WHERE WE WORK
Based in Wildwood Crest. Working up and down the southern Jersey Shore.
Most of the owners I work with don’t live here full-time. The house is here, the project is here — they’re somewhere else. Owner Advocacy is having someone local, experienced, and on your side of the table while it gets built, rebuilt, or restored.
Pick your town:
- Avalon — new builds and major renovations on Seven Mile Island.
- Stone Harbor — teardowns, rebuilds, and renovations at the south end of the island.
- The Wildwoods — Wildwood Crest, Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Diamond Beach. Home turf.
- Cape May — renovations and restorations in the historic district, done the right way.
Same help in each town, shaped by how that town actually builds. The sections below spell out the difference.
Building in Avalon? Have someone in your corner.
Most Avalon projects start the same way: a house comes down and a new one goes up. The lots are valuable, the homes are a serious investment, and most owners don’t live here year-round. The job runs whether you’re in town or not.
I’m Jay Maher. I live and work one island south, in Wildwood Crest, and I’ve spent thirty-plus years building, renovating, and operating property at the Jersey Shore. Owner Advocacy means I work for you — not the builder, not the architect — and I look out for your interests from the first plan to the final walkthrough.
What to expect
- Teardown and rebuild is the norm. Demolition, a tight lot, and neighbors close on both sides. The early decisions — what comes down, what the new house sits on, how it’s laid out — are the expensive ones to get wrong.
- Flood and elevation rules shape the design. How high the house sits, where the mechanicals go, and what the lower level can be all run through flood requirements. They belong in the conversation before the plans are drawn, not after.
- Summer changes everything. Schedules, deliveries, and town logistics all bend around the season. A realistic schedule is built around it from the start.
- The team is assembled from a distance. Architect, builder, engineer — most owners hire all of them from somewhere else. Who you pick matters more here than almost anything else.
How I help
- I help you choose the builder and review the contract and budget before you sign.
- I review plans and selections with cost in mind, while changes are still cheap.
- I’m on site as the work goes — checking progress, catching the small things early, and sending you plain updates with photos.
- I check every change order and payment request against the work actually done.
- When a decision needs you, you get it straight: the options, what each one costs, and what I’d do.
First step: Start with a conversation about the lot, the house you have in mind, and where things stand. I’ll tell you plainly what the project is likely to involve.
Already mid-build and it’s not going the way it should? See Getting Your Project Back on Track on the Services page.
Building in Stone Harbor, with someone local in your corner.
Stone Harbor homes get built and rebuilt to a high standard, and most of their owners are somewhere else while it happens. That’s the gap things fall through — a selection nobody confirmed, a change order nobody questioned, a schedule that quietly slipped a month.
I’m based in Wildwood Crest, a short drive south. Through J. Maher LLC I work as an owner’s advocate: your person on the ground, in the meetings, and on the site, keeping the project honest and moving.
What to expect
- A mix of rebuilds and deep renovations. Some homes come down; plenty are opened up and redone. Renovations hide surprises — structure, systems, water — and the budget needs room for what the walls are hiding.
- Flood and elevation are part of the design. Where the house sits and how the ground floor is treated run through flood requirements from day one.
- A short, busy building season. Everyone’s project wants the same months. Getting in the right builder’s schedule early is half the battle.
- Details are the project. At this level, the finish work is the point. Selections, coordination, and follow-through are where a good house becomes the house you pictured.
How I help
- Builder selection and a hard look at the budget before anything is signed.
- Regular site presence, with photo updates you can actually follow.
- Selections kept coordinated and on schedule, so the job never waits on a decision nobody knew was due.
- Change orders and draws reviewed before you pay them.
- One point of contact — you call me, not five different people.
First step: Start with a conversation about the property and the plan. Tell me where things stand and what you’re hoping to build — we’ll sort out the first step from there.
The Wildwoods are home turf.
Wildwood Crest is where I live, where my business is based, and where I’ve owned and operated the Ala Kai Resort for thirty-plus years. My own home at 8009 Seaview Ave — built with me in the owner’s seat, watching every detail — is the portfolio piece on this site.
If you’re building in the Wildwoods, you’re not hiring someone who drives in for the project. You’re hiring a neighbor who’s done this here, with these towns, these inspectors, and these builders, for a long time.
What to expect
- Teardowns, rebuilds, and condos. Older homes come down for new single-family builds and multi-unit projects. The numbers, approvals, and timelines are different for each — worth sorting out before the lot is under contract.
- A tax abatement worth understanding. There may be a tax abatement program for qualifying new construction and improvements. Whether your project qualifies — and what it’s worth — belongs in the early math.
- Four towns, four sets of rules. Wildwood Crest, Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Diamond Beach each run their own zoning and permitting. Local experience is the shortcut.
- Flood and elevation, like everywhere on the island. The five-mile island sits low. Elevation decisions made early protect the house and the insurance bill later.
How I help
- Straight advice from the start — what the lot allows, what the project involves, what it should cost.
- Builder and team selection from a local network built over thirty years.
- On-site oversight through the build — budget, schedule, selections, and quality, checked as it happens.
- Closeout done right: punch list finished, paperwork in hand, nothing left hanging.
First step: Tell me the address and the idea. I’ll tell you plainly what I think — including if the numbers don’t work. That kind of straight answer, early, is worth more than any fix later.
Building in Cape May means building with history.
Cape May isn’t a teardown town. The work here is renovation and restoration — older homes, historic details, and a process that respects both. Done well, it’s some of the most rewarding building on the Shore. Done without a plan for the approvals, it’s where schedules go to die.
From Wildwood Crest, I’m fifteen minutes away. I help owners plan a Cape May project properly: the historic review built into the timeline from the start, the right team for old-house work, and someone local keeping it moving while you’re not here.
What to expect
- The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). Exterior work in the historic district goes through historic review. What you can change, and how, is part of the design conversation from the beginning — not a surprise after the plans are done.
- Old houses hold surprises. Structure, systems, and a century of earlier repairs. A good plan expects them, and the budget holds room for them.
- Restoration is a different skill set. Not every builder does old-house work well. Matching the project to the right builder matters more here than anywhere.
- Owners are often away. Many Cape May homes are second homes. The project needs a local set of eyes it can trust.
How I help
- The likely approval path mapped out early, before design money gets spent.
- The historic review planned into the schedule, so approvals and construction line up instead of colliding.
- Builder selection with restoration experience in mind.
- On-site oversight that respects the house — and reports back to you in plain terms, with photos.
First step: Start with a conversation about the house and what you’d like to do. We’ll talk through what the historic review is likely to involve, so the project is set up to go smoothly from the start.
Begin a conversation
Tell me where you’re building and where things stand. First conversation is just that — a conversation. If I can help, I’ll tell you how. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too.
Reach out through the contact page and tell me the town and the address, if you have one.