Ken offers tips for making weed killer, ecological landscaping
Last week’s 10 sales exceeded the previous week’s 16 sales by $3 million. That was mostly due to a big sale on John Street that added almost $15 million to the total. Other than a three-family in-town sale, the other nine were all single-family homes
The John Street compound was my sale of the week, fetching 96 percent of asking in under six months on market. That’s lightning quick in that price range.
My buy of the week selection was a mid-country home off Lake Avenue that sold at a good discount from its previous purchase price and its tax-appraised value. There are bargains out there if you know how to find them and have some patience.
Buy of the week
With a tax-appraised value of more than $4 million and a purchase price by the seller of $3.7 million 19 years ago, this sale at $2.9 million caught my eye as a potential buy of the week selection. The 2.6 mid-country acres, the 2017 renovations and the six bedrooms and four-and-two-half baths with more than 6,000 square feet of space confirmed it. This is a steal at under $3 million.
On the market for nine months since last May, it shows very well with an updated open floor plan eat-in kitchen/family room combination, and a large butler’s pantry serving a formal dining room. Add a three-car garage, a den, a mudroom and an out-building for your classic or sports car with an attached greenhouse and you have the makings of a very special home at this price point in a community off Lake Avenue. Some deals are worth the wait.
My sale of the week selection is an unusual one if you’ve been following the back country market for the last few years. It’s a Georgian colonial lake front estate compound that was built in 2011 and given additional sparkle in 2018. It’s unusual in that it sold in under six months on its relisting after a four month hiatus.
Estates in the $15-20 million range typically take much more time to transact. Getting 83 percent of the first listing’s ambitious original asking price of almost $18 million is extremely tough in this back-country market. The second agent listed the property at $15.5 million and it sold for 96 percent of asking last week.
What do you get for almost $15 million in back country these days? How about 9 bedrooms, 9 and 5 half baths, a guest cottage and a 7-car garage on 5.7 lakefront acres? The master suite features his-and-her two story dressing rooms while the lower level has a gym, playroom, beauty salon and a massage room. The total square feet of finished space comes to 12,368.
Outdoors? Beautiful views of a lake with a footbridge to your own private island. Of course there’s also a pool with cabana, terraces, an outdoor kitchen and a fireplace that overlooks the lake. What can’t be expressed in words here is the luxury and design that truly make this a very special home for one lucky buyer.
Ecological alternative to herbicides
We all want to get rid of unsightly weeds growing on our garden paths and through sidewalk and driveway cracks. That’s especially true if you’re preparing your house for sale.
If you have concerns about using glyphosate-based weed and grass killers like Bayer’s Monsanto brand called Roundup or their Dicamba herbicide, you are in good company. There’s litigation currently underway against Bayer with complaints of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers.
An $80 million jury verdict was handed down in March in California (Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. et al.), and last August $289 million was awarded (later reduced to $78 million) in another case. Hundreds of additional cases are coming including a federal multi-district litigation scheduled to begin in the Northern District of California on May 20th.
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill most plants including lawn grass and bamboo. It prevents the plants from making certain proteins that are needed for plant growth. Glyphosate does this by shutting down a specific enzyme pathway, the shikimic acid pathway.
Until there’s more data proving that Roundup — and not just its active ingredient glyphosate — is safe for humans, animals, and the environment, it’s important to remember that the herbicide is irrefutably a toxin.
Glyphosate was first registered for use in the U.S. in 1974. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States. The liability for companies that use harvested grains, fruits and vegetables that come from fields and orchards treated with glyphosate such as General Mills and Kraft is putting pressure on them to avoid it entirely.
In addition, since glyphosate is widely used in agriculture it has been found in commercially packaged orange juice, beer, wine and many agricultural products.
Is it safe in the amounts we ingest? Maybe or maybe not. In the meantime you may want to consider some home brew alternatives. Here’s the most common recipe for mixing up your own weed killer. It is definitely not as long lasting as the commercial products but it does work to kill weeds and not you.
Organic weed killer: 1 gallon of cider vinegar, 2 cups of Epsom salt, ¼ cup of blue dawn dish soap. Put the mixture in a sprayer bottle or use a pressurized spray tank.
Weed be gone.
This Week’s Success Quote
“Plant and your spouse plants with you; weed and you weed alone.” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Ken Edwards is the principal broker for Edwards & Associates Real Estate and has lived in town since 1974. All opinions expressed are entirely his own and not those of this publisher. Comments and questions may be sent to K_W_Edwards@ Yahoo.com or call (203) 918-4444.