Yes, I agree. How about the assessed value that most of us have been paying HUGE property taxes on for years?

Yep, me too! Living on a fixed income I don't have many choices. Once the government dictates where you can live and how you live my property values have plummeted. Therefore, its only fair the government give me the assessed value and I'm out of here!

Next will be roof snow load limits.Might as well take all the shore.

Your thinking is all wrong here ....First the banks loan you the money to buy your home they want to protect loan money by making to buy insurance .If you had payed off your home you could just drop your insurance .This isn't our governors fault he is protecting New Jersey .The last thing towns want is to buy your property ,they lose a rateable ,which props up taxes for everyone . This is one big lesson never be in a position to let some one else control your life ...you'll lose every time

oh you silly republicons too bad Mitt didn't win

Dentss, even if you pay your house off, the people who buy it from you will have to pay cash or be under the rules of FEMA flood maps.

The property owners who are still paying their mortgages and real estate taxes.

In case of bad weather, can we have a alternative date for the Belly Busters meeting.

And I have put a tee shirt on Zazzle for $14.95 that says "V zone = Death for western shore of Barnegat Bay. I will make $1.50 per shirt which I promise you will go to those most in need in our battered and ignored area. The shirt will be available in 24 hours at zazzle.com I listed it in a bunch of obvious categories such as "disaster" "V-zone" "Barnegat Bay" "Death of the Middle Class" among others.

I have little faith in the buy outs because a friend of mine in Pa. spent over 3 years stressed out to the enth degree by the waiting and waiting ... just for an answer.

The buyouts pave the way for the multinational corporations to start developing the huge hotels on the beach followed by an expansion of casino gambling . Anyone should see that.

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME,IF YOU LIVE IN A FLOOD ZONE,YOU CAN NOT DO NOTHING ABOUT IT.MOVE OR IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.RAISE YOUR HOUSE.

Why put your house on piles.You have to jack it up,move it,drive the piles,and put house back. Option #2 Jack house up and put 8" to 12" thick concrete walls under it.Put house back down ,much cheaper.

sue would have liked to have attended that meeting on sat but living in north jersey for now with the snow any chance of another meeting

foggy did it flood?
or

do you expect the rest of us to pay every time you get flooded out?

To republicon piney:

It did flood and our house was built to NC outer banks building codes with a few thrown in from Florida's coastal codes. Our house proper stayed bone dry and we stayed in it through the storm because it is better built than any motel around here.

We have not filed a FEMA claim but as a rare survivor of a devastated area, I am spending my days and night researching the many tangled webs my neighbors are confronting and are close to dropping from. I do not expect you to pay for me at all but the government put itself into the flood INSURANCE policy business and took my neighbor's premiums for decades only to find out after the storm that in return for those funds, they were being offered a form to apply for an SBA (???) LOAN.

Problem is they have to continue to pay their mortgages and tax bills and can look forward to adding the SBA loan improvement payment to their mortgage. And we who are on a shallow bay have now been tarred with FEMA's worst brush - that of a flood zone V member. So with rebuilt houses folks in that zone are looking at insurance premiums of at least $7000 a year which will be piled onto the higher property taxes those who rebuild will be told they have to pay for their new, improved palaces.

Move on piney and pray you don't have a forest fire any time soon.

Any info on the ICC money ???

good idea!

Another tee shirt for later:

Wave velocity > money velocity (even on a shallow Bay).

you need to move the decimal over one spot....... .05 cents on the $1

the more I read into this, I believe that the tectonic plates shifted a lot. which only means more flooding coming - and they have all the suddent.. someone is not telling someone the whole truth. something shifted.. waters suddenly are rising on the jersey coast line, causing more local flooding.. ask yourself, was it like this over a year ago.. nope.. suddenly there's a change.. something happend.. FEMA recently was working on their maps for some reason..and they were in a rush to do it..? before the storm hit.. why? maybe a buy out is a good idea. for those who live along the water.?

All that for a five minute visit here where they guy must have said fifty times, I have to get going. Lots to do. He didn't pay one bit of attention to this house and admitted he was a FEMA contractor though sometimes he is a Public Adjustor. Hello.

wow that's cheap, my insurance agency told me they get $750 a day so don't feel sorry for them by any means.

