Gasoline reached an all-time high yesterday, increasing at most stations to $3.799 per gallon. I observed said increase driving to work yesterday morning at the Speedway station at I-77 and Arlington Rd. in Green, Ohio. “Lucky” for me, I was able to catch some “cheap” $3.559 and beat the increase at the BP station at the next exit. A simple web search shows, at the Wawa station on Route 1 at Wolfe Neck Rd., was a “low” $3.619 per gallon, and apparently one of the lower prices in your area.

The thing that kills me is this…the prices increase by twenty-some-odd cents, and then roll back penny by penny. Also what kills me is how people blame the president for this. His hands are tied unless Congress acts, since the president (no matter who it is) cannot legislate or make law.

So as the average working guy (or gal) tolls away at work for their seemingly dwindling paychecks, prices for just about anything you can think of is on the rise. A simple trip to the grocery store will prove my point. A stinking loaf of bread is now well over a dollar ! Your formerly $1.50 jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce is now $1.86. My wife wanted a 97 cent bottle of mustard…problem is, the 97 cent bottle is now $1.50. The 66-cent pasta is now $1.06. I think I made my point. Everything is going up, except our paychecks. And it’s all due to the price of fuel.

What can you do to save fuel ? Here are a few tips…

1. Change your air filter every 10,000 miles. A constricted air filter can reduce the amount of air to go through it and (excuse the pun) suck those miles-per-gallon away.

2. Check your tires’ air pressure. Set them at manufacturer’s recommendations. You can normally find those recommendations inside the driver’s door. Also keep them rotated.

3. Get your injectors cleaned. A lot of auto service places now provide this service. Clogged injectors can rob you of fuel mileage. The bottles they sell at the parts stores are OK, but a professional cleaning also involves cleaning out the intake and vacuum lines.

4. Get your car aligned. Improperly aligned vehicles can also rob your fuel mileage.

5. Change your oil. Oil is not just about lubricating the moving metal parts of your engine, but it also contains additives that break down over time that, once broken down, can rob you of fuel mileage.

6. If you’re going to the store for just a few things and the store is a short distance, why not walk ? You’ll get a good workout and you won’t burn a penny’s worth of gas.

Doing all of the above at most places (except, obviously, #6) will run $150-$200, but if you drive as much as I do, you will easily recoup that within eight months to a year in fuel savings. For every time you fill the average gas tank, you’ll actually stretch out most of - if not a full - gallon of gas per fill-up. And with that price getting closer and closer to $4 per gallon, we could use all the help we can get.

If you click here, you will be redirected to the Delaware Beach Board, and the May calendar of local events.

Delaware Beach Real Estate Market; Where it is and where it is going.

Nearly all of you here are asking me, one way or another, where is the bottom or when is the bottom of the real estate market or when will rates start going up again.  We can only tell, after the fact.  Although I predicted the bust, of the boom, for years before it happened; it was months after the boom, busted; before I knew it had occurred.  In case you did not know; the boom was busted in January 2006 here and prices have not gone up since, nor thankfully have they gone down.  True, asking prices, which mean nothing, have gone up and down but prices at which properties are SOLD; have stuck at the levels of January 2006 and they are still stuck in many cases… in some cases such as ocean front, prices are slowly beginning to go up.  Ocean front is always the last to level off and the first to go up during any slowing of the market.  We are beginning to see a very slight increasing of SOLD prices, very slight, in the first couple of blocks from the ocean.  So, what does my Crystal Ball say about the real estate market here at the Delaware Beaches; I’ll tell you.

My Crystal Ball has always been about as good and about as bad as the balls of those paid millions of dollars to predict the future.  Therefore, I have collected some data (so I can blame any failures on others) that I currently agree with.  I think we have hit the bottom of the interest rate cycle and that we have now passed the lowest interest rates of the last thirty years and the lowest of the next thirty years as well.  If you are waiting for the rates to go lower, they already did and they are on the way back up.  They will probably go up somewhat slowly except for some incredibly huge rises at times.  One of those times of huge rises could come rather soon.

