Mixing Business with Pleasure

Yes, I know the economy is in a state of flux, but buyers are clever and are recognizing the rare opportunity this situation brings. People who never thought they’d be able to manage a home on Cape Cod are discovering they can now. Market inventories are high, interest rates are good for those with good credit, and prices are at or below assessed value, in many instances.

Currently this Dixon Duo has four properties scheduled to close between late October and early November. In each case, the selling price is ten to eighteen percent below the assessed value of the property. These buyers know that, when times are better the value of their investment will increase, and in the meantime, they will be enjoying their new purchase. Some will profit from renting during the high season and yet have the luxury of escaping from the “madding crowd” the rest of the year.

Recently a couple from the UK came into the office and announced that they had traveled extensively but never visited a place where the people were so charming and the place so beautiful that they really wanted to own a home there… until now. There is something very special about our lovely corner of the world, but it’s always nice to have others discover that too. This couple from Scotland found a home that they are so enchanted with they took a detour on a flight over to Nantucket, so they could photograph the house from the air. You can just imagine how delighted they were when they came upon its picture in a book of Chatham’s history.

Now, you may say, “It’s easy for Europeans to purchase American property because the Euro and the pound are in better shape than our dollar.” That may be so, but historically real estate rebounds from a down economy, and in the meantime, it’s quite literally a solid investment, not a fragile piece of paper. There’s quite a flurry of activity here this fall, and the majority of the buyers are American. For most of Middle America, the bulk of their wealth is in their real estate. When they go to sell, if they have owned it for several years, they usually realize a nice profit. Here on Cape Cod, I guess you could say buyers are “mixing business with pleasure.”

By Elaine Dixon

Orleans Waste Water Management by Sarah Macke

ORLEANS CITIZENS FORUM
Draft press release September 8, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orleans Citizens Forum Public Information Event
Tuesday Oct. 27 at the Orleans Elementary School, at 6 p.m.

Contact: Abby Summersgill

508 240-6778, avdh@comcast.net
Ed Maas, President of OCF, is available for interviews at info@orleansinn.com
or 508 255-2222



What Wastewater Management
Means to Orleans Residents

ORLEANS: The Orleans Citizens Forum will present a comprehensive, independent review of the key wastewater management issues facing Orleans voters and taxpayers at a public symposium Tuesday, October 7, at the Orleans Elementary School at 6 p.m.
Experts from local and state government, the local real estate industry, and citizen committee members planning wastewater systems will report on all the issues surrounding the Special Town Meeting vote Oct. 27 on wastewater management conceptual plans. Open to everyone, the meeting will allow plenty of time for audience questions.
Orleans citizens have had several opportunities this year to learn about the towns wastewater management needs, including seven public information sessions and a formal public hearing Oct. 2. The Orleans Citizens Forum (OCF) event Oct. 7 brings together all the information voters need to know presented by an independent, non-partisan, volunteer organization that focuses on public participation in the issues important to town affairs.


Major issues explained

Managing Orleans? wastewater is likely to produce significant financial, public health, infrastructure and cultural demands on the town. The October 27 Special Town Meeting will ask voters whether they will ratify the broad concept of a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan that could cost more than $150 million over 20 years. Although voters will not be voting Oct. 27 on actual financial appropriations, wastewater management is expected to eventually become the largest public project in Orleans history.
Panelists at the Oct. 7 forum presenting their perspectives and answering audience questions include:
· Brian Dudley, Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection
· Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director, Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative
· Augusta McKusick, Chair, Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative and Chair, Orleans Wastewater Management Steering Committee
· Paul Ammann, Orleans? Wastewater Management Validation and Design Committee
· Walter Bennett. Chair, Orleans Finance Committee
· George Meservey, Orleans Planning Director
· Jeffrey Karlson, Owner, The Real Estate Company
Richard Hartman, OCF member, has volunteered to be the moderator.
Panelists are likely to discuss issues such as these:
? Why the presented plan was chosen.
? Alternative methods of removing excess nitrogen from the environment.
? The impact the plan will have on the environment and conformance with state and federal law.
? The likely costs to the town of nitrogen removal pursuant to the plan.
? How costs will be shared by sewer system users and non-users.
? How much homeowners might be charged for wastewater management.
? How sewering will impact public health, zoning, and population growth.
? How sewering will impact property values.
? How sewer construction might be phased-in over 20 years.
Please come by and get informed!

