Sandbridge News via www.SandbridgeRE.com

Hurricane Bill & Sandbridge

2009-08-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that Hurricane Bill came and went without any major effect to our little community. About 5:30 yesterday (8/22/09) we got a extremely heavy rain. Some areas in Virginia Beach reported up to 4.5 inches in less than an hour.

On the Sandbridge oceanfront deck chairs of any weight weren't even moved by this first named storm to come our way. We are thankful as always for being bypassed by Hurricanes.

Edgar Cayce, one of America's great seers, selected Virginia Beach as the headquarters city for his business. His reason was that he viewed this city as one of the safest in regard to natural disasters.

The other theory that I have heard states that: The effect of the outward curvature of North Carolina's outer banks on Hurricane tracking shows that storms moving up the east coast are pushed offshore as they approach Sandbridge. If a storm is inclined to push back towards land they are north of our area.

Bottom line is that in general we have been fortunate. Surf's up. Later.

The Secret of Sandbridge

2009-08-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Travel writers from Pennsylvania and Ohio have found a secret vacation place they really like.

Once again, the secret of Sandbridge is "discovered". Reading these articles written by first time visiting travel professionals is fun. Things we may have started taking for granted; shorter driving time from major northeast markets, less crowded check-ins/check-outs, good supply of large grocery stores for shorter lines while stocking up for the week, less crowded beaches, are revelations to first timers use to other beaches.

How great it feels being part of such a secret place. For information on Sandbridge go to: www.SandbridgeRE.com

Sandbridge Beach Gets 4 Star Rating

2009-08-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Virginian Pilot this week reported on a national study of beach cleanliness. Sandbridge Beach and Virginia Beach got Four star ratings. Only Delaware and New Hampshire (brrrh!) got higher ratings.

See the article at: http://hamptonroads.com/2009/07/annual-beach-water-quality-report-be-released-morning

We here comments from our visitors like: "The beach isn't crowded at all", "What a nice beach", "Where are all the people?" "So nice not to have to watch out for cars driving on the beach", This is like having a private beach."

Nine years ago when my wife and I "discovered" Sandbridge we were asked: How did you find Sandbridge? That is one of our best kept secrets. To a degree it's still a bit of a secret, although the internet is helping get the word out.

Come and visit, for the day, week or lifetime. While you are relaxing just remember to to help us keep the beach clean.

What Business Model are Banks Following

2009-07-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

What are they thinking?

It's no wonder that banks need a bail out. By the way they are acting lately they'll need another bailout soon.

Recently I've personally been involved in with different banks who were trying to sell a distressed property.

In one instance a home was listed for sale as a short sale, after months of waiting to hear a response from the bank they finally made a decision. They turned down the short sale offer. This resulted in the bank listing the property FOR LESS THAN THE AMOUNT OF THE SHORT SALE CONTRACT. The house went under contract in less than a day for the list price. ????

Another short sale resulted in the bank conducting an auction. When the auction didn't produce acceptable results the bank proceeded to negotiate with one of the higher bidders. Post auction other offers were submitted to the bank, through their agent. The bank didn't foreclose, loosing over $70k in seasonal rental income. They took almost 2 months to decide to accept the LOWER of the two best offers. So they lost income, took a lesser offer and will now get to write off a greater amount than necessary. ????

The final example is how another bank decided to market one of their bank owned properties. They hired an agent from several counties away, who has never conducted any business in this area to handle the marketing of the property. Their agent changed the locks, didn't put a sign in the yard, didn't put a lock box on the property and didn't answer messages for almost the first week of the listing. My only guess is that they felt with the extremely low price the house would sell quickly. Many contract were submitted and after 30 days the bank hadn't responded to any of the offers. ????

Thank Goodness this is only a financial crisis not national defense!!

To get information on Sandbridge Beach homes and condos for sale go to: www.SandbridgeRE.com

See All Sandbridge Homes For Sale Online

2009-07-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

Local Real Estate Multiple Listing Service Sees The Light

Finally REIN, Real Estate Information Network, has decided to allow member REALTORS to easily share complete MLS details on all listings with visitors to our web sites.

