Instant Summer

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As I understand it, when the temperature drops in Florida panic ensues. Someone rushes to the store to buy supplies. Another person hurries out to throw blankets on the orange … Read more

Sellers, Wake Up

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I suppose we all pick and choose. We pick the data that supports our positions, whether the decisions involve personal choices or business decisions. We pick the favorable bits, discard the … Read more

Ski Granite Peak Wausau

Ski

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I’ve been sitting at this desk for 20 minutes and I can’t think about anything to write about. Not a single thing. Part of the problem is that I’m tired. … Read more

Just A Dusting

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It’s snowing again. And the coffee tasted the same. The man at the corner with the portable Stop sign waved, but he didn’t want to. The FREE AIR at the … Read more

Woodhill

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By now, everyone knows Basswood. It’s a street on the lake, or it’s the street on the lake, either position is acceptable though the latter is preferred. On a  lake … Read more

Ban Words

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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