Cape May County Must See Landmark - Atlantus

In a nation that prides itself on its victories, remembering failures is not as easy to come by.

Sites like the concrete ship Atlantus, locaed just off Cape May Point, offer a different perspective on history. Suffering from a short supply of steel and iron during World War 1, U.S. officals sought to solve the drought by building ships with concrete moulds. Shortly after a fleet of 14 concrete ships was built by the U.S. governmentthe plan was deemed a failure and the ships were sent to their graves at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

The larger heap of concrete was later moved to its current location. The site has prompted many to raise their cameras to capture the broken hopes of indstrious Americans and the unlikely beauty of the hull peeking out of the choppy waters at sunset.

You can see Atlantus off Sunset Beach in Cape May.

New Jersey State Barbecue Championship and Anglesea Blues Festival

Another weekend in Wildwood means another festival. This weekend it is the NJ Barbecue Championship and Anglesea Blues Festival.

The 9th annual fesitval in North Wildwood raises funs for the Anglesea Volunteer Fire Company. The winners of the Barbecue Championship will be going to compete in the national championship in Kansas City.

The crowds come out in full force for this popular summer event. Those who stop by the three-day festival will have the opportunity to hear from six different jazz bands, check out the barbecue skills of the competitors, browse the open-air market and learn the basics of barbecuing themselves.

The festival kicks off today at 5pm. More information could be found at http://www.angle-seablues.com

Avoid Mortgage Brokers To Finance Your Vacation Home

I have had two transactions recently fall apart due because the Buyers did not use their own permanent resident Bank or a local Bank. You have a working relationship with your Bank; so negotiate the interest rate and or term. Second, the local Banker is familar with the marketplace and is not afraid of marketability issues that the Mortgage Broker who is selling the loan across the country does not understand. This alone is the single biggest problem in using a Mortgage Broker. The no doc loan becomes a full doc loan within days due to the Mortgage Broker's lack of knowledge within the market.

In my casse, the Buyer's agent had a pre-qualified Buyer to purchase one of my Seller's condominium units. The Buyers had a credit score of 780. Within a day before settlement the deal fell apart due to an unfavorable condo questionaire, that stated only one unit had closed as of the date of the appraisal. This issue was mentioned to the Buyer's agent who said it would not be a problem. Day before settlement it was a problem. Fannie Mae guidelines requires that at least 50% of the units be sold or at least be under contract. Another red flag for Fannie Mae is that no more than 40% of the units can be rentals. This problem could have been avoided if the Buyers had gone to their own bank or a local banker.

One the second transaction, the Mortgage Broker retained an appraiser from out of the area who didn't know the local market.It did not appraise. I supplied the appraiser with some units under contract which can be utilized as 4th and 5th comparables to support the sale price. Fortunately, for the appraiser and the Buyer's the deal will be saved.

By saving these two deals I would say I have earned my commission in a business were the public believes we make too much money.