BHG Clean Out for Kids Yard Sale Saturday June 4th

Better Homes and Gardens Preferred Properties will be accepting donated items for a yard sale at our office located at 105 East River Road in Rumson, NJ 07760 on Saturday June 4th between 9am and 3pm. All proceeds will be donated to Share Our Strength www.strength.org for their No Kid Hungry program. The goal of this non-profit organization is to eliminate childhood hunger by 2015. Donated items can be stored at our office between now and the sale. Please call us at 732-224-9200 if you are able to drop items off for this benefit sale. Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate as well as Better Homes and Gardens Magazine are participating in this great fund raising event known as Clean Out for Kids.

Monmouth Park Racetrack Oceanport, NJ

Monmouth Park Racetrack is one of the oldest thoroughbred horse race tracks in the country. It was started in 1870 on what is now part of the Fort Monmouth base. It was then moved to its present location in 1946. Although the racing season has changed numerous times it has always occurred during the warmer months of the year. It is one of the major attractions for the Jersey Shore during the summer. The race track is a major source of revenue for the local restaurants and businesses.

Tour of Monmouth Park Racetrack

The race track has offered free behind the scenes tours called Dawn Patrol in the early morning on weekends. They take you to the stable area, jockey lounge and on the track to watch the horses do warm ups. They have always tried to create a family atmosphere and hold special events during the season. On Sunday’s the have family fun days with pony rides and clowns. There are also various festivals held during the year. Below is a video of the Crab Cake Festival held at the track.

Picking a horse is like seeing through the fog. Just guess.

Some people handicap horses, some pick numbers, some pick colors, some pick jockeys, and some pick trainers. None of the choices is ever a sure thing. As the track announcer calls this race above he just guesses until they get closer to the finish line due to thick  fog covering the track. The track is a 1 mile oval and the back stretch is fairly far away from the grand stand area.

Haskell Invitational 2010

The Haskel Invitational is the biggest racing event of the year at Monmouth Park. It is always televised on either ABC or ESPN. It generally attracts the top horses in the country. Most of the horses that race had just competed in the  Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes.  Many times the horses entered in the race have won some of the triple crown races. The purse for the race is 1 million dollars.

Breeders Cup Classic 2007

In 2007 Monmouth Park Racetrack gained international attention by hosting the Breeders Cup which is considered the premier racing event each year. Numerous top horses participated in the race. In the video above, Curlin won the classic which is considered the top race during the Breeders Cup event. The track was updated and expanded to accomadate the large crowd that attended the event.

Behind the scenes with Larry Collmus calling a race

In the video above, Larry Collmus explains and takes you behind the scenes to see him calling a race. It really is amazing to watch him memorize all of the horses and call the race just using binoculars. You  would assume he would have been watching on a monitor that are found throughout the race track to get close up views of the race.

Celebrities visit Monmouth Park

Because of its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, the race track has always attracted famous people to view the races. There are several nice boutique hotels in the area as well as vacation rental homes for people to stay. The night life areas of down town Red Bank, Pier Village in Long Branch, and the Asbury Park shopping and boardwalk area makes the area a destination point for out of towners.

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in The Pope of Greenwich Village Movie scene at Monmouth Park Race Track

Because of the beautiful appearance of the track, many movies and television shows have used Monmouth Park as the backdrop for scenes. Above is a scene with Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in the classic film The Pope of Greenwich Village. Many years later Mickey Rourke would film most of his film The Wrestler in Monmouth County. The film’s title song was written and recorded by Monmouth County’s own Bruce Springsteen and appears on the album Working on a Dream. Below a movie starring Jennifer Aniston called the Bounty Hunter was filmed in the grand stand area of the race track as well as in the parking lot area.

Jennifer Aniston in the Bounty Hunter at Monmouth Park

Due to the budget issues facing the State of New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie has plans to lease the race track this year to a private racing entity. There has been a lot of interest from the top horse racing organizations in the world. The leasing agreements should be in place prior to the start of the 2011 meet which usually begins around Memorial Day.

