NJ Shore Rentals Coalition, a NJ Non Profit Corporation
We are a group of concerned Vacation Home Owners at the Jersey Shore. We were brought together after learning about the taxes that the state was imposing on Vacation Rentals. We joined together to form the “NJ Shore Rentals Coalition”, a registered 501(c)6 Non-profit corporation whose mission is “To enhance the growth of owner rental property so as to contribute to the prosperity of the New Jersey shore community an business”. We have been working together behind the scenes for several weeks putting this organization together, and now we are taking our fight to Trenton.
Background:
Back in July, New Jersey passed several new taxes as part of the budget approval process. The most problematic of those is the application of both Sales & Occupancy taxes on Vacation Rentals. As of October 1st, Vacation rentals are now subject to a total of 11.625% in taxes. Some municipalities add their own Occupancy Taxes that can bring the total tax rate on rentals to 13.625%!
These increased rental costs will undoubtedly cut into every traveler’s vacation budget. At best, vacationers will spend LESS money at the Jersey Shore. At worst, they may choose to vacation elsewhere and spend NO money at the Jersey Shore. This would be devastating to the local economy as vacationers stop spending money at local businesses that depend on seasonal income from visitors to the shore.
Thankfully there is hope!
Assembly Bill A-4520 and Senate Bill S-3133 have been introduced in the legislature. These bills call for a REAL “shore rental” exception to the current tax law. Both bills have been moved to committee, but it will take time and effort to keep them moving forward.
The NJ Shore Rentals Coalition Founding Members
Denise Payne
As an LBI resident since 1997, I decided to retire from transplant nursing and live year round on the island. Looking for a project, in 2007, we purchased a long neglected, storm damage historic property in Beach Haven with the intention of creating a warm and inviting rental home for the many who visit the Jersey Shore every year. We felt it was important to work with the historic committee to preserve this 140 year old building that was originally the Beach Haven Lumber Company. Now complete, the home fits in the Beach Haven Historic District and has been well received by those who visit.
Timothy Feeney
I’m born & raised in North Jersey but like so many others I’ve had a deep love for the Jersey Shore my entire life. Whether it’s Spring Lake, Manasquan or The Wildwoods & Cape May, it has given me a lifetime of memories. Fifteen years ago I was able to realize a dream and purchase a home on LBI that I not only treasure but am able to share with other families to create their own memories as well.
Duane Watlington
Born and raised in “Jersey”, like most others I spent my summers “down the shore” from Pt. Pleasant to Wildwood. When my kids were born, my wife and I continued that tradition by renting beach houses on Long Beach Island each summer, dreaming someday to own a piece of our beloved shoreline. In 2013 that dream came true when we purchased a duplex in Ship Bottom! With two kids in college, we needed to rent out both sides at first, keeping just 2 weeks each summer for our family to enjoy. Now that our kids are about to finish their educations, we hope to retire to one of the units, while renting the other to help pay the expenses of shore ownership. We enjoy sharing our beach house with other families and have cultivated some great relationships with them over the years!
Tim Krug
I currently live in the Philadelphia suburbs with my wife and 3 kids. Like many people from the region, I have been coming to the Jersey Shore since before I can remember. From trips to Ship Bottom as a child to weekends in Ocean City and Avalon with friends as I got older, the Summer has always meant trips to the shore. We started renting in LBI about 15 years ago and hoped one day to buy a place of our own. In 2016 the opportunity to own a piece of Beach Haven presented itself and we jumped in. We’ve enjoyed sharing our home with other Beach-loving families ever since.
Carolyn Bogart
LBI has been a part of my life since I was child. I spent summers in Beach Haven and looked forward to those two weeks every year. Eventually my parents realized their dreams, and relocated to Brant Beach where I spent over 40 years growing up in the splendor of salt air and sandy toes. Meeting my husband in an off chance as he walked off the beach, we were married here and now have children who love this place as much as we do. In 2015 we began our search for our dream and a little piece of sand. In 2017 we had just about given up on the dream, but miraculously our little cottage seemed to arrive out of no where on the realtor sites. We took a chance to purchase a small cape cod and in so doing, we had two requirements for ownership. First, we needed to rent this to families who love the island as much as we do, and second, our home would always be a place where there was “room at the inn” for the times that we could be there as a family. Two summers under our belt as owners who rent direct and we love it and love the families who have come to call our house their summer home!