My Unexpected Home

Having lived away from Rhode Island for many, many years, I have had the opportunity to live and travel to a lot of great places.I went to prep school in northern Massachusetts, in the low-lying mountains. I spent my college years in Boston – a place of beautiful old architecture and cobble stone streets –bitter cold winters -- where -- the memory of the wind whipping by as I waited for the ‘T’ still brings a chill to my body.
I was lucky to spend my junior year in college going to school in Paris, France. I traveled extensively while there. Back pack on, euro-rail pass in hand…my friends and I traveled to every corner of Europe, and northern Africa as well. Each country has it own flavor, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Holland, Luxemburg, Monaco and Belgian. The architecture, the charm, the history and the romance of it all remain with me to this day.
After college I moved to New York City ---

jam packed with High rises, office building and town houses. Still the beauty of the façades of the buildings are so impressive…and Park avenue, especially in the spring time when the gardens between up town and down town are planted with magnificent tulips, was always my favorite welcome to the change of season. I would always try to travel up Park to get my spring time fix of color. It was elegant; it was always worth going out of my way to see.

And now I find myself in Rhode Island --- where I find the romance and splendor of the old world right here in Rhode Island. Whether I am driving down Ocean Road in Narragansett,

through the Towers past the magnificent ocean front homes, or crossing the bridge to Newport, I find the streets are full of charm, grandeur and history. The old world architecture is utterly majestic. The beauty of the rolling land is only surpassed by the site of the land meeting the sea …and the twinkling lights of the many bridges that light up the sky in the night.
As I drive along the coast line and look out I see the very perfect looking vision of the Newport bridge, connecting one island to the next. It really is as pretty as Monte Carlo.

Bellevue Avenue at Christmas time is a site to behold.
Each mansion is beautifully decorated for the holiday – looking ever so grand when lit for the evening. It could be Paris, the Champs Illese, the Arch de Triumph, but it is historic Newport. It was always here, always beautiful.
.

I feel a little like Dorothy speaking to Toto. Sometimes one has to move away, and then return to see what has really been here all along. I have to say, I am continually struck by how very beautiful Rhode Island is, in an almost story book kind of way.

Lila Delman Real Estate hosts European Colleagues

Lila Delman Real Estate Hosts European Colleagues at Christie's Global Annual Conference

Christies Great Estates Newsletter

The Christie's Great Estates Global Annual Conference took place last week in Boston, Massachusetts, with 60 affiliate firms represented- 40 percent of which were outside the United States.

Rear Row L to R: Jose Ribes Bas, Rimontgo, Valencia Spain; Philip Sherry, SherryFitzgerald, Dublin, Ireland; Ueli Schnorf, Wetag Consulting, Ticino, Switzerland Front Row L to R: Robin Nicholson, Melanie Delman, Catherine Gazder of Lila Delman Real Estate

Lila Delman Real Estate hosts European colleagues. The principals of three European affiliates traveled south to Newport, Rhode Island, after the Global Annual Conference in Boston to visit properties represented by Lila Delman Real Estate. Jose Ribas Bas of Rimontgo in Spain, Philip Sherry of SherryFitzgerald in Ireland and Ueli Schnorf of Wetag, Switzerland joined Melanie Delman, Robin Nicholson and Catherine Gazder of Lila Delman on a tour of the Carnegie Abbey Club and other prominent offerings. "We were thrilled to introduce our friends from Spain, Switzerland and Ireland to Newport, Rhode Island," says Melanie Delman, company president. "Everyone especially enjoyed cocktails at Oakwood, one of our premier listings."

Planning Ahead

It is such a great time to buy a home – low interest rates, plenty of inventory, time to get settled in before the kids start school, just to name a few reasons. I have been working with a lot of buyers lately and had a few thoughts about the process. Having been through this many times with wonderful buyers and their families, I thought I would write down a few of my thoughts on the subject that will make things a little easier on you, the buyer.



First – Select your location. This can be very general or very specific. I suggest that you don’t start looking at the insides of houses until you decide what locale you prefer. It could be a town, or specific part of town, or maybe you like 2 or 3 towns. But try to narrow it down or you will get tired and frustrated doing something that should be enjoyable and fun. Take a few rides with your family and get to know the different towns and villages first. It will pay off in the long run. There is no sense finding the ideal home in a part of town you just can’t abide. You can change a house with remodeling, but you cannot change the location. Do you like the sea, the woods, are you concerned about the school system, do you like to walk to shops and neighbors or do you like deep solitude?



