Oh, come on!
Greenwich Post reports today yet another assault on our coffers: a "Victim" sues town for sewer back-up . Look - I certainly regret that this poor lady had raw sewage sloshed around her basement and that foul odors permeated her home but without more - an allegation as to how, exactly, the town was negligent, I don't want her reaching into my pocket. Sewers back up for all sorts of reasons but most of those: tree roots invading lines, too much stuff entering through the toilet, you name it; are the responsibility of the homeowner, not her fellow citizens. "Emotional harm? "Punitive damages?" 'Attorney's fees?". Somebody hand this lady a bucket of bleach and a mop and tell her to get over it.

I may be being unfair here and the lack of specificity may be due to lousy reporting by the Greenwich Post rather than lousy lawyering (on the subject of reporting, it adds nothing to learn that the litigant's a single mother and unemployed - irrelevant!) I'm not reassured however, by this quote from our former First Selectman, Roger Peterson, who represents the woman and who is demanding that his former constituents pay his fees:

“What happened to her is extraordinarily egregious that the town has not stepped in to remedy this situation and to compensate her for the damages she has suffered."

"What happened to her is extraordinarily egregious that the town"? Did Roger screw up the English language like this when he was in government? All I remember of the guy was him running around Greenwich in his (town-supplied) car, trying to arrest people by showing them his phony Police Commissioner badge.

Will the bailout work?
Assuming it passes the House, which I think it will. But I tried emailing my Congressman Chris Shays last night to urge him to vote against the damn thing (fat chance) and received a message that "the mailbox is full". The alternative contact site took about 4 minutes to load so I guess the man was hearing from (lots) of constituents. I assume Shay's no different than other members of Congress in this regard, and I also assume constituents don't want to see the bailout pass, so today should be interesting.
The wife of reader "CEA" (hey - this is a family blog, silhouettes of strippers notwithstanding, and her email proves it) has sent me a link to this article that predicts the bailout won't work. Good points made, but I'm pretty sure we're going to find out, beginning today. If so, let's pray that Warren Buffet's sceptical optimism is justified.

When did they move from Nigeria to South Africa?
Received the following from a Mr. Francis Khoumommo - I can't take advantage of this opportunity now but if you're feeling flush from the recent surge in Greenwich real estate values, perhaps you'll be interested. Call me if so - we'll do lunch.

ATTENTION, Mr Christ

financial consultant in South Africa and believe that this finds you and your family well as I would like to work together with you if you deem it necessary and rewarding to assist my client realize his personal investment plan.

My client, Dr. Irvin Khoza, the Vice President of South African Football Association and also the Chairperson Local Organizing Committee for the 2010 world cup tournament in South Africa.

I am consulting you on his instruction for his personal investment plan which I would like to discuss with you and know the possibility of how we can co-operate and work together to carry it out, which I believe will benefit both parties if handled with honesty.

A Rush to judgment?
Yale researchers have taken a closer look at those energy saving light bulbs our Congress has mandated. Their conclusion?
Mercury pollution will increase in many states and countries.

"Compact fluorescent lighting is an area where we're really pushing this alternative and all these policies are being enacted, but we're not looking at the potential unintended consequences of what we're doing," said study author Julie Beth Zimmerman, an assistant professor in Yale's Department of Chemical Engineering and its School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

I know I annoy my Green friends when I disparage efforts to save our planet tomorrow but we're seeing so much of this foolishness - Congress, desperate to appear to be doing something about whatever crisis of the day has captured the media's attention, scurries around, comes up with a cosmetic solution, adds a whole bunch of unrelated pork barrel projects if the public frenzy permits that subterfuge and presto! Problem solved, let's move on to something else. A little deep breathing and a pause for reflection would only improve this process.

OK, I'm a naive chump
Earlier this week I commented on the bailout bill having swelled from 3 to 107 pages and asked, "how large will it grow before final passage?" I predicted 350 pages and I'll say right here, I'm a fool. The present bill the Senate's having fun with is already 400 pages long and growing fatter by the minute. And oh, the presents they're piling under the Christmas tree! Ya want mental health care free from insurance companies? You got it - they've screwed consumers long enough. No tariff on wooden arrows so Oregonian kids parents can afford toys? Hey, that's what we're here for. A bridge - ya wanna bridge? Go ahead, take one.

If these charlatans won't act like there's a crisis why on earth should we believe that one exists? I've been leaning in this direction and now I'm sure: we should stop this bill in its tracks and pray to God that Congress will finally recess and go home, where they can do less harm.

You will not steal this house!

I keep hearing tales from my colleagues about sellers who, upon receiving offers, acknowledge that in the present market they should probably accept it but decide they'll "hold out until the market recovers". This is a wonderful strategy if you have the resources and time to employ it but what none of us know is when the market will recover. Some of us think that we've just seen a market correction of 20% and think that the correction is not over and in fact probably has still more to go. If so, then we're in a new world where houses will not be worth what they were worth last year any time soon. Like, for the next 5 years. Others are more optimistic and predict a full recovery by this coming summer.
So you have a choice: accept the fact that the market has just shifted downward and plans to stay there for a long time or hang on and wait 9 months. If we come roaring back, lucky you. If prices keep dropping, you won't be happy.

Update: The Black Knight flinches
Our Somali pirates' ransom demand has dropped from $30M to $20M to, today, $5 million. When they resolve their difficulties over there, maybe they should come to Greenwich and advise certain spec builders on house pricing strategies.

How'd we get into this mortgage mess? Hell if I know.
Received today from "Jasmine Krnjetin | Mortgage Consultant":

$100 DOWN HUD PURCHASE PROGRAM
Finance repairs & closing costs up to 110% of the purchase price
Up to $5,000 in repairs allowed
Available down to a 550 credit score
Only for purchase of HUD owned homes
Use original HUD appraisal if contract is signed within 6 months
This product is really picking up interest so don't miss out on the next hot marketing opportunity
My process is simple - just email or call me

More thoughts on strippers and real estate pricing
(Thought that might get your attention.) As I've noted, the real estate firm trying to peddle its condos on Milbank is not providing a stripper but rather a new age therapist who will inspire and move us (Ed: how is that different from a stripper?]. But what's the reasoning here? Is it possible that we agents are unaware of the presence of two vacant condo units that have sat on the market since January 2007, or that their price, to everyone's great hilarity, was raised in July '07 from $5.4 million to $5.9 million, each? I don't think so; I think the builder has a pricing, not an awareness problem. It's possible that, over time, marketplace tastes will change and buyers will clamor for a unit where, with the help of a 12' scaling ladder, they can scramble up to Whole Foods and do their shopping. For 21 months now, however, the market's spoken rather eloquently: it doesn't like the price or the location. You can't change the location, and bringing on therapists or strippers or changing the description, as this one did, from "English Manor" to Euro-Style" will accomplish nothing. Drop the price a couple of million and maybe something will happen.

Marking to Market, Redux
I innocently opined yesterday that this seemed like a good idea and was promptly straightened out by two well reasoned comments from "CEA", who clearly is up on the subject (all while providing a neat, accurate comparison to real estate pricing in Greenwich). Now someone in the Wall Street Journal says, who knows what will happen - let's try it and find out. So now I'm thoroughly confused. Thoughts, CEA?