Republicans don't believe in climate change but they did support a plastic man dressed in magic underwear

We are not supposed to be hit by the storm.

I wouldn't trust anyone at this point.

Work on our Governor who has made some awful decisions that are taking down this area. He is trying to dump all of his responsibility onto FEMA so he can keep his fund raising appointments for both his next election and then the following one which he believes will land him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

If he doesn't buckle down he is going nowhere because anyone who has just barely come in contact with the Sandy mismanagement will certainly not be casting votes for him to move on up while we sink down. The guy just doesn't get it and is so short sighted it's painful to watch how his mind works.

"Stop FEMA Now" grassroots uprising!
Meet 'n' greet this Saturday 2/9/12, 3-4 pm (TOMORROW)
Belly Busters, 708 Fischer Blvd, Toms River NJ

Let's get together and discuss and strategize how to rectify FEMA overkill (flawed maps, ridiculously high elevation mandates and usurious annual insurance premiums will BANKRUPT the Shore and make it a ghost town - except for the wealthy).

How about a class-action lawsuit? Petitions to White House, federal and/or state legislators? Letter-writing and email campaigns to news media? Rallies on steps of Statehouse and Congress? Mass property tax appeals, because our homes are worth less than half of pre-flood values?

Our 2 US Senators and state legislators are starting to notice our outrage and helplessness against FEMA, the insurance companies and do-nothing bureaucrats and politicians. Let's build on that momentum, and get results to really save the Shore from this "disaster after the disaster."

Please join us for an hour Saturday. "United we stand, divided we drown in debt!"

We expect press and TV coverage, so please bring a neighbor. In unity there is strength.

Somehow I don't think you will be the very last person because the Governor's summer mansion is on that barrier island and I just feel so sure that that one residence will survive the elimination of the middle class from this area of the NJ shore. On second thought, he isn't a member of the middle class.

Christie has very little say in this ...he say's NO we get no FEMA money or NO flood insurance ...if we go along with the maps FEMA gets our money and we get to keep our insurance ....so what's the choice here

the grass is not always greener on the other side JO........do you have any idea how bad those 26YO kids have been fleeced by the college loan bubble........those kids signed up for a life of slavery

And really so many jobs do not require a college degree. Stay away from large companies that hold that very incorrect view. High school diplomas from the past are interestingly more valuable than many of today's dumbed down college degrees and smart employers know that.

Did you vote for Mitt?

Are you from Stafford @Karen M?

you know karen, just a few years ago. $18.00 an hour was decent money for $37,440.00 of an income. after taxes, you were looking at $2,700.00 take home. Today, a person needs $26.04 an hour just to earn $50,000.00 after taxes, just to bring home $33,500.00 which is only $2,791.68 a month after taxes.

How is anyone going to afford to do anything in this state. don't people understand, that there is no more money for people anymore. as you said, your 52 and your husband is 58, god forbid either one of you's lost your jobs, will you be able to replace your income at the same level or less.? if you have a degree, you stand a good chance, with out, you'll be searching for months. i talk to a lot of folks, who are between late 40's and mid 60's. Since Sandy, they are quite challenged by all of this. ? someone wrote a while ago, he said - "that it's everyones problem; not just those who've lost homes; they were the lucky ones..." at first, I didn't agree with him,, now,, the more I read, the more I listen (at my age) the more my eyes are opening, we sure have some serious issues a head. My wife and I got lucky, we bought a unit for $60K in cash, taxes here are low for seniors, our cars are 10yrs old and running well, we've budget our cost to $1,500 a month including insurence, utilities + cost of living. We both have an income close to $4,000 between us.. But mind ya, thats today. what happens in 5 yrs when cost goes up. We are moving out of NJ this year.

