Thoughts or information on St James Plantation (Charlotte, Oak Island: school, closing)

[caco54]

[SIZE=3]Saw this in the Ocean Ridge News letter. Should hold true for St James. CACO54

I am a resident property owner in Ocean Ridge and have been a real estate professional in the area for about eight years. I specialize in Ocean Ridge homes and home sites, beach homes and Intracoastal Waterway properties. In trying to provide a candid market snapshot, I will focus on current values, the new real estate tax assessment and a forecast of when our market might improve. These are the questions I am most frequently asked. The information I provide here is based on sales data from the Multiple Listing Service and my experience, and does not include properties sold or represented by Coastal Communities.
[/SIZE][SIZE=1][SIZE=1](
[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3]The local real estate segment hit hardest by the weak economy has been home sites in Brunswick County. At the current level of annual sales there are about 40 years of inventory available. What else is contributing to the sharp decline in prices? The answer is foreclosures (bank owned properties that are being liquidated at low prices) and short sales (where owners sell at less than they owe the bank). Short sales usually require the sellers to bring money to the closing table or work out a settlement with the bank for the repayment of any deficit over a number of years. Brunswick County ranks in the top ten North Carolina counties in the number of foreclosures.
In 2010, property values continued to fall, foreclosures rose, and even the lowest interest rates in 50 years seemed to have little positive effect on the property values. In 2011, expect the foreclosures to continue and sales activity to increase, since prices will remain low and interest rates may start to rise.
In Ocean Ridge, we have about eight years of home site inventory available and this has obviously created a buyer’s market. Besides inflated inventories, (30 homes and 157 home sites currently on the market), the foreclosures and short sales are pushing the market values of pre-owned home sites downward, providing sale prices at discounts of 50% to 60% from the original property values. Of the 157 pre-owned home sites currently on the market, 59 are offered for sale at under $100,000 (37%), and 90 are offered for under $130,000 (57%). Twenty-two property-owner held home sites sold in 2010 for a median price of $107,000. This is a roll back to 2002 pricing. Ultimately, these prices affect the values of existing homes as well, since the valuation of the land is a major component of any appraisal or tax assessed value. This has been particularly true in Ocean Ridge, where home prices are off 15% to 20% due to reduced lot value. Five homes sold in 2010 at a median sales price of $475,000, reflecting the buyers’ desire to spend less.
The new county tax assessments will be mailed in March and are expected to show substantial reductions in the land valuations, which will reduce the overall assessed value of homes. Real estate taxes should remain about the same, however, since we expect the tax rate per $100 will be increased to offset the reduced tax values in the county.

[SIZE=3]I am often asked what the best course of action is, given current market conditions. I would say to refrain from selling at this time if you can afford to continue to carry the property and if you can delay your move for three years or so.
No one has a crystal ball concerning when prices will start to recover, but I believe for Ocean Ridge it could be two to three more years for homes and seven or eight years for home sites. The primary factors will be an improved national economy, with job growth and a sustained increase in sales, providing a substantial reduction in inventory. The good news is the Baby Boomers are just starting to retire and will be coming south. We still live in the premier golf and beach community in Brunswick County, and the demand for our properties will be there
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[Stonecreek67]

Caco54, thanks for that newsletter. Being in somewhat the same boat as the author of that newsletter, I was a real estate salesperson here in NJ for "quite" a number of years and a high end home developer for the last 12 years or so, I wholeheartedly concur and have said just about as much as he did, in some of my previous posts. The only thing I disagree with in that newsletter is that Ocean Ridge is NOT the premier plantation down there..... or "IT" would have more homes built than St James in the same time period..... of course that is still only my personal opinion and everyone is looking for something different in a plantation.

Largely though, ( IMHO ), due to the actions of the self centered scoundrels and morons that now inhabit and have inhabited those big buildings in Washington DC for the past 25 or 30 years, the real estate market is what it is today and it ain't a goin' noplace real soon. And it is worse down there as it has been the secondary market for buyers, as the real estate market and economy "up here" tightened, it meant that "many" of those peoples' thoughts and plans for retirement began evaporating and they could not and cannot hold those properties and are being "forced" to sell them, dumping many, many more properties on the market than normal, creating huge backups in inventory and forcing prices down with them.... creating the quintessential buyers market. Fortunately for soon-to-be-buyers in the plantations down there it IS a buyers market and unfortunately for the sellers it will be for years to come, how many years is anyones guess but as the author of that newsletter predicted it may be 4, 5, 6 or even 7 yrs before the market down there exhausts it's built up supply of inventory.

