Where have the Democrats been hiding this woman?

Last week, the Democrat Chairman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman, was outed for driving an Infiniti while denouncing Republicans for not supporting American auto unions. Today, she claims that Republicans “think that illegal immigration should be a crime”.  Yes, she’s really that stupid, and the Democrats have her. Imagine if she were a conservative Republican from Alaska.

Fanfare for the common man

Number of government owned limos soar under Obama regime. Up 73% and climbing. I seem to recall that Nixon took eight people with him when he first went to China. Now such trips require a cast of thousands. How come?

Snail mail

So once again the USPS is bankrupt and demanding billions in additional subsidies to continue. Here are some fun facts about this obsolete organization:

80%  its budget goes for salaries and benefits, compared to 61% UPS, 43% FedEx

$41 per hour average union pay vs. $28 private sector

No layoffs, per contract

31,000 branch offices (more than McDonalds, Walmart and Starbucks combined). 80% of all branches lose money.

We’ll wait on this one

11 Langhorne Lane

This failed Antares project on Langhorne either has 16,000 sq. feet above ground and an 8,000 sq. foot basement, if you believe the tax card, or 26,000 sq. ft. if you go by its listing. Your pick. The current owner picked it up, unfinished, for $13 million and change back in ’08 and while some of us thought he grossly overpaid for the place, he went ahead and finished it and now has it listed for sale for $25 million, down from $28.

There was an open house up there today but I was reluctant to drive so far to see so little. or so much, depending on what a particular buyer is looking for. None of my current clients seems to want to live so far away from everything or is interested in this much house, even if a third of it is buried. And alas, they aren’t in this price range.

But who is? We have seen a couple of sales in this range so I wouldn’t claim that there’s no market for this house. But I wouldn’t expect this to leap off the market any time soon, so I’ll postpone my visit until its next open house.

UPDATE: Just for a hoot, check out this old (2008) promo from “The Antares Mansions Group” and beautiful “Lake” Carrington. Pretentious, utter bullshit, very much like the Antares Boyz themselves. Q’ell surprise.

Al Gore, call your office – please!

 W.H.O. : cellphones cause cancer. According to the WHO, everything causes cancer, so I’m not too worried about this latest scare report (have you ever wondered why, if everything we eat, breath and wear is so dangerous, average life expectancy keeps increasing?) Still, if it keeps just one mommy in her SUV off her goddamned phone, I’m all for it. My guess is that this won’t decrease phone usage but do watch for an increase in those toxic flush specials at the ladies’ local gyms.

Fringe areas continue to get whacked

96 Riversville Rd

This house in (near?) the Baliwick section sold as new construction in 2000 for $2.550 million. In 2007 it was re-listed at $4.149 and has been for sale ever since, dropping slowly until it hit $2.890 a few months ago. It’s reported as under contract today and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes for just about its 2000 price.

This one seems reasonable

21 Verona Drive

21 Verona Drive (off Lockwood Rd) in Riverside has sold for $2,167,500. That’s down quite a bit from its 2006 ask of $2.795 and, for this street, I think it’s a decent price. The house was partially renovated in 2005 (I think that was the date) and, although there’s still work that could be done, what has been completed looks good. And Verona, besides being a quiet dead-end street, has had a couple of large, expensive houses go up, so the street itself is improving (in terms of price – it’s already a nice street). I think the buyers did well on this one.

On the other hand, I see that 5 MacArthur, over in Havemeyer, has been cut again and is now down to $850,000 from its original price of $989,000. It’s a decent enough house but four bedrooms served by one bath just doesn’t scream “million dollar house” to me. I’m not sure I’m hearing $850, either.

Low end sale

70 Laddins Rock, OG

Asked $795, got $653.5. Seller paid $515,000 for this back in 2001 and I might have expected a sale now would have been closer to that figure, but it seems the buyer was represented by an out-of-town agent, which might explain it.

Why DSK hearts New York, hates Bangladesh

Woman cuts off rapist’s penis, brings it to police.

I should hope so

275 Round Hill rd

1,041 days ago, this Round Hill Road property started out at $8.4 million. Today, under a new broker, it’s been marked down to a mere $5.995 and its open house listing notes ” Ready to Sell!” Some might ask, if he only today is ready to sell, what the mind set of the seller was from March of 2008 until today and why he had his house on the market but I won’t – in fact, I’m going up to see it this morning because it’s been so long since I was there, I really don’t remember it.

UPDATE: Saw it again just now and it’s a very nice house with a beautiful pool and yard. Much better looking on a sunny spring day and priced millions less. Not bad at all.

637 DOM and they’re only now getting serious?

17 Sherwood

This 1787 house sits on about 2 acres in the 4 – acre zone and is thus severely affected by the late (of Riverside) Franklin Bloomer’s FAR rules. I like the house and its yard, but it is definitely funky. It sold for $3.150 in the spring of 2007 during what would prove to be the last gasp of our roaring housing market.

The buyers put it back up for sale in 2009 at $3.5 million and have slowly whittled at its price while buyers ignored it. Today it was finally dropped below its 2007 purchase price, to $2.795. That’s where they probably should have started two years ago.

Here’s a bit of a surprise

10 Indian Chase

Asking $3.999 million, gone to contract in just ten days. I was disappointed in this house because of its condition and interior trim (if it had anything special in that department in 1930, it’s gone now). Obviously, someone disagreed. Broker is related to the seller and the buyer was a customer of the broker so that may explain the quick sale, if the buyer was aware that this property was coming on the market.

Maybe we should stop training bankers in France?

71 – year – old Egyptian banker arrested at Pierre Hotel for groping maid.