Monthly Archives: May 2009
Forget the 1929 Book of Common Prayer, we’ve got new JuJu!
After introducing the Bridgeport Diocese’s new weather consultant, Father Winstead Alphonse Snead set him loose to do his stuff. The skies have cleared, the fair is on and those crafty new Episcopalians rejoiced. And good for them!
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From for sale to for rent
Lots of high priced homes have been heading off the market to rental oblivion, which makes sense when you can’t sell the darn thing. Some that were reported today include 192 Bible Street (which was not listed for sale) rentig … Continue reading
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How much is a water view worth?
21 Willowmere Circle is listed for sale today at $7.450 million. The land is very nice – right up the creek from my own house so naturally, I wish the sellers the very best of luck, but I don’t remember … Continue reading
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He’s got my nomination for a Nobel
Okay, so you pay $1.3 million for the land this sits on in 2004, ditz around awhile and finally get your spec house built and on the market in April 2008 for $4.2 million. No one buys it. Do you: … Continue reading
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Justice Department overrules its own lawyers, drops case against bat-wielding goons who threatened black voters
It’s a new day in the Justice Department, where neither politics nor favor determines who is brought under the weight of law. If this had happened under Bush, would the New York Times remain silent? I think not, yet it was … Continue reading
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Raining on the Episcopal Fair
It’s a lousy forecast for Riverside’s St. Paul Church’s fair, opening this afternoon. I seem to remember that when I was a kid we always had good weather for the fair, a phenomenon I deduced was proof that God was … Continue reading
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Century 21 Realtors promise to help you browbeat your stupid husband into buying a house you can’t afford
Well that was the promise made in 2006, at any rate. I suspect they’re not running this ad today.
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Another Nobel Genius heard from
Paul Krugman says, why worry about printing money? It’s all good. These Stockholm bright lights keep showing up. I expect that another winner, James Earl Carter, will be back on the scene soon telling us how to soleve the problem of … Continue reading
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Real estate news
Yes, we’re light on real estate news this morning because there isno real estate news. Which is a story in itself, I suppose. One contract reported for this house on Valley Road. Built in 2008 on land purchased for $850,000 … Continue reading
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I blame Bush
Taxper’s debt soars. Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY analysis shows.The … Continue reading
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Fatal mistake: confusing fads with permanent change
Organic dairy farmers going bust as consumers switch back to regular. I spent many summers in northern Vermont and came to know and like the local dairy farmers, all impoverished, in the Vermont of the 1960s. So this story of them … Continue reading
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No, the potato goes in front!
(Old Polish joke – sorry, couldn’t resist.) Ahmadinejad hands out potatoes for votes.
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Cost per square foot
A builder friend recently told me that he’s bringing in a new custom job at less than $300 per square foot, thanks to all the discounts he’s getting from subs and material suppliers. That’s for an absolutely top-of-the-line house, with … Continue reading
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75 Dandy Drive
This 1965 house on an acre was listed last August for $1.795, went to contract April 24th and sold today for $1.215 million. 2,200 sq. feet or something close to that. Hmmm.
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User’s review of the Kindle 2
Not mine, a columnist for the New York Times. I’m still finding my way around mine but this guy’s experience seems similar to my own. Mostly positive. Besides storing 1,500 books (I have about 9) there i the speed factor that’s … Continue reading
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Guide to the mortgage meltdown
BusinessInsider has reprinted a series of charts prepared by Whitney Tilson who has a book out on the subject. If the book is as clear as these charts are, it should be an illuminating read. Check them out. And here’s … Continue reading
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45 Valleywood sales price
This house, listed for $985,000 last December, went to contract last month and sold today for $835,000. That’s not bad – 85% of asking price, but I was amused by the notation on the original listing that “Purchaser must be qualified … Continue reading
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But why? How?
Christian LaCroix has filed for bankruptcy and I just don’t understand.
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Hello, summer?
We’re just a little past noon on Thursday so there’s still time for things to change but so far this week we have had exactly four houses go to contract, none over $900,000. There are certainly plenty of buyers out … Continue reading
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Another good thing about short selling
It imposes punishment far more effectively and quickly than all the posturing and investigations of Dick Blumenfeld combined. David Einhorn has declared war on and is shorting Moodys. David Einhorn, the feared investor who made a killing shorting Lehman Brothers, … Continue reading
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