The reason I ask @Karen M, is that for the second time today, I heard of a FEMA official stating that there is a good possibility that mainland properties with current BFE's of A with ABFE's of V becoming A's again when the preliminary FIRMs are released in August(supposedly). I find it very difficult to believe anything that I hear these days, but I do believe that this statement was made by a FEMA official as my source is credible and he brought it up. At least there is a glimmer of hope for those with your set of circumstances.I know that doesn't begin to address the ripple effects or the despair of so many,but maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Suffice it to say that August seems like an eternity from now. Thought you would like to know.

@proud, I am going to appeal my V zone only because I am the very last lagoon in Village harbor thats in the V zone. Even though I am on a lagoon, I am still more than a mile from the open bay and 4 miles from LBI so it doesn't quite make sense to me how i would be able to sustain a 3 foot wave, yet on LBI itself the interior part of the barrier island can be considered an AE zone. They are right on top of the oceanside yet, the odds of them getting a 3ft wave is less than me, who is 4 miles away. Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

@JO, unfortunately, we are taxed to death here in Jersey and with the cost of living going up and wages going down you can't make ends meet. I'll give you an example. My daughter is 30 and she graduated in 2006 with a teaching degree, she ended up working leave replacement jobs, and then the economy tanked and schools cut everything so she couldn't find anything. She got discouraged and stopped looking. First off, its expensive to send out resumes and its extremely time consuming if you are applying for a teaching position, alot of paperwork involved. She ended up going back to school part time. Needless to say, she's been working 3 part time jobs. She makes $9.00 an hour selling watches. She also nanny's, which is what she did while she went to college, and she worked from home doing social media marketing for $12.00 per hour. As you can see, even with her college degree and she is quite smart, she was a special ed teacher, she couldn't find a thing. What aggravavtes me is the fact that the people who offer these positions, especially the watch store, which by the way is in the Bridgewater Mall, has the nerve to pay a 30 year old $9.00 an hour. Its not good out there for anyone, whether you have a degree or not. I nanny for great people and I was unemployed for 4 years and believe me, I would never in a million years think that I would be a nanny for anyone, but desperate times call for desperate measures. But you know what, they are the greatest people ever.

MOVE SOUTH

Ron, I never flooded in the past and I its my perogative to complain, its called a free country last time i checked. I pay for my flood insurance every year and to be honest, I don't need to, because my house is paid for, but I want the insurance because thats what its there for, in the event something does happen. However, my gripe with the maps is the inconstancy with the zone designations as I explained in my post to @proud. Also, its the fact that I did sustain 50% damage and now I am being subjected to raising my home up on pilings. Do you have any idea of how much it costs to raise your home on pilings? I just received my first estimate and it was for $73,480.00 and thats without engineering fees, permits, fill, and the architect drawings which will probably amount to another $25,000 dollars, so you see why people are up in arms. Its not a cheap undertaking and people are already strapped financially by the last 4 years of a crappy economy, so to have to spend this kind of money on a home whose value has already dropped drastically is just not worth it.

The last time i saw the water raise as high as it did was hurricane Donna, in the 60'The Government never did anything like this.But thy were more American than.

Believe me I am very aware of what is going on and to me it's foolish to pay for college degrees that aren't very well respected while ignoring the fact that many older folks actually know how to read and write and spell and do math and best of all, think.

And most of them don't think the world owes them a living and are grateful for opportunities. When I see big box stores hiring only college graduates, I stop shopping there because it says their philosophy doesn't mesh with mine.

and more than ever , it is not WHAT you know, but WHO you know

Unfortunately with NJ's highest in the country's taxes nobody wants to buy in the state anymore ....we are once again the # 1 MOVE out state ...http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-states-people-are-fleeing-in-2013-194007689.html

Isnt this Ocean County ?
Republicons are for big business and low wages and no health benefits and you ppl voted for the Corps are ppl too
Gilmore got a dead guy elected

@Dentss Dunnagun do you blame people for wanting to leave. I don't know how any young couple just starting out can afford to live here and raise a family. Between two houses in NJ I pay over $16,000 a year in taxes and for what? I just don't get it. I tell my husband that we're crazy. We could move to Florida where the weather is great and the cost of living is so much better. We were in Ft Lauderdale last March and I have to tell you that if I didn't have my mom living next door to me I would move in a heartbeat. But, right now, I have an obligation to take care of her, the same way she took care of me, so I stay.