Second – Decide what kind of house you like. This does not have to be a specific style, but more importantly, it is about how you and your family live in the space. How many public rooms do you need to be comfortable? How many bedrooms and baths? Garage space? Do you really need a basement or will it become a storage unit for unwanted possessions? Do you like walk-up attics? Big yards or small? Open floor plans or lots of small rooms or a combination of both? Do you need a guest suite?



Third – Fill in the details. After you have the location narrowed down and have an idea of what kind of living space you like you can fill in the list with details like fireplace, hardwood floors, granite counters, patios, sheds, big windows……in other words, details. You may or may not get all of them in one house but these details are something that can be added later if not currently in an otherwise perfect house.



Fourth – have fun and remember that buying a house is not an event – it’s a process. I hope to see you during your house-hunting adventure.

Staying Centered

What keeps us centered in a shifting world? What are our escapes? And can we still go there?Radio and Newspapers are filled with the bad news, but they are also powerfully comforting resources.

My constant escape, and where I find my extra boost of daily comfort, is WGBH public radio in Boston. Years ago, I began to listen to morning pro musica host Robert J. Lurtsema, the birds! his voice! his long pauses! Now, The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor (weekdays at 8:55am) is my morning pause, for these five minutes, just following the school drop-off, is topped-off with the Poetry Foundation's poem of the day, this 5 minute program is completely blissful.
Sunday afternoons with Sound & Spirit weaves history, myth, and spiritual traditions together with music to take listeners on a journey around the world and through the ages. Great adventures are in store with Marco Werman's THE WORLD program, a joint production of BBC and WGBH.

Finely textured and woven together, GBH is all about outstanding programming that somehow has a power that keeps me centered, no matter what time of day, no matter what is happening.

Little Known and Liking It

While doing some research recently, I came across this great article in the New York Times Escapes section all about Tiverton.




Tiverton is one of those towns that is easy to miss or dismiss because it is not on the 'island' and often takes a backseat to its neighbor, Little Compton. Yet it has the same rolling meadows, historic stone walls, sparkling salt water beaches and thousands of acres of conserved land like the Pardon Gray Farm,
Ruekers Audubon Preserve, and Weetamoe Woods.




There are only 4 stoplights in all of Tiverton! You can spend a whole day just browsing the shops and art galleries in Four Corners. Then get an ice cream cone at Gray's. You won't be sorry.

Tiverton is less than 30 minutes to both Newport and Providence. And highway access to Boston is right off Main Road and you can be in Boston in an hour or less.



You can find houses in all price ranges. Even if you are not thinking of buying a house, I would recommend you spend a day in Four Corners and see what a treasure it is.

The 5 Star of New England - Rhode Island

What do Turk & Caicos; Baden Baden, Germany; New York City; and Rhode Island have in common? The answer might surprise some but not those in the know….

All have been awarded the prestigious Five Star Diamond seal of approval from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (AAHS). Rhode Island has the additional honour of being the first US State to ever receive this achievement. The AAHS exclusively awards this Five Star award to places deemed to be the pinnacle of quality in the global travel and luxury services sector.

Rhode Island has won an Oscar! This is how Rhode Island Tourism Director Mark Brodeur described this award by saying “This is a huge accomplishment – this is our industry’s Academy Awards”.

Rhode Island Governor Carcieri agreed by saying that he has “always maintained that Rhode Island is the star of New England” and expressed his pleasure that “our state’s wonders and its hospitality have earned worldwide recognition as well”.

If you don’t already own property in a Five Star location, correct that by buying a luxury property in Rhode Island!

We offer tremendous value for our luxury and waterfront properties as compared to other luxury real estate destinations such as the Hamptons, Greenwich, Martha’s Vineyard, or Nantucket.

One example of the impeccable properties currently offered in Newport include Oakwood - the 19th-century summer residence of Mary Alida Astor Carey – which is revered as one of the finest historic properties of coastal New England. This 24-room Italianate-style home set in six acres of walled private grounds has hosted many of the area’s most distinguished families over the years. The price will pleasantly surprise you!

In praise of older...

...houses! I have always loved old things...old furniture, old music, rusty old signs, musty old books, faded vintage textiles, and - best of all! - old houses. Having spent time living in places that are not particularly old or historic - Miami (not much built before the roaring 20's) and the Bay Area in California (not much built pre-Gold Rush and then a lot of it lost in the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906) - has only deepened my appreciation of structures that have stood the test of time, structures that have the ability to actually transport us BACK in time.