Public Rights / Private Property: FAQs on Beach Access brought to you By Trisha Daly-Karlson

Summertime. The living is easy. Fish are jumpin'. And right now somewhere along the Massachusetts coast, two people are arguing over whether one of them may walk along the other's beach.
Few issues in Massachusetts can be counted on as such a regular source of conflict. One reason for this is that in the face of the overwhelming desire for people to use our beaches, our laws are not very "friendly" toward beach access. This is because, some 350 years ago, our forefathers gave away much of the public's rights to use the coastline in an attempt to spur the development of wharfs and maritime commerce. On top of that, our laws in this area are complex, confusing, and- to an extent that is surprising in light of centuries of court battles- uncertain.
The result is conflict. Those who own property along the coast clash with those who want to walk along it, often without either really knowing what their rights and obligations are. Indeed, sometimes police officers and other public officials called in to deal with this conflict are themselves unclear about the respective rights and responsibilities.
The purpose of this guide is to try to help people understand the law in this area, to the extent that it has been settled. We have tried to provide simple answers to commonly-asked questions about the ownership of the coast. Our hope is that by informing the public of the law, we can move beyond needless conflicts and toward more consensual solutions to the beach access issue. In particular, we have highlighted ways that coastal owners who want to let the public gain access through or along their property can do so while avoiding liability and at the same time preserving their own property rights.
Of necessity, we can state what the public's rights are only in general terms. There are many complications that may arise in individual circumstances.