With all that Monmouth County has to offer, it makes selling real estate an easy job in promoting the benefits of this great area. If you would be interested in a career in real estate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, please email us at info@bhgmoves.com

A Real Estate Career with Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate offers outstanding marketing materials to assist agents with their real estate career. Through its affiliation with the Meredith Corporation (owners of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine ), Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate agents have access to an 85 million person database. The database is divided into many sectors which allow the agents to create target mailings using a product called Pinpoint Marketing. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is part of the Realogy Corporation leading real estate brands and Cartus Relocation the largest relocation company in the world.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has embraced Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Linkedin to stay in contact with the agent’s sphere of influence to build relationships for life. In the Better Homes and Gardens Real  Estate  intranet site known as The Greenhouse, agents are able to obtain training modules on various topics including the use of social media sites.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate agents are able to stay in touch with their sphere of influence by sending out an annual subscription of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine with their contact information attached to the cover of the magazine at less than $15 per year for 12 issues.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate also has an I-Phone App which gives buyers information on homes, community, and schools.

Sherry Chris, the President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate was named the Inman News Innovator of the Year for 2010 for her leadership in directing the company to develop ways to use technology in the real estate business.

Besides all of the great marketing and training provided to our agents, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties is located in one of the most desireable areas of the country. The following is a video promoting New Jersey and the Rumson area by Mo Rocca of CBS This Morning.

Better Homes and Gardens offers a real estate business plan to help agents stay on track with their goals. Click here for the complimentary business plan.  If you are wondering whether the real estate business would be the right career choice for you, please click on the Real Estate Simulator to learn more about the business.

If you would be interested in a career with Better Homes and Gardens Preferred Properties, please contact George Coffenberg at 732-224-9200 or email at info@bhgmoves.com

Living in Ocean Twp, NJ

Ocean Township consists of several sections in the town.  West Allenhurst, Colonial Terrace, West Deal and Wanamassa are located in the southeastern part of the town. The Oakhurst section and Elberon Park  are located in the Northeastern section of town and the Wayside section is located west of Route 35. There are also many zip codes in town (07712, 07755, 07711, 07723, and 07740). The town is approximately 11 square miles.

Television talk show host, Wendy Williams, graduated from Ocean Twp High School. She was nice enough to return home and celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with the children from the schools in town at the relatively new Ocean Twp Public Library on Deal Road which is part of the Monmounth  County Library System.  The library is located in a historic building that was preserved and renovated just a few years ago. The Ocean Township School System has always been rated as one of the top public school systems in the area (#3 behind only Holmdel and Rumson-Fair Haven). Recently Ocean Twp High School was listed as one of the top  High Schools in New Jersey as well as number 1484  in the Country by Newsweek Magazine.

Bamm Bamm Bigelow at one time lived in the Wayside section of Ocean Twp and his children  attended the schools here.

Former Oakland Raider Linebacker,Phil Villapiano, also lived in Ocean Twp and attended Ocean Twp High School. Here is a video where he returned to Oakland to cheer the team on with other former great Oakland Raiders from the 70’s.

Ashley Tisdale grew up in the West Deal section of Ocean Twp and went on to become one of the Disney Channel stars as well as a star in Disney’s  High School Musical movie series. Here is an interview with her promoting her first cd called Headstrong  

Bruce Springsteen lived and recorded in the Wanamassa section of Ocean Twp in the late 60’s and early 70’s at Eastern Challenger Surf Board Factory.

00/03/69 – CHALLENGER EASTERN SURFBOARDS, WANAMASSA, NJ

Complete set details are not known. CHILD conducts it first rehearsal at new manager Carl “Tinker” West’s surfboard factory. Tinker, a legendary surfboard designer/shaper with San Diego-based Challenger West Surfboards, had come to the Jersey shore in 1966 to set up a Challenger East business. Tinker (a guitarist and skilled harp player in his own right) had recently set up a concert promotion business called “Blah Productions”. Tinker was interested in new artists who performed their own songs. It was Vini Lopez who knew Tinker and brought Bruce to meet him – resulting in Tinker agreeing to manage the group. Vini Lopez has mentioned the Springsteen composition “Jennifer” as one of the songs played at this Challenger rehearsal.

“As it looked like in the late 60’s – the legendary Challenger East factory, the major Springsteen rehearsal center and band hangout from 1969 thru mid 1971. That’s Tinker West second from the left, with several members of Challenger’s Pro Surfing Team”.

There is a home in the Colonial Section of Ocean Twp that has had it’s fair share of celebrities visiting or living there. Prior to Billy Howerdel becoming a guitarist with A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide he would stop by to play pool. A few years later, film maker, Kevin Smith, would rent the home for actors Ben Affleck and Jason Lee during the filming of Chasing Amy.

