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Health & Fitness

Wildwood, NJ-There are some great buys at the shore!

Have you been looking to buy a house or condo at the shore?
If you have not looked at Wildwood, you should look now because there are some fantastic buys there.

Due to a huge glut of building that went on in 2007 when prices were at their all time highs, many people who thought they were real estate investors got caught up in the "get rich quick" scheme at the New Jersey shore, specifically Wildwood.

Prices for a new 3-4 bedroom 2 bath condominiums in small association buildings, 4-8 units were selling in 2007 in the 435K-535K price ranges, which I feel was extremely overpriced for a condominium in Wildwood.  

Many of these "Investor's" got stuck bad, and were upside down on their properties, meaning they owed much more on their mortgages than the property is worth since the recession, and these people have been walking away from their properties the last 3-4 years causing them to either become a short sale or a foreclosure.

My wife and family have always wanted a shore property, and to be quite honest with you, since I had previously lived in California for 20 years, I did not even know what Wildwood was or where it was!

In 2009, we were looking at Longbranch, (seems like a lot of people from this area buy there due to it's close proximity), but found the prices to be a little out of reach for what we were looking at.  Then we looked at Seaside, but most of the places that were in our price range were fixer uppers, and since I am in the home improvement business also, the thought of buying a fixer did not appeal to me since it is what I do most every day for other people.

Then I started searching Wildwood.  Ultimately we purchased a foreclosure that I had been looking at for about 1 year waiting for it to go to sale, and when it did, I jumped on it and purchased a like new 2007 3 BR 2 BA condo, bayfront, 9-10 blocks from the beach that just needed a little paint.  Granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, berber carpeting, 3 nice sized bedrooms and 2 full baths of which one is in the master bedroom.

We closed on that one in April, 2010 for $177,000.  The condo originally sold for $535,000 new!  It was a steal at $177,000.  You could not build this upscale condo for $177,000 due to construction labor and material costs today.  The condo is approximately 1500 square feet with a view of Otten's harbor off the front balcony and a view of the bay bridge off the back veranda.

My family uses the condo about 2 weeks a year and I rent it out weekly the other summer weeks during the season for about $1500-$1800 per week.
The amount of rental income covers the expenses and I truly believe the condo will be worth in the $300k range within a couple of years.

I thought the upside potential of the investment was so good, (I have always been very lucky in real estate investments) that I am closing on another one very similar in the next couple of weeks.

There is a huge glut of "distressed" properties in Wildwood.

Yes, I realize it is not the closest shore destination, (about 2 hours 15 minutes from Scotch Plains with no traffic), but Wildwood has a huge draw of vacationers from Philadelphia and many from Canada.  Wildwood's big plus is the three Wildwood beaches are free and there is something different going on every week that draws the tourists, plus it offers great restaurants, the boardwalk and Morey's piers with amusements and games.

I especially like our bayside location because it is tranquil and very relaxing.  The breeze off the bay is fantastic and I can sit out on the front deck for hours taking in the view, smoking a cigar or just chilling out.  It is very hard to leave after a week at the shore, but we all have to get back to reality and our day to day grind.

Another huge plus is we are just a mile or so from Rio Grand, NJ where Shoprite, Lowes, and all of the other big box stores that we are all so used to.  Plus just one exit from Cape May, NJ and just 35 minutes to Atlantic City.

If you are looking to buy a shore house, take a look at Wildwood.  I think you will be impressed not only with the properties and pricing that are available, but the area in general.

Just a thought!  

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