Good Property Opportunities on Martha's Vineyard

This nicely constructed spec house was just completed. It started out priced at $750,000, but the price was just reduced to $599,000. This puts it at a number for which you would not be able to reproduce this new home. The lot alone is assessed at 258K.

Click here to view property > Oak Bluffs - 10 Eastville Avenue

Another Huge Opportunity for Home Buyers

As part of the new Economic Stimulus Bill being thrashed around in the senate, and on top of the Tax Credit proposed for all home buyers allowing them a tax credit at the rate of 10% of the sales price up to a limit of $15,000, there now is Amendment 353.

Amendment 353, proposed by Senator John Ensign, Republican Senator from Nevada, would provide 30 year fixed rate financing at about 4%, for anyone purchasing a primary residence. If this passes the House and if there is more sensitivity by lenders in handling those threatened by foreclosure, we could really be on our way to recovery in the housing market.

You Want a Great Deal, But Do You Really Want a Foreclosure?

Foreclosures represent a mammoth portion of today’s housing inventory. In RealtyTrac’s recently released 2008 Foreclosure Market Report, they showed a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings. The number of default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions reached 2,330,483 properties.

Up until now most people were of the opinion they could save huge sums of money buying a foreclosure property. However, more people are shying away from that process, and if they are willing to engage at all, they are demanding steep discounts averaging 25% from the listing price, and many are expecting to pay 50% less than for a non-foreclosed home. According to a recent Moody's Economy.com report, since the peak of the market several years ago home prices fell in 70% of all metro areas. Although the decline in most metro areas was modest, prices did decline by 5% in 116 metro areas and more than 20% in about 50 metro areas. In the most depressed markets, a buyer insisting upon a 25% discount doesn’t seem like that much for a distressed property. But this all depends upon how realistic the listing price is.

Banks are still requiring BPO’s as part of their preparation for marketing foreclosures, but the problem with that approach is they are looking back at the market for values, and in declining markets they need to look forward when pricing properties. The result in most cases is banks overestimate the listing price. All they know is what they are owed and that is all they care about. So what happens is properties sit on the market for long periods of time suffering from accelerated deterioration or vandalism. Someone will have to pay for the repairs and the bank does not want to assume any responsibility.

In December, Trulia and RealtyTrac published a survey indicating that in the seven months prior to the study the number of people interested in foreclosures dropped by seven percent to 47%. The first study reported in April 2008 by these market tracking companies recorded 69% of the buyers polled had a negative opinion of foreclosures. Since then the number has risen to 80%. On Martha’s Vineyard there are very few foreclosures and I continue to maintain that buyers can do better negotiating on a non-foreclosure property.

All Real Estate Is Local?

The National Association of Realtors has been working diligently through national ads for several years to educate consumers that all real estate is local. They don’t think what is happening in one area of the country is happening everywhere. I absolutely agree but it is like second hand smoke, everyone is affected to one degree or another.

With the ever deepening economic crisis crawling into every aspect of our lives and the reality that this is a global crisis of unprecedented proportion, I would rephrase the slogan and say all real estate is the same, but different.

I was reading an article about the effects of what is now an epidemic real estate crisis in the UK, effecting one of the wealthiest resort areas in the world. Fortunes have been lost and high rollers living in $7,000,000 homes are now living in apartments above retail shops. Playgrounds around the world are all affected by the hubris that brought the market down, from Hollywood to Dubai and Monte Carlo.

I am going to paraphrase part of a commentary that expresses a sentiment that rang a bell for me with regard to Martha’s Vineyard. However, it was written about a seaside luxury resort area in the UK. I will leave out the location specific parts so you can fill in the blanks.

“I’M not surprised the credit crunch has hit (blank). … Why should it be immune?”

“(Blank) is a very, very beautiful place. If prices coming down makes it more accessible to ordinary people, that is a good thing.”

“Locals were becoming very concerned about the way the place was changing.”

“(Blank) is a quintessentially English place and should remain so.”

“Prices … were way too high. The fact they are coming down is good.”

“It makes (blank) more affordable and attracts the right kind of person for the area.”

“Hopefully more local people will be able to afford to move there and it will remain as beautiful as it is.”

All those who feel this way about Martha’s Vineyard raise your hands.

Buying A Home On Martha’s Vineyard Should Be Fun

House hunting on Martha’s Vineyard can be fun, and I make sure it is fun. However, I find many buyers new to the market get caught up in things that are irrelevant while failing to consider what’s really important. They may base their decision on a Japanese Maple tree in the front yard, the green granite counter tops in the kitchen, or the color of the carpeting in the living room. I believe it is my responsibility as an exclusive buyer representative to keep my buyer-clients focused on the big picture, even though some of that may be more sobering than joyful. Please read this report by RealEstate.com on Four Strategies to Make House Hunting Easier

Tear It Down or Renovate It: A Growing Dilemma For Home Buyers.

For quite some time I’ve been chanting that it’s time to let go --- let go of the notion that a 70-year-old house has enough charm and redeeming factors to be worth saving.

With energy concerns becoming more prevalent and the cost of utilities continuing to escalate, we need to change our thinking here on Martha’s Vineyard. Charm is a relative term and there is nothing charming or attractive about a tiny 70-year-old house with little to no insulation, cramped bedrooms, one bathroom with leaky plumbing and a tiny kitchen that is inadequate by today’s standards on a crumbling wet foundation.

