Interesting

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In a particularly important segment of the television show “Seinfeld”, George’s friend Gary Fogel confesses that he has been living a lie. Unbothered by the admission, George responds, “Just one? … Read more

Hopper

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It’s a Thursday night and I’m parked on the street outside of my grandparents’ old house. When I close my eyes I can see my grandpa’s powder blue Dodge Spirit … Read more

Hyper

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Jerry Seinfeld once said the key to life is finding enjoyable ways to waste time. The idea is rather simple. If you enjoy making and drinking espresso, then buy all … Read more

Hockey Guy

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It’s been often said that there was a time when you went outside to play with your friends that was the last time you would ever do that. The last … Read more

Advice

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One of the more interesting aspects of a life spent selling real estate is the oft fielded request to meet with a younger person intent on doing what I do. … Read more

Eastbank Sells

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When you’re considering condominiums on Geneva, you essentially have two options. You can either buy a regular condo, or you can buy an Eastbank townhouse. We should probably allow Somerset … Read more

Beach Road

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Wooddale has, over the past decade, been a rather significant beneficiary of the lakefront and lake access gentrification. A lakefront that was once populated with cottages has become something else. … Read more

Merry Lake Geneva Christmas

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A note from my family to yours during this festive time of year. It is not lost on me that I have found an incredible community of clients and friends … Read more

Categories Uncategorized

Chapin Road Sells

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If you’re an owner on the southern shore of Geneva Lake, you will readily offer up the reasons that you find the south shore to be the superior shore. Chief … Read more

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Casa Del Sueno

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While not commonly known by the market, there are a handful of single family homes that exist behind Casa Del Sueno that are part of the subdivision known as the … Read more

Categories Uncategorized

Outing Sells

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This was a nice little sale for the buyer and the seller and the market. My most recent lakefront sale, this of a classic cottage (with updates) on Outing on … Read more

Endings

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There is some question as to where the practice of providing those condemned to death a “last meal”. Some say it started with the Roman Gladiators. Others claim it began … Read more

Pier 166 Sells

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I think a lot about my clients. I think about the buyers and the sellers, the new to the market types and the long time owners. I think about the … Read more

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Marked

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There once was a walnut tree in my front yard, long before it was my front yard. As a point of fact, where there is one walnut tree there are … Read more

Bay Colony Sells

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This time of year is pretty interesting when it comes to the commitment levels of vacation home buyers. It’s easy in September to take the view that summer is over. … Read more

Ice Cream

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I read a headline the other day that said if I eat a lot of ice cream I’m going to die soon. But a different headline on a different day … Read more

Frogs

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My older brother is, and was, a solemn type of guy, unable, or unwilling, to get uniquely excited about anything. This is why in, or around, 1988 I told him … Read more

241 Circle Parkway

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Just look at this place. It’s amazing. It’s available. It’s looks like what summer feels like. And it’s only $899k. If you love beautifully restored cottages near the water you … Read more

Aloha Lodge Sells

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I’m pretty happy to report my latest lakefront sale. This one is of yet another iconic property, making it the latest in a long line of iconic lakefront properties that … Read more

Corn

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There are men and women in suits who trade in the futures markets. Some trade oil and some trade hogs and some trade wheat and others trade corn. If you’re … Read more

Basswood Vacant Lot

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Here’s something brought to market by my agent Karen Rappaport that you might want to know about… Smack dab in one of the most esteemed neighborhoods on the south shore, … Read more

Gimmick Central

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There are several ways in which I’m aware of my age. For starters, when I play tennis on a Monday I’m still sore on a Wednesday. That’s not entirely unique, … Read more

Williams Bay Tornado

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That was quite a storm last night, perhaps the worst one I’ve seen here. Some meaningful tree damage on the village lakefront in Williams Bay and around the lake, but … Read more

Lake Geneva AI Launch

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Well, I can’t keep it a secret anymore. It’s time to share with you the thing on which I’ve been working. It’s groundbreaking. It’s transformational. It’s otherworldly, really. And lest … Read more

Memorial Day Weekend

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Well, my 17th issue of Summer Homes For City People is finished. You should be able to find it around the lake this weekend, although the rainy day today is … Read more

The Work

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It’s the middle of May now and in five months it’ll be the middle of October. The bright green lawns of May will be replaced by the dull lawns of … Read more

Wisconsin flowers

Science, Pfft.