Questions & Answers
Q: "Someone told me that beaches are privately owned in Massachusetts all the way down to the low tide line. How can that be?"
A: Each state has its own laws regarding who owns the beach. In most coastal states, the public owns the land seaward of the high tide line, and in some states public ownership extends even higher. Massachusetts is different, however. The Massachusetts courts have consistently ruled that in the 1640s, we gave away title to the land between the mean high tide line and the low tide line to the adjacent upland owners. Therefore, this area- known as the "intertidal zone" or "wet sand area" is- generally privately owned in Massachusetts.
Q: "So you're saying that if I own the adjacent upland land, I therefore own the adjacent wet sand area?"
A: Probably, but not necessarily. It is possible that the interest in the wet sand area was separately conveyed ("severed") from the uplands parcel at some time in the past. A final answer to this question may require a complete title search, and even then you might not have a definitive answer. If this issue cannot be resolved by the available evidence, the upland owner is presumed to own the adjacent wet sand area. The boundary issues can be resolved in Land Court.
Q: "You said that I can own down to the 'low tide line,' but the low tide line changes every day. What low tide line are you talking about?"
A: Because the precise tide lines change daily, the average or mean low tide line is used. There is an ongoing dispute, however, as to whether you should use the so-called "mean low tide" line or the "mean extreme low tide line." The former is the average of all low tides, while the latter is the average of extreme low tides "resulting from usual causes and conditions."
Q: "How do you deal with the fact that over time the coastline builds up in certain areas and washes away in others?"
A: The short answer to this question is that the property lines move with the low tide line. Therefore, as land is extended by the natural buildup of sand (known as "accretion"), the private property owners generally enjoy a windfall. But when the opposite happens ("reliction"), the private property owners generally lose ownership of that portion of the land taken by the sea. The fact that property lines change with the whims of the oceans is one of the things that makes private ownership of this area different from private ownership of inland property.
Q: "If I own the wet sand area, why are members of the public claiming they can use it?"
A: Private ownership of the wet sand area is subject to certain public rights that were reserved when the land became private in the first place. Because the public-at-large retains a property interest in the wet sand area, the private owners' property interest in this area is similar to that of people who own private property in other areas subject to public easements (for example, people who abut town roads typically own to the middle of the road, subject to the public's right of passage).
Q: "What are the rights that were reserved to the public?"
A: The original laws that granted private ownership reserved the rights of "fishing, fowling, and navigation." Court cases have also held that reserved public rights include the "natural derivatives" of these uses. There are hundreds of years of court cases that attempt to flesh out precisely what these various words mean.
Q: "Does 'fishing' include shellfishing?"
A: Yes. That means that members of the public may take shellfish from the wet sand area of privately owned property and they may walk along the wet sand area to gain access to the shellfish.
Q: "Does the public's right to use the wet sand area for fishing include the right to do aquaculture, such as quahog farming?"
A: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the public. s right to fish in the wet sand area does not include a right to occupy such areas with aquaculture pens. As a result, someone who wants to perform these aquaculture activities in wet sand areas must obtain the permission of the private owner in addition to applicable state and local licenses.
Q: "What is 'fowling'?"
A: "Fowling" certainly includes the hunting of birds. Our office takes the position that the term also includes other ways that birds can be "used," such as birdwatching. This issue has not yet been addressed by the courts.
Q: "Does 'navigation' include swimming?"
A: Yes, but. According to the courts, swimming in the intertidal zone is included within the reserved public right of navigation, but only so long as your feet don't touch the bottom! And you don't have a right to walk along the wet sand area solely for the purpose of gaining access for swimming.
Q: "What about walking below the low tide line?"
A: Private property owners cannot interfere with the public's right to walk along the submerged lands that lie seaward of the low tide line. With few exceptions, they don't own that land; the public does.
Q: "Since members of the public have the right to fish, fowl, and navigate in the wet sand area, then they can do whatever fishing, fowling, and navigation they want to do there, right?"
A: So far, we've just been talking about ownership issues. Just as a private property owner's rights are subject to reasonable regulation, the same is true of the public's reserved rights. Thus, for example, the government may require shellfishermen to obtain all applicable state and local permits and to comply with applicable shellfishing regulations. And, of course, members of the public who exercise their public rights to use the wet sand area must comply with other laws, such as the prohibition on littering and the creation of nuisances.
Q: "I've heard people say that all I really need to do to 'be legal' is to carry a fishing line in my pocket?"
A: Carrying a fishing line or a fishing pole would render your walking along the wet sands area legal only if you actually intended to fish.
Q: "Does the public have a right to use off-road vehicles over the wet sand areas to gain access for fishing?"
A: The Supreme Judicial Court has never ruled on whether driving an off-road vehicle across private wet sand areas for the purposes of gaining access to fishing areas is included within the public's right to fish. In any event, the use of off-road vehicles may be regulated by the government.
Q: "Like many of my fellow property owners, I don't mind the public walking along my wet sand area even if they are not 'fishing, fowling, or navigating,' so long as by allowing this, I don't lose any property rights in the process. Is there some way that I can be a 'good citizen' and still retain my property rights?"
A: Yes. What you appear to be worried about is the legal concept known as "prescription" or "adverse possession." This is the idea that if someone uses your property for a sufficiently long time, they may be able to claim a property interest in it. For someone to be able to make this claim, however, their use has to be without your permission. Therefore, openly allowing the public to walk across your land (e.g., by "posting" such permission) is perhaps the best way of defeating someone's ability to accrue such a right. Posting the land in this manner, of course, would not affect any access rights that anyone had already obtained before the posting.
Q: "O.K., that may solve one problem, but how about liability?"
A: Under existing state law, a property owner who allows the public to use his or her land for recreational purposes without charging for such use is shielded from liability for injuries sustained during that use so long as the property owner did not bury hidden boobytraps or otherwise act with such "fault" that his or her conduct constituted "wilful, wanton or reckless conduct." Here again, the best way for coastal property owners to protect themselves may be to allow the public to walk across their land.
Q: "Wasn't there a state law passed a few years ago that gave the public a right to walk along the wet sand area even if they weren't fishing, fowling, or navigating"?
A: Not exactly. You're referring to chapter 176, section 4 of the Acts of 1991. That law states that the public is to have a general right to walk along the wet sand area during dawn to dusk hours. Such a right is not effective, however, unless the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) acquires it on behalf of the public through formal eminent domain proceedings involving the specific properties affected, where the private property owners from whom the right was acquired would be compensated.
Q: "How much compensation would a private landowner be due if the state "took" a general easement right pursuant to the 1991 law?"
A: The property owner would be owed the amount, if any, that the market value of his or her land was reduced by the fact that the public now had a general right to walk across the wet sand area, not just to do so for fishing, fowling, and navigation.
Q: "You've talked so far about access along the beach. How about access from inland areas to the beach?"
A: Generally speaking, the land inland of the mean high tide line is owned by private parties, just like other land. Members of the public therefore do not have a right to walk across this land unless they individually or collectively have obtained such a right, or if, in particular circumstances, such rights were reserved when the land was initially granted to a private party. Rights of access can be purchased or taken by eminent domain, or they may be acquired by long term use (e.g., by the doctrine of "prescription" mentioned above).
Q: "How can I resolve whether the public has a right to cross a particular parcel of private property to get to the sea?"
A: Unfortunately, resolving whether the public . or some subset of the public . has a right to use a given path can often be very difficult, requiring an intensive examination of the particular facts and evidence at issue. It can also be very expensive for both sides, especially if a full trial is needed to resolve the issues. As with the wet sand area discussed above, private property owners who want to protect their property rights, but who otherwise don't mind others walking across their land, can accomplish this by "posting" their permission. This would not, of course, affect any access rights that the public had already obtained before the posting.
Q: "What if I want to try to resolve a coastal access dispute through mediation?"
A: One resource to consider is the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution (MODR), an institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston (formerly a state agency). MODR promotes and facilitates the use of dispute resolution by public agencies, municipalities, businesses, non-profit organizations and citizens of the Commonwealth. MODR works with these groups to resolve disputes collaboratively and to create effective programs to prevent and manage conflict. MODR services include mediation, facilitation, public participation, consensus building, systems design and skill-building training. Services are provided on a fee-for-service basis, through highly-experienced qualified conflict resolution practitioners who are staff or affiliates of MODR. To learn more about MODR, log on to MODR’s website: at www.umb.edu/modr or contact MODR: (617) 287-4040; fax: (617) 287-4049.