From Mortgage Market Guide, Weekly; www.mmgweekly.com – Thanks to Chris Gorsuch and Dynamic Mortgage!

Existing Home Sales met expectations, but New Home Sales numbers for March were worse than expected, possibly due to the large increase in the costs for materials needed to construct a home. But then there was a change in climate on Friday, as inflation news from around the World created some strong adverse headwinds for Bonds and home loan rates. Overall, home loan rates ended the volatile week unchanged to slightly higher.  Now is still a good time to take advantage of historically low home loan rates before more inflation talk pushes them higher. I’m always here to help advise you, your friends, and your colleagues…no matter the season!   

SPRING HAS SPRUNG…

…and that means it’s time to wash away those winter blues! In fact, according to the Soap and Detergent Association - did you even know there was such a thing? - three-quarters of Americans engage in spring-cleaning. In fact, their surveys indicated that more than 80 percent of people who spring clean agree that it helps them save time throughout the year, and 96 percent of people donate or discard items during their spring-cleaning.

But the advantages can go much further than that. Check out these top ten spring-cleaning activities, compiled by www.medicinenet.com, that can help make your home healthier and safer:

1. Thoroughly dust your home. Also clean any air conditioning and heating filters, ducts, and vents to minimize pollens and other airborne allergens.
2. Organize your medicine cabinet. Throw away expired medications and old prescription medicines that you no longer need.
3. Inventory your garage and basement. Get rid of any old paint, thinners, oils, solvents, stains, and other similar items you no longer need. Note: You may need to take these items to a hazardous waste drop off center.
4. Inventory under your sinks and around your house. Dispose of old or potentially toxic cleaning products.
5. Have your chimney professionally cleaned. This will help you lessen the chances of carbon monoxide exposure when the cold weather returns.
6. Clean all mold and mildew from bathrooms and other damp areas. Use non-toxic cleaning products.
7. Check your rugs. Make sure that rugs on bare floors have non-skid mats and that older or dusty mats are either washed or replaced.
8. Inspect outdoor playground equipment. Make sure that all elements are sturdy and safe, especially guardrails, protruding bolts, and other potential sources of injury.
9. Change your batteries. Do so for both smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
10. Collect old batteries throughout the house for disposal. Dispose of them in a battery recycling or hazardous waste center.

And make it easy on yourself - take it one room, one cleaning task at a time. You’ll be more likely to accomplish more if you tackle each spring-cleaning project separately. And that’s great advice…any time of year!

When you have completed all these things; get out your lawn furniture, clean it, fix it, tighten the screws and check the glues and fix, repair or discard and get ready to enjoy the outdoors.  Make your appointments for the pool opening and check your yard for moles and voles.  Freshen your mulch and please don’t use more fertilizer or weed killer than the label states.  Then check out our calendars of events and find some enjoyable things to do, places to go and enjoy our wonderful Place here: DNREC programs for May and for the beachier batch of bathers and boys and girls;  Delaware Beach Area Events of Note.

Come on over to our main Real Estate website for the Delaware Beach area: www.Kate-Jody.com check it out, read the articles, search for properties and when you are ready to reach out for our help; write us and ask for further information and help.

If you click here, you will be able to look over local events throughout Sussex County throughout this month.

If you click here, you will be taken to the Delaware Beach Board…more specifically to the calendar of events posted there for the month of March.

Copyright ©2001, 2006, and 2008 by Jody Hudson

This is now a Buyers Market and Most Realtors are Seller’s Agents, by law. The SELLER’S agent must be honest, to a large degree, but he need not be fair. Do YOU still want to deal with a Seller’s Agent - or would you rather have your own agent, a Buyer’s Agent - who looks out for YOU in opposition to the seller and seller’s agents? Read On, to the end, this is important stuff!

There is a relatively new and not always well understood practice in Real Estate sales; it is called Buyer Agency or Buyer’s Agent.

