Ban Words

by

Apparently, BAE means “Before Anyone Else”. All this time I just thought it meant Babe, but without the B. I thought it was just a time saver that gained popularity … Read more

Deadlines

by

I think about the days when I won’t write on this blog. I think about how admitting that is to somehow run afoul of the unwritten rules of a real … Read more

Lake Geneva Real Estate

Spring

by

The trees in my front yard are budding. The trees in my back yard are budding. The trees at my office are budding. I’d be willing to bet most of … Read more

Harpoon Willies Williams Bay

Harpoon Willies

by

I can’t tell you that I’m a regular at Harpoon Willies. When I walk in, no one winks at me a knowing wink. No one gives me a head nod, … Read more

Collect Things

by

At this age, I have developed many bad habits.  I shamefully subscribe to the theory of food discovery that dictates I eat one piece of pizza to find out if … Read more

The stunning pastels of a Lake Geneva spring

Gray Sky Rising

by

It’s gray again. It was gray yesterday, too. The same gray as this gray. There is no different variety of gray now. The only change comes later, when the gray … Read more

Lakefront Nuance

by

It seems to me that all exclusive markets- those of art, of real estate, of antique automobiles- all find the task of identifying outliers to be a difficult one. In … Read more

Ski Grand Geneva Resort Lake Geneva

Ski Lake Geneva

by

I bought a weight bench last month.  It’s a simple bench, the sort you’d find in a corner of almost every basement in America. It has some weights, a bench, some … Read more

The Future

by

Twenty years ago today was a normal day. Nothing much happened. I woke up and I drove myself to the gas station across from Daddy Maxwell’s, and I walked over … Read more

Geneva Dreaming

by

I haven’t shared this yet, but I nearly won that large lottery back in January. The night before the drawing, my wife and I made no small plans. We would … Read more

The Hunt

by

How I wish I were a doctor. When you’re a doctor and you travel, you get to tell people what you do. You’re a doctor. That’s what you do. It … Read more

Sounding Winter

by

I can see the cold of this winter through the window in my house. All of the windows face this cold, but one window in the living room is the … Read more

Blood Red Markets

by

Another January morning. Clear pale blue skies, soft low light, index futures off triple digits. It’s been a trend this week, the skies pale blue and the markets in blood … Read more

Happy New Year

by

Some day, I might stay up late enough to greet the new year in the company of family and friends. Some day, I might celebrate the year that just ended … Read more

The New Game

by

There’s something changing in the Lake Geneva real estate market. The change is mostly involving the lakefront market, but there’s little doubt that this change will make its way through … Read more

Pikewood Estate

by

My grandmother was not necessarily a memorable fashionista. The was too old by the time I was old enough to recognize style, and by then I recognized that she veered … Read more

Weekend Boredom

by

Sadly, I hear the same things over and over again. This is this life. Why can’t you sell my house, why can’t you find me a house, why can’t you … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

by

Even when it seems to me that there are lots of cars here, there aren’t really lots of cars. They meander past heading to one direction or from the other, … Read more

Remodeling Lake Geneva

by

I blame HGTV for most of the design abnormalities that I see on a day to day basis. On television, under the direction of some handsome psuedo-contractor, purple walls and … Read more

Real Estate 201

by

I fear this job of real estate is a no-win proposition. There is very little left to do here, little left to prove, little that can be done to change … Read more

This Time

by

The flowers are blooming in that big patch of flowers that looks just like a garden of weeds. Most of the flowers are dead now, having long since given their … Read more

Road Work

by

The signs made it known in July that the men would come to work on the road in August.  There was a sign taped to the door of this office, and one … Read more

November Again

by

We all engage in it. A very common mistake. It’s not a mistake like it would be to pay someone to tattoo barbed wire around our biceps, but it’s a … Read more

Oh Henry

by

I can’t quite read the name of the boat. ENRY is all I can see, the rest blocked by the odd inboard/outboard engine protruding from the stern. Maybe it’s HENRY, … Read more

Lake Geneva Data

by

It bothers me that I so fondly look back at years that have only recently passed. When the market was scary and difficult, I enjoyed leafing through the local Realtor’s … Read more

This October

by

How I love the summer. The distinct scenery that is uniquely this place, the bright blues and deep greens, the white topped waves falling into our white, wooden piers. The … Read more

The American Club

by

I do not believe in putting off until tomorrow what you can do today. Unless tomorrow is pretty open, and today is pretty busy. Then I whole heartedly endorse putting … Read more