It's always something!
Okay, we got the carbon thing under control by shutting down our coal plants (too bad China's building something like 1,200 of the pesky things a week, but hey, we tried. Now it turns out that a worse pollutant, methane, is rushing out from the ocean floor. What do I have to do to save this planet, give up my freaking boat, for Crissake? Sheesh!

If you blame this spate of non-real estate posts on a dearth of real estate news, you'd be right.
Reviewing the hot sheet, no new listings of note, a handful of mediocre price reductions (odd that cutting $500,000 from a listing price could be described as mediocre but if you start high enough, it is) and no contracts. I'll be glad when Congress either does or does not pass the bailout bill because we might see people moving off the fence, one way or the other. Sellers might panic and cut their prices low enough to bestir buyers or buyers might gain confidence that it's safe to come out of the bedroom. I'll be cooling my heels until then - I just may have to send Amanda out on another mission (Oh no! Aaaaaaggghhh! - get over it).

This is sad, if expected news
We all knew that explorer/dare devil Steve Fossett was dead but now they've found his personal effects in the desert. While it's possible it's all a ruse designed to hide his escape to Cuba with Hank Paulson and the $700 billion, I think not. Too bad, because I always admired the guy. He did crazy stunts but at his expense, and was inspiring to this armchair wannabe.

Resurgence of the Luddites
They're coming to destroy civilization but we're not paying attention. Here's a nice round up of what these wackos are up to.

Why hide your light under a bushel?
I'm told that certain Sotheby's agents deny they're any part of Realogy Corp, wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Management. While I can understand that no proper Greenwich agent would willingly admit association with the polyester, mustard-garbed horde at Century 21,the fact is, they're peas in the same corporate pod , as this press release states:

Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. (www.siroffices.com) is part of NRT Incorporated, the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation (NYSE: H), operates Realogy's company-owned real estate brokerage offices.

That's a little snobbish, isn't it? And what about Sotheby's other sibling, Coldwell-Banker? Do Coldwell agents also get the cold shoulder? Harsh bud, dude.

Update: This article says that we can expect still more market consolidation as the real estate market tanks. GMAC Home Services, one of the largest brokerage firms in the U.S. was just taken over by a Canadian company and the deal lost one potential player:"Realogy was mentioned among the possible buyers of GMAC, but it has been saddled with debt in [its own] heavily leveraged buyout deal."

Sotheby's is doing just fine; if its Greenwich agents are lucky, maybe Realogy will sell off Century 21 and the Sotheby's folks can ditch their shame.

Good bye, New York Sun
I was never one of this start-up paper's subscribers and, living outside New York, rarely felt the need to see what it was saying about local politics. But the little I did read I liked and, as The New York Times used to say, you don't have to read it all but it's nice to know it's there. That's no longer true about the Times, of course, and now the Sun's gone too. An obituary of the paper, written by a Manhattan resident, is linked here.

News Flash! Political corruption nothing new
My pal Bernie Yudain has an interesting column in Greenwich Time today on the building of the Merritt Parkway. Bernie touches on the corruption in Hartford that had the Governor and his cronies leaking information on the proposed route to their co-conspirators who then went and bought what was essentially worthless farmland and sold it to the state for a fortune. What Bernie doesn't mention but what I think I recall from an oral history of this subject in Greenwich Library is that the pols weren't content with a one-off deal: they kept buying cheap and selling dear as many as three times, changing the route so as to make it all possible. People finally got tired of no highway and lots of graft and the pols had to settle on one route, thus ending the show.
Bernie, because he's a gentleman, also doesn't mention the name of the "tycoon" who bribed his way to getting the Merritt designers to throw a huge, curving bend around his property. I'm under no such handicap so here's a hint: the locals didn't name that deadly detour "Rockefeller's Loop" for nothing.

Here's a lousy idea
Some town workers are proposing a four day work week for employees. The proponents claim that it will boost employee morale and save our environment. I could care less about employee morale (attention, Amanda Von Stuckle fans - "I could care less" is a sarcastic expression used by writers when in fact they couldn't care less. Ed.]. If someone with a lifetime job, big benefits and a generous retirement plan is dissatisfied, let them go to work in the private sector. And our own Peter Tesei says, "some of the virtues of helping the environment I find specious." Good for you, Peter - so do the rest of us.
Here's the real reason to oppose this plan: have you ever tried to use Town Hall during the five days it's open now? Try to get a building permit or almost any other governmental document and you'll encounter offices closed most of the day, with odd hours like 12:15 to 12:20, then 3:07 to 3: 32 [more sarcasm - Ed]. That's how things are now - we want to create a full day of inaccessibility? I think not.

Another problem with the bailout
When our politicians are tossing around a figure like 700 kerbillion trillion dollars, a more modest sum like $25 billion can be slipped past taxpayer dupes with nary a peep. That's what they've just done by "loaning car makers what would once have been a huge sum.

I've seen no discussion on why we're doing this. No one doubts that if Chrysler (or Ford, or GM or all three) disappeared, other car makers would step in and provide all the cars we need. They'd probably be as nice and modern as my Honda and, like my car, made right here in the U.S. So other than bailing out some executives and preserving their jobs, why are we doing this? Because we can and, as noted, after $700 billion, what's a mere $25?

Ugly Betty

Bill Clark, who writes sporadically on his blog (I've tried to add an RSS feed, Bill so I'll be alerted to new postings) Greenwich Gossip took it upon himself to go down to Town Hall and demand a copy of the survey Greenwich conducted months ago on the performance of our schools. No wonder the authorities have tried to hide this thing: our Superintendent, Betty Sternberg, received dismal performance ratings from both parents and teachers alike. Sternberg's two-year contract expires this year. First Selectman Peter Tesei has suggested that we select the best principal we have in our schools and make that person the next Superintendent. That makes sense to me but regardless of who's chosen, can we really do any worse than Sternberg?

Thursday's debate - how neutral the moderator?

Claudette, who writes as the Greenwich Diva, has expressed ambivalent feelings towards the appointment of PBS reporter Gwen Ifel as moderator of tomorrow night's Palin-Biden debate. Claudette seems to fear that Ifel won't be up to the task of dismembering that sly devil, Governor Palin (Claudette and I are fast friends but we've never agreed on politics and this issue is no exception). I don't share her ambivalence because I think the debate organizers have purposefully selected an Obama partisan in the hope that she'll do exactly what Claudette dreams of.
Michelle Malkin points out that Ifel has a pro-Obama book due out in January. The book's a best seller if Obama wins; he loses, and it's a historical curiosity (I speak from experience - my own book, "The New Millionaire's Handbook" was written at the height of the dot.Com boom. Despite my urgings that the boom would bust and the people I'd described wouldn't be as funny without money, publication was delayed until November 2000. Result? 20,000 copies sold instead of the predicted 500,000).

Can Ifel be objective? I don't know, she's a good journalist, but I do find her a dubious choice as moderator.
Update
The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto, no liberal he, says fuhgeddaboutit. Palin will stand or fall on her performance and nothing any moderator, even Gwen Ifell (two "l"s, my experts advise me) can bring her down. It's all up to the candidate, Taranto says and, thinking about it, I believe he's right. Which is a relief because I've always respected Ifell's work. I'm still going to view her suspiciously tomorrow night but Taranto's right: if Palin can't stand up to a newscaster,let alone a schnook like Joe Biden, then she shouldn't be our Vice President.