The Real Estate Market has dramatically changed in the late spring of 2006. Most sellers are still trying to get far, far, more money than the market will support and most properties are not even being shown, not at all. As a Buyer, you know there are some good buys out there. However, there are nearly 8,000 properties on the market now (Aug 29, 2006) and last year about this time there were about 3,000 properties on the market. The only properties that are selling are the very best priced properties of any given description, and they are selling fast. There are more buyers than ever, they are more savvy and they are looking for bargains. I suspect you are one of those savvy buyers, seeking a bargain!

Savvy Buyers are seeking out ONLY the very best values in the particular kind of property they want and ONLY those properties are getting any looks at all. Savvy Buyers also know that Realtors usually represent ONLY THE SELLER. By law, a Seller’s Realtor must represent only the seller and thus that agent is your opponent, no matter how friendly they seem to be. If they look out for your interests, for real, they can loose their license. They may pretend very well and they may be very, very nice to you! They do this in order to get the most money for their seller. There is a better way for you, the Buyer.

Until recently Realtors and agents usually represented the seller, in opposition to the buyer, during the real estate transaction. Even the real estate agent who drove you from home to home was not legally, ethically or truly working on your behalf. By law, the agent was required to work on the seller’s side in order to get the highest price and the best terms for the seller — Period! Some, perhaps most, agents still work this way.

In the last few years, first the law and now the practice of representation has changed. You and I have an entirely different set of options and agreements when we are buying real estate. These options were previously only available and utilized by large companies or wealthy individuals or experienced and knowledgeable Real Estate Agents buying for themselves.

In the past, the buyer would get a buyer’s representative by paying a fee up front and usually by the hour, plus expenses, as well as hefty performance bonuses when the transaction was complete. Years ago half or more of my work was done this way for professional and wealthy sellers and buyers.

Twenty five years ago, as a personal agent for wealthy clients and companies, I charged and worked an average of 20 hours a week or more, at $30 per hour, plus expenses, plus 10% of the transaction (or when I was the buyer’s agent, a $2,000 retainer fee to start with and then $30 per hour and 10% of the amount below the listed price that I was able to obtain for my buyer. If there was financing involved I also was paid to find and obtain the best financing). This work was in addition to my work as a Broker/Agent in my office here in Lewes, Delaware.

Currently things are much easier for the buyer; As a buyer’s agent, a signature on a buyer’s agent contract from my prospective buyer begins the transaction. Usually the same original commission fee that would have been paid by the seller is split and half goes to pay the buyer’s agent.

In some cases the selling agent does not set up any fee to the buyers agent, or a very reduced fee, such as those agencies that advertise 2% or 3% or 4% commissions to the sellers, etc. The agents who do this do not pay the other agents much, sometimes nothing at all.

In that case the Buyer just picks up the missing commission and at settlement another 1%, 2%, 3%, or 4% or 5% comes out of the transaction and goes to us as Buyer’s Agent. We set that up in the initial Buyer’s Agency Contract, so there are no surprises. Whatever amount the seller’s agent has set aside for the buyers agent is subtracted from the amount the buyer pays us. Our fee is usually only 4% on residential and 7% to 11% on commercial and raw land; that is negotiable. For raw land development our fee is usually more and there can be fees paid us during the time (usually several years) we are getting the land approved for development.

With a Buyer’s Agent Contract between you and us; there is a guarantee from us that we are working ONLY for you the buyer and in opposition to the seller and the seller’s agent - in exchange you guarantee us a commission of 5% to 12% or as otherwise agreed. Our fee is usually already taken care of, or at least part of it, by pulling it from the the seller’s agent’s commission. Often, the seller’s agent’s commission pays our entire fee, not always however.

Your investment in a Buyer’s Agent, especially when it is us, is well placed as we will usually save YOU several times our commission in either a better deal for our buyer or far more protection and better buying strategy on behalf of our buyer.