Shortly after that,  record producer, Ron Frangipane called this house, home. He played keyboards in the real band for the cartoon characters The Archies. He also produced numerous songs for artists such as John Lennon. 

Helping maintain the Jersey Shore as one of the premier music spots in the world is Ocean Twp based Petillo Guitars. They are considered one of  the best guitar craftsman in the country. Besides all of the Jersey Shore tallent that they serve (Nicole Atkins, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Stone Temple Pilots); they have also provided service to some of the top performers in the world  including Tom Petty, James Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Jonny Cash. Here Bruce Springsteen acknowledges how great Phil Petillo was.  

Eric Nies from Mtv’s The Real World Season 1 is also from Ocean Twp. His father Jack Nies was a long time NBA referee.

Ocean Township is a very convenient location for commuters. Route 18, Route 35,  and Route 66 all run through the town and provide easy access to Garden State Parkway exits 102 and 105. The North Jersey Coast Line runs along the eastern boundary of the town with train Stations in Elberon and Allenhurst. There are also a lot of national retail stores in the town in the various shopping centers located along Route 35. Some of the larger retailers include Wegman’s, Kohl’s, Target, Sears, Staples, Panera Bread, and Starbuck’s. There is also a Clearview Cinema with 10 screens.

The beach area is easily accessible between Asbury Park and Long Branch for the residents of Ocean Twp. There are  private and semi-private beach clubs in Loch Arbour, Allenhurst, Deal, and Long Branch along with the public beaches in Long Branch and Asbury Park.  The Southeastern part of Ocean Twp borders Deal Lake.

Ocean Twp has several municipal parks. Joe Palaia Park on the corner of Deal Road and Whalepond Road is host to several popular events each year including the 4th of July Fireworks Display and the Italian Festival that attracts tens of thousands of people each August. The town also has a swim club and lighted tennis courts on West Park Avenue for the residents of town. The town recently purchased the Colonial Terrace Golf Course to create a public course. There are also two prestigous private golf clubs in town. Deal Country Club and Hollywood Country Club. Hollywood’s golf course is rated as one of the best golf courses in New Jersey.

If you would be interested in living in the Ocean Township area, please call Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties at 732-224-9200 or email us at info@bhgmoves.com . You can also down the I-phone BHG App to locate shops and restaurants as well as other features. 

If you would be interested in a career in real estate, you can try the Real Estate Simulator.

Living in Shrewsbury, NJ

Shrewsbury, NJ is located just south of Red Bank and is home to the upscale shopping center, The Grove. The community is located close to exit 109 on the Garden State Parkway as well as the Little Silver and Red Bank Train Stations.  The town is approximately 2 square miles and a few celebrities have been raised in this small town.

Boston Red Sox centerfielder, Ryan Kalish, was raised in Shrewsbury and attended near by Red Bank Catholic High School.  Alisyn Camerota an anchor at Fox News Channel also grew up in Shrewsbury and graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School.

Greg Montgomery is another professional athlete who grew up in Shrewsbury and graduated from Red Bank Regional High School.  He was an All-Pro Punter in the NFL and played for the Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions, and Baltimore Ravens.  His aunt is the current Mayor of neighboring Little Silver. 

Phil Caivano, guitarist for the band Monster Magnet, was also raised in Shrewsbury and graduated from Red Bank Regional High School.

Daniel Rey is a  former bandmate with Phil Caivano in a band that was called Shrapnel . Daniel Rey eventually became involved with the Ramones and co-wrote the hit song Pet Sematary from the Brain Drain Album with Dee Dee Ramone for the  movie Pet Sematary based on the Stephen King novel by the same name.

If you would be interested in either living in the Shrewsbury, NJ area or would enjoy selling properties here as a career, please contact Better Homes and Gardens Preferred Properties at 732-224-9200 or email us at  info@bhgmoves.com

Living in Rumson NJ

Rumson, NJ has always been rated as one of the best places to live in the country. Here Mo Rocca interviews the Mayor of Rumson and takes a tour of the town.  

