Monthly Archives: August 2008

Downtown houses120 Milbank, a nicely renovated single family house, sold for $2,465,000 on January 4, 2007. It sold again yesterday, unchanged, for $2,500,000, or 1.4% more than originally paid. While that’s technically a gain, it’s a nasty bite out of … Continue reading →

Why I won’t be going out to open houses todayBecause there’s nothing to see, basically. One house says it’s newly staged and offers a 3% commission. I hope I’m not stupid enough to be impressed by some rented furniture that … Continue reading →

No kidding – he calls it the “BS-II”OwlGore can disembark nowNo need for this modern day Noah to fear rising water levels, at least for now. The WMO says that global temperatures are cooler than they’ve been in five years. … Continue reading →

Watch out below!The Greenwich Post, my former paper and now not much more than a lightweight vehicle for advertising, has run a cheery article on those new condominiums on the Byram River (I’d give you a direct link to the … Continue reading →

For sale by ownerI was prowling around Overstock.com just to see what they have in the way of real estate listings and came across this listing for 9 Fitch Lane in Riverside . I don’t know if its seller/owner has … Continue reading →

Trouble sign?Applications for refinance and purchase money mortgages are dropping. Bad news for agents and real estate lawyers as well as sellers. Check the article for current interest rates (higher, duh) and all sorts of other useful information.

He forgot to say graceThe Greenwich Time reports that the Dinner Time Bandit has been convicted.. Good. he was a scary guy in that he broke into people’s homes while they were there,which is never a good indication of non-violent … Continue reading →

Why I’m not watching the Olympics, cont.These folks are sending old women to “re-education” prisons. Thank goodness the 2014 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Russia, where everyone will be able to breath the sweet air of freedom.

Buy my mistake, please! A builder with a lot on Mary Lane, not one of our preeminent addresses, offered a new, to-be-built house for $2,950,000 back in February. No one bit so today he’s re-listed it as a foundation with … Continue reading →

Ballot Initiative? There’s a movement afoot in Massachusetts to repeal the state income tax. There’s even a good chance it will pass, saving each taxpayer an average of $3,700 per year – compare that to Obama’s stimulous plan of $1,000 … Continue reading →

Another Job Killer Thanks to Greenwich Roundup,I was steered to a story about states, including Connecticut, that are pushing for mandatory sick leave for hourly workers. It’s a popular move (one that will almost certainly be preempted by Congress if … Continue reading →

New Yorker Article on GreenwichThere’s a terrific article in the New Yorker this week by Nick Paumgarten that captures the town nicely – its Old money (which was new not so long ago) its new boors and their flashy houses … Continue reading →

Here’s a real disappointmentThe Big Foot found in Georgia (the state, not the country – my previous post on this subject was a lame joke turns out to be a cheap rubber suit. Who’d have guessed?

Why I prefer to have my teeth filled in Old Greenwich From Exeter New Hampshire news: Core Dental first in state to use porous paving material

How not to sell your houseBuy a house for $4.25 million in the Spring of 2006, change your mind and put it back up for sale three months later and ask $5.2 million – no one will notice the difference. … Continue reading →

Slow day for real estate newsIn fact, I can find no real estate news, so instead I offer this story of riots planned for the Democratic convention. I don’t think this is going to help Obama – in fact, the … Continue reading →

Try this line out during your next traffic stopI’ve been attempting to lighten the burden of a friend of mine who’s homeless. That’s a fruitless endeavor but I was struck by what he was told by a Greenwich cop last … Continue reading →

A view from the trenches I just spent much of the morning listening to Nora King, owner and president of the appraisal company Nora King & Associates. She looks great but her news was ugly. 50% of her firm’s Greenwich … Continue reading →

They’re kidding, right?Today’s Greenwich Time headline announces that the town will now more closely monitor the spending on the Hamilton Avenue School project. This after spending $31 million on an unfinished project that’s over-budget and way, way overdue? Now they’re … Continue reading →