What has not changed is that Brunswick County is the same very attractive "retirement" area that it was ten years ago. The ocean, climate and living environment has not changed and people like myself and a whole slew of others.... obviously by the numbers of readers of these posts, are still planning to move to the area when their time is right. So... fortunately or unfortunately, it will continue to be a great environment for those who are fortunate enough to be in the market to buy a property anywhere down there for quite some time. Will it eventually stabilize and "get back to normal" ?? I believe so, just as it will all around the country, it will take time and just how much time nobody can say with any real accuracy at this point without a crystal ball.... but it WILL rebound at some point in the future, real estate moves up and down in cycles and always has... and even those greedy, totally self-absorbed and uncaring individuals in Washington DC, that do not use any common sense in their day to day manipulations of the words duty and honesty.... and "play" with our economy as if it were Monopoly money, cannot screw it up FOREVER ! Whew.

[caco54]

Ocean Ridge just welcomed their 500th home ownerso they are way behind St James.

[biscman]

This weeks up date:

Subject: Member2membernews



MEMBER2MEMBERNEWS


MISSING TREES

A bunch of trees are missing on our golf courses from around the greens. Golfers have noted this and non golfers also have noted the missing trees when they ride by some of the greens. What happened to the trees? They were cut down, that's what happened. But why? Last Thursday I spent about an hour with Conrad Broussard who is our Director of Agronomy discussing the missing trees. The trees were removed for the benefit of particular greens. If you have noticed, most of trees were removed from the Players Club and the back nine of Members. Just a few trees were removed from the other courses.


Last summer, some of our greens at Members and Players had disease and it got so bad on the back side of Members that we had to close that nine for more than a month while repairs were made. Inconvenient and expensive. We all know that air flow across the greens is very beneficial for their health; therefore, the brush and small bushes around the greens were removed to increase the air flow. But we still had terrible problems with fungus. Conrad had regional and national agronomists from Troon look at the problem and had a crew from Penn State and North Carolina State Universities study the problem as well. All concluded that shade from the trees on the greens was causing the problems. And Dr. Bert McCarty, an Agronomy Professor from Clemson University, told our staff how much sunlight on the greens was needed for our grass to stay healthy. Early morning sunlight and late afternoon sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis to take place. Midday sun is too hot for the grass to grow.


Have I put you to sleep yet? Talking to Conrad about photosynthesis is akin to talking to Eddie McCarron about fixing old computers -- both will put you to sleep. O. K., so shade on the greens in the early morning and late afternoon is bad for the greens -- that is when they need the sun. Why wasn't it bad for the greens five years ago? Because, with time, the crown canopies of the trees have grown wider and therefore project more shade. Capisce?

It's actually more complicated (light meters and winter solstice) then I have written about, but the bottom line is the trees were reluctantly removed for the survival of the greens. Conrad's job is to make things grow so cutting down some beautiful trees was not an easy decision for him. In 30 days the stumps will be removed and some smaller trees, Crepe Myrtles, will be planted around some of the greens.


KEITH (CHEF DUDE) KOPKA AND SANDY ST. CLAIR

By now, you all know that former Members Chef, Keith Kopka, is suffering with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Most of you don't know that St. James resident, Sandy St. Clair is also afflicted with the same disease. What a devastating disease! Both the Kopkas and the St. Clairs are neat couples and caregivers Megan Kopka and Stillman (Saint) St. Clair are the best. O. K., now you know this, so why am I writing about it? Because on April 16 (Sat.) there will be a walk (stroll) up at UNCW for the benefit of ALS research. Come and stroll 2 miles with Keith and Sandy and if you like, you can bring a check with you. But check or no check, come and support these two great couples.

The event is called Walk to Defeat ALS and will begin at 10:00 at UNCW in Wilmington. To sign up call Stillman St. Clair 253-7038 or Joy Smythe 805-1829. When we find out all that are going maybe we can car pool up there and have some fun. I will be happy to drive a crew of people and we will get a chance to hello to Chef "Dude" and Sandy as well. April 16th - keep the date open. We're gonna have a tailgate party when we finish, so bring a cooler with some goodies. St. James will shine again.


POTPOURRI

Men are really crude. Conversation on the golf course last week was about the sexual organs of snakes, and since snakes look alike, how does a male snake know when it encounters a female snake. It was determined that he looks to see if she has breasts. You know, I try to get the conversation on a more intellectual level -- at least up to an eighth grade level, but to no avail. When I get home from golf "the wife" always asks me what the news on the golf course was. Oy! I usually tell her something like we were discussing the difference between fiscal and monetary policies.

Tattered flag? Ann Newton will take care of it for you. She is in charge of the DAR's annual flag retirement ceremony during the 4th of July celebration in Southport. Just drop off your old flag at Ann's house -- 3805 Worthington Place.