The town borders the Navesink River to the north and the Shrewsbury River to the South and East. Just across the Rumson/Sea Bright Bridge gives the residents of Rumson easy access to the Jersey Shore beaches in Sea Bright. The median sales price of a home is around 1.2 million but homes start around $300,000 and go well into the millions of dollars for riverfront estates. The public school system has always been rated as one of the best in the State of New Jersey. Rumson is also a relatively easy commute to New York City. The ferry-boat terminals are located approximately 10 minutes away in Atlantic Highlands as well as Highlands and Belford, NJ along the Sandy Hook Bay. The ferry service takes approximately 45 minutes to arrive at Pier 11 in the Wall Street area of New York City. The North Jersey Coast Line has nearby train stations in Little Silver, Red Bank and Middletown to take commuters to Penn Station in New York City. Another benefit to living in the Rumson area is the fine restaurants located here. If you like great water views you can visit Salt Creek Grill or Barnacle Bill’s.  A well reviewed Steak house is What’s Your Beef?. Chef David Burke owns the upscale and highly rated Fromagerie Restaurant.  You can make everyday  St. Patrick’s Day at Murray Mac Gregors. To experience an authentic Italian Tuscany meal visit Undici Restaurant. For casual dining and pizza you can visit Val’s Tavern. An original speakeasy called Murphy’s Bar can be found  in the basement of a home in a quiet residential neighborhood.

Rumson has some nice boutique  shops and is also close to the upscale shopping areas of downtown Red Bank and The Grove shopping center in Shrewsbury.  

Rumson has always been home to successful and famous people. The list includes musicians Bruce Springsteen, John Bonjovi, and Richie Sambora. Actresses Heather Locklear, Cher, and Queen Latifah have resided here. Film maker Kevin Smith lived in Rumson in the early 2000’s and below is a photo from his movie Chasing Amy where Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams were filmed at a riverfront park in Rumson. Sports figures Bobby Ojeda (NY Mets), Phil Villapiano (Oakland Raiders), Randy Foye (LA Clippers), Rob Petitti (New Orleans Saints) as well as sports announcer Melissa Stark (ABC, NBC and ESPN) have called Rumson home.

If you would be interested in living in the Rumson, NJ area, please contact Better Homes and Gardens Preferred Properties located at 105 East River Road in Rumson, NJ. The phone number is 732-224-9200 or email info@bhgmoves.com

New Wave of Jersey Shore Musicians

 

The Quincy Mumford Band is one of several bands from the Jersey Shore that are hoping to reshape the local music scene and attract national attention.

Almost there is another Jersey Shore band based out of Ocean Twp,  NJ. They recently won the Myspace.com New Artist contest and here is a video of their recording experience out in LA.



Carl Chesna and Company is another band in the area that plays at Various venues in Asbury Park such as the Stone Pony , the Wonder Bar,and the Saint as seen in this video. Better Homes and Gardens Preferred Properties’s Andrea Harbison is a singer in the band (right side of the stage)

Joe Rapolla and Joe D’Urso have created a popular show called Songwriters by the Sea. Joe D’Urso also organizes the annual Light of Day Benefit concerts. Here Joe Rapolla is performing his song at one of the songwriter events that featured Nicole Atkins as well.

 

Another long time Jersey Shore bar band is Brian Kirk and the Jirks. In the video they are performing on the beach in Sea Bright, NJ at Donovan’s Reef with Bruce Springsteen. If you would like to purchase a little bit of history, we currently have Donovan’s listed for sale. Please contact George Coffenberg for details at 732-224-0900.

Although Nicole Atkins has already become a national figure, she is still part of the new group of musicians that will hopefully have long and successful careers like Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi who began their careers in the same clubs that the young musicians are currently playing. Here Nicole appears on the David Letterman show.

Most of the musicians mentioned have a common bond with one very talented behind the scenes family based in Ocean, Twp NJ. That is the Petillo family masterpiece guitars. Started by the late Phil Petillo and now carried on by his son  David, they have made and repaired guitars for most Jersey Shore musicians as well as artists such as Johnny Cash, James Taylor,Tom Petty, and Elvis. Here is a video interview with Phil Petillo.

 If you enjoy talented-down to earth people, then you would enjoy living here. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties in Rumson, NJ can help find the perfect place to call home. Our phone number is 732-224-9200 or email us at info@bhgmoves.com If you have an I-Phone you can try the free Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate app by clicking here. It will allow you to locate the various places mentioned in this article with mapping features as well as local businesses.

