Hey Tom,

...that my home has, for the foreseeable future at least, has probably lost a LOT of it's value... You could buy a number of nice homes in my neighborhood right now for probably less than half of what you could have before Sandy, put perhaps $100-150K into it to make it right, and be good to go... I'm not particularly concerned, my the value of my place has always been mostly in the property anyway, anyone buying my modest old original shore-style bungalow would likely tear it down and put up a Sopranos-style McVilla, or something... Hopefully, the value of my place will always remain a moot point, if my plan to die here holds together... (grin)

Most folks simply don't know what to do, at the moment... Everyone's waiting for the new FEMA guidelines to be determined, anyone who's looking at repairs over 50% of the value of the home is gonna have to meet the new codes... Sounds like that's gonna mean going up at least 8 feet, as far as we can tell... I'm of the opinion that Sandy will be a once-in-MY-lifetime event, I'll gladly take the chance this will never happen again to me...(Again, I'm absolutely convinced it was only the breach in the barrier beach at Mantoloking that did us in, here) But with FEMA having some programs that provide grants and very low-interest loans to help raise your house, it's something I will have a close look at... Wouldn't be a particularly big deal for me, and it would enlarge my yard considerably, allowing me to relocate stuff like my outside shed, my small boats, maybe even my car, beneath the house, instead... We shall see, but odds are, I'll simply be to lazy to do so, in the end... (grin)

since you know the Jersey shore so well, you'll be interested in this piece from yesterday's ASBURY PARK PRESS, that details the politics and economics of the development of our coastline... Sounds like the myriad of interests will still be fighting over these issues long after the NEXT superstorm that to devastate the Shore...Lots of impressive pics on their site, as well...

http://www.app.com/article/20121223/INSIDE/312230044/NJ-beach-protection

Wishing your family, and everyone else here, a very Merry Christmas, hope to see you in '13,

Jon