There was a man I knew from the town where I lived. He was old when I knew him, and I never knew what it was that he had done … Read more

Sometimes, I like to see if I have more money than I had one year ago. It doesn’t matter when I engage this frustrating exercise, it’s just something that I … Read more

There were common themes during the housing downturn. The first theme was that some buyers were able to capture their motivation and seek out value. When they found value, they … Read more

I do not remember having any bit of input into any singular plan during my youth. This was true whether the decision should have involved me, even if the decision … Read more

I spent Sunday lakeside, mostly. It’s always good to spend a beautiful day by the water, assuming that water is 5400 acres worth and not in a kidney shape in … Read more

Certain things bother me. For example, when my contacts are blurry, even though I’ve properly rinsed and stored them according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Maybe it has to do with … Read more

Shadow Lane is really just a lane. You take it to cut directly from South Lakeshore Drive to the lake. That’s pretty much the only reason you’d ever have to … Read more

The rapids twist away from the road, but only briefly, before twisting back, cutting against the bank and throwing riffles and bubbles down the rocky slope. The run spills into … Read more

The good news for whomever might be buying the lakefront house next to my parents’ house is that Christmas lingers there. Long after the presents have been opened and discarded, … Read more

Lake Geneva has some grocery stores. We do. We have plenty of them, actually. It’s just that they’re not really all that great, even though you can accomplish all of … Read more

I have never really taken a vacation. I doubt most working people ever have. I leave town, sleep in a different bed, eat breakfast at restaurants, but this is not … Read more

Vacation home seekers that find themselves in Walworth County, due to blind luck or strong recent discernment or long ago instilled nostalgia, generally find that lakefront on Geneva Lake is … Read more

The thing about real estate, the thing that we’ve discussed at great length, is that the valuations within a market are subjective, but the assessment of performance is not. This … Read more

There was a time in the town when the towns people who had chosen real estate as their profession held houses open, for the public to see. The sales people, … Read more

There are things that must be remembered on Memorial Day Weekend. First, this is a weekend to remember. Not to remember what it’s like to grill and to boat, nor … Read more

I have never bought something of relative cost without some form of regret. I bought a YETI cooler last year, mostly because I’ve always wanted one. I thought loosely about … Read more

I like the Lake Geneva Club. I like it better than its neighbors, but I like the neighbors plenty, too. The Lake Geneva Club has always been a nice mix … Read more

I do not know why the Maytag family dug out the Ceylon Lagoon, now known simply by the area that surrounds it: Big Foot Beach State Park. I don’t know … Read more

There are many reasons to sell your house. For instance, if you live in a small house and you’d really like to live in a big house, you sell the … Read more

The mighty Oak tree. For all of the moving I’ve done, and all of the land that I’ve called home, I have only owned one prized Oak tree. The trees … Read more

Many years ago, I decided to buck the most important trend in real estate salesmanship. I decided that I didn’t like every single sale. Contrary to current mass email form, … Read more

When I was in High School, Keanu Reeves came to Williams Bay for a few days. I don’t know where he stayed. I do know that he ran through the … Read more

If you are a seller of real estate, particularly the luxury brand of such, arriving at your wits end is not an uncommon scenario. Luxury real estate, by its very … Read more

When on a property tour with a buyer, whether the first time out or the fifth, I possess a relatively incredible ability to see the market through the eyes of … Read more

In person, one can scrutinize every curve and polished detail of any sort of boat. Under this close surveillance, it would be easy to see a thin scratch and examine … Read more

The first recorded day that would have felt somewhat similar to we commonly refer to as “spring” was March 11th. On that day, Lake Geneva warmed to 53 degrees, and … Read more

Fontana is not a large city. It’s not even a small city. It isn’t a town, either. It’s a village. A little, sleepy village. Sure, it has a beautiful lakefront … Read more

The first person we meet in the movie “Low and Clear” is JT Van Zandt. He has a famous father, but that’s not important. He’s calm, reserved, and he loves … Read more

There’s a new commercial on television that features a couple about to board a flight. Just before they step on, a guy carrying flowers rushes up towards them. He’s happy … Read more

Because I’m nothing if not community minded, I’ve been hard at work this year trying my best to quench the market’s thirst for new inventory on the lakefront. It’s not … Read more

In Some Town, Illinois, a Realtor is walking into his office. He’s done this every day for years, parking in his spot, walking down the sidewalk, up the steps and … Read more

For a little while, I considered buying a vacant lot in Abbey Springs. This was when I played golf often, when my game was strong and my vertebra were aligned … Read more

I liked it when I was young. Back then, I thought my parents refusal to buy me things was part of some master plan carefully engineered to teach me responsibility. … Read more