Just look around places like Newport, Jamestown, Bristol, Wickford, the old plantation sites of South County, mill towns like Peace Dale & Wakefield, the Hill & Harbor area of East Greenwich, the East Side of Providence, and the turn-of-the-century summer playgrounds like Narragansett & Watch Hill... there are old houses EVERYWHERE here! They're just part of the everyday landscape of Rhode Island...no biggie.
But I say, they are the heart & soul of this state...part of what makes people visit, return, buy summer places here, stay if they were born here...re-locate here if they weren't. Mansard roof lines...graceful columns...wide covered porches...stained glass...cobblestone streets...picturesque harbors…whitewashed church steeples...rambling old stone walls...wrought iron gates...elaborate stone mansions...humble clapboard farmhouses...a 12 over 12 window in a 1750 colonial with a candle shining brightly on a winter night. You don't have to live in an old house yourself if you don't want to - but be damned glad lots of other people do so you can bask in the history, the charm, the unique New England quaintness they maintain - and you enjoy - all around you.
(Coming up next...are you an old or new house person??)

SoBo, NoBo, NewBo

Thirty years ago, when I first moved to Newport, the whole Broadway neighborhood was so rundown and un-hip it virtually constituted another universe. Think downtown Fall River. Think Central Falls. Unless you needed to go to Newport City Hall on some mind-blowingly boring errand, there just wasn’t much point in getting out of the car. Of course if for some reason you didn’t have a car – say you were visiting from out of town – chances were you would probably have needed to utilize Broadway’s derelict & boarded up Bonanza Bus Terminal once in a while. There you could drop your bags, slump wearily onto a filthy plastic seat, and enjoy a cigarette amidst the exhaust fumes of the occasional bus while you watched a slow parade of defeated-looking fellow travelers – a number of whom could be counted upon to be drinking deeply from crumpled brown paper bags - shuffle by you in order to make use of the public restrooms.

For those of us who lived in town and did have transportation, there was less reason to go. Once in a blue moon it might have been necessary to stop at the Salvation Army to donate no-longer-wearable clothes. If you had the kind of job that required you to wear canvas overalls and steel-toed work boots, perhaps periodically you would have gone to Carellas’ Shoe Store to re-outfit yourself. If were hung over and not in the mood to run into anyone you knew at lunch, you could always join the municipal work crews for a burger and a bag of chips at the Star Lunch counter, an establishment whose customer base seemed to consist almost entirely of men, ardent devotees of anonymity and heavy smokers all. Gas was still being pumped at the Gulf station. Litter swirled around on the sidewalks like tumbleweed on the desert, at least until midwinter, when the dirty unshoveled snow held it firmly in place until spring. When a small, unimposing Chinese restaurant finally opened up across the street from City Hall in the mid-late 1980s, it was NEWS. The unspoken consensus on the part of the locals was that the modest but clean Dragon Express added some much needed tone to the neighborhood.

That was the neighborhood. Grimly utilitarian, a Flint Michigan of the soul, the kind of place that could throw you into an existential funk faster than a Bob Dylan tune. Which is why Broadway’s SoBo, NoBo, NewBo transformation of the past decade or so astounds me still. The turning point was when they tore down the old bus station and built the new police station in its stead. Then the Salvation Army store caught fire, burning to the ground, damaging neighboring businesses and emptying surrounding storefronts. In came the pioneers. First was the funky, grunge-inspired Salvation Café, which set the eclectic/alternative standard for much of what followed. Tucker’s Bistro. Norey’s Café. Island Arts. Portobellos. Pop. Spark. Freaky Burrito. Pour Judgement. Artists began to hang around, then moved in. Real estate started happening, buildings were re-habbed, condo conversions took place. Little white twinkle lights started going up in the trees. Restaurants started putting in window boxes and setting tables on the sidewalks.
It was crazy!

All of a sudden, this moribund neighborhood was exploding with youthful energy. Who were these people? Newporters. People – many of them just kids - with ideas & business plans & tons of energy who were attracted by cheap rents and undeterred by the prospect of failure, people who actually found the depressing nature of the area exhilaratingly authentic and used it as the raw material for something altogether different, something distinctly alive. It’s more than just urban renewal, it’s psychic energy in action; Broadway has become Newport’s collective response to a downtown core that has grown maniacally tourist-centered and more and more inhospitable to its year-round residents. What these businesses have given us isn’t so much goods and services as a town itself, a town that tourism almost took away. And what they’ve made is really, when you get right down to it, not a commercial district at all but an anti-wharf, a secession from the prevailing mind-set: a place for, by and about locals.