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In a matter of days, they’re coming. I mean, they’re already here, they’re just sleeping. Or they’re not even alive, but they will be, and soon. Any day now. The … Read more

The stunning pastels of a Lake Geneva spring

Favorites

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A long time ago I decided my favorite bird was a particular variety of duck, the specific variety of which doesn’t matter to the story, which is good, because I … Read more

Salesmanship

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I once wrote a description about a house that angered the owner of the house, my client. He read my description and told me he was disappointed in me. Mr. … Read more

Lake Geneva Commissions

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Well, that just about does it. The National Association of Realtors settled the BOMBSHELL commission lawsuit last Friday and now everything has changed. Six Percent Commissions Are Toast, some of … Read more

Summer Regret

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A man called me last spring about this time. He had spent his childhood here and now that he was growing quite old he felt an oddly powerful desire to … Read more

Categories Uncategorized

It’s Time

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I took a drive this morning. Down a road I know and around a corner onto a road that’s familiar but still unknown to me. As I drove from one … Read more

Stick Season

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There’s a marginally popular song today where some guy whines about how it’s stick season in Vermont and that he’s sad because his friends are gone and his girlfriend dumped … Read more

Sometimes

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Sometimes spring arrives in February. The ice breaks and the wind blows and the snow melts and the grass greens and the street sweepers sweep to rid the roadways of … Read more

Pier 501 Sells

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I’m thrilled to have completed the transaction at pier 501 in Fontana. This sale is the fourth lakefront sale on Geneva to close over $9.5M in the past eight months, … Read more

Lake Geneva Cash Deals

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While some are busy struggling to explain how property taxes work, let’s discuss the actual Lake Geneva market. Maybe someday I’ll write an article on how property insurance works, but … Read more

George Williams College

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By now you’ve read the articles in Crain’s and the Tribune, so I don’t need to tell you that Aurora University has found a buyer for their cherished George Williams … Read more

Tops

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I’m well aware that it’s tedious to listen to me drone on and on about how many homes I’ve sold. I really don’t enjoy it, but I’m just not quite … Read more

2023 Year End Review

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After a decline in 2022 that was likely caused by limited inventory, our overall lakefront sales volume rebounded in 2023 to nearly match the cycle high set in 2021. Most … Read more

Happy New Year

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It’s close enough to say that, right? I think it is. Something that’s always bothered me is how certain words or phrases ebb and flow in their use and popularity. … Read more

Cheerleader

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It can be exhausting to continually cheer for something for a long, long time. This is why Cubs fans were so relieved in 2016 when we finally won the World … Read more

Kid From The Bay

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When you’re a kid from the bay you ride your bike to Geneva Street but never across it. You visit Lake Geneva when you’re 45 and still think of it … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

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My deaf, blind dog woke me up early this morning. She wakes me up early every morning, though lately it’s not as early as it was this past summer when … Read more

Commissions

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You’ve likely seen the headlines out of Kansas, which is a statement that no one in Wisconsin had ever uttered before the recent ruling against several large national brokerages and … Read more

Novembery

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I’m not like you. You’re dreaming of bright skies and blue waters. I’m driving through this mist and this gray with my windshield wipers on intermittently and I stop to … Read more

October

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On Sunday I boated and maybe you did, too. It was that sort of Sunday. If you could boat, you did boat. One last ride, we all said. The skies … Read more

Pier 501

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Every once in a great while, Lake Geneva offers up one of its prized locations. I could argue that each of the large legacy estates that have been listed over … Read more

Time Zones

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I’m in Spain right now, sitting in a home crammed perilously into the side of a very old cliff, perhaps 500′ or more above the Mediterranean Sea below. It’s quite … Read more

Cover

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On a Thursday it’s cloudy and it’s rainy and the men hurry to work with their shoulders hunched forward and their eyes towards the ground. The rain wets their hair … Read more

Lake Geneva Sales

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My son is contemplating going to law school. When I was 20, I did not contemplate this. I was contemplating whether or not I had a house I could sell … Read more

September

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There was a battle yesterday. While you were busy driving to work or to school or to coffee or to the store to have your fall pants hemmed the battle … Read more

Flagstone

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In the town where I’m from there are all varieties of stone, but only one variety that matters. You call it Flagstone and I call it Lannon Stone and in … Read more

Stoney Hollow

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Stoney Hollow at Pier 74 is a magnificent stone and slate Tudor located on Snake Road at the end of private Folly Lane. This premier estate is offered with the … Read more

Oddities

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A Lake Geneva summer begins in earnest on Memorial Day Weekend, or so the cultural norm would have you believe. Fire up your grills and don your trunks, when that … Read more