WALKING EASTHAM by Karen O'Connor

Walking the beach is a common practice for many visitors on Cape Cod. Eastham offers a couple of options. You can head off to Coast Guard or Nauset Light Beach. Here you can experience a misty sunrise against the sound of the crashing waves. Or if you aren’t the early riser especially when you are on vacation head to the other side of Eastham to Cape Cod Bay and enjoy the quiet lapping waves against the shore and watch the crimson sun melt into the bay as you stroll along.
But, these aren’t your only options. There are other walks available to you. You may want to consider the Fort Hill Trail. Here a sweeping view of the ocean awaits you from the vantage point of a rise above the marsh. As you walk this trail you are exposed to a varied trail of habitats from an old farm field of thickets filled with rabbits and birds to a raised boardwalk taking through a Red Maple Swamp. You also experience some local history; by following in the footsteps of our local Native Americans. And don’t forget as you wind your way back towards the parking lot to take a peek into the Captain Penniman House, which is an old sea captain’s home from our whaling heritage.
If you want a little longer trail you may want to choose the Nauset Marsh Trail. This trail originates from the Salt Pond Visitors Center and winds along The Salt Pond and some upland areas. You will experience beach plums, bayberries, pitch pines and cedars. Here lives a large variety of birds along with raccoons, rabbits, foxes, squirrels and deer. As you move away from the waters edge watch and listen for the large population of wild turkeys.
If that’s not enough there are two little know usually quiet hidden trails. The Cottontail Acres Conservation Area is 24 acres at the corner of Samoset and Lawton Road. It is an enjoyable short ½ mile trail through meadows lined with pine, oak and red cedars. Or check out the Lamont Smith Conservation Area. It’s a loop trail through a pine and oak woods and even a blueberry swamp. This trail can be reached at the end of Peach Orchard Lane. Whatever you decide relax, enjoy and experience the environment that we have tried to preserve. And if you are still looking for more walks try a Orleans, Brewster and Wellfleet where adventures await.