Living in Red Bank, NJ

 

Red Bank, NJ is a town for all seasons and has been voted the Hippest Town in New Jersey several times in the past. If you enjoy cultural, musical, Boutique shopping as well as fine dining then Red Bank is a great place to live or visit.  Every Year Tim McLoone and his Holiday Express perform in downtown Red Bank for the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony as seen in this video from 2009.

During the Holiday Season you can have the opportunity to ride in a classic horse and carriage through the streets of downtown Red Bank.

                                              

Red Bank has a long history of ice boating on the frozen Navesink River during the winter season. Here is a video from a very snowy and abnormal winter in 2010 which saw over 5 feet of snow in the area.

Red Bank is host to the largest fireworks display in New Jersey. The event attracts well over 100,000 people to view the display and turns the downtown area into a pedestrian only zone.  Here is a video of  the fireworks display from 2008.

Although Asbury Park is generally considered the areas leading musical venue, Red Bank has its share of music as well. Many of the downtown bars and restaurants host local live entertainment. The Two River Theater was host to Bruce Springsteen’s VH-1 Story Tellers special which is also available on dvd.  Countless famous musicians from across the globe have performed at the historic Count Basie Theater which is named after the  musician Count Basie who was from Red Bank. Southside Johnny usually performs a New Years Eve concert at the venue and will be welcoming in 2011 for the upcoming New Year. This is a video from last years Christmas Show with Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi performing at the Count Basie Theater.

Brian Fallon of the band Gaslight Anthem was born and raised in Red Bank. Here they perform  with Bruce Springsteen in London.

After this performance Brian joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band for the concert dvd London Calling live in Hyde Park and sang the song “No Surrender”  

Kevin Smith owns a store in downtown Red Bank known as Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. He has filmed several of his movies in the area including most of the movie Chasing Amy. You can catch him every once in a while at his store or performing at the Count Basie Theater.

                                          

If living in or near Red Bank, NJ would be of interest to you, please contact Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties at 732-224-9200 or email us at info@bhgmoves.com

Jersey Shore Beaches

It’s been pretty cold outside lately but here are some videos to remind you of summer time at the Jersey Shore.  The summer season along the beach area is the primary reason why people choose to live in the Eastern Monmouth County area.  Several times a year due to either nor’easter or Hurricanes passing along the coast, the waves can get extremely high and make the area perfect for surfing. Although not the norm, waves can exceed 10 to 12 feet a few times a year and some hurricanes in the past have created 18 to 20 foot waves along the coast. Normal waves are usually in the 4 to 6 foot range. You can check out the daily surf report to see the current ocean and beach conditions.

Pier Village in Long Branch, NJ is a newly created oceanfront development of stores, bars, restaurants and housing. It is one of the few Oceanfront shopping districts in New Jersey and the most popular oceanfront destinations in the Monmouth County area.  The complex was created using eminent domain. Long Branch has agreed not to use eminent domain any longer as a way of redeveloping the city. They lost a court battle last year with some of the residents just north of the Pier Village development. The Ocean Place Hotel at Pier Village was recently acquired by United Capital Corp.

Ocean Place Hotel Long Branch, NJ

Asbury Park is also creating a new Oceanfront commercial and residential area through redevelopment. The boardwalk area now has many popular restaurants mixed in with their well-known entertainment venues such as the Stone Pony located along the oceanfront area.  Asbury Park recently was voted as one of the top beach areas in New Jersey for 2010. During the off-season such as yesterday (Dec 7, 2010) Bruce Springsteen filmed an up-coming show at the boardwalk in Asbury Park.

The real Jersey Shore is not the one depicted in the popular Mtv reality show although visitors from a neighboring state may act that way while vacationing here as identified by Governor Christie in the video above. The video below is a spoof of the Mtv show from Saturday Night Live. The show is filmed at Seaside Heights in Ocean County. Most of the Monmouth County beachfront areas have become family friendly areas and have moved away from the night club atmosphere shown on the reality show.

The job of  selling real estate at the Jersey Shore is not a difficult one. Most realtors  here would agree that they truly believe in their service of locating housing for people in one of the nicest areas of the country. If you would be interested in a real estate career at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties, please contact George Coffenberg at gcoffenberg@bhgmoves.com or visit our website at www.bhgmoves.com