Well isn't this boring!
I did some further digging and learned to my disappointment that there are two "Nuirkas" and only one of them takes off her clothes. This one doesn't or at least her promotional material doesn't mention it. From the description of what she does offer:

As a consultant, Niurka's approach goes beyond an organization's symptoms (low productivity, low morale, high turnover, etc.) and uncovers the core problems and attitudes creating those symptoms. Once the core problems have been identified, a strategy is formulated to align the organization's systems, structure, practices and functions with a clearly defined mission, set of core values, and short/long-term performance objectives.

I figure she's the one the real estate firm is sponsoring.
Speaking solely for myself, I've already seen the damn condo the broker's plugging and I'd rather chew glass than sit through a lecture on aligning my auras. Bring on the stripper and even the condo's price will seem more attractive.

This would seem to make sense
SEC eases mark-to-market rule for banks

Bedtime reading (if you enjoy nightmares)
Reader Craig Vorselen has sent me this link to a Crains New York article on layoffs in the financial industry and this equally cheerful one about foreclosures in NYC. If you don't like reading phrases like"jobs are evaporating across the financial industry" and "there's no one left for job seekers to network with anymore" you'd be better off avoiding the first story but if your misery loves company, read away.

For what it's worth (to coin a phrase) I used to console and counsel fellow lawyers who'd lost their corporate jobs and who wanted to know what it was like flying solo. They liked the bit about being their own boss but always looked crestfallen when I got to the parts like, "you only eat what you kill" and "the staff payroll's due every week - your salary isn't". Most went on to find another job they hated with another corporation. The few who broke free, either of the corporate world or law or both always seemed much happier. So if things look dark, remember that old annoying cliche that so often proves true: for every door that shuts, another one opens. Works for me.

Amazing wonders in real estate pricing
So there are three houses currently for sale on Old Church Road, a great street very close to town.
149 Old Church is an 1899 house, renovated in 2006, on 1.48 acres and assessed (70%) at $2.336 million. It started in April at $3.795 and has now dropped to $3.200. 5,920 sq.ft.
163 Old Church was built in 1950 and renovated in 2008. It's on 0.96 acres, assessed at $1,637 million and is currently offered for sale for $3.750.
56 Old Church was built in 1905 and never renovated - a buyer will have to start by gutting it entirely and starting anew. Unspecified square footage but far smaller than either of the first two. Assessed at $1.376, it's asking $3.750
million.
I have two questions: are these houses on the same street, and did either of the latter two ask what happened with the first one? Inquiring minds want to know.

What's happening with Bentleys?
By Amanda Von Stuckle

What with all this fooferall about house prices dropping a teensey bit I decided to vist my pal George Louderkin III, the wonderful salesman who sold me my first luxury car years ago when I cashed out of the internet boom. The man's a saint, as you can see.
George seemed relaxed, if unoccupied when I stopped by so after the obligatory buss on both cheeks and the air kiss (George is so emotive!) we got down to business.
AVS: So George, how are you doing, and how are my friends handling all this? Are they still buying your cars?
GL III: Absolutely, Amanda, like they've never heard of a CDO in their lives.
AVS: That's great. What about the other salesmen here - same story?
GL III: What other salesmen?
AVS: Gone?
GL III: Like yesterday's news, baby. Half are selling Fords, the other half went into real estate. Except for Jerry - remember Jerry? He's out back washing cars.
AVS: But you're doing okay?
GL III: You bet. especially with this new discount program we got going: 110% off.
AVS: 110%? but that's -
GL III: You got it, Baby. We pay you to take the sucker away. Ya want an Arnage? Top of the line Bentley. $255,000 retail, so we give you the car and pay you $25,500 for your trouble.
AVS: That's incredible. Does it come with, you know, tires and a radio?
GL III: Those things'll cost a little more; say, top out at $350 K.
AVS: So I'd get ...
GL III: $35,000. Uh huh.
AVS: How are you going to stay in business this way?
GL III: Volume, Baby, we make it back in volume. And especially if you want a loan.
AVS: Why would I want a loan if you're paying me to take the car?
GL III: It's a special deal we got going. We give you a little more, say $50 grand, you sign a promissory note for $100 big ones and we sell it.
AVS: But then I'd owe money ...
GL III: Not if no one knows who you are.
AVS: But you know who I am.
GL III: Not if you take out a loan I don't. Sign the papers - Miss Penelope Strong, I don't give a f..k, and I never heard of you in my life.
AVS: And this is legal?
GL III: Sure it is, Baby. just ask Hank Paulson.
AVS: Our Treasury Secretary? Is he in town?
GL III: He's staying up at Dickie Fuld's place, in the guest cottage. But yeah - call him, see if he sees anything wrong with this. I'm telling ya now, he won't: who do you think came up with the idea? Goldman Effin Sachs, that's who.
AVS: That's great - I'll take one. You have a convertible?
GL III: You got it. Any choice in color?

O.K., The Greenwich market is down

Have you considered investing in Nigeria?
But be careful, as the linked website warns,

Lagos Nigeria real estate market is a vast property market where a newcomer can get easily lost and cheated by scammers.
Lagos Nigeria property scammers are everywhere. Lose your guard and you risk losing your hard-earned money.

Fortunately for you, these guys say they're honest.

Denver Commercial Real Estate Exec:
This could get ugly.
But there's this:
"Santora added that Denver is one of the three strongest markets in the country, with the other two being Houston (because of its energy sector employment) and Washington, D.C."

Hmm - wonder what they grow in Washington, D.C.?

The stock market's up today, so far
I suspect that our President isn't the only one holding his breath.

Update
But the credit market, which powers the world's economy, is a mess. I think we're in trouble, Toto.

Offers I never finish reading

Or wouldn't if I didn't need material for this blog. I just received an invitation from a new real estate agency in town to meet someone named "Niurka" - no last name, which doesn't make me comfortable - to learn "What moves your clients to action", "Master your state of mind" and "Discover the driving force of your life by grasping the Power of Identity".
No mention of booze or mushrooms to further enhance this "Powerful Experience" but lucky attendees will have an opportunity to inspect an over-priced condominium that's been on the market since Noah began nailing wood together to form that boat. I Googled Niurka and found this Wikipedia entry:

Niurka Marcos (born Niurka Melanie Marcos Calle[citation needed] on November 25, 1967 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban singer, dancer, actress, and erotic model. She is better known simply as Niurka.

She was a little-known actress in Cuba. Marcos already had a son when she moved to Mexico, whom she left behind to look for a better future.

Niurka had a son, Kiko, in 1991 and a daughter, Romina in 1995. She has not disclosed the father of either child.

In Mexico, she had mild success acting in telenovelas with Televisa, until she met producer Juan Osorio. Marcos and Osorio began dating in 1998. Marcos then became a star in many of Osorio's productions. They moved in together and had a son, Emilio, in 2002.

Marcos and Osorio were planning to get married in February 2004. Early in January, however, she revealed to the Mexican media, and the Latin American media in the United States, that she had been having an affair with her Velo de Novia co-star Bobby Larios, and that she was leaving Osorio for Larios. The news caused a wide-spread scandal and Marcos has not spared Osorio from public insult, blaming the break-up on, among other things, lack of sexual relations between the two.