I can draw this division of fees out for you on paper if need be when we meet the first time. Bottom line; you don’t really pay any more and you get the absolute best representation.

To read this article in its entirity, please click here.

Also, please feel free to visit all our websites with more information for the buyer, the seller, and the prospective buyer or seller…

My website.
My collaborative website with my partner Kate Baird.
My rural properties website.

High Tension for the Buyer and Seller Can Be Reduced
Copyright ©2001-2008 Jody Hudson

Tensions can run high in both the selling and buying of real estate. After all, there is a lot of money and emotion involved! There are also time pressures and numerous privacy issues to deal with. The sale and purchase of real estate can be a lengthy process involving numerous professionals from many fields.

The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University asked 3,000 Texas home buyers to describe their recent purchase, about 400 replied. Their responses showed how stressful buying a home can be, for buyers and sellers. The Realtors and attorneys who try to keep all tensions at bay in order to complete the transaction also feel the burdens of stress!

“The process is grueling in the best of circumstances, and the severe sellers’ market of recent times only increased the stress,” says Dr. Jack C. Harris, Center research economist. “In conjunction with Lawyers Title Company, the Real Estate Center asked recent home buyers about their buying experience and what changes they think would make the process more buyer friendly.” (quote from Real Estate News Information Service Feb. 24, 2001)

The final question on the survey was, “If you could change anything about the home buying process, what would that be?” Almost a third answered the question, and most of them expressed dissatisfaction about some phase of the process.

Understandably some of the complaints were about circumstances beyond anyone’s control. This included high prices, interest rates, the lack of listings in a specific area, where they wanted to buy, etc.

However, all of us Realtors can learn much from some of the things that WE can, and should, do something about. Many of the folks surveyed felt that the Realtor did not perform up to their expectations. They were especially miffed when the Realtor assumed too much, that they understood what was going on, and didn’t keep them well enough informed. In such a pressure cooker of financial and time constraints, the unfamiliar territory of buying and selling a property can be nerve wracking!

Many buyers and sellers need to be reassured and comforted. It is sometimes hard for the Realtor to know which of the dozens or even hundreds of people they are working with at one time need the most attention. Some of the Realtors’ clients felt the agent did not take enough time with them. This was true even for some buyers who had a Buyer’s Agent under contract to work on their behalf alone.

We Realtors should alert and educate our clients, whether they be sellers or buyers, to the complexities and details of the real estate transaction. Some buyers feel that they are rushed through the looking, choosing, buying and settling process, and sometimes they are.

More and more buyers, especially the most savvy ones, are using Buyer’s Agents. When there is a Buyer’s Agency Agreement signed, most buyers expect far more service. Some feel that they don’t always get it. In fact, according to the survey, 70% of those who had a Buyer’s Agent wanted even more care, concern and service from their agent than they felt they had received.

The sellers, too, felt they had received too little service, care and attention in many cases, for the commission involved. Some seller’s felt that the selling agent was not responsive enough to them, that calls were not returned promptly enough, or that not enough assurance, information, concern and communication was forthcoming from their agent.

Even though it is legally the seller who pays the Real Estate commission, it is really part of the overall transaction. Many buyers feel that they are the ones who are really paying that commission. They feel that the several thousand dollar commission is just tacked onto the selling price by the seller and thus it is they, the buyer, who is ultimately paying more for the property than they should! Buyers often feel that sellers inflate home prices to recover the cost of the commission.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

Also, please feel free to visit all of our websites…

My website
My collaborative website with my partner Kate Baird
My rural properties website

Copyright ©2001-2008 Jody Hudson

Whether you are buying your first home or your an experienced home buyer who owns more than one home, there are some things that can help you get faster results and get more professional and pleasant help from your Realtor. A home or property purchase is one of the most important and exciting events you will ever experience. Owning a home can help you build equity while reducing your income tax.

Land of any size requires minimal maintenance and is one of the best long term investments, even compared to gold or diamonds. However, along with the low maintenance, there is seldom any income to offset the cost. There are exceptions, mobile home parks, parking lots, and land rental under a shopping center are wonderful investments with relatively low maintenance.

