Low Grade

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What if some houses are actually terrible? What if certain houses were built by people who shouldn’t have been allowed to pick any tile, flooring, cabinets, light fixtures, paint colors, … Read more

Sand

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Thinking about buying a home in the islands? Just say no.

Merry Christmas

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It’s strikingly obvious to me that without my clients and friends, my family would not be so uniquely blessed. For that, I am exceedingly thankful and appreciative. There’s a lot … Read more

Real Estate Shorts

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Do you know what the word breathtaking means? It means to have your breath taken. Like if you get murdered, that’s a seriously breathtaking moment. Once I was installing siding … Read more

Patience

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It’s been said that patience is a virtue. If you’re trying to teach math to a child, or trying to train a dog to balance a cookie on its nose, … Read more

Virgil Abloh

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I never met Virgil Abloh. I didn’t own anything from Off-White, the company he founded in Milan almost ten years ago. I’ve never met his wife, or his children, or … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

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My wife and her family are Canadians. It’s not their fault, really, they just are, and they do the best that they can with this condition. During our Covid Chronicles, … Read more

The Romantic

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Growing old is fascinating. There are things that matter and things that don’t, and when I was younger I assumed that when I was older I’d have a better understanding … Read more

California Dreaming

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California has positioned itself as the cultural king of America, as every Midwestern kid knows. A weekend visit to judge its importance.

Calm

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There’s something wrong with the way a summer day makes me feel. I’ve heard stories that some people tell, stories about lazy hazy days. The setting is always summer. Never … Read more

October

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I don’t like September anymore. In fact, I don’t know why I ever did. October is where it’s at.

South Lakeshore Drive Sells

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Another lakefront sale, another lakefront transaction completed off market. If you want to know what’s happening on the lakefront, you have to work with the lakefront leader.

Fall At The Lake

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Well, that’s that. Summer is dead and gone. My dreams of enjoying it are left mostly unfulfilled, and I know it’s my own fault. When you’re young and you’re taught … Read more

Back To School

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I’ve been writing this blog with intent for twelve years. Twelve years ago, back to school meant something different to me. Twelve years ago when I dropped my son off … Read more

Just a Cottage

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It was once only a dream. It was once a fantasy. Some day, maybe, but unattainable. Years passed and it become possible. A stretch, but possible. After years more work … Read more

Of Lenders and Bubbles

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It’s easy to look at 2021 and think of 2008. Markets rise and fall for plenty of reasons, but the lending practices of 2008 are nowhere to be found in 2021.

Off White

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Grass is green and the sky is off-white. This is what the children of summer will be tought. Even if we don’t teach them, they’ll learn. How could they ignore … Read more

Inflation

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I have a friend who is remarkably smart. It bothers me that he’s so smart. Have a thought? It’s wrong. How could he know it’s wrong? Because he’s smart. While … Read more

Dartmouth Woods

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Here’s a dazzling lakefront home ideally situated between Williams Bay and Fontana along Fontana’s north shore. You’re going to love these wide-water views spanning from Conference Point to the Fontana … Read more

Lake Geneva Lakefront Homes For Sale

Walcowis Sells

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There’s this road on the south side of the lake whose name generates some interesting commentary and even more interesting pronunciations. Walcowis. If you think it derived from an ancient … Read more

Freedom?

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Covid was hard on Michigan. Tim Allen wants you to return to normal, while at Lake Geneva we never departed from it.

Lake Geneva For Sale

RIP

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My favorite tree has died. There is nothing more that can be said.

Risk On

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Risk is inherent in life, but it’s often ignored in residential real estate transactions. It shouldn’t be.

Birches Sells

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My latest lakefront sale, this one in the Birches. Proof the market tends to avoid what it would rather not understand.

Wind

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The wind kicked up again. It was calm two days ago, and calm the day before that. But then yesterday it picked up and today it’s stirring. The wind is … Read more

Lake Geneva Real Estate

Home

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There’s so much talk about taxes and sunshine, I wonder if anyone remembers the concept of home.

Regrets

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Regrets are a part of life. Thankfully, Lake Geneva ownership isn’t one of the sources of regret. And for that, we can all be thankful.

Chicken

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If you’re negotiating to buy or sell real estate, honesty is important. But it’s not just honesty from your broker, it’s your honesty that matters, too.

Bad Decisions

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Hot markets make buyers do terrible things. Don’t do those things. You can easily void making these mistakes by focusing on one thing and one thing only.

Glenwood Springs Fontana

Lake Geneva Development

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Development is good and necessary. Or is it? This hot market is bound to product some bad development, and we should prepare for the coming fight.

Thanksgiving

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What a curious thing it is, this year. I sit here at this desk worrying about which customer will buy and which customer will sell, worrying about the June water … Read more

Crain’s Lake Geneva

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Let’s discuss a new article on Lake Geneva real estate in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Categories Uncategorized

Improvement City

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The City of Lake Geneva is nice. But it could be a whole lot better. Step one in a multi-step plan to improve the city.

The New Math

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Lake Geneva new construction costs. A discussion of how it all might make sense, and how increasingly no one really cares if it does.

Mountain Towns

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Ski Towns are more popular today than ever before, but will the new owners actually enjoy living full time in a vacation destination?

South Shore Club Sells

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Looking for inventory in the South Shore Club? So was this buyer. He asked me to find a home for him, and last week we closed. Sometimes, it really is that simple.

Over

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What just happened? Is it still summer? I remember the summer days. I remember seeing them through my car window, and out of this office window. The gas station was … Read more