Interested buyers, sellers or lookers can now see all homes for sale in Sandbridge with just a few clicks of the mouse. Same for Sandbridge Condos.

Go to www.SandbridgeRE.com and click on All Sandbridge Listings. Want to get this information sent automatically to your email box, send me an email, Charlie@Siebert-Realty.com

This is good news for sellers whose homes will now get much greater exposure to a larger audience. Data sharing is what the internet is all about, Thank you REIN board members.

Condominiums in Sandbridge Beach

2009-07-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

Sandbridge Beach Condominiums

People often shy away from buying a Condo because of the monthly Condo fees. At first blush $400 or $500 per month does seem like a large fixed cost, something you wouldn’t have with a single family home.

Upon closer inspection buyers find that homes have several expenses that are covered by the monthly fee. Property Homeowner/Hazard insurance, water, sewer, trash pick-up and routine maintenance bills are normal costs of homeownership that are often included in the condo fee. So before ruling out condos as an option take a closer look at what is included in the fee.

Another important consideration when buying a condo is what future special assessments or lawsuits are pending that you will become a party to if you purchase that condo. A case in point is the current litigation between Sandbridge Dunes owners and developers.

Considering buying a beach home or condo? Select an agent who is specializes on the community you have chosen. For details on all properties for sale in Sandbridge Beach go to www.SandbridgeRE.com

Sandbridge vs NC Beaches

2009-07-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

A recent visit to the inner banks of North Carolina gave me an opportunity to stand back and reflect on differences between Sandbridge and the inner & outer banks of North Carolina.

Beaches, the ocean, bay, canal locations and the chance to reconnect with important basics are standard stuff.

Sandbridge Beach offers some critical things rarely found in a "getaway" beach town. Year round resident families of varying ages and backgrounds bring balance and diversity. The presence of non-seasonal: employment, shopping, entertainment, world class medical support just a short drive away makes Sandbridge a year round community as well as a vacation spot. The relatively small number of retail shops in Sandbridge maintains the old timey feel a beach towns from another era.

Resale Housing Market

2009-07-04T10:54:00.002-07:00

Sandbridge Sales Activity Picking Up

Over the last 6 weeks we have seen a sharp increase in ratified sales contracts on single family homes here in Sandbridge.

The activity isn't all concentrated in one area of our community. There have been oceanfront, semi-oceanfront, north end, Sandpiper Rd. and bay/canal homes under contract or closed.

The price that seems to be selling is also well distributed. Although if there is any trend I would say it is towards the lower end of each market segment. The other trend seems to be first time buyers of Sandbridge property, families who want to have a beach house for their own enjoyment, while benefiting from offsetting rental income.

The buyers in many cases have been watching the market for several months or more. Don't under estimate the online traffic and viewings that may be occuring on your "for sale" property.

Let the Blog Begin

2009-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

For a guy in his mid-fifties keeping up with technology can be keep you busy. Over the past few months I found myself learning things through various blogs. It has dawned on me that the time was here for me to start a Sandbridge News Blog.

This is both an announcement of the blog and your invitation to ad content and comments, thoughts, questions etc.

One of the more interesting Sandbridge news items this week is last weeks Civic League meeting and the sand fence presentation from city officials. Four officials spoke to the members. The theme seemed to be more a recital of the terms of the recreation and construction easements granted by oceanfront property owners. Nearly no attention was given to the issue of how to manage the sand that blows onto and through oceanfront lots. Actually that isn't accurate they did say that clearing and maintaining open beach access ways would take more manpower than was available. Interesting to consider this task is so daunting to the city but yet they can't appreciate the challenge faced by oceanfront owners trying to keep sand from swallowing up heat pumps, back doors, etc.

One point made by several residents was that the reasons behind sandfences was sand management, not trying to keep out the public.

Hopefully a dialogue will develop and some thought will be given to how to accomplish sand management, public access and legalities.

What are your thoughts on Sandfencing?