Those who own land and property, as opposed to those who rent or lease, are historically considered to have a measure of stability, success and personal merit in addition to the obvious personal financial worth. This is so true that our Founding Fathers, who were dedicated students of all recorded human history, decreed that to be eligible to vote in our country a person must be a freeholder — that is one who owned property mortgage free. They knew that the most responsible citizens would be the most responsible voters. Few of us would meet that criteria today.

A person who held his property debt free, that is with a free and clear title, a Freeholder, was considered to have managed his affairs well. Therefore, that person was considered to have obtained a level of maturity and responsibility that proved an ability to manage personal property and thus a sufficient ability to be allowed to vote on the management of our government and the public trust. We are a nation of home and property owners more than any other nation on earth. However, most of us have a mortgage these days.

If you, like most of us, need a mortgage on your new property, we hope you will find value in this article and that it will help you understand the advantage of planning your mortgage as a prerequisite to your purchase of a home. Having completed the mortgage acquisition step, can help you organize your home search, as you begin browsing through the housing market.

Determining what features you want in your ideal or dream house and what payments you can afford are the important first steps. We ask that you consider the entire cost of home ownership, that is a total of the principle and interest payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance.

Most folks are aware of the first four P.I.T.I. or Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. There is another cost of home ownership that is not often figured in. It is property maintenance. Maintenance is usually about 5% of the value of the improvements per year, if the average is taken over a long period of time, such as forty years. Many people think that 5% is too high a figure and prefer to use 2-3% instead. Whichever you use, make sure you figure in the cost of maintenance or you will end up not easily able to afford the upkeep on your property. This is very important to realize whether you are buying a new home or an older one. And, the older home will usually have a lot of deferred maintenance — that is things that should have been done and haven’t been!

Thus, if you purchase a home and lot where the vacant lot would sell for $50,000, the home could be replaced for $250,000 and the landscaping value is $20,000 — a rule of thumb is that you should figure $12,000 per year in maintenance of the home and another thousand in the maintenance of the grounds. We see properties all the time where the improvements have what is known as deferred maintenance. That work that should have been done and hasn’t been, soon will need to be done. Deferred maintenance, maintenance not done that should have been done, is subtracted from the value of a home by those in the market, even if it is subconsciously done.

Home maintenance includes painting, caulking, re-carpeting, floor sanding refinishing, re-roofing every 15 to 50 years, depending on the composition of the roof and even replacing of windows, trim and siding. Outside there are sidewalks, the driveway, out buildings, decks, mulching, shrubbery maintenance, fertilizing, reseeding and replanting and of course the regular cutting and similar lawn care expenses. The reason we bring all this up about maintenance is that we hope you figure in the cost of it in addition to your home cost. If maintenance is not figured in you will end up with a mortgage plus maintenance cost or have to borrow more money to do the work that is needed, and that makes it more difficult to afford your new home.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

Buying Country Acreage and Rural Properties: To Buy or Not To Buy Copyright ©2001-2008 Jody Hudson

Almost anyone can become a rural property owner; if you are willing to set goals, establish what your purposes are, plan ahead and set targets that are all aligned toward the same result. And, if you can be patient instead of requiring instant gratification.

There is no more $50-an-acre land; unless you count some of the inaccessible and unusable properties that are sometimes available in blocks of 10,000 acres or more; and even these properties are rare. But you can get rural properties more reasonably now than in the past IF you are willing to be creative in your expectations and in the ways you use and modify the property.

If you are in a big hurry to find rural property, you will likely not be able to find what you are looking for. Rural properties have fewer buyers who want to purchase them, but there are plenty of dreamers who have not considered the realities. There are seldom bargains available because most folks who own rural properties know exactly who to call first when they want to sell. If the property really is a bargain it is gone with one of the first ten phone calls the seller makes. However, if you are willing to “think outside the box” of convention you may end up with what is a bargain property for you.