"Erotic model", eh? Maybe I do need another look at that condo.

This is for real

Children sing for Obama

If your video isn't working, here's the actual U-Tube description supplied by the film's creators:

Sing for Change chronicles a recent Sunday afternoon, when 22 children, ages 5-12, gathered to sing original songs in the belief that their singing would lift up our communities for the coming election. Light, hope, courage and love shine through these nonvoting children who believe that their very best contribution to the Obama campaign is to sing.

Sing for Change was a confluence of hard work, good will, and shared vision. Inspired by ideas raised at a grassroots Obama fundraiser, a music teacher, Kathy Sawada, and the children composed and rehearsed the songs in less than two weeks. Several musicians heard of the effort and volunteered to accompany the children. Parents and older siblings designed and provided the T-Shirts and the banner. There's a first for everything, but rarely do so many firsts come together at once: for the children and their parents, this is their first performance, first video, first banner, and first involvement with grassroots work on a presidential campaign.

As Sunday approached, a neighbor volunteered a home. Production wizards got wind of the project and offered their help in recording it. The likes of Jeff Zucker, Holly Schiffer, Peter Rosenfeld, Darin Moran, Jean Martin, Andy Blumenthal, and Nick Phoenix rearranged schedules to participate. Holly Schiffer was able to get three High Definition cameras (Panasonic HVX250's), and an AVID editing facility. When Jeff Zucker went to pick up the camera package, Ted Schilowitz happened to be there and offered a RED camera set up on a Steadi Cam.

What we accomplished in a few hours on a Sunday afternoon embodies the nature of the Obama campaign: its grassroots inspiration, its inclusiveness, its community building. People pitched in quickly for a cause that resonated with them. There were not many conditions: "Think this is a good idea? Want to help? Great. Sunday at 12:00." At the heart of the project were 22 children and their music. The willingness of all involved to come together for them was a testament to our hope, unity, courage, joy and belief in the future represented by these children.

We are offering the video to everyone, the Obama campaign and all media with high hopes that we can all join together to Sing for Change.

Well worth your time viewing. I find it a disturbing and disgusting example of brain washing tots but hey, you may love it - it's all about change or at least, a return to the Soviet Union of 1939.

Shuttered Banks
I've just come back from counting the number of banks in town: 3,217 all of which are, as of yesterday, owned by just one large institution. Will it need all these branches? Will it decide that commerce dictates that it maintain 217 offices on Greenwich Avenue? Probably - this is Greenwich, after all, but if not, we're going to have an awful lot of empty buildings in town. Remember when the oil companies figured out that they didn't really need gas stations on all four corners of every intersection? Something like that. Marshall Heaven's going to be busy.

[Editor's note: Attention, Amanda Von Stuckel fans - the above post employs the use of a literary device, satire. The author's purported count of bank offices is not intended to be understood as literally true; he has deliberately over-stated that number to make a point. It is intended to be (mildly) humerous. Thank you for your attention; please turn now to another blog]

47 Will Merry Lane

Is 80% the new 100?
This house was listed a while ago (April, 2007) for $1.895 million. Today, 1 1/2 years later, it's been reported as under contract. Last asking price (the actual agreed upon price is probably less) was $1.495. My expert readers will be sure to correct my math on this, but I calculate that as 79% of the original price.

Interesting, if true
One of my clients tells me that he received a flyer in the mail advertising an auction of a very expensive house we looked at together last year. It's a spec house whose price has been sinking like a stone so it wouldn't surprise me but until I can confirm the particulars I won't mention the address here. If it is going to auction (and even if it is not), I think we'll see plenty of spec houses on the auctioneer's block in the coming months. As Drudge would say, "developing ...."

Angry People
What scares me most about the current fuss is the anger I hear from so many people who should otherwise know better. These folks, fairly sophisticated Greenwich types who made nice livings as Wall Street prospered, are furious at the financial world and are determined to see people punished, regardless of whether that brings down the entire economy. I see the economic pie as expandable so if a Dickie Fuld pockets a kabillion trillion dollars, I don't see the result as less money for me. But these people do. In their dreams, I suspect that they'd like to see all the money in the country collected in Washington and redistributed "fairly" which really means, to them. Of course in 5 years the wizards, whoever that group proves to be in the next business cycle, will have once again ended up with the majority of that money, but my angry friends don't see that far. The want retribution now, and the hell with fixing the current problem.

Their Congressmen have returned home for the next two days to get a sense of public opinion. I'm very much afraid that they will act on that opinion and do nothing when they get back to Washington or worse, really screw things up.

On a brighter note, the dollar is way up against the Euro and the Pound. This is probably the perfect time to head out on vacation, preferably to a place without newspapers, and relax.

I'm not sure how much weight to give to these data

According to the Boston Globe,

the more money a Congressman received from the financial industry, the more likely he was to have voted for yesterday's bailout bill. Supporters of the bill collected 57% more money, on average. My personal opinion of our government servants is low enough that I don't really care how much they're skimming - they're all in on the game.
Update
The New York Times has pretty much the same story but they claim that Democrats who supported the bill received 88% more money from the financial industry than their Democrat colleagues who opposed it.

The Wall Street Journal has a bunch of links to articles on What Happens Next. Interesting - go see.

And, courtesy of the same paper, here's an article on the Case - Shiller Index of Housing Values. The index runs only through July 31, but I haven't seen any dramatic improvement since that date, at least in Greenwich, so I think you can use the data as a pretty good picture of what's going on.

Open House Report
Nothing out there of note, in my opinion. A few retreads, a few new listings with sellers who are a tad optimistic - I'll stop by in six months and see whether they've gotten the message, and that's about it.

One ray of sunshine: Another agent I know reports that a buyer who had been lingering, offering a really lowball offer and sticking to it, called yesterday, after the market had closed down 770 points, and raised his offer to a very acceptable level. You may choose to believe that that was the only buyer in town and the rest of us just lost him or, like me, you can see it as a sign that there are still buyers out there who have the financial resources to take advantage of a down market. A year ago, this house was worth at least $500,000 more than it was asking yesterday. When the market recovers and I believe it will, given time, the buyer will be able to pocket that difference. Nice work if you can get it.

From Mark Steyn:
" "As a general proposition, when told by unanimous elites that a particular course of action is urgent and necessary to avoid disaster, there's a lot to be said for going fishing."

Courtesy of Instapundit.com

A reader asks, "Hey Chris, during the good old days 2000-06, did you ever steer a prospective buyer away from a property that based on their income, you thought they couldn't afford even though the bank was willing to lend it? Just curious if you think realtors should take some blame here."

The answer is no. As a real estate lawyer, I considered at least part of my role to be a quasi-financial advisor and no one, not even mortgage traders! left any closing I conducted without having spent at least an hour reviewing and receiving an explanation of the loan documents: what the total amount borrowed would be, the monthly payment, the possible increase in that payment, if the loan was a variable rate, etc. Even then, I didn't inquire into my client's job security, other financial obligations or his mental stability. With the exception of the last, I considered those matters to be between the borrower and his bank.