Photo Bloopers

Just when you think there's nothing worse than trying to get information on a home for sale that has only one exterior photo...you see some that may be better off without additional photos. If you've ever tried it, you know it's not that easy to take great photos of a home for sale. It's hard to get the light right. Just a little clutter looks like a lot when you photograph it. Even if you have the loveliest tile in a sparkling new half bath, how do you get more than a corner of the bathroom?

Even though they may not help sell the house, some are quite amusing and I've been collecting some for a blog. Did these poor sellers ever look online at what their agent posted? Upon further research I found there are sites and blogs dedicated to bad real estate photos. Yes, really!

So just for a giggle...

Dumpsters!

Wasn't there an empty corner in this room?

This is for a piece of vacant land.

Taken while falling down the stairs?

Note the ankle bracelet on this guy. Does home confinement mean he conveys with the house?

Bathrooms are tough, but closing the lid really helps.

Got any you'd like to add?

Really Good Mortgage News - REALLY!!

When you read this you’re going to think it sounds too good to be true.

We all hear about mortgage interest rates going up and down. In recent weeks there has been a rather significant dip. I began to wonder if there was an easy way to refinance from 6.75% to the current much lower rates. I called my lender (Wells Fargo) and asked a flurry of questions, to which all the answers were “yes.”

I was told I could refinance whenever I liked with no fees, no closing costs, no cost at all. I could refinance now, and again next month, or next year, or next week if rates changed again – as many times as I wanted. He asked me all the relevant questions about employment, income, etc. and processed the application in just a few minutes. The approval was given instantly and they’ll send me the paperwork to sign and have notarized.

The bottom line? I’m saving $195 per month in interest just because I asked. In my book – that’s big!!! I feel like I just found $195 in last winter’s coat pocket. So many things I’d rather do with $195!!

Call your lender now, so you don’t spend a penny on interest that you don’t have to. I hope your lender is as friendly as mine.

Renovating the HDC from the inside out

For many years now, the City of Newport's Historic District Commission has been the bane of the existence of those who own property in the neighborhoods within the Commission's jurisdiction. The absence of any real qualifying professional standards for Commission members, the utter lack of clear guidelines, an arbitrary, capricious, and nepotistic approach to enforcement, application & fee structures without rhyme or reason, and of course, the hell of having to sit through interminable Commission meetings, waiting for your name to be called in order that you might present your "case" for replacing that old window in your garage or rebuild your front steps - these are to name just a few of the procedural inequities that have turned this initially laudable effort at architectural preservation into a mind-blowingly hateful experience that smacks of Big Brother. Untold hundreds of Newport property owners have suffered untold annoyances at the hands of these fools. The received wisdom around town was that if your interior decorator or your contractor or your next door neighbor didn't sit on the HDC, you were pretty much out of luck.

But hopefully, all that is about to change. Late last spring the City Council empaneled a task force whose purpose is to review and REVISE the historic district ordinance. This task force - which has been meeting regularly several times a month - is comprised of a group of selected residents with professional backgrounds in the fields of architecture, building, history, preservation, and law. That group subsequently split into several sub-committees, which have been meeting once a week. All of the meetings are posted and open to the public. Save for the committee members themselves, the meetings are invariably poorly attended. Come on, folks! For all of you who've been complaining about the workings of the HDC - or have ever complained in the past - this is your big chance to help these hard-working volunteers set things right, finally and once and for all.

The Sniff Test

What do you like to smell when you walk into a house that you’re considering buying and making your home?

Do you notice the smell?

Do you remember the house by the smell?

What smell would make you take that home off your list of possibilities?

We all weigh the perception of different senses differently. Smell is just one that is more important to some. There are those of us may not be concerned about street noise, while others absolutely must have bright sunlight.

Hopefully, when you visit a property for sale any odor there belongs to the current residents not the house or the neighborhood.

Suggestions abound regarding what scent sells a house. Sellers watch the “sell it” shows on TV, read articles and get advice from friends. They light candles scented with everything from pumpkin to ocean breezes. They bake bread and cookies. They plug in air fresheners. Sellers take note: buyers walk in and wonder what the seller is trying to cover up.