Twenty and thirty years ago thousands of folks bought into the “live on a farm and make a fortune” dream of owning a chicken house, home and acreage in Sussex County Delaware — the chicken capital of the world — where there are several million chickens for every person who lives here. For a short while it was possible to take the “contract” from a chicken plant to the bank and with only that as collateral, get a loan for about 10 acres, a home and at least one chicken house. Many folks soon discovered that the so called contract had fine print and clauses that were all in favor of the chicken plant and none in favor of the chicken grower. Soon most chicken growers were working full time to help support the chicken business they had bought, along with it’s mortgage of $200,000 or more, sometimes much more.

Now when I appraise a chicken farm with house and acreage I appraise the working chicken farm at zero — and that is really too high a value in some cases. There are lots of easier, better smelling and cleaner jobs you can purchase with $200,000 or so. If you want to make a living growing chickens you should prepare to spend at least a million dollars, you can finance it of course, and get several chicken houses built around your home on 15 to 20 acres, if you don’t mind the smell, and then the best bet is to lease the business to someone who is running 20 or thirty chicken houses at least.

There are some sensible things you can do in contemplation of moving to and living in the country. First among those is to start by renting a small home in the area you want to live — and either move there or at least visit there often enough to get to know the area. If you already live close enough to drive to your dream area daily, start doing that and start frequenting the shops, churches and restaurants there. Stop at yard sales and to check into cars, trucks and equipment that is for sale in people’s front yards. Be honest, tell them you are planning to move into the area and want to learn about your neighbors and only stop to shop if you are really interested in what they have for sale and are willing to purchase it at your price. Rural folk have a built in truth-detector and it is usually accurate. Don’t try to BS them or your reputation will precede any other data about you.

I suggest that you can subscribe to a good magazine on rural living, or two or three. One of the best to begin with is Backwoods Home Magazine.  Start by visiting and reading EVERYTHING on line, then get a subscription, then purchase ALL of the back issues which are bound into soft cover books.

If you yearn for the simple life of old fashioned living, in a log home for instance, and away from the downward pull of civilization, check out Homestead.

If you are able to take your income with you, to maintain your current income, and don’t need a job where you are going. Then I recommend you just rent a place first and start spending more and more time in a good area as you begin to test your transition resources. While renting get to know the people and see if you fit in with them. They are not planning to change to meet your parameters, I assure you. MOST of the folks who come from the city to the country start by trying to change the area they have moved to and the new neighbors, to be more like where they left. They should not have left or they should get on back there — and most of the neighbors will tell you so.

If you move to an area as a renter and find the people to your liking and they find you to their liking, you have probably found the right area. However, in rural areas ten miles can make a huge difference in lifestyle and area ethnicity. Please don’t move to a resort town, like Rehoboth Beach where I work, and then without checking try to move into a place like Oak Orchard or you will experience some near terminal culture shock. I love where I live and the people who live here but hopefully not one of them thinks that I have some intention of changing the way they live here!

Once you have zeroed in on an area and visited it many dozen times or better yet rented a place there and started living there for short stays; I suggest that you start joining various groups and organizations as a part-time member and let them know that you are not full time yet, but hope to be. They help. Don’t try to instruct them or help them do what they are already doing better; just try to help them on their own terms. You need to learn the rules of this new game, it’s their game and their community. At most you will be a welcome member of the community. You will never be the equal to those who have four or ten or thirty generations of family buried and established there. For instance in our area those who have only been here for sixty years are still not considered “from here” by those who have been here since the 1500s or soon after.

Once you have looked at several dozen properties that interest you, and that may take a year or two or more; you will begin to appreciate different micro-cultures in the area. You will begin to notice differences in soils, roads, well water, septic system functionality and road access; not to mention the differences in governmental rules and enforcement of same. Each time you find the perfect property; put a contract on it “pending research and discovery” and during that time check the neighbors and professionals about the property. You should check the neighbors first, lots of them, they already know everything the professionals are going to charge you to tell you.