FORE! by Evelyn Doane

Cape Cod can truly be considered a golfer’s paradise with over fifty golf courses to choose from. There are some with spectacular water views, some where one feels one is in Scotland…true links courses…and some in more park like settings. Wherever you decide to play, the experience will be most pleasurable, as our courses are in fine condition and offer challenges for the single digit handicapper and the less experienced golfer as well.
One of the real secrets about golf on Cape Cod is the amazing amount of golf one can play when dressed appropriately for the occasion. I have played in every month of the year. There was one January with temperatures in the sixties and golfers were backed up on the fairways! Fall golf on the Cape is delightful. With the surrounding water still warm, one can play happily and comfortably until December, while the temperatures off Cape can be a definite deterrent.
While there are some very special private courses on the Cape, I would like to tell you about some of my favorite public courses. I will also tell you about some opportunities to join some golf leagues to find great competition and also how to get to play these private courses too!
Some towns have their own public courses which one can join very inexpensively…about $500 for town residents. There is good competition at each one with club championships, other tournaments, mixed events and special groups for the men and ladies too.
Harwich’s town course is Cranberry Valley with a real feeling of Cape Cod with some views of cranberry bogs, kettle holes and scrub pines. The 18th hole is the signature hole here…a double dog leg par five.
Brewster is noted for its two Captain’s courses with each tee named for a famous local sea captain. Captains’ features holes with alternate routes of play and visible hazards. Pride is taken with the design that is in harmony with the environment.
Dennis has two courses also…Dennis Pines, which is quite challenging and Dennis Highlands which is shorter and easier. The Pines stretches to 7000 yards from the tips and winds around 170 acres of pine forest. It is necessary to be proficient with every club in the bag here.
Yarmouth has the old and charming Bass River course and the new 27 hole Bayberry Hills course. Bass River has a memorable 9th hole …a par three which due to the prevailing wind must be played out over the Bass River to successfully reach the sharply sloping green and avoid the bunkers on the right and the left. Bayberry features bent grass fairways and the “risk-reward” 15th hole…a short par five where one can go for the green in two through a gap in the woods or take the alternate route to the right leaving a 100 yard third shot to the green.
Barnstable has the lady-friendly Old Barnstable Fairgrounds course which is quite interesting and fun to play.
Ocean Edge in Brewster at Ocean Edge Resort has an interesting course with pot bunkers…interesting only if you don’t hit in one! One nine has just been redesigned by Jack Nicklaus.
There are also some great executive and par three courses that are fun to play as well as surprisingly challenging.
Chatham Seaside Links is an executive course with some of the best water views anywhere.
Kings Way in Yarmothport is another good executive course with a great restaurant in the clubhouse where all are welcome.
Blue Rock is noted for being one of the best par three courses in the country.
Chequessett Golf and Country Club is only a nine hole course but the tee boxes change for the second nine and make the course very interesting.
The Highlands in Wellfleet is a true links course and you might very well feel you are in Scotland! Twin Brooks is behind the Sheraton Hotel in Hyannis and is another par three with very good true greens.
Now as I said previously, there are fifty courses available on the Cape and just over the bridge, and these are my personal favorites. However if you would like to find out more information on these and all the others, please go to my website: http://www.chathambytheseawithevelyn.com/ and you will find telephone numbers and directions to all of the courses…yes…all fifty of them! Click on the golf course key at the right side of the home page to find out all you ever wanted to know about all these courses.
And…..here is some information about some good competition you may be interested in. There is a Pro-Am league for men with lower handicaps that plays every week at a different course during the off season. For the ladies, if you have a handicap index of 23 or less, you may join the Cape Cod Womens’ Golf League where the ladies may play just about every course on the Cape from April through June and then in September through November. Naturally you must have a verified handicap index for both of these organizations.
Have you been waiting for the secret of how to play on some of the private courses? Here it is! Just about all of these clubs have charity events and for only a little more than the usual greens fee, you may play in one of these events, compete for prizes and help a local charity too!
Eastward Ho! sponsors the Cape Cod Hospital Tournament in June.
The Ridge Club has a tournament for Children’s Cove in the Fall.
The Wianno Club has a tournament for the local library.
The other private courses also sponsor charity events and if you carefully read the Cape Cod Times in the Sports section under upcoming events, you will see these listed. Also, if you are a Chatham resident, you may play in the Chatham Residents’ Tournament at Eastward Ho! in the early Spring or late Fall.
If you are a serious golf aficionado…do go to http://www.golfclubatlas.com/ and read about the best courses not only in our state but all over the world.
I hope you have enjoyed a look at some of the wonderful courses on the Cape. If you have any questions, please do be in touch!