Circa 1900 near Campground, Oak Bluffs

I’d even go so far as to say there is nothing charming or redeeming about some of the houses built during the last 20 to 40 years. We allowed some real junk to be constructed during the 1980’s real estate boom, and a lot of the circa 1970 construction is ugly and functionally obsolete. Aside from the emphasis today on energy conservation, modern high-technology in new homes is also important and advancing at a breathtakingly rapid pace. Today’s upscale consumers want that technology, but they don’t want the kinds of subdivisions typical of suburban America. They want the charm of the Martha’s Vineyard lifestyle because that is what attracts them. But they want that charm to include all the bells and whistles they are used to at home; they want the best of both worlds. The psychographic profile of people moving to the Vineyard is changing and that will make modern in-home high-technology even more important. No longer are we just a summer retreat or retirement community. People come here for a gentler way of life while simultaneously carrying on their off-Island careers.

It might very well cost you more to renovate an older house than to build a new home. So, what’s the answer? I think the eco-conscientious solution is to scrape them, raze them, bulldoze and remove them from the land and start over. Some people call this “Bash and Build”. It may sound shocking, but it’s been happening in other parts of the country for quite a while now. One off-Island builder who has worked on numerous teardown projects in recent years says, “In my opinion, it’s the hottest trend in real estate.” So how do you get this old house off of your nice lot? You can either have the structure demolished, lifted off the foundation and removed in one piece or deconstructed. The latter method which entails reclaiming lumber and reusable building materials will cost you more money and more time than just driving a bulldozer through the front door. Another option is to donate the old structure to affordable housing. It would then be lifted off the foundation and removed in one piece. This sounds like a good idea, but there is a backlog of inventory right now. Let your eco-conscience be your guide. You might also be eligible for a substantial tax deduction if you can donate the structure or the salvaged reusable materials.

Speaking of costs and savings --- it could cost anywhere from $20,000 and up to demolish and cart away the old structure. That cost doesn’t include the foundation, but the foundation material can also be recycled. When the site is clean, you can start from scratch building a new and possibly bigger dream home on that nice lot. In the end you may be paying more “all in” for the finished product, but you will be in a location you want, instead of next door to yourself in a new subdivision without the landscaping intrinsic to older quintessential communities like big trees (to provide screening and privacy). Remember, most of the best locations on this Island are already developed or in conservation. Another factor to consider is financing. If you’re not paying cash, the best solution is to acquire a two-phase loan for a project like this. The first part will be a construction loan which historically will be at a higher rate --- perhaps one-half to one point above prime. You will need a construction contract and approved plans in order to get the loan, but the plans don’t have to be set in cement --- no pun intended. The second part is for the conventional home mortgage. If you’re unable to get your ducks in a row for this type of financing you will end up paying closing costs twice.

We already have a number of cookie cutter subdivisions on the Island, but there are a number of mature small and medium size communities in great locations on the Island where the houses range in size and style unlike the uniformity of modern subdivisions. In off-Island communities it has always been understood one should never to have the biggest home in the neighborhood. But on Martha’s Vineyard that is not a concern. The teardown trend is starting to become more accepted, and inadequate and smaller houses are being replaced with more substantial houses. I am not talking about “McMansions”, nor am I a proponent of them. I believe smart buyers who have identified and moved into the older communities by replacing dilapidated homes with new homes will create an environment for more buyers to come in and build new homes. This will fuel a renaissance in these communities. The land on this Island is just too precious to pretend patch-and-paint houses contribute to the value of the land.

New architect design reproduction near Sunset Lake, Oak Bluffs
















I do think it is critical for neighborhoods to be vigilant and take responsibility for their future well-being. It will be important for residents of these communities to establish home owner associations if they don’t already have them. They need to create covenants to ensure there are safeguards to prevent someone from coming into the community and building an enormous A-Frame glass tent or Quonset hut that doesn’t fit the general character of the neighborhood. Variety is a good thing because it gives character to the community and ensures more expensive homes will blend in visually and economically. This is all part of preserving the future value of your investment and the value of this magical Island we all love to live on.

The Housing Bank Bill -- If at first you don't succeed try again

The MV Times News In Brief section published an editorial regarding the controversial Housing Bank. This is not about a for-rent project; it is about affordable property ownership for lower income residents of Martha's Vineyard.

Housing bank bill is re-filed on Beacon Hill

“Hoping for success the second time around, backers of legislation designed to create a fund to be used to support the creation of affordable housing on Martha's Vineyard learned that Senator Robert O'Leary, a key supporter, filed the bill on Jan. 9.

“Senate Bill #781 would impose a one percent fee, paid by the seller, on real estate sales. The first $750,000 of each sale would be exempt. Modeled closely after the Land Bank, the bill would create a housing organization that would be self-funded and award money to a variety of housing initiatives.

“Last summer the legislation, which was combined with a similar effort to create a Nantucket housing bank, passed the Senate but went down to defeat in the House where it was opposed by real estate interests.

“The legislation filed this month no longer contains any reference to Nantucket. The Martha's Vineyard Community Housing Bank Coalition, a group created to push the bill through the legislature, is optimistic that separating the Vineyard from Nantucket will further its chances.

“A copy of the bill is available on the coalition's web site at www.mvchb.org.”

Morgan Woods affordable housing project on Martha's Vineyard nears completion

It’s been about nine years since the Pennywise Path affordable housing project was conceived and set into motion. As the construction progressed and is now nearing completion, the decision has been made to name the project Morgan Woods, appropriately after the former Edgartown affordable housing committee chairman, Fred B. “Ted” Morgan, who lead the project from the very beginning,. This community experiment has been and will be closely watched by all Island towns to gauge its long term success, because there has never been a rental community on the Island of this scale.

I found the following articles informative and thought I would bring them to your attention.

Morgan Woods, a whole new village of attractive homes

The Vineyard's first significant, municipally developed affordable rental housing for low and moderate income residents