Hopefully by the second or third property you put a contract and deposit on; you will have the one that is right for you. Remember, if the property is a bargain price, you have missed something in almost every case. What you need to do is figure out how it is a bargain for you; because you have an unusual use, ability, or way to change the property easily to suit your needs.

Buy through a Realtor if at all possible. Sign a buyers agent agreement with your agent so that his allegiance is to you — otherwise, by law his allegiance is ONLY to the seller and by law, you are in an adversarial position to the seller and the Realtor. With a buyer’s agent agreement signed, your agent is now on your side, by law, and is an opponent of the seller and the seller’s agent. Ask your agent then to provide you with all the comparable sales data from the multi-listing service if there is one. If not hire an appraiser, once you have the property under contract, (make the contract contingent upon a satisfactory appraisal) and pay to have the price evaluated. If you have contracted for too high a price, renegotiate the contract; if you find you have a real bargain; you of course double check with your agent and the appraiser to find out why. It may be that the reason for it’s “reasonable” price the reason that keeps it from selling is not that important to you — and you do have a bargain.

Possibly your employer or the consulting work or your self employment activities may allow you to telecommute. But if you can’t telecommute to maintain your current income; before buying in an area, find out if you have a marketable skill, one which is in demand in that particular region. This will give you some assurance that you will not become a financial fatality. Most of the folks who move to rural communities, without checking into how they will make money in the new location, have to sell their property at a loss within 5 years, due to lack of income.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Regarding Real Estate On Leased Land In The Long Neck, Angola, Lewes Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Angola, And Pots Nets Areas Of Eastern Sussex County Delaware
by Jody Hudson
Copyright 2001-2008

1.Why are there so many properties on leased land?

There are several situations here. Business and commercial land is often leased all over the world. In New York City, Tokyo, and other larger, older cities; land owners often lease the land that is underneath those skyscrapers and in some cases even the park land is leased to the city by the land owners.

In Lewes, all of the land east of the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, what is known as Lewes Beach; is leased land. The land leases there are usually owned by the Town of Lewes and are usually for 99 years and renewable. Some of the properties on Lewes Beach, however, are leased for shorter terms by the town, but as a rule all of these are automatically renewable. When you buy a property on Lewes Beach you pay a fee to get the leased land re-assigned to you. That fee for a Bay Front Property, on the Delaware Bay; can be well over a half million dollars, depending on the size of the lot; and the value of the home and improvements is added to the lease assignment value. In other words, even though it is leased land on Lewes Beach; the price is commensurate with purchasing the land. This land has always been leased land as prescribed by England, during our American Colonial Period and that ownership style remains.

In Rehoboth and Dewey Beach areas, is the Rehoboth By The Sea area, a large number of the lots are owned by the family owned Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company. The current treasurer of Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company is Jack Redefer; 302-227-4277. Land is leased to the tenant-owners for shorter periods of years; some leases have as little as 20 years left on the lease. These leases may or may not be renewed and the land value if the resident is allowed to purchase it later, could be significant. As a result these properties on leased land go for much less money that the lots that are owned. Some of the lots have been purchased from the Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company in the past and are owned by the residents - most have not been purchased. Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company will not likely renew some of the leases, some they may, it is up to them. On the lots that they do not renew the leases for - the residents are required to remove the improvements and leave the land in it’s original level and unimproved condition at the end of the lease. The good news is that you can save as much as half a million dollars when you purchase a home on some of these lots. The bad news of course is that you may have to remove the home and vacate the lot in a couple of decades or so.

Long Neck and other areas where there are trailers, manufactured homes, single wides, or double wides also are comprised of mostly leased land. There is some leased land along Rt. One, where trailer parks now, at times, contain larger and more conventional homes as well. These land-lease communities are far less expensive to purchase. The appreciation in value is small or nonexistent - or in some cases the value of a property purchased on these leased-land communities can depreciate to far less than the purchase price. There is also a monthly or annual lease fee to pay for the use of the land.