And in those days the lenders did inquire into such matters. I didn't realize that, in later years, in other parts of the country, buyers (often "represented" by a bank's lawyer, not their own) were spending as little as 15 minutes at closings. In Greenwich, at least, that never happened - to this day, agents foolish enough to show up at the start of a closing will cool their heels for a long, long time while attorneys like Tom Ward or Jeremy Kaye review the docs with their clients. The next time you hear a real estate agent criticizing Fairfield County's use of attorneys in real estate transactions, you might consider whose interest is being served by those lawyers and why real estate agents might resent their presence.

But as an agent, did I ever caution a buyer against purchasing a house because of doubts about his ability to buy it? Nope. If someone comes to my office and says he can afford a $10 million house I assume that he is financially sophisticated enough to know what he can afford and that any lender who's going to put out that kind of money is going to thoroughly vet the applicant. That may be naive, especially in light of what's been revealed about lending practices in the past months, but it's not my role to screen buyers. I certainly don't want to waste my time looking at huge mansions with someone not qualified to buy a bicycle but digging into a person's finances isn't my job. I did, and do, try my best to get my clients the best house for their money and even some of my high-end clients will attest that they spent more time than they wanted to with me checking out $5 million houses that I thought were great buys when they really wanted a $10 million house (I like to think that they eventually discover that some $10 million houses are no better and worth no more than some $5 million homes on the market).

I have, to my memory, never urged a client to stretch beyond their stated comfort level to buy a house. Again, I consider clients to be financially sophisticated, in Greenwich, anyway, and I'm not ever going to advise them to abandon what their common sense tells them to do.

Finally, remember that, as of now, only 3% of existing mortgages are in default - I suspect the percentage in Greenwich is even lower. Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expected the collapse of Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers so the folks buying here were well-heeled, well educated people fully capable of making financial decisions without the assistance of what in many cases is a stranger. I suspect that, were I to pry too deeply into the wallet of someone I'd just met the day before, I'd lose a client, pronto. We're not selling tract houses to illegal immigrants here and I've never seen the need to treat my clients as though they were fresh from picking cabbages.

So do we agents share some of the blame? I don't think so - you, of course, are free to disagree and I'd be glad to receive your thoughts on the subject - I may very well be blinding myself to something obvious so that I can sleep at night.

Further thoughts: (updated)
If real estate agents offered financial advice, would buyers listen? Many would not. Check out some of the comments on this blog and you'll see many contemptuous entries that basically call this author a moron who should opine on real estate and nothing else. To these people, once one becomes a real estate agent all prior experience and training are wiped out. One guy, a lawyer (a group that, according to polls, ranks just above used car salesmen and below real estate agents in public esteem) first insults my education and knowledge and then cautions me to stick to writing about things I know something about, like granite counters. Do you think such a man would listen if I warned him that he was getting in over his head on a purchase? Whether I would tolerate him as a client is another matter, but for now, I'll stick to advising people on the relative value of houses, and nothing else. What I post on this blog, however, is my business.

David Stockman at CVS!
By Amanda Von Stuckle
(Editor's note: Amanda was going to take a long vacation, because her first day of blogging tired her out. The overwhelming positive response to her first appearance convinced us to bring her back at least one more time, just to satisfy those fans clamoring for more. Please keep those comments going - I know Amanda gets quite a chuckle from them.)

So you won't believe it but I was at CVS on Greenwich Avenue this morning and there was David Stockman - Ronald Regan, Conyer's Farm, indicted over that Collins & Aikman business, remember? - buying some "womanly items" for (I assume) his adorable wife Jennifer. "David!" I called. "Yoohoo! How's the trial going?" He must not have heard me so I tried again: "What about your art collection? I heard that you had to sell your de Koonings to pay legal fees - is that true?" He scowled at me now, so I guess he did hear me the first time. He grabbed the box and skedaddled. What do you think: sensitive about the trial, or just his pending impoverishment by those lawyers? When I think of what my own divorce cost me; well, let's just say that David and I could have a lot to talk about. Maybe next time, over a deelish cuppa cocoa at Versailles!

Here's a depressing way to end the evening.
The Wall Street Journal is pessimistic after today's vote. So am I.

Both he [Bernanke] and Paulson gave the politicians and Main Street too much credit. They have behaved too calmly, and too rationally for the nation to get the message.

Bernanke and Paulson should have made outrageous promises at the hearings and argued there is no way this will cost the taxpayer $700 billion, that the taxpayer will in fact make money. That works much better on the American psyche. America loves buying lottery tickets. Think of the bailout as a lottery ticket with much better odds.

Perhaps the greater failure by Bernanke, Paulson and President Bush was a reluctance to scare the hell out of people. A leader shows gravitas and concern, not panic. But, perhaps, a little panic wouldn’t hurt. Because you get the sense that Main Street is so busy being angry, that it isn’t sufficiently frightened. The public still doesn’t connect their lives to the crisis. But it should.

Because no bailout bill means that:

By the close of the stock market on Monday, the value of Main Street’s IRAs, 401Ks and pension plans will be worth a lot less than on Friday. How much? Hard to say, but a loss of 20% isn’t crazy.

By week’s end, there is a good chance that a raft of large banks will be taken over by federal regulators.

Within two weeks, as the banks hoard cash, the credit lines on most of Main Street’s credit cards will be reduced, foreclosure proceedings accelerated and car-leasing programs suspended.

Within a month, Main Street won’t be able to buy a home, a car or a tractor unless paid for in cash. As the credit markets shutdown, the mortgage, auto and small-business loan markets will nearly disappear. And the economy will grind to a near halt.

Far fetched? Not at all. It is the absence of credit–not too much of it–that causes great economic depressions.

Okay,that's too gloomy to end with. Try this sober but ultimately reassuring article by another WSJ columnist.

The Black Knight
Remember him from Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I'm reminded of the poor fellow by this matter of Somolian pirates off the coast of Africa, They're surrounded by ships and planes from five nations but the First Mate claims they'll never surrender.
"According to a broadcast on the BBC Somali service, the pirates said that they could see an American destroyer nearby and several military aircraft tracking them, but that they were not afraid.
“They can’t catch us like goats,” said a man who said he was a spokesman for the pirates. “We will fight, and everyone here will die with us.”

"It's just a scratch", I suppose.

Update
Here's a relief:They're only in it for the money

More Ouch
Floyd Norris (NYT) calculates the loss in stock value occasioned by our financial mess. Here's a hint: it's already trillions.

Phew!
For a moment today I thought that the King of over-pricing had actually brought a new listing to market at less than his client paid for it last year. If even the King is heading south, I thought, then this market is really in trouble. To my relief, I realized that I'd transposed a digit and the house was indeed priced so as to yield a hoped-for 5% annualized return. The seller won't get that price, of course, but at least the King's record is intact and all is right with the world.

Ow

Your house is on fire - do you care how it started?
Now that Congress has declined to put the fire out and we're all waiting to see what happens next, we have the luxury of examining the causes of this mess. I wrote about this several times last week, with links to supporting documents, but here's a better attempt by a better writer. Our conclusions are identical - you can't, or you shouldn't, blame our MBA from Harvard, George W. Bush.

