09/15/2026
Annie Pantoja is the pastor at my church. She has led us for about a year now, and she was our associate pastor before that, so we have had time to know her well.
And what we know is this. Annie is the heart of our church. She shows up for everyone, quietly and constantly, and between the compassion and the joyous music she brings, you feel it the minute you walk through the door. She plays guitar and sings beautifully, and the whole room lifts with her.
Annie told me about a year ago that she wanted to leave her longtime home for somewhere quieter. Over the last few months I have had the honor of helping Annie and her family search, and last week we closed on their new home, photographed below.
This was not a simple house. The tax records date the build as 1933. But, what is standing there now is effectively a new house, rebuilt from the ground up and raised to meet the flood elevation requirements in the bayfront area. That is the tradeoff for sitting a few short blocks from the bay, and for Annie it is hardly a tradeoff at all, because fishing is perhaps her favorite pastime in the world.
It is a beautiful house. But, it is also the kind of house where due diligence is particularly important; all paperwork (permits, etc) has to be confirmed rather than assumed, because what the tax file says and what you are standing in front of are two different buildings.
So we did that work. Fifteen documents pulled through an OPRA request and read line by line. A certificate of occupancy checked against the construction that had actually been done. An oil tank sweep that turned up a buried metal anomaly in the yard, which we ran down rather than hoping it was nothing.
Then, close to the finish, the survey showed the neighbor's chimney standing about eighteen inches over Annie's property line. Not a setback question. An actual structure, on her land. Eighteen inches sounds like nothing until you are the one selling the house years later and it surfaces in title. Annie's attorney drafted an encroachment agreement so that she would be protected, the property owner signed it, and it was all handled before she ever got the keys.
Annie thinks she was a difficult client, or that her transaction was hard on me. What I experienced was a person who was extremely capable and decisive, and who got fiercely funny when things got hard. I loved that about working with her.
The good news. Annie purchased the house below its asking price! That is not easy in this market.
Annie was kind enough to post a Google review for me right away. Here is an excerpt:
"Imagine a realtor that keeps a stocked cooler with beverages and snacks? That's Kerry! Imagine a realtor that is up at all hours of the night looking for your perfect home. That's Kerry! Or a realtor that truly stays on top of the smallest details? That's Kerry! ... If we ever have to do it again, we choose Kerry! Why? Because Kerry cares!"
And now I get to do the whole thing again from the other side. Her Matawan house goes on the market this month, and I intend to sell it quickly and for every dollar it is worth. I am also expecting just as much laughing on this one.
Annie's move is the kind I do most. Someone over fifty-five (Annie is barely that; lol), leaving a house they have lived in for a very long time, trying to land somewhere that fits the next chapter. That move has far more moving parts than people expect, and I have built my practice around it. I have put a wealth of resources on my website for anyone looking for guidance, whether that is you or your parents.
You will find those resources here:
shoreinsightgroup.com/senior-transitions
Or just feel free to call me anytime at 732-216-7643
Kerry Ascione | Market Analyst & REALTOR
Shore Insight Group, LLC at EXIT Realty East Coast
all my contact details are on the above website See less