Mimi and John Brown have some talented kids. Both Dan and Hannah are in the New Brunswick Little Theatre presentation of Mr. Toad's Mad Adventure at Odell Williamson Auditorium at BCC. Shows are on February 25, 26, 27, and March 4, 5, 6. The 27th and the 6th are matinees. Call Mimi for tickets and full details -- 910-294-1244.

Did you all see Jeopardy last week when the IBM computer "Watson" took on two of the greatest Jeopardy champs? Watson killed them. Kind of scary, don't you think?

American Idol is back on -- some great talent again. I play golf with a guy who "hates" American Idol. I asked him what he hates about it and he says he has never seen it. God, I love old men. I think he wants to see Ted Mack back. It really is not a great TV show, but the talent that comes out at the end is amazing.

Speaking of TV, I think it represents our country pretty accurately, don't you think? From the worst to the best. Have you ever seen the Bachelor? It might be the most degrading show ever on TV. It is so unbelievably bad that it is interesting. Thirty women are trying to win the heart of one man and each week he gives roses to the women whom he wants to stay. The women line up and he slowly calls their names to come up and get a rose and those who aren't called have to go home -- always in tears -- rejects. He does this each week until there is only one woman left and finally he is supposed to ask that last women to marry him. Who would ever submit themselves to this kind of humiliation? Are people so hard up to be seen on TV that they would subject themselves to this degradation. I think the world might be coming to an end. This is very hard for the coughing Rabbi to understand.

A neighbor reports losing a new head cover on the Reserve and no one has turned it in. When you find something on the golf course, please turn it in right away. I have a question for you -- when you find a golf club on the course do you give it to the golf shop or to the cart guys? I think the golf shop. If you find a head cover, towel, etc. where do you turn that in? Is there a set policy? Tennis players don't have this problem -- I love tennis players, especially the women.

We had a call from FL Saturday night that Judith's mom had to go to the Hospital from her nursing home. She has double pneumonia and heart failure. So Judith went to FL early Sunday morning. We have all gone through this or will go through it and it is not fun. Why can't we all go like Bing Crosby? He went the right way; he played 18 holes of golf and had a massive heart attack walking into the Clubhouse. Bam! Done deal. He died in 1977 and I remembered thinking back then that he had a good run, hell, he was 74 -- that's pretty old. What was I thinking? I take it all back. He was way too young. If he was at St. James he would just be a middle age Jimmie.

Had lunch today with two guys who are huge NASCAR fans and the whole time they just talked about yesterday's race. I wanted to stick a fork in my eye - I mean what is more exciting than watching folks drive cars around in a circle for five hours.

I've got to go put a TV dinner on -- talk to you all next week.

Bill McCormack
Member2membernews@gmail.com

[caco54]

Is the St James beach house closer to the old bridge or the new one?

[Stonecreek67]

Caco52+2..... when an inquiring mind like yours has a question, it should be answered post haste...... we drove it and the beach house is MUCH closer to the old bridge than the new one.... it's closer by about 60 blocks on Google Earth.

[caco54]

Then the follow up question is.....is the new bridge 60 "blocks" closer to St James than the old bridge.

[Stonecreek67]

Ok let me see if I can tackle this..... if you are right in the center of St James, I would call it just about the same, distance-wise. But if you are going out the new rear gate and over the new bridge it appears that there will be less traffic and NO traffic lights at all so it probably will take a bit less time than going out either of the two gates on Rt 211 and through slower traffic with traffic lights...... even though you are driving "about" the same distance.

[biscman]

A little morning humor for the group, this is priceless!!

MEMBER2MEMBERNEWS


I GOT THREE FOR YA

Numero Uno -- Brian Walker, Head Professional at Founders, was taking inventory
recently and opened one of the Callaway shoe boxes. Guess what? The brand new
Callaway shoes were missing and a crusty old pair of Adidas was in the box. Some
dude came into Founders, tried on the new Callaways, liked them, and placed his
old shoes in the Callaway box and walked out with brand new free golf shoes.

Numero Dos -- One of our residents routinely buys and listens to books on CD
while driving his car. When he finishes listening to a few CD's he drops them
off at the St. James Library for others to share. Nice guy. He has left dozens
of CD's and when he goes back to the library he never sees any of the CD's he
left there. So recently, he dropped off a bag of CD's, some of which were on the
NY Times Best Seller list, and this time our friend secretly marked the boxes.
Guess what? He went down to the Used Book Store in Southport and two of CD's he
had marked were on the shelf in the store. Some dude is stealing the CD's from
our Library and trading them in at the Used Book Store.