Oh, Dear
posted by Amanda Von Stuckel
Back from lunch at Valebellas! and what a scene. What had been a lively, fun luncheon break descended into pandemonium when news hit that the bailout bill had flopped and the Dow was going down, down down. Dickie Fuld was the only one laughing - when your stock shares are trading at 30 cents, do you really care? Dickie doesn't, obviously.
Mel Gibson, just arrived from his spread at Malibu Colony, was eating with Ronnie Howard. Salad only for Mel - hope that was a non-alcoholic beer, buster - and a full 1 lb steak that only Manny V. can prepare so well, for Mr. Howard. Mel was going on and on, whining about being unable to sell his $35,000,000 hunk of plaster and timber on Old Mill Road, all while the real people of this town, the financial tycoons who have supported our charities, built our hospitals and made sure our private schools are the very, very best in the country were watching Bloomberg, mouths open, while their fortunes evaporated. I finally couldn't stand it any longer and I came over to Mel's table and shouted, "for cris'sake, Mel, get off the friggin' cross - we need the wood!"

Mel didn't think it was funny but Ronnie did. I do love that adorable little scamp!
More later,
Amanda

20 Spring Street
This house sold last week for $1.6 million, roughly 80% of its original price of $1.950. It went to contract back in July, so I wonder what it would fetch today?

Hold onto your hats!
Bailout bill fails. Dow down 700 points
This should be interesting.
Update:
This WSJ article was written just before the bill failed, but as it was becoming clear that it was going to. The reporter paints a gloomy picture of what's ahead. Wanna buy a house today? I didn't think so, but if you've been holding back from tossing a screwball, lower-than-low offer into the hopper, this might be the time to try it. You'll either thank me in three years or you'll be living in a cardboard shack in the Dust Bowl - who's to say?

83 Riverside Avenue
Sold!
I first praised this house this summer when its price was reduced from $1.750 to $1.599 million. I thought the first price was fair, the new price a bargain. It was reported sold today for $1.5 million or about 15% off its original ask. That's a nice value for the new owner, I think. By the way, this place went to contract some time ago but news of that happy development was withheld (publicly) for 3-4 weeks, until the mortgage contingency was met. There's nothing under-handed about that - I, too don't disclose contracts until all contingencies are fully satisfied because once you report a house as under contract all showings stop, and if the deal later falls through, the seller's been disadvantaged. I mention it only to point out that the days of gaining a mortgage approval in a mere matter of days are over, at least for now.

Drinking the Kool-Aid
Governor Rell was delighted to announce Friday that she and her co-leaders in Hartford intend to shut down the economy within 40 years - her Global Warming Law goes into effect October 1st. I won't be around to pick gleanings from the (organic) farm fields but I feel bad for my kids. Here's our Gov:

“Our goal is to cut emissions 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 2001 levels by 2050,” Ms. Rell said. “We are committed to achieving this in the most cost-effective way possible and at the same time develop new opportunities for alternative energy. That is an important, emerging sector of our economy, one that will create jobs and enhance our quality of life.”

The scary part is that Rell and cohorts actually seem to believe this.

Why you never want to let your Goldman Sachs competitor become Secretary of the Treasury
Or, how Lehman's fall triggered collapse.

OwlGore and Streisand heading for Bangladesh?
Well darn! The developed world's cutting CO2 emissions but those pesky poor folks on the other side of the world insist on living!
Update (hat tip, Instapundit.com)European countries are cutting back on emission control efforts as their economies falter. We're all Bangladeshians now, eh?

Storm Clouds Over Miami?
This real estate consultant thinks that the market's in the tank until 2011 and that big houses are dead. Does this apply to Greenwich? Different markets, but are the buyers different? I don't know - I'm going to call a Bentley salesman and ask how things are going. Here's the consultant:

Sherry expects the housing hangover to linger in part because mortgage lenders have returned to old-fashioned lending standards. In contrast to the no-money-down loans that were easily available during the boom, banks are likely to demand 20 percent down payments for years to come, he said.

Moreover, Generations X and Y - those born after 1964 - are making less than their Baby Boomer parents, carrying credit card balances and student loans.

"They're going to have less money, and they're going to have a hard time getting a loan," Sherry said. "They're not going to do what the Boomers did, which was every couple of years to move up, move up, move up."

So good luck selling a McMansion to members of Generations X and Y, he warned. They're pursuing what Sherry calls "frugal chic" - buying a small home but putting a big-screen TV in it.

"They're not buying Mercedes, they're buying Volkswagens," Sherry said. "They're not buying big houses, they're buying small houses."

The Cavalry has arrived!
Business is so hectic these days that I've had a hard time keeping up with my postings. So imagine my delight when Amanda Von Stuckle, Greenwich's top Realtor and speculative home builder, offered to join forces and provide her unique insight into the Greenwich housing market. Amanda grew up in Bedford but shopped on Greenwich Avenue, attended Rosemary Hall and Sweet Briar College, then returned to Greenwich to start up, in sequence, a biotech company, an internet provider of popcorn and pickles, and a dog walking service. After selling all three of those enterprises at an enormous profit in early 2000 Amanda went into commercial and residential real estate development here in town. She's a fast friend of Greenwich Post's new gossip columnist, Susie (in fact, they often tour the town together) so she knows everything about who's who, who's doing whom and what they're buying. We'll be hearing from Amanda on a regular basis but for now, here's an introductory interview.

For What it's Worth (FWIT): So, Amanda, tell us a little about yourself. Grew up in Bedford, and I see that you attended Rosemary Hall - that's impressive.
Amanda Von Stuckle (AVS) Oh, not that much so - it was post graduate - they have a program for people like me, kids who, I guess took a few too many hits on the ol' bong to really succeed in high school. They take you in after 12th grade, assign a smart student to take your exams and write your papers for a year and presto! You're off to college. Choate has the same program but they mostly limit it to basketball and hockey players who are needed on a college team. Rosemary just requires a rich daddy, and I had one of those.
FWIT: Hmmm. Do anything notable at Sweet Briar?
AVS: Drank.
FWIT: Okay, so what about this real estate thing - how'd you get into that?
AVS: I know everyone who counts in town, and I know what makes them tick. That's all I needed to land in real estate on both feet and start running. I sold $100 million my first year.
FWIT: That's amazing - so, what makes these people "tick", as you say.
AVS: Fear. Fear at losing what they have, fear of not getting what they want. Oh - and greed, of course. I play those emotions like Yehudi Menuhin and that's all I need, baby.
FWIT: That's all there is to it? Fear and greed?
AVS: For the people I deal with, sure.
FWIT: How's that working out these days?
AVS:(coughs) Not as well as before, frankly. I've got the fear thing working but right now, these chumps are afraid of losing the house they have, rather than the house they want. Thank God my commercial ventures are doing so well.
FWIT:You were dumped out of that Stamford redevelopment project, I understand.
AVS: That's a retrenchment, not a dumping. Now we're going to concentrate on building an office complex at Bruce Park.
FWIT: The town's going to let you pave the park?
AVS: Sure - once we agreed to leave a little playground for the cripples, we were in. Besides, we've got the Lowell Weiker precedent to guide us. Remember him? "I'm a Weiker Liker?" When he was First Selectman he sold the air rights over the railroad to his pal and campaign manager, Ashforth, blocked the view of Long Island Sound for everyone in town and there wasn't a peep. Ashforth paid $15,000 to the town, God knows how much to Weiker and faster than you can say. "Greenwich Plaza" it was done.
FWIT: You're not saying you've bribed Peter Tesei, surely.
AVS: Who's saying that? Not me.
FWIT: Why don't we leave it there for now, Amanda. We're really excited that you'll be posting on this blog and we can't wait for your thoughts on what's happening and what will happen in these turbulent times.
AVS: It's going to be fun. I'm off to Valbella! for lunch - there's been another Regis sighting - but I'll be back with news later.