My favorite scent in a house is none at all! No mustiness, no pet odors (including pet food), no potpourri, no strong cleansers or disinfectants and no hint of last-night’s-dinner. It can be done. A house cleaned and prepped for the market should be in this condition anyway.

What scent do you think sells a house?

An existential moment in Newport

One of the best things about living in Newport is the way history seeps out of the sidewalks, usually when you least expect it. Ghosts are everywhere...

Yesterday morning I took my dog Gwen for a walk. We were headed to Island Cemetery to check out the gravestone of Richard Morris Hunt, the architect of Wrentham House, which I'd just been to see a couple of days before & which had blown me away.




Anyhow, on the way we passed some guys from the Department of Public Works replacing a stretch of pavement. Naturally Gwen dragged me over so she could sniff out the excavation trench, and there, right smack at the bottom of it, were the broken but clearly recognizable remains of a colonial clay tobacco pipe, just lying there in the dirt for all to see. The sight immediately unmoored me from my normal reality. Who'd dropped it? When? What was their life like? What IS time?

How very odd, that they were there & now they were gone & I was there instead...and someday it will be my turn to be gone, and someone else will be standing on this street corner, scratching THEIR head over this same existential riddle. Because no matter how I sliced it, there was no denying the fact that there at my feet lay a small clay pipe - proof that time exists, reality exists, that life and death are unutterably & irrevocably real. Really real. Almost every second of every day we allow ourselves to forget that.

Overhead fluffy white clouds slipped unconcernedly and implacably by. So what else could I do? I walked on, to the cemetery.

Still haven't found a gift for Mom?

It’s not too late to find that special gift for your Mom (or a Mom you know) for Mother’s Day. What would be really exceptional, really unforgettable? What would show her that you’ve been listening? How about a house?!?

Working at Lila Delman Real Estate, you’re bound to occasionally fall in love with a property in the inventory. So if I could choose gifts for some of the many wonderful, hard-working Moms/agents here at Lila Delman, here’s what I would choose.

Families…are you paying attention?

Laura Fauntleroy – 145 Prospect Farm Road – Her face lit up the minute she saw this outstanding home. Perfection in every direction.

Kim Doherty – 325 Ocean Avenue – For a lady who loves architecture and appreciates a masterpiece.

Susan Gustavson – 78 Macomber Lane – Susan has perfected her own beloved cottage and I picture her honing this little gem into her waterfront retreat.

Robin Nicholson – 330 Gray Craig Road – I know she looks forward to every appointment here and grows to like it more every time she visits.

Bridgette Soby – 25 Bedlow Avenue – More room, a nice private yard for play space, and a stylishly renovated house where no detail has been overlooked.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY A HOME?

When you can get the most house for your money.When rates are at a historic low.When you have the itch to buy.

320 Grandview Rd in East Greenwich, RI

Rates have had an unbelievable run of late with the intent of stimulating the economy. The Fed reduced rates in January with the largest rate reduction in 20 years. They dropped even more in February and now they have done it again. Rates are at an historic low.

So then......NOW......is the time to buy your home!!!!

You hear from the media that the housing market is in a slump. This being true, this is when you can get the great deals on homes AND the great deals on mortgages.

So then......Who is the big winner in this game? YOU are!! You, THE BUYER, are the winner at this time when you buy a house today.

How Much Longer Can This Continue? In the long run, these rate cuts will entice more international investors, boost consumer confidence, leading to higher rates. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to purchase your home. Start your search today. See mortgage options.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

What You Get for...$7 Million

What You Get for... $7 Million

This week the popular NY Times online feature "Property Values" includes a Lila Delman Real Estate listing in Middletown, RI.

Sometimes it's $400,000, sometimes it's $15,000,000...but it's always interesting to compare your area of the country with others and the properties featured in this column are always unique in some way.

The Lila Delman Real Estate listing that's featured in this article is the Kennel Cottage at Gray Craig. Once a home for the original estate owner's prized Pekineses, now a beautifully renovated home on over 8 acres. The home is a dream, but the grounds are one of the great surprises left here on Aquidneck Island. With commanding views of Little Compton and beyond from a cistern at the highest point, to a 30,000 sq ft walled fruit orchard with a magnificent Italianate tea house, one must think that when Gray Craig was divided, the Kennel Cottage got some of the choicest and most private areas of the estate's landscape. Check out the tour and come back as more photos will be added as the flowers bloom.