Maybe he knew something we Didn't that's why he Didn't support FEMA.
I'M SURE the buy out will be fair market value RIGHT?? just like what was offered to the people in Long Branch that their homes where basically taken from them ( some got nothing) & the ones that did Got 150,000-100,000 or less for beach front property in NJ

That is an idiotic statement to make. We could say the same thing about the people who live in Little Ferry who have suffered repeated flooding, or Sayerville, or Pompton Plains, Pequannock, Hoboken or whomever else you'd like to lump into that category. To say don't live near water is stupid. I have a friend who doesn't live near any water, yet during Irene, he got flooded. The governement paid him $15,000 dollars to repair his home, and you know why, because the power went out and his sump pump wouldn't go on, so he flooded. What should we tell him? Should he had been better prepared with a generator and maybe he wouldn't flooded? Yet my tax dollars went to repair his flooded home. If you want to blame anyone, blame the towns for allowing these homes to be built, but to blame people for living near the water is assanine. Maybe we should tell the people in parts of California don't live near a forest because you could be suspectable to a wildfire and I really don't want my taxdollars having to bail out people when they know that the risk of wildfires in California is extremely high, especially given the fact that the occur quite often. In the past 3 months they have been given 144 million through state and federal disater assistance to help with their recovery, should we complain? I'm sure your happy when your tax dollars are going overseas to support regimes like Pakistan and Egypt. Oh, but thats ok, right.

@Karen M

OK you think my statements are asinine. I stand behind what I state. AND I think your statements are long winded and boring.

AGAIN>>>>>>>My taxdollars have no business buying out anyone...YOU wanted to live on the beach, well live with your decision. Not my problem.

@I have spoken, Karen M does not live "at the beach". If you read her comments as you allude to, you would know that. If you think that properties on the "beach" are the only ones being affected by FEMA via the Biggert-Waters Act 2012, you are quite mistaken. An unprecedented number of tax appeals and abandonments will drive property values down and local taxes soaring. Foreclosure rates will reach heights that the housing bubble couldn't even come close to touching. Those that could afford to pay usurious flood insurance premiums will deplete their disposable incomes and small businesses will be failing left and right. The ripple effect of this bogus legislation and the impracticality of elevating thousands of homes where it is neither logistically or financially sensible to do so ,affects everyone--NOT just those "at the beach". Lastly, Karen M's comments are both articulate and based on facts, not chatter. She has done her due diligence, and is justified in expressing herself, and frankly, has plenty to complain about. So do you. You just don't realize it yet.

www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

@proud

To make you happy....AGAIN>>>>>>>My taxdollars have no business buying out anyone...YOU wanted to live in an area the floods, well live with your decision. Not my problem.

Happy Now.....

That's where you are wrong @I have spoken, it IS your problem. Wait until you see your property tax bill. It all start to escalate this year; compound itself next year; and soar in two years and on and on and on...

http://www.facebook.com/StopFemaNow

@ I have spoken.........you sound like a jealous person who would like to live at the beach but cannot afford to........mean and angry

@proud....My taxes went down with my successful appeal and then I did a senior tax freeze. So I'm not seeing any tax increase. Matter-of-fact. That $1,000. TR sent me bought me 2 tickets on a cruise.

@Karen Bolden I live 2 blocks from the beach. I don't have to see it to know it's there. I also missed the FEMA map by 2 blocks. I took no damage what-so-ever...what do I have to be jelious of? Because I had no damage.

I'm pissed that the taxpayers are gonna get stuck paying the bills to build dunes for for the elitists and private beaches. Karen for not affording it....YEA right....You would love to see my bank book and investments. MORON!!!!

@I have spoken, now you are not being truthful. Your "story" doesn't add up. Just out of curiosity,exactly what beach is it that you live two blocks from? Do tell.

That's a good reason to go to today's protest rally:

"Stop FEMA Now"

It's a grassroots uprising!

Meet 'n' greet TODAY - Saturday 2/9/13 - 3-4 pm
Belly Busters ResTaurant, 708 Fischer Blvd, Toms River NJ 08753

Disgruntled Jersey Shore property owners will strategize how to rectify FEMA overkill in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

They say the government has made rebuilding extremely hard and prohibitively expensive for thousands of flooded residents.