Can you spell "schadenfreud?"
I'm not sure I can, either, but read this, and see if it doesn't warm the cockles of your heart.

The "money quote", so to speak, is this:

Not all Wall Street CEOs have escaped unscathed. Cayne sold a Bear Stearns holding once worth $1 billion for $61 million in March. Lehman's Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld, who made $165 million between 2003 and 2007, sold 2.88 million of his firm's shares for 16 cents to 30 cents apiece, or less than $500,000, according to a regulatory filing.

The next shoe?

Tom Wolfe, who coined the term "Masters of the Universe" to describe the hot young traders pillaging Wall Street in the 80's says not to worry, Greenwich, all the smart young guys abandoned their trading desks, joined hedge funds and moved out to Greenwich long ago. Wolfe says that they're ensconced on Round Hill Road and Field Point Circle and their manors are paid for.

We'll see. Meanwhile, in the paper's same edition, there's this report that hedge funds are bracing for a massive capital outflow perhaps as soon as Tuesday. And there's this fun quote:

One little-known hedge fund barometer is pointing to trouble, however. The alphabet soup of complex investments that Wall Street created in recent years — R.M.B.S.’s, C.D.O.’s and the like — includes C.F.O.’s, short for collateralized fund obligations. Virtually unknown outside the industry, these investments are the hedge fund equivalent of mortgage-backed securities: securities backed by hedge funds.

We live in interesting times.

Stay or leave?
Interesting article from The Chicago Tribune on the pros and cons of staying in your house until it sells or clearing out. The reporter finds "experts" on both sides (that's what real reporters, rather than this opinionated blogger are supposed to do) so read it and make up your own mind. My personal preference? It's easier to sell an empty house but, then, I also think that staging is a waste of money and plenty of my peers disagree with me on that, too. Especially the ones who have a staging business on the side.

It's not just houses
According to the Wall Street Journal's Robert Frank, Gulf Steam GIV jets are a drag on the market, with the used inventory up 3X from last year. Just like Greenwich spec houses until a few months ago, prices remain high in the face of declining demand but Frank quotes one dealer who predicts a 30% price drop in the coming year. Doesn't builder Mark Mariani claim to own such a jet? I wonder if he still does.

Hurricane headed for Maine

Now, I understand that Maine doesn't have all that many people living on its easternmost edge, and I understand that a Category I hurricane doesn't pack the punch of a Category III, but if more of this country's citizens approached difficulty with this lobsterman's equanimity, I think we'd be better off:

Many lobstermen moved their boats to sheltered coves to ride out the storm, said Dwight Carver, a lobsterman on Beals Island. Some also moved lobster traps from shallow water, but most were caught off-guard by the storm's short notice.

''I'm sure we'll have a lot of snarls, a lot of mess, to take care of when it's done,'' Carver said. ''It'll take us a few days to straighten things out.''

The man must have missed the memo advising him to wait for FEMA's help to arrive.

Slappy the Happy Clown says ...

It's a quiet Sunday morning so I thought I'd look up some statistics (usually, I reserve this kind of scintillating behavior for soporific purposes, but ....)
There are 121 active listings for "new" - built 2005 and later - houses. Most of these, but not all, are spec homes waiting for their first buyer but, as they all compete with others in their price range, I'm lumping them together.
19 Houses are priced from $8 million to the top of new construction, $25 million.
12 between $7-8
14 between $6-7
14 between $5-6
15 between $4-5
14 between $3-4
17 between $2-3
16 between $1-2.
0 below $1.0

How are we doing getting rid of this inventory of houses? Not so well, I think. In the period of June 1,2008 through this past Friday, 18 new house went to contract. By my math, that's a touch over one a week, which, barring any more new spec houses joining the party, would clear things out in oh, say 2 1/4 years.

One little fly in this otherwise-cheerful ointment: From August 1 to date, we've only moved 5 new houses. If that keeps up, figure 4 1/2, 5 years before some builders get their money. I can barely spell foreclosure, but I can smell it. But, as my fellow Realtors and Slappy the Clown like to say, "don't worry, be happy!" No doubt something will turn up, eh? Until then, if you need your car washed, you'll probably see some real estate agents (and builders) competing for your dollar with the GHS kids. Be kind. And generous.

Wow!
If this article in The New York Times is accurate, one tiny segment of A.I.G., led by an arrogant, over-paid hot shot in London, brought ruin to a trillion dollar company. The article's written by Gretchen Morgenson who, back in my lawyer days when I was chasing wicked stock brokers, always seemed to produce Wall Street reporting that was spot on - go read this one.

Taking the High Ground

I have been accused of stupidity by a liberal commentator and, while I'm cut to the quick by his resort to such mean-spirited name calling, I stand abashed. I have failed to appreciate his allies' use of logical reasoning to support their arguments and in fact, until he wrote, I dismissed those people as lightweight morons. My mistake, as these examples demonstrate: Consider, for instance, the story that liberal pacs are readying an attack ad concerning McCain's battle with cancer, or the Democrat Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and tax cheat, Charles Rangel,calling Sarah Palin a retard. But wait, there's more! Madonna, that arbitrator of all things tasteful compares John MacCain (unfavorably, one assumes) to Hitler and Mugabe and Obama himself terrorized old folks in Florida by telling them that McCain wants to cut their Social Security payments by half.

I hadn't recognized all this as the reasoned argument our new commentator friend calls for but then, I'm just a real estate agent and can't appreciate nuance and feeling-based "facts". Darn.

My friend Claudette at Greenwich Diva is a bit dissatisfied with the Republican ticket and, sadly, has threatened to leave us should it be elected: "If McCain should win, I will leave my adopted country that I have come to love. As much as I love living here, I will move until they are out."

My sadness at losing a friend, even if only for 4-8 years (unless Gov. Palin is subsequently reelected in her own right, in which case it could be 16 years before I see Claudette again) is tempered by the consoling thought that she'll have the company of plenty of expatriates who have also vowed to vamoose. Robert Altman did but, sadly, departed this mortal coil before making good on his promise as did, I think, Pierre Salenger. But there'll always be Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand and Lynn Redgrave (possibly) to keep her company, as well as Susan Saranden and a bunch of musicians I've never heard of.

Next time I see Claudette I'll have to get her address in her new paradise: Venezuela? Cuba? I hear that Russia's got things going again, finally. And of course, there's always Iran - don't know whether Claudette will enjoy wearing a chador and stoning homosexuals but at least it will be a different experience. So bon voyage, friend, and call when you (or Gary - time to get that guy moving!) find work.

