So who spilled the beans on this one?

Hasselbeck residence as photographed and approved for release by the Greenwich Association of Realtors

The Daily Mail is out with a story that a Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Hasselbeck have bought the house at 62 Brookridge Drive (corner of Fairfield Road).  Nothing new here, as it was reported as under contract back in February, but here’s the fun part: it is exactly this sale that I reported June 6 that caused such consternation at the Greenwich Association of Realtors and caused them to threaten me with sanctions for violating GAR rules. I was circumspect; not so the Daily Mail, which not only disclosed the identity of the buyers but used pictures of the house that, while credited to Trulia, are in fact the exact pictures used in the GAR’s  listing and are thus, according to my new friend Theresa at the GAR, “propriety information” that cannot be disclosed to the general public. I smell a rat.

Who passed the information along to a London paper? Could it be one of the brokers involved, looking for free publicity? Beats me, but I expect that the GAR will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate, and I’ll be holding my breath until they come back with a report.

The house, by the way, sold for $4.2 million. Ogilvy’s estimated its value at $5.5 million when they first listed it in 2011, while Zillow figured $3.051 million and Trulia guessed $4.764. Doesn’t anyone here know how to play this game?

OMG, it’s that time of year already!

 

GAR Realtors of the Year

World Naked Bike Ride Day tomorrow. It’s in San Francisco this year (surprise!) starts at 11:00. With the three hour time difference, you can probably still get there in time for the kick-off.

It seems that the participants are protesting something but their vagueness makes the Occupy Morons look like thoughtful philosophers. Oh well, who doesn’t like a sunny day?

The NEA spreads its poison, even in Montana

Will James must be strapping on his six shooter up there above Big Sky country.  Montana high school principal rescinds invitation to Gerald Molen to give commencement speech because of Molen’s “right wing views”.  Molen, a former Marine and producer of Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park,  had driven 90 miles to address the high school graduates but the principal told him to get lost.

Molen has spoken at dozens of schools and never accepts a fee. When one is offered, he asks that it be donated to the Shoah Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Spielberg and dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust.

When speaking to students, Molen’s presentations usually invoke Oskar Schindler, who is credited with saving 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust and is the subject of the Oscar-winning 1993 film that Molen co-produced with Spielberg and Branko Lustig.

For the Ronan students, Molen planned to use Schindler as an example of what courageous individuals could accomplish, and he also planned to ask them to “imagine your future is a movie. Forty years from now, you’re writing a script about your accomplishments. What would that script look like?”

“It was a totally apolitical speech,” Molen said.

Earlier today our Golfer in Chief said the way to fix our ailing economy was to hire more  public employees. I think we should be firing them instead, and I now know exactly where we should start that process.

News Dollar Bill could use, if he could read

Official Greenwich Democrat Volvo

Wisconsin: How to remove bumper stickers, you loser. ”And there will be a great wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Well here’s a tough one

I did NOT have sex with that woman!

Who’s lying, Obama, who says that he’s “deeply offended” by the suggestion that his staff is purposely leaking highly classified security information:

President Obama angrily denied today that his White House team is the source of national security leaks on alleged terrorist “kill lists” and cyber-attacks against Iran’s nuclear program.

“The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive,” Obama said at a brief White House news conference. “It’s wrong.”

Or the New York Times, which says that “three dozen” present and former Obama administration officials cooperated with the paper’s report on cyber war, drone attacks and the like.

Hard as it is to believe the New York Times, ever, on any subject, either it or the president is lying, and I’d go with Obama leaking secrets to increase his chances of reelection rather than the Times lying to sell a few papers. By the way, “three dozen” officials is far more than a single disgruntled staffer and in fact suggests a deliberate policy to breach the law and jeopardize the nation’s security.

Just saying.

What a difference a day makes.

Or in the case of Obama, four hours. At 10:00 this morning, he insisted that the private sector of our economy was “doing just fine”. By 2:00 this afternoon, after his political pollsters told him that even his own supporters weren’t that dumb, he admitted that he’d lied.

I’d think that Joe Biden had taken over speech writing for his boss but I don’t think Biden is quite so duplicitous.

We’re back, after venting in a most constructive way at the range

I can still shoot a little – always reassuring.

So, real estate activity reported today is pretty skimpy. One sale, one accepted offer of interest and a handful of new listings.

26 North Porchuck sold for $1.3 million, just what Zillow estimated. Asked $2.725 million in 2006.

11 Indian Point Lane has an A/O, last asking $4.995 million, once (2006) asked $7.296.   Zillow says $3.892 million.

UPDATE: Now this is funny: here’s a missive from property’s listing agent, posted on Zillow May 23rd. What do you wanna bet that the final selling price will be far closer to $3.892 than $7.296?

Agent Comment

Zestimate is too low: Please be aware that “Zestimates” that are ZIllow’s compilations of available data online are not deemed accurate; Call me for further info on properties in Greenwich & true real estate market based estimates; Thanks 203-622-4000 Denise Rosato posted on 05/23/2012

New Listings:

(Representative photo supplied by Greenwich Association of Realtors)

26 North Street. Coldwell Banker gives its value as $5.695. Zillow estimates $3.033.

9 Wildflower Trail. Sotheby’s values it at $1.875 million, Zillow, $1.417

Price Cut

11 Winding Lane has cut its price again, now asks $6.9 million down from its original price of $8.695. The best three acres in this area of lower(ish) Lake but the owners see value in the existing house and insist on receiving some payment for it while the clients I’ve shown it to want it solely for its land. 1,783 days on market, Zillow estimates $2,779,800 – sounds like they’re pricing it as land too.

Forgot to mention this yesterday

19 Hidden Brook Rd (photo approved by GAR)

19 Hidden Brook road in Riverside, a ranch on 0.4 acres with a stream running through the basement was listed for $1.495 million and as I noted last week, went immediately to a bidding war. The rumor floating around at yesterday’s open house was that it sold for $1.850 to an end user who intends to renovate, rather than build new. Seems like an awfully steep price to me but it (almost) makes sense if it’s going to someone who has no need to build a profit into that land cost.

Hmm – maybe I need a case of these

“Be prepared, that’s the Boy Scout’s marching song, be prepared, as through life you march along …”

Hornady introduces a zombie bullet. I’m off to the shooting range this morning where I intend to fire ordinary ammunition but I’ll be driving past the cave of the Evil GAR Princess so ….

Community organizer finds his “smart diplomacy” technique lacking

Merkel to Obama: drop dead

President Barack Obama has spent much of his term trying to get Chancellor Angela Merkel in his corner, only to find the German leader won’t easily bend to U.S. will.

Five months before the presidential election, the stakes are rising. Obama, in advance of a G-20 summit and European Union crisis meetings, is urging Merkel to take actions aimed at forestalling a euro region financial meltdown that would threaten the U.S. — and his campaign.

“If Europe implodes, Obama probably won’t be re-elected,” Gary Smith, executive director of the American Academy, a research group in Berlin that promotes trans-Atlantic ties, said in an interview. Yet helping any U.S. president right now “wouldn’t be on Merkel’s radar screen. The divisions about what needs to be done are so fundamental and public.”

In fairness to our Fund Raiser in Chief, what part of his prescription for economic growth could possibly hold any attraction for Germany? The salesman has nothing to sell. The European markets are tanking this morning (5:50), NTTAWWT