More About Short Sales

SHORT SALES

Contributed by Gary Kersteen, Realtor (508)255-4949 x731

What Are They?
A short sale is the sale of property at a price that would net insufficient monies to cover outstanding liens on the property, and the owner cannot cover the shortfall from other assets.
It does NOT simply mean that the owner may realize a loss on the transaction relative to purchase price – the implication of the term is that there are insufficient owner funds to cover liens.

Why Would One Do a Short Sale?
There are any number of reasons people may find themselves in such circumstances that would require this. In a down real estate market any property may, at any given time, be valued by the “market” at less than the purchase price. Persons may have borrowed the full purchase price of the property. Subsequently, it may be that they cannot afford their variable rate mortgage because it has increased dramatically, or perhaps the owners must move because of employment (or lack of such); in such cases they cannot refinance because the appraisal will no longer cover the value of any loan nor will the proceeds of any sale in the current market cover the termination value of the mortgage. One recourse in such situations is to “bite the bullet” and sell the property “short” of its purchased value and negotiate with the financial institution for friendly terms to release the lien.

How to Think of a Short Sale… NOT Bankruptcy!
When a property owner chooses to proceed with a Short Sale, they remain in control of the process; they still own the property; they still have a mortgage. But, in order to be free of the property they need to be able pass title deed- and to do so requires the release of existing mortgages and liens. So, they need to negotiate other arrangements with the financial institution who might then release the lien and title. So think of “Short Sale” as a title issue… not foreclosure.

What Is the Process?
A property owner puts the property up for sale at current market value. A realtor must do a thorough and well documented comparative market analysis since the banks will want to review this along with any appraisal they would perform. In the description and/or comments sections of the listing, it should be clearly and straightforwardly stated that this is a Short Sale and that all parties must agree to the terms and timing associated with this process.

Upon receipt and acceptance of an offer (owner selects the best offer to his liking if there are multiple offers), the owner’s attorney will forward to the bank the offer, a letter of explanation and whatever other documentation the banks require. The request may solicit complete forgiveness of the loan, or it may request an unsecured long term loan for the balance due perhaps at no interest, or some other arrangement.

The banks process these Short Sale requests on a first come-first served basis. There is no expediting. The bank may negotiate through the owner’s attorney for better terms, pricing, commissions, etc. Upon approval by all three parties to the terms, the transaction usually must take place in very short order – in a matter of a few weeks typically.

What Specialties Should Be Involved?
It is extremely important to use attorneys (on both sides of the transaction) who have experience with Short Sales. While it may seem straightforward, experience eliminates problems and enables negotiations to proceed more smoothly; knowing the institutions and the administrators facilitates such transactions. Ask your prospective attorney if they have such experience.

What Does It Mean for the Buyer and the Seller?
Short Sales may provide good property value because of the circumstances of the seller. But it also requires patience and flexibility on the part of the buyer since the timing as well as the final terms of any agreement must be approved by the lending institution. Such financial companies are burdened with these requests, the backlog is full and the lead time may be lengthy. These may or may not be acceptable to a buyer, but everyone should be aware of these factors up front.