There’s very little in our way now. The ice has been turned back to water, the snow has melted, the streets have been swept clean of their winter dirt. Grass … Read more

I suppose a better person wouldn’t have to do what I have to do. But, alas, it goes something like this: Today, we must guess. Not for prize, but for … Read more

In all things, there is good and bad. Some call this the silver lining, but I’ve never seen, with these two eyes, an actual silver lining on anything. Like if … Read more

By now, everyone knows the lakefront market experienced its pricing peak in the middle of 2008. Or at least everyone should know that. What’s lesser known is that by the … Read more

In basketball, the head fake is a pretty important variety of fake. It’s usually best if accompanied by a bit of a shoulder shrug, some elevation of the tops of … Read more

By now even those who loved it had started to hate it. The snowmobilers were over it, having long since fogged their engines and stowed away their sleds. The ice … Read more

To buy a house in Lake Geneva in 2009 was to catch a falling knife. The knife wasn’t super sharp, but it was a knife. It was more like a … Read more

It’s not really winter anymore. The snow is mostly gone. Both the tall piles of pushed white snow and the great glistening fields have been melted away, leaving country fields … Read more

Two weeks ago, the ice was really something. It was thick, strong, proud. There was enough snow on top so that snowmobiles could race across it. Snowshoers were pleased to … Read more

If this civilization wasn’t so advanced, and we didn’t already know what we liked and what we didn’t like, we’d have to do some testing. If we were hunters not … Read more

In the early spring of 2010, I had a questionable idea. I thought I’d take some of these rambling blog posts that I call “stories” even though they lack a … Read more

In the fall of 2008, the world melted. In the spring of 2009, the market bottomed. In the fall of 2009, all hope that this cycle would be slight and … Read more

There’s a difference between building something for the market and building something for yourself. That’s obvious. If your 3 year old daughter loves Barney, you could build her a purple … Read more

My boat isn’t such a good boat. Four years ago, when I found its picture on the internets, it wasn’t such a good boat then, either. But when it arrived … Read more

I enjoy the marketplace positioned at the end of any given driveway. It’s a place for garbage, gifts, and sales, depending on the day. For instance, if you had a … Read more

After two more months and some handful of extra days, I will turn 37. That age doesn’t seem so bad to me. It seems youngish. For that sort-of-young-age, I have … Read more

If you buy a car that, after some days or weeks or months or years, you decide that you do not like, you trade it in on a different car. … Read more

I like to make comparisons. For example, I compare our lake to other lakes. This is no comparison, really, but to say it’s no comparison is to utter a figure … Read more

I was in the city this weekend. It was a nice time, in that big city, and I enjoy the change of scenery when tall buildings replace wide fields. Hustle … Read more

Of myself, there is very little that I don’t, or that I won’t, share here. I tell you about my struggles and about my successes. I tell you of my … Read more

I made a pretty big mistake last week. If it was a mistake or an omission, who could tell? But it was a mistake, of sorts, either that or a … Read more

I chopped wood yesterday. I chopped wood the day before, too. I don’t chop wood because I have to, but I chop wood because I like to. It makes me … Read more

In 1992, a nice couple whom I have never met, bought a small condominium in Geneva National. Geneva National was new, shiny, and full of promise. Buyers found this product … Read more

I drive around Wisconsin often. I drive around Lake Geneva, which is, if you were to ask my kids, what I do for my job. I drive. But I drive … Read more

George Strait didn’t ask politely, so I’m not sure why, if he didn’t, I would. He said run, or drive in a straight line. He said break speed limits, take … Read more

I sell real estate. I have a stable of much-appreciated clients who hail exclusively from Chicago and those burbs that describe themselves as being Chicago when they meet people who … Read more

Seeking a warmer sun and consolation for our winter condition, we boarded a series of planes and landed in a country to our south, far from the cold and the … Read more

Otto Young was born in Prussia in the year 1844. He moved to London, then to New York. He made his fortune in Chicago, and in 1901 he built his … Read more

The second home I ever bought was a small cottage on Kinzie, just up that Fontana road from the lake. I spent many hours there, indiscriminately sawing and chopping, hammering … Read more

Yes, it’s nice that 24 lakefront homes sold in 2014. That’s a good number, a strong number, one that we should all be proud of. We should congratulate one another, … Read more

I have spent plenty of time living inside high rise condominiums. I haven’t lived in one in Walworth County, nor have I lived in one in Cook. But I have … Read more

The lake was there, right where it is now, when I was a child the same age as my son is now. The lake back then was big, and it … Read more

It almost feels unnecessary to write a year end update about the South Shore Club. I know I’ve written about it often, steadily, so much that it might be too … Read more