2.Why would anyone purchase a mobile home or manufactured home on leased land?

There are many, Realtors included, who wonder why in the world anyone would ever purchase a so called mobile home on leased land. Actually many of the folks who live in the leased land communities are well to do, even wealthy in some cases, many are Realtors themselves.

Safety and security is one reason. Many of the folks in land lease communities, which some might call trailer parks, are retired or part time residents. There are many who prefer the security services which are only available in the manufactured home communities. Most of these communities have community centers, neighborhood watches, security patrols, and alert neighbors who keep a far better eye on the community than the police force can in a town or city.

Low maintenance is another reason people, in fact most people, live in land lease communities. The lots are usually quite small and often the park owner maintains each of the lots. When the individual does need to maintain their individual lot the grass cutting expense is minimal. The fee for cutting the grass, edging and trimming can be as little as $8 each time, as the grass cutter can often take care of a lot in less than ten minutes and if he has several lots in the same community he can do 5 or 6 lots per hour with a push mower and a weed whacker. Some folks do fabulous landscaping jobs on their land-lease community lots. In fact some communities have annual or seasonal competitions for the best kept, most beautiful, or most improved yard. Many of these lots are only 50 feet by 100 feet, sometimes less - so a lot of beautification can be done with limited expense compared to the far larger lots that one must have in a non leased community.

3.Are homes on leased land a good investment?

Very seldom are homes on leased land a good financial investment. There are exceptions. The homes on the leased land on Lewes Beach are just as good as financial investments as the homes on what is called in-fee or deeded land in Lewes town proper. In fact, since the Lewes Beach is more desirable to more people - the prices are higher and the percentage of appreciation on Lewes Beach is, over the long term, better than those in Lewes proper. The town of Lewes, other than the beach, is more of a Williamsburg flavor in architecture, ambiance and character. Lewes Beach on the other hand is less traditional in it’s architectural character. The town of Lewes is very much a walking and shopping town with shops, boutiques, and little stores along Market Street, Second Street and Pilottown Road, especially. The beach has very little commercial activity and is far more a beachy bedroom community where the focus is of course the beach, the canal and the bay.

Homes, manufactured homes or stick-built homes on the other land lease communities are not often a good financial investment. However they may be the best investment in lifestyle. Many folks have other real estate, other investments, and do not need to have the home they own in a land-lease community appreciate in value. And, the homes in the land lease communities are a small fraction of the purchase price that they would be if the land were deeded, in-fee.

For instance, a waterfront home on the Rehoboth Bay in Rehoboth Bay Mobile Home Community; now known simply as Rehoboth Bay Community; may cost as little as $115,000, for a beautiful, double wide, full time, modern home. The land rent would then be from $400 a month on a lagoon to $500, up to $750 a month or more on the largest and best bay front lots. Compared to a home on deeded land the same size that is a savings of over a million dollars!!! So, as an investment in lifestyle it is phenomenal and astute buyers seldom allow these homes to sit on the market.

Other areas, for instance the Angola Area are, have resale homes from $10,000 for a small fixer-upper on a small lot leased at $270 a month to brand new homes on much larger lots, large homes, for $70,000 to $90,000 on lots that rent for usually less than $300 per month. One double size corner lot rents for $400 a month and could have a many bedroom home with decks, porches, garage and still room left over. Angola Beach Estates and Angola Beach and Angola Estates are well established communities with pools, security, substantial community management and lots more. They have community centers, boat docks, launching ramps, boat storage areas, and a list of amenities not available in many other communities.

What a range of values: resales from $10,000 to $80,000 and new homes from $40,000 to $80,000 or $90,000 for a real show stopping extravaganza. Now you know why people are so willing to buy and live in land lease communities!!! You get a wonderful lifestyle for far less than you can purchase anything even remotely similar where you don’t lease or rent the land.

For additional real estate information, please click on one or more of the following…

My website
My shared website with my partner Kate Baird
My rural properties website