"Flawed maps, ridiculously high elevation mandates and exorbitant annual insurance premiums will BANKRUPT the Shore and make it a ghost town - except for the wealthy".

How about a class-action lawsuit? Petitions to White House, federal and/or state legislators? Letter-writing and email campaigns to news media? Rallies on steps of Statehouse and Congress? How about mass property tax appeals, because our homes are worth less than half of pre-flood values?

Our 2 US Senators and state legislators are starting to notice our outrage and helplessness against FEMA, the insurance companies and do-nothing bureaucrats and politicians. Let's build on that momentum, and get results to really save the Shore from this 'disaster after the disaster.'

"United we stand, divided we drown in debt!" ------ Visit Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

sound like @ "I Have Spoken" is a jealous, angry person who would like to live "at the beach" but can't afford to

There is no harm in admitting you need a little help. A half a pill goes a long way. Its a great sleep inducer if your having trouble sleeping.

The proverbial Mother's little helper@JennyJ?

so is a swift crack to the back of the head Karen M

Several hundred thousand dollars and a couple of decades later

I wish my house would burn down.

My home is already gone

www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

Nice job. People are frustrated by the lack of action by insurance companies and our government and you manage to work in the race card.
I hear there's going to be a big protest in a park on Wall St. Why don't you go and set up a tent?
You have no idea how much waste, fraud and abuse there is in our entitlements. Talk about clueless.

Swamps, hence the name...Clueless

Yes, @Michael Capo, Menendez and Lautenberg threw there constituencies under the bus with this one. At least they are starting to back peddle.I would not hold out any hope for them admitting that they were flat out wrong. That's no reason not to keep the pressure on them as well as every other elected official in the pipeline. With the exception of Pascrell (who did not vote) every New Jersey Representative from the house voted for the Biggert-Waqters Act-2012. Let them know that they are nailing the coffin shut on the economy of our region region if the Act is not amended. Tell everyone you know to do the same and join:

www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

The Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (HR4348) is the bill that will raise all of our flood insurance policies and cause financial hardship for thousands of New Jersey citizens. Guess what two New Jersey Senators voted in favor of this bill? http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00172

@I have spoken, I know Snug Harbor. What a nice neighborhood. I'm not quite sure what "beach" that you are talking about, though. Would you let me know . Not knowing your exact address, I was unable to identify your proximity to the waterfront. One thing that did occur to me as I viewed the satellite imagery of Snug Harbor is how remarkably similar it is to that of Karen M. I do recognize your frustrations with taxes. I hope that your senior tax freeze(PTR) won't be frozen at an assessed rate far above it's it's true fair market value. The reason that I say that is because property values in your area are tanking as we speak. I also understand that you are concerned regarding the allocation of tax dollars (federal & state I assume) used for property purchases. Most likely, you felt the same way when President Roosevelt signed The Antiquities Act into law. Good luck to you and I am rooting for you that the Biggert-Waters Act-2012 does not significantly diminish the vast wealth that you have amassed.

OK,@I have spoken, at least we're on the same page. Now, you know that you were mistaken when you castigated @Karen M., and I do believe you owe her an apology. You needn't apologize to me, as I have a thick skin and am impervious to rudity.While, I agree that the Daily Beast may not be the most credible source of information, it's a start. There are numerous sources that will confirm what you already now know.It should be reflected inyour research. Again, you needn't thank me .As to your comment, "IF property values go down again", I don't think that is really a question in point. It's already happened and will continue to do so. You can thank the Biggert-Waters Act 2012 for that. It would be unnacceptably forward for me to tell you what to do @ I have spoken, but if it were me, I'd get out the quill and feather and start writing. I'm confident that you're up for the chore. Heck, when you're through with the paperwork a $500 cruise awaits you. Bon Voyage.

Good point. Romney wanted to bring it to the state levels but obama lied and told everyone he wanted to get rid of all emergency assistance. Here we are dealing w/ FEMA and those who voted for obama are complaining.