Numero Tres -- I had dinner at Members last night and Melanie Hopkins from the
wait staff told me about the missing Sunday newspapers. It seems that for the
last eight Sundays, Members has not been receiving their Sunday Star News. The
paper stays at the bar area for customers to read and share. The gentleman that
delivers the paper assured us that he has put the newspaper in the box at
Members each Sunday. Bill Franko wrote to me and told me that he was at Members
yesterday and Shane from the cart staff said he saw the Sunday paper in the box
at 7:30. Guess what? Someone is coming up to Members and stealing their paper.

You can't make this stuff up! So, be on the lookout for a dude eating the free
breakfast at the Comfort Inn -- he will be carrying the Sunday Star News and he
will have on brand new size 11 ½ Callaway golf shoes, white with black trim, and
he will have a couple of CD's in one pocket and some doggie bags in the another
pocket. Our only hope is that he uses one of the doggie bags to bring home some
sausage links and gets them mixed up with his dog's sausage links.

Someone always figures a way to beat the system. But, what for? A few dollars?


POTPOURRI

How about this weather? Spring is in the air -- daffodils are blooming and the
forsythia bushes are getting ready to burst, and the Jimmies were out walking,
jogging, biking and gardening. It's been gorgeous. It's great seeing gofers in
shorts and golf shorts again. We have had a couple of weeks of good weather, but
this week-end it turned nice. We really live in paradise -- golf, boating,
tennis, beach club, etc. And to all you folks who are waiting to move down here
-- don't wait too long, because those dreaded "Special Announcement" emails will
keep coming from Just Judy.

Aiming points and Fruit Loops. Remember a few months ago when I wrote about
touring our new Community Center and how obsessed Walt Madsen was about the
Men's room and the aiming spots that were in our new urinals? This is actually a
great idea because when men go to the bathroom they don't care what they hit as
long as they hit something. So aiming spots should help to keep stuff were it is
supposed to go. Shortly after I had written about the aiming spots I heard from
Jim Carey about what he does at his house for aiming spots in his toilet. Fruit
Loops. Yup, fruit loops. Jim keeps a supply of Fruit Loops in his bathroom and
when it is time to go he drops a half dozen in the bowl and fires away. Jim
writes, "The Fruit Loops are so colorful when they explode......................................."
Dude, in your dreams!!! Hey, folks, I don't make this stuff up! It really kinda
sounds like fun though. Except I don't have Fruit Loops -- I guess I could use
some dumb old dull Cheerios.

This Fruit Loop Jim Carey is a St. James resident, not to be confused with the
actor Jim Carrey. If you recall, I went to a party at actor Jim Carrey's house
in LA about 1 ½ years ago and at the time he was living with one of my current
squeezes, Jenny McCarthy (the other is Paris Hilton). It wasn't long after that
party that Jenny moved out. It hasn't hit any of the tabloids yet, but I am
pretty sure I was the cause of their breakup. Jenny and I really hit it off at
the party and I think Jim was jealous. Oh well -- he's a nice guy too. The
coughing Rabbi gets around!

Need a new flag? Team St. James is one of Brunswick County's Relay of Life Teams
and they are selling a 3' by 5' US Flags of Hope for $50 (tax deductable) and
this includes the rebar, PVC pole and gold cap and personalized memorial to a
loved one. Money raised goes to the American Cancer Society -- get full
information about this endeavor from St. James resident's John and Chris
Keilman, 253-3326, jckeilman@ec.rr.com

Bobby got a hole-in-one. Bobby Sherwood. He calls me on Sunday afternoon, all
excited, telling me he got a hole-in-one. Big deal. God, he's annoying! I never
write about anyone getting an eagle or a hole-in-one (unless, of course, it's
me) -- this stuff is for Just Judy. But I think this hole-in one is noteworthy.
I asked him what his score for the 18 holes was, and he told me 91. I said that
is not too bad for a 6000 yard course. Bobby said no, that he played the senior
tees. His hole-in-one was from the green tees. Bobby is in his 60's and can
drive the ball 210 yards so he doesn't need to be playing form the senior tees.
Does this hole-in-one really count? I'll leave it up to you. I vote no. Here is
the worst part. When he finished his round, do you think he went into the
clubhouse and bought a round of drinks? Hell no, not even for this 3 playing
partners. He jumped in his car and went directly home -- the man has short arms
and deep pockets and a lot of money.

