the hard working people who are continuing to pay their bills even though they are suffering like everyone else today; they are really going to suffer.

Here’s a quick story I heard yesterday from a broker in Florida about one of those people you will be suffering for. This ‘investor’ accumulated no less than 20 properties through no-money down financing during the high time of the market. They did not and have not paid one cent toward an equity share on those properties; they had every intention of not owning the properties long term. The lenders began the foreclosure process about three years ago, but it takes time. In the meantime, this person is consistently making about $20,000 a month in rental income. There are hundreds of scenarios like this one. Why should we suffer for this kind of behavior? They should lose everything and go to jail. But if they go to jail, shouldn’t the enablers go with them? Yes, and that is why nothing will happen to them.

If you are wondering why the foreclosure machine is moving so slowly, let me give you a brief idea by way of another true story. This person is a first time home buyer who will most likely lose their home when their Alt-A loan resets. Mind you this is also in one of the areas where values have dropped by 50%. This person went through foreclosure prevention counseling and as instructed began the bureaucratic procedure with the lender for a loan modification. They spoke to a loss mitigation representative and complied with the instructions they were given. They supplied all the necessary documentation, both on line and via certified mail. They had the person’s name and extension number, but when they called to get a progress report after about two weeks, that person did not exist and both their cyber and paper trail no longer existed. They tried again filling out all the same information, etc. Again after a couple of weeks they contacted the LM department and that person did not exist. However, somehow they were finally able to track down the person that helped them. The representative told them, “You can jump up and down, get nasty and impatient but it will not do you any good. I have over 100 case files on my desk and you are just one of them in the pile. You’ll hear from us when we get to your case.” End of discussion. That’s just one person who has to deal with this enormous mess the government wants everyone to be responsible for.

Bringing it back home to the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard, here in Massachusetts the Warren Group reported the number of homes on Cape Cod that were actually foreclosed on last month was down 8.9 percent. This number is compared to January 2008. In exact numbers, there were 41 foreclosure deeds filed in January 2009 compared to 45 last year. In Dukes County, which is Martha’s Vineyard, the number of foreclosure deeds filed fell to 9 last month compared to 13 in January 2008. That is a difference of 30.8 percent. The experts are not sure what is causing this reduction in foreclosures, but it is a good sign as are the more realistic price reductions posted by the Martha’s Vineyard Information Network database. There are 467 single family homes currently on the market with a total inventory of 680 properties in all classifications. There are 72 single family homes that have been removed from the market since the first of the year. I can assure you everything is for sale, so if you want one of those properties just ask.