Linda Chick

Let’s ask Linda how she feels after living at Heritage Shores for about 2 months. “Linda, tell me about what happens at Heritage Shores,” I asked. Linda and her husband Jack moved here from Suburban Maryland and they’ve been booked solid since then.

The Heritage Shore Clubs are numerous: Red Hats, Photography, Whip Stitchers, Card Club, Genealogy, Walking Club, Both Men’s & Ladies’ Lunch Clubs, Dine Out, Book Club, Computer, Pool Sharks, Quilting & Sewing, Anglers, Civil War Roundtable, Tennis, &  Military Groups.  These groups meet weekly, biweekly or monthly.

Then there are all the special activities that meet every week:  Water Aerobics, Land Exercise Class, Zumba Fitness & Zumba Gold (low impact version), Pilates, Beginner and advanced Tai Chi.

And, don’t forget the Community events:  The Lifestyle Committee is holding a Food Basket Drive from July 4-July 8.  All collections will benefit the Bridgeville area. Widgeon Way already held their block party and Canvasback Circle had one on Sunday, June 5th.

Linda and Jack are avid “hand dancers” and hope to start a chapter right in the community. We look forward to more news of their progress.

I think the first step is to find a good buyer’s agent, an experienced real estate professional that you can work with. Tell your agent what you like and what you hope for in your new home as well as in the community and surrounding area. Then let your agent schedule your visit so that you see multiple options before making a decision. If you only drive down by yourself to see that one community and find you don’t like it, then what would you do? You might decide you don’t like the whole area and miss out on some wonderful neighborhoods that would have been a better fit. Or, you might run into a great sales person in the first model home you see who works for the builder and make an impulse purchase decision!

Let’s take the community of Heritage Shores for example. When people ask me for floor plans, I ask them which floor plans they would like to see? There are several different builders and one of them, Lennar,  is no longer building new homes. We did manage to keep a copy of the two most popular Lennar floor plans and there are typically a few resales on the market. That can be very important because builders are not so anxious to build “spec” homes in this economic climate. If you know this is the community for you and you have already sold your home, a resale might be just right. But I digress.

Builders change their models and modify their floor plans to reflect changing buyers’ tastes and budgets. If you are adept at using the Internet, you can generally find builder’s floor plans online. So why do people send in requests for information and then add a notation “just send me floor plans and pricing”? I think it is really their way of saying “Don’t call me. I really don’t want your help. I just really like to pore over packages that the builder’s marketing department spent too much money producing.” Sometimes, I send out a package with floor plans if I have an extra copy, but most of the time I don’t. I am working with so many great people that do want a two-way communication, I don’t have the time to badger people that are sure they don’t need any help.

So, if you want to know what it’s really like here in Coastal Delaware and would like real help evaluating your options, this is what we do at the Active Adults Delaware Team. The only cost to you is the willingness to engage in a two-way conversation. Some take months and others take years, but we’re here for the long haul – talk to  us!

I read with interest this article in philly.com about the evidence of real estate and banking collapse in southern Delaware. I agree there have been painful times even here in Sussex County, Delaware, but I would much rather be here than in many other parts of the country. Things are much improved in many parts of Sussex County and one community this writer was criticizing, Heritage Shores, is actually a “bright spot in the county”, according to broker Tommy Cooper. As he pointed out, the community is well kept and

the community amenities are all built and open to the residents. The spacious clubhouse, the Fitness Center, Indoor Pool, Outdoor Pool, Tennis Courts, walking trails and the 18-hole Championship golf course are all functioning and running smoothly. What the writer of this article must not have noticed is that lots of the well-priced resale homes have sold this year. These buyers got a terrific deal and they’re feeling pretty good right now. To those who have been waiting, they may find that they have waited a bit too long when the resales are gone and the new home prices begin to rebound. Do you know anyone that moved to The Villages before 2000? At that time the Census showed just 8,000 people living there. It must have been a little quiet and maybe it felt a little remote. Today there are 80,000 residents in The Villages and it seems to be growing faster than ever.

Not all communities are so lucky and the fact is that back in 2005 and 2006 too many developers thought that a new community just like all the others already under construction was a great idea. They didn’t do their research and they didn’t offer anything remotely interesting. “Build it and they will come” turned out to be the wrong approach in a tough market.

But the real estate market is alive and well in many towns and communities in Coastal Sussex County Delaware. Every recovery begins at the beach and that has been true of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Buyers that had been priced out of the beach market when it was skyrocketing found that they could buy a home East of Route 1 and many did last year. There were some steals and many very good deals and most of them are now gone. Communities and neighborhoods closest to the most desirable areas have sold very well in 2010 and the sounds of new construction can be heard once again.

What this writer and many others don’t acknowledge is that the oldest Baby Boomers are not even 65 yet and most are not yet retired. Those who recognize opportunity will take action and buy now. I guess the rest will just stay where they are and continue to pay higher taxes and tell themselves how wise they are.

Lennar was not the sole original developer. Heritage Shores was developed by Passwaters LLC which was a partnership of Brookfield Homes and Lennar. Brookfield Homes remained and assumed 100% ownership when Lennar left. Providence is the business group within Brookfield that is responsible for AA community development and building. At Heritage Shores, Providence is a builder and Passwaters LLC is the developer (Brookfield). Ryan buys finished lots from Passwaters LLC and is not a partner in the development of the community.

That clears everything up doesn’t it? For those of you thinking about buying a home at Heritage Shores, what matters most to you is that you have lots of options and we will make sure you see them all. We’ll also help you compare the pricing and understand the real story behind the fees and taxes you may see reflected in the fine print. Think of us as your Buyer’s Guide as well as your Buyer’s Agent!

Delaware is a small state with less than 900,000 people! There is only so much land available for large scale development and the chances of another 55+ Active Adult Community being built with all of these amenities in time for the Baby Boomers moving to Delaware are very small. Something to think about.