Basswood Sells

by

I’m really bad at selling homes I don’t like. I show homes I don’t like, and then I think, I don’t like this house. I have to play along as … Read more

Jackets and Coats

by

I own many coats. I don’t tell you this by way of bragging. I’m not especially proud that I own so many coats, it’s just that I own many of … Read more

The Cubs

by

In 1998 I was just a kid. But I was a kid selling real estate, and as a result I was in a strange place. My friends were all still … Read more

October Boating

by

Yesterday while you were working, the lake did what it does in October. It went quiet. Sure, the lake goes quiet during the days that came from the last ice … Read more

Abbey Springs Sells

by

I built a real estate office at 57 West Geneva Street. I did this because I needed a place to work. You’d be surprised to learn, or maybe you wouldn’t, … Read more

Oh September

by

Without the weather, what would we talk about? When I meet someone new, what would I open the conversation with? If I couldn’t say, what a day! or, cold enough … Read more

South Shore Club Sales

by

I watch the million dollar shows on television. I used to think I liked those shows, because they portrayed Realtors as being cool and hip, and Realtors have, since the … Read more

Street Signs

by

My oldest friend had a birthday yesterday. He’s not old, he’s my age, but it was his birthday and he is the person who has been my friend longer than … Read more

On Markets

by

When a real estate market is slow, the fundamentals matter. The price per front foot, price per square foot, of the land, not house- this isn’t Beverly Hills- it matters. … Read more

Trust

by

I took my car in to be fixed. The mechanic was nice enough, the dealership shiny and large. Emblems and logos, everywhere. I normally sit in the lounge, where they … Read more

San Francisco Endorsed

by

There are old maps that were drawn by those important men who lived a long time ago in Nantucket. The maps show these entire United States, and Nantucket encompasses most … Read more

Of Loyalty

by

A marriage can really only work if both parties have some leeway to say things that the other person may not like, without fear of devastating reprisal. For instance. If … Read more

Labor Day Weekend

by

Back on Wednesday with all sorts of riveting commentary. For instance, did you know that all the cool people are at Lake Geneva? I spent Saturday aboard a most beautiful … Read more

Knollwood Sells

by

Generally speaking, if a home on the lake hits the open market, I email the listing to someone. Let’s say you’re looking for a lakefront for around $1.5MM. If one … Read more

Geneva Lakefront Update

by

I read an article yesterday about how one Japanese day trader made thirty-four million dollars last week. He had a hunch about the markets, and rode large positions of options … Read more

Summer and Fall

by

I can’t say that it comes as a surprise anymore. Every season follows this same pattern. When the season is a long ways off, I pine for it. In the … Read more

Honey Bees

by

When you buy a lake house, you should be prepared to buy the things that need to fill that lake house. I’m not talking about couches, or end tables, beds … Read more

Toys

by

Before that day I had never known of the word: Revo. I had heard of other words and brands, like the normal ones that you hear when you’re a kid … Read more

Dinner Time

by

The guests had been treated to four straight days of sameness. Blue skies in the morning, blue skies in the afternoon, and blue skies into the evening. A sparkling sunset … Read more

A Lake Geneva Weekend

by

There are reasons that people choose to vacation where they do. Some choose to vacation where they have family. Others choose to vacation where they have no family. Both are … Read more

Blues

by

The weather, they said, was delightful. On a Monday it was sunny, with skies so blue it was difficult, after some time of gazing, to imagine what they might look … Read more

Classifieds

by

FOR SALE: One Lake House Lightly used, near perfect condition Well, that’s not entirely true. We have owned this home for two years, and we’ve lightly used it. We have … Read more

To Renovate

by

Often, when someone buys something that’s ridiculously overpriced, they point to the price that the seller paid when the seller was the buyer. Or, if the seller didn’t buy the … Read more

Lake Geneva Pricing

by

There’s an art auction. The auction has some art that was painted by a man who is now very dead. The art is expensive, everyone knows that. This art has … Read more

Fishing Geneva Lake

by

Last week, while the soft suburban children played on sand beaches within close proximity of their sunscreen slathering, summer-hat wearing mothers, my son and his friend dove from piers and … Read more

The Starboard Cottage

by

In 1848, Wisconsin officially became a state. In the same year, the Starboard Cottage was built on the northern shore of Geneva Lake. The home was originally built as a … Read more

Longest Weekend

by

I have a friend who doesn’t sleep. He goes to bed late and he wakes up early, and if you’ve ever been a neighbor to this habitual undersleeper you’d know … Read more