Can't we find a candidate who can think on his (or her) feet?
So I spent a few minutes listening to the debate last night (a crashing bore, I'd say) and heard Obama droning on and on about McCain's lack of compassion for "wounded veterans". "It's a Lloyd Bentsen moment" says I to myself, and I leaned forward to hear the Republican reduce the presumptuous twit to a puddle of twitching hyperbole.
What he should have said was, "Senator, I know wounded veterans. Senator, I was a wounded veteran. Senator, don't you dare lecture me about compassion for wounded veterans, ever again."

It could have been game, set and match for the man from Arizona. Instead, he mouthed some platitude about how the troops loved him and let Obama off the hook. Go for the jugular, Senator, no more Senatorial courtesy.

Doesn't he have a staff to prepare him for these things? Missed opportunity.

Nancy of Arabia

Bail out bill swells from 3 pages to 147 and still growing.

How large will the bill be after this weekend? Hell if I know, but I'd guess 350 pages. The Democrats, seeing their opportunity, are larding it with pork. Here's what Pelosi and our own Senator Dodd have dreamed up:

TRANSFER OF A PERCENTAGE OF PROFITS.
DEPOSITS.Not less than 20 percent of any profit realized on the sale of each troubled asset purchased under this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
USE OF DEPOSITS.Of the amount referred to in paragraph (1)
65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); and
35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 4569).
REMAINDER DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY. All amounts remaining after payments under paragraph (1) shall be paid into the General Fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt.

The Housing Trust Fund is yet another give away of taxpayer money for the deserving poor. It's enmeshed with the ACORN Housing Fund which helps po' folks get surprise! No doc mortgages.

The Capital Magnet Fund is more of the same.

Gee, between Pelosi and Dodd's perpetuation of our failed housing policy, Senator Reid's move to ban off-shore drilling and shale oil mining, you'd suspect that they like the way things are and are determined to keep things screwed up until after the election when, of course, they will fix everything and we'll move forward to the land of milk and honey. I can't wait.

Greenwich Time has a more complete story this morning on yesterday's foreclosure auction on Dwight Lane.
I'm glad, for the neighbors' sake, that someone is finally going to fix up this eyesore but I do wish the new owners good luck in renovating it. To my eye, the rotted siding, failed roof, windows, pool and tennis court, the obsolete electrical system and the obnoxious, all-pervasive stench of mildew would suggest that a bulldozer rather than a carpenter be brought on site, but the happy owner-wife has apparently had an architect review the dump and if he thinks it can be successfully restored, I bow to his superior knowledge.
One of my readers comments below that he thinks this property was a steal - I would only point out that, out of all the people in the world, only one person was willing to bid.
Update:

Here's the Tax Assessor's card on this property. Highlights include its "value" of $4,327,000 (someone's in for a tax reduction), the surprising (to me) revelation that it has 4 bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths, and, no surprise here, its condition is "below normal for age".
10-1975 LAUER MICHAEL DWIGHT LANE 0007 101
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
PARCEL NUMBER
10-1975

Parent Parcel Number
0

Property Address
DWIGHT LANE 0007

Neighborhood
180100

Property Class
101 Single Family

TAXING DISTRICT INFORMATION

Jurisdiction 57

Area 1

Corporation 57

District 10

Section & Plat 116

Routing Number 2310E0003

Site Description

Topography:




Public Utilities:
Water:
Sewer: N
Electricity: Y
Gas:
Cable:
Well:
Septic:
Other:
Shared Well:
Shared Septic:

Street or Road:



Neghborhood:


Zoning:
16 RA-4 Single Family 4 acre

Legal Acres:
5.1

OWNERSHIP
LAUER MICHAEL

7 DWIGHT LANE
GREENWICH, CT 6831

LOT NO 46 DWIGHT LA E3


CURRENT ASSESSMENT

Assessment Year 10/31/2005
Reason for Change 2005 Revised
VALUATION L 3027100
Market B 1300800
O 0
T 4327900
VALUATION L 2118970
70% Assessed/Use B 910560
O 0
T 3029530


PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS

Assessment Year 10/1/2005 10/1/2001 10/1/2001
Reason for Change 2005 Reval 2001 Final 2001 Reval
VALUATION L 3027100 2030800 2030800
Market B 2734400 2067100 2012000
O 0 0 0
T 5761500 4097900 4042800
VALUATION L 2118970 1421560 1421560
70% Assessed/Use B 1914080 1446970 1408400
O 0 0 0
T 4033050 2868530 2829960




Dwelling # 1
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Style: Contemporary
Year Built: 1986

Occupancy: Single family

Story Height: 2
Construction Type: Wood Frame
Finished Area: 7653
Attic: None
Basement: 3/4 Bsmt, 1/4 Crawl

EXTERIOR
Covering: Wood siding 99%
%

Condition: below normal for age

ROOFING
Material: Asphalt shingles

INTERIOR ACCOMODATIONS
Finished Rooms: 14
Bedrooms: 4
Half Baths: 1
3 Fixture Full Baths: 5
4 Fixture Full Baths: 1
5 Fixture Full Baths: 1

HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING
Heating Type: Forced hot air-oil
Air Conditioning; Y

OTHER
Retaining Wall
Res Pool In Ground
Res Tennis Court
FSP

The Bad News Gazette

Weekly roundup
Well, 6 single family houses went to contract this week, compared to, say, 10 per day in a normal September market. Top (asking) price was $3.995 million, the rest dropped rapidly from there -1 above a million, the rest below.

Sales weren't any more exciting: only 4 and, other than one whopper, prices were all well below $2 million. Langhorne Lane, Antares' disaster, "sold" for $13.750 million, down from its ask of $28.0, but if this was a settlement of a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled investor, and I believe it was, the price might just reflect a litigant salvaging what he could. Want an apples to apples comparison? 22 Bramble Lane, in Riverside, was purchased for $1.525 million in 2005. It was listed for $1.575 this summer and sold almost immediately for $1.525. So no whopping profit there (okay, a loss) but the seller was smart to take what money he could, and run.

24 Old Wagon, in Old Greenwich, asked $849,000 and after 141 days sold for $720,000. Ooops.

There were 77 price changes, all downwards, and 65 new listings. A bunch of the "new" listings are just re-treads returning to the market at a new, lower price and a fresh listing date.

As of this Saturday morning, there are 607 single family homes for sale in town, ranging from $125,000,000 to $445,000, so there's something for everyone. At 6 sales per week, they all should be gone in about 2 years, as long as no one else gets the bright idea of trying to sell his house before then. Stay where you are, damn it!

Nah, just kidding. Price your house to meet the new reality and you'll be in and out of the market long before a lot of these houses move.

To end this sales report on a happy note - and my peers demand it - 999 North Street, an antique way up in Banksville (but still in Greenwich), was listed for $672,500 and sold - bidding war! - for $685,000. So that still happens, even if only in the lower end of the market. Have a nice weekend.

Fun at the foreclosure sale (Missed the actual buyers because I can't seem to use my iPhone - what a dummy)
IRS auctioneer (in blue suit)


Crowd of non-buyers disperses, counting its blessings.

21 Desiree
Intriguing?
This perfectly nice house has sat unwanted since May 2005. Priced as high as (here's a case where raising the price definitely did not help) $5.950, it was lowered today to $4.995. That might do it, but I wish the owner had picked that price originally.

Utube on the housing bust
Greenwich Roundup readers might benefit from watching it.