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Revaluation Revisited Final thoughts on Kent's property tax revaluation Kent’s Board of Assessment Appeals has wrapped up its work of evaluating the claims of property owners who believed their new assessments to be too high. After having worked with approximately two dozen property owners who experienced sticker shock when they received their original revaluation notices, we’re of the opinion the Assessor and Vision Appraisal did a substantially good job, but there are some troubling elements in the template used in the revaluation process.

Kent: Stirring From Lull, if Not Hibernation The dual personality of a town that swells with summer folk and tourists is best parsed in the off-season, when a community’s spine is laid bare as the trees. And so it is with Kent, a small town of under 3,000 year-round residents bisected by Route 7 some 30 miles north of Danbury.

Connecticut's PA 490 Explained PA 490 was pushed by the Connecticut legislature and passed in 1963. The intent was to provide property tax relief for the owners of farms, forests, and open space. It was meant to prevent the owners from being forced to sell because of taxes. Does your land qualify and what are the savings?

The Stampede of White Elephants Wall Street Journal - October 31, 2008 As the luxury real-estate market slows to a snail's pace, real-estate brokers find themselves struggling to sell a growing number of "trophy homes" that are quietly gaining a new title: white elephants. The term hails from a legend that Siamese royalty gave albino elephants -- revered but financially ruinous to maintain -- to unpleasant courtiers.

The Unwashed and the Upper Crust in Connecticut New York Times - August 29, 2008 ARRIVING in Kent, Conn., fresh off the Appalachian Trail, two hikers who go by the trail names Mudbug and Bones ambled for about a quarter of a mile along a country road. First they passed the well-kept athletic fields and stately brick structures of the Kent School. Then came two chocolate shops, a trio of hulking bovine statues, a smattering of art galleries and a series of sidewalk cafes.

The Newest Cottage Industry Buyers Snap Up Small Homes Wall Street Journal - July 18, 2008 Peter Moon's family of six snuggles into bench seats for dinners together. Their house is 1,100 square feet, a bit smaller than two squash courts. "We really don't need more space," says Mr. Moon, a 46-year-old software designer. "I don't mind being cozy."

Going Native in the Garden ruralintelligence.com At 19, she was a high school drop out with a good idea. At 27, Raina Weber is the founder and executive director of Project Native, a non-profit dedicated to the collection, propagation, and promotion of the flora that has grown in this region since before alien-seed-toting Europeans started gardening here in the 17th century.

All Grown Up, and Glad to Drop By The Kids Enjoy the Vacation Home New York Times - July 11, 2008 If you keep it, they will come. That’s what some owners of second homes have discovered as their complaining teens become young adults. The same kids who despised being dragged on vacation take a second look at that summer home and see a place to unwind, spread out, and — let’s be blunt — snag free room and board.

Second-Home Owners Who Find That Friends Aren't Interested in Visiting
New York Times - June 13, 2008

When We Go, We Always Stop
New York Times - May 16, 2008

How ‘Green’ Can a Huge House Be?
The New York Times - April 6, 2008

Why Advertising Real Estate In Newspapers Does Not Make Sense
The Real Estate Bloggers - November 5, 2007