Sea Isle Title Error

In Sea Isle City, still no resolution of 63-year-old title error

By JOHN CURRAN
Associated Press Writer
January 13, 2006, 9:58 AM EST

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. -- Thrown into real estate limbo by a 63-year-old mistake, the owners of nine waterfront properties are still waiting to reclaim legal title to them _ even though they've owned the land for years.

The homeowners, who found out last spring that a 1942 mix up rendered their property titles worthless, got a boost last month when Gov. Richard J. Codey signed special legislation to address the problem. But they're still waiting for the city, the state and their title insurance companies to formally undo the damage wrought by the bizarre sequence of events.

"The devil's in the details, though," said Brian Buckley, 49, of West Chester, Pa., whose vacation home on 47th Place is among those affected.

Buckley and the other homeowners were notified last spring that the state _ not them _ actually owned the property under their houses and condominiums, owing to a 1942 deal in which the city transferred the finger-shaped piece of land to the state for the sole purpose of dredging the waterway that surrounds it.

The idea was that the state would give the land back to the city once the dredging was over. That never happened, but the city _ apparently believing it had _ sold the land to a developer, who broke it up into lots and sold them in the 1960s.

The title defect went undetected for more than 60 years as the properties were developed into vacation homes and year-round residences. A title search performed on behalf of one of the properties found the discrepancy, and last May, the state Bureau of Tidelands Management sent letters to the owners delivering the bad news.

"The State of New Jersey claims title to your entire property," it said. "The State has concluded that your deed is not valid. This title defect is a complete failure of your title."

The state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the agency, has said it never intended to seize the properties, but that they could not be given back because under state law, the state must seek fair market value to sell its property.

The bill signed by Codey gave DEP the power to enter into agreements with each homeowner under which they would get clear title to their properties in exchange for an unspecified amount of money from the title insurance companies, three or four parcels of undeveloped land from the city and written assurances that the homeowners will not sue the city or state.

The city plans to give three beachfront parcels and a vacant lot at 29th Street and Central Avenue, and is pushing the state to guarantee that the land will remain open forever.

"The goal in all of this is to get clean title to the homeowners, but there are certain parties that have obligations with respect to these properties and the fact that these titles were not clear," said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's office, which is involved.

DEP, meanwhile, must sign agreements with each of the homeowners and with the city, according to Elaine Makatura, spokeswoman.

"Once all of these agreements are implemented, we would then convey deeds to the homeowners," she said.

In the meantime, the homeowners have little choice but to wait.

The biggest losers in the case so far may be Thomas and Dolly Dowdell.

The retired couple was on the verge of selling their $885,000 condominium and moving to an Egg Harbor Township retirement community when the situation developed. Without clear title to it, they couldn't sell it, and without the proceeds, they couldn't go through with their new home purchase.

"We lost our $5,000 deposit, and they won't give it back," said Dolly Dowdell. "And the buyers for our property had to buy something else. I'm very frustrated. I wish they'd settle this."

Mayor Len Desiderio said he expects the situation to be resolved by the end of January. Others aren't so optimistic.

"The 47th Place situation has been a roller coaster," Desiderio said. "We've had our ups and our downs. Just when we thought we'd come to a conclusion, there were more bumps."