A daily journal concerning Lake Vermilion and surrounding areas
Selected real estate, notes, stories, musings, and anecdotes
------------ Comments and links welcomed ------------
Friday, February 27, 2009
Just One More Brief Housekeeping Update.
LVRE.com has a new look.
I like it better than the old look. (I hope a certain sibling will also agree that it's better than the old "apocalyptic wildfire in the distance" appearance of the previous color scheme.)
Firefox and Safari display the lay-out in it's most accurate form. Explorer is fine but finished third to the other two.
I hope you will agree that the "cooler" blue and green colors do a better job of bringing the look and feel of the lake to your web browser.
The number of properties posted on the Current Listing Map is growing daily.
If your waterfront real estate interests go beyond Lake Vermilion, be sure to look at the additional properties shown on other area lakes and rivers. The current area stretches from Ash Lake in the west to Snowbank Lake in the east!
The 2009 Annual Winter Blast snowmobile ride is scheduled for this Saturday, February 28th. The event benefits the agencies supported by the Northeastern Minnesota Chapter of the United Way.
An added activity this year will be the Polar Plunge.
Over the weekend I stumbled on a group of 6 private planes gathered for a casual fly-in at a local lakeside eating establishment.
If you're on the lake during the winter months with your camera in your pocket you know that any color outside of the grey spectrum is in short supply.
The burst of color offered by this group of parked aircraft was tough to ignore.
I'm not a pilot but I'm sure these winter aviators were happy to take advantage of the newly improved lake surface as one great big airfield.
FYI, this area has a number of publicly accessible airports.
Here's some data on each with a view, courtesy of Google Earth, of how a non-pilot-type, like myself, might imagine a landing approach at each location.
Two days ago, in Mesa, Arizona, President Obama offered remarks on the "home mortgage crisis". (Read his speech here.)
Real estate professionals in all corners of the country and the internet are commenting on the details of The Plan. (Google the topic here.)
The Whitehouse has a blog with considerable information on the subject including some clarification of The Plan by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. (Read the details here.)
The blog entry also includes links listed as follows:
This photo has been in the file since hunting season.
This naturally opportunistic Common House Mouse got caught while foraging in the hunting shack.
Obviously the mouse fell victim to a bad but not uncommon mouse decision.
And although this is an unfortunate ending for this Common House Mouse the incident was also immediately recognized as a LVRE.com-quality photo and blog opportunity. Now all that was needed to bring the photo and the mouse to eternal internet life is an appropriate and complementary "mouse-in-a-trap" story line.
At this point in our modern history the obvious story choice would be a tale related to the world's economic woes and the folks trapped, much like the mouse, in countless and unfortunate financial predicaments.
But I must resist.
We could probably all agree that we're getting an ample supply of that type of information from our media friends. So, as a simplistic but direct substitute I offer the following statement.
"I hope, with continued improvement, this website becomes a mousetrap for you."
And... of course, rest in peace, Common House Mouse.
(On a serious personal note... I wish the best for all who, for whatever reason, find themselves in a tough financial situation.)
The map will allow you to search current listings by location! Each listing has a marker. Each marker on the map (red for undeveloped lots and blue for cabins/homes) contains additional details plus another link to the MLS data.
First of all, thanks to all who provided their thoughts, comments, and support in responding to the poll posted below. I appreciate the ideas and would like to report that one of those suggestions is already in place.
Please note the change on the right side that now allows property searches in "water access" and "road access" categories. Hopefully, this provides a more clear comparison of similar listings.
Also, the "Must sell now!" section is under renovation and will return as soon as possible. The intent of the changes will be to match the most motivated Sellers to value-oriented Buyers.
And, one more item, as an update to the previous post. It appears that compromise discussions on the stimulus bill have eliminated the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit. (There are a few reports that indicate the credit was not eliminated but reduced to $7,500.)
Significant (real estate related) items currently included in the economic stimulus bill and financial stability plan are a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, higher loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA plus government spending to lower mortgage rates.
Final details will emerge for the President's consideration after a final Congressional version is negotiated in conference committee.
There are a lot of big numbers in the news these days. Here's my contribution.
10,717,998,123,287.70
Put a dollar sign in front of that number and it represents our (the United States of America) total outstanding public debt to date. That's 10 trillion plus dollars or about $35,000 for each and every U.S. citizen. (By the way, we are currently adding to that number at the rate of about $3.5 billion per day.)
Some benevolent folks, over the years, have done their share to reduce that huge bill by donating directly to the debt.
The U. S. Congress is currently working on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to address the issue. Taxpayers will be able to monitor the future spending of the stimulus funds at the soon-to-be-completed Recovery.gov website created by the Treasury Department.
Update.
Are you concerned or just curious about the details contained in the stimulus bill? Read the most recent version of the entire 736 page document here.
Each year the quality of the lake ice is dependent upon several factors.
Air temperature, obviously, and snow cover are two major players in what type of ice forms.
This year Lake Vermilion saw above average snow fall on a relatively thin layer of early ice. That combination resulted in large areas of heavy slush. If you have ever become mired in slush you know that it is not an easy predicament to exit. (I become stuck in slush and 18" of water a couple of weeks ago. My thanks to the 3 young gentlemen who sacrificed their own dry feet to help me get back to high ground.)
Recently, much of the slush has frozen but treacherous pockets still remain.
Stay on an established trail to avoid any remaining wet areas!
(I'm not 100% sure which animal made this trail across the lake. It succeeded in it's goal to reach the opposite shore despite an apparent issue with adequate ground clearance.)
There's a word that is rising fast on the popularity charts.
In fact, it's become so well used that the biggest news of the day involving the world's most prolific rodent could not push the word far enough back into newscast to remove it from the days' agenda.
It should come as no surprise that our new favorite word is "stimulus".
Politicians, economists, historians, and others seem to concur that stimulus is needed to nudge our abused and neglected economy back to heath. And although our local real estate market is relatively insignificant, the word stimulus is the right word for what ails us as well.
I probably have mentioned it before but the current market contains no urgency.
So what better than some sort of stimulus to induce some urgency? Someone needs to take the initiative. All of the elements for increased market activity are in place. Sellers are anxious to sell. (That's a fact because they tell us that every day.) Buyers still have the desire to buy. (We know this because they continue to inquire and research.) But Buyers are hesitant because they are looking for and willing to wait for a good value. But, I believe, that most Buyers might be surprised that many Sellers are anxious and open to negotiation now.
So... we have Buyers who desire a good value and Sellers willing to look at offers.
Would someone or something please stimulate, arouse, or incite this combination into action?
Most Recent
Buyers!
Winter Birds.
R. I. P.
In Search Of Good Ice.