Siberia has no palm trees. I’ve never been there, but I’ve read about it in magazines, and I’ve watched videos about there, the sorts that take Patagonia clad fly fisher … Read more

The thing about entry level lakefront is it’s entry level. Because it’s entry level, it’s like anything that’s so aptly labeled. An entry level sedan doesn’t have a heated steering … Read more

The celebrating of the last year and the lamenting of the one now arrived, finally over, it’s time to discuss what this market is doing now and what it’s going … Read more

The profession of real estate selling is rarely considered to be a noble one. Certainly not noble in the way that doctors and researchers and academics are able to consider … Read more

I had intended on writing something profound, or at least something pseudo-profound, but alas, a breakfast meeting went too long and then I remembered that I had loads of Christmas … Read more

You at a desk, three years ago. Your job, to chart a recovery plan for the South Shore Club. You’d need some paper, a pen. Maybe a pencil. Some coffee. … Read more

Sometimes, work is boring. My younger brother works in a forge, where I’ve been told he does all sorts of things, but mostly he stands in place and punches in … Read more

The articles that grace the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s Real Estate section are generally not the sort of articles that one would want to put on the front … Read more

Ah, the unique, uncaged animal that is the upper bracket of real estate. Upper Bracket varies in definition, but it’s easy to assume that it means the top of the … Read more

Her life is not without inconsistencies. On one hand, she’ll push back if you try to push her off your side of the bed. She’ll snap at you if you … Read more

Business has a way of making the participants feel strange emotions. On one hand, I’m super happy and grateful and excited about having a tremendous year this year, one where … Read more

Last night, after watching a show that promised me I would see a man be eaten alive by a giant snake, I couldn’t sleep. Not because I was upset about … Read more

I’ve gotten a bit lazy in checking foreclosures. I’ve gotten a bit lazy in lots of things, so this one thing shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it … Read more

If we’re looking back, as I’m fond of doing, 2009 was a really bad time to list your house. There were buyers, sure, but there was mostly just chaos. In … Read more

Everything was going as planned. Thanksgiving dinner featured a juicy, perfectly cooked bird- a rarity in a Curry household that excels at baking but tends to err on the side … Read more

Remember when I said I liked the Aspen Lane sale at $498k? Remember when I said that the main reason I liked it was because the location afforded privacy, and … Read more

Earlier this year, a famous flame thrower bought a lakefront house in Fontana. The house was large. It was fancy, with a master bedroom suite to die for and the … Read more

I think it’s good that we give our Federally mandated Thanks next week. It’s good because I have had harvest decorations up around my house for a month or so, … Read more

It was still warm when everyone told us it would be cold. They said that the cold would come from the north, which is where everyone already knew it came … Read more

There’s a generally acknowledged acceptance of community. If we haven’t yet moved to a community, be it a town or a subdivision, we search for such a community populated by … Read more

A few short years ago, there was a fire. Abbey Hill, the wooden alpine-styled condominiums on the hill near the stop and sock, suffered a casualty. The cause of the … Read more

When that one guy went to Alaska to live, he chose a spot with straight trees. Had he been truly rugged, he would have chosen a plot with crooked trees, … Read more

I recognize that from time to time, or all the time, I sound like a broken record. I say the same things over and over again, disguised with different words … Read more

I readily admit that I do not understand space. I can’t fathom what it is, how large it is, and the concept that there is no end to what I … Read more

If given a choice, most people would not say that they prefer November. There’s not much to November. In the progression, August is summer. It is filled with all sorts … Read more

There’s a foreclosure in the South Shore Club. This is the one I’ve been telling you about for quite some time, and now it’s here. The prior owner of this … Read more

To be fair, the axe was never truly intended to be used this way. It’s made by The Best Made Company in Tribeca, where the men are skinny and their … Read more

I get asked lots of things. For instance, people say, why haven’t you updated your photo on your website? In response I tell them that I don’t feel like it. … Read more

Times were, late October had its own feel. Outside, it had a feel, sure, but that’s temperature related and not real estate related. Except back then, those two things were … Read more

Once, there was a group of people who decided that they no longer wished to be taxed for the sake of being taxed. If they ran their own towns and … Read more

I hope by now you’ve figured out there’s a difference in the way I sell, and promote, real estate. I have, at any given time, plenty of listings. Right now, … Read more

I think we need to establish a few rules today. These are very simple rules, but they have been confounding the market for a long time. Buyers mostly present in … Read more

The salmon run. They run up streams in Michigan and in Indiana and Minnesota. They run up streams in Ohio and New York. They run from salty oceans and up … Read more