Bunkers. Rake um. If your ball is in a bunker you need to go get a rake and
bring it with you when you go in to hit your ball. Don't go in the bunker, hit
you ball and then look for a rake -- it is a time saver to get the rake first,
and you will never forget to rake the bunker when you have the rake with you.
Speed of play. You finish putting out and there is a group of players in the
fairway behind you waiting to hit to the green. In your hand you have your
putter, a wedge, and a seven iron. You walk to your cart and what do you do? Do
you wipe off each club and then put them in your bag before you get in the cart
and drive to the next tee? NO. You need to get in your cart with your clubs in
hand and take care of your business at the next tee. The group behind you is not
going to hit to the green until you move your carts. And don't even think about
sitting in your cart next to the green and writing your scores down. Big deal?
Not really. But it is common courtesy. It might take an extra 30 seconds to wipe
and put your clubs up and write your scores down. Let's see, 30 seconds times
18 holes...........................

Personal stuff. Many of you have asked me how Judith's Mom is doing in FL. A
week ago Saturday her Mom went from her nursing home to the Hospital with double
pneumonia. Yesterday she went back to the Nursing Home still hooked up to an IV
that goes directly into an artery, and she will have the IV in for 2 weeks. She
is feeling better, but from time to time she tries to pull out the IV. At night
she is sedated, but in the daytime Judith will keep an eye on her for the 2
weeks the IV is in. Not an easy deal. You all know that women live longer than
men -- is this a good thing?

I have a big birthday later this week -- I will be collecting Social Security
and Medicare - talk to you all next week.

Bill McCormack
Member2membernews@gmail.com

[biscman]

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Southport and St James Plantation Updates

The town of Southport is excited because they are finally installing the long awaited sewer lines down 211/Howe Street. This is a major step for the town since it will attract new restaurants, and retail and commercial businesses.

The affect though the new lines are having are causing a bit of a stir though. In the past 60 days, 7 restaurants in Southport have closed and most are stating that the pending “Impact Fees” are the culprit. When a town/city installs new infrastructure, the costs are usually taken on by the companies that will benefit from the new services – otherwise known as Impact Fees.

For restaurants, it is common for a municipality to charge “X” amount for each seat in the restaurant. One restaurant that has been part of the streetscape of Southport for decades is “Surfers”, which is on the right side of Howe Street heading into town. Surfers hosted the local Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and Lions Club and specialized in local seafood but, when it discovered that their impact fee would be nearly $200,000, they had no choice but to close down.

Citizens of Southport, Oak Island and Boiling Springs are hoping that the rash of restaurant closings is just a passing fad. In front of Walmart for example, there is a restaurant that has stood empty for years and Plaza Ghirabaldi, a Mexican Restaurant, is about to open in that location.

For those who are contemplating a move to St James, it is important to understand what the fees are associated with using the amenities and restaurants within the community. Last year SJP, in an effort to bolster revenue required to run and maintain the amenities, instituted a new policy that greatly affects newcomers.

If you do not currently own real estate in St James and are considering moving there sometime in the future, this is what you would be facing:

Fees Explanation
$774 Annual POA Fees for Every Property Owner in St James Plantation
This covers ONLY your portion of maintenance for the common areas and guardhouse

$15,000 Initiation Fee for Signature Membership*
If you wish to use the pools, beach club, fitness center and restaurants, you must pay a onetime non equity fee of $15,000. SJP will allow you to make 3 payments of $5,000 over three years. Equity memberships are available for $30,000, whereby when/if you sell it, you keep $24,000

$90 Month Signature Membership Fees for a Non-Resident

Your monthly social fees are your portion of the fees to help maintain the pools, fitness center, beach club, etc.

$150 Month Signature Membership Fees Resident
Your portion if you live in SJP full time

$600 Annual Restaurant Fee
Each resident Signature Member is required to purchase $600 in food and beverage annually. Non residents might pay less.

* Exceptions to Signature Membership Initiation fee
It is possible that when purchasing a resale home, condo or homesite that you may only have to pay a portion of this fee, depending upon the membership status of the current owner. Every scenario is different and it is also possible to be charged a $5,000 activation fee in addition to the $15,000 Initiation fee. Always check this information thoroughly before purchasing.


To best understand these new fee structures, the residents of St James wanted full service restaurants throughout the community along with a full host of amenities, and these costs were prohibitive under their previous structure. Troon Golf, which has successfully managed the SJP golf courses for the past five years, has taken over the responsibilities of the restaurants and is doing a very good job.

In the big picture though, virtually all other plantations in Brunswick County have an average annual POA fee of approximately $800 - $1,000, which includes each homeowner’s portion of all common areas, guard fees, use of all amenities and, there is no initiation fee or membership required. Probably the big difference between SJP and all other communities is that the restaurants are open full time and cater to the residents vs. being open part time and focusing more on the golfers.