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This article appeared today in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
A Worthy Blog
by Trudy Whitman
I’ve had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the blogosphere. In the Sunday, January 11, issue of The New York Times, Gabriel Cohen, the author of four Brooklyn-based novels, summed up the “attraction” of neighborhood blogs by writing that they are “a lot like New York itself: brash, snide and willing to turn the most trivial topic into an ideological free-for-all.” Of course, to remain on top of things, I’ve had to follow neighborhood news blogs, and I have found some that are sincere and informative. My mouse does, indeed, nibble on these for tidbits. But I do not seek out the brash and the snide — alas, they find me all too frequently — and I most certainly don’t have the patience for Internet triviality, not to mention poor grammar and lack of style.
That said by this fuddy-duddy, allow me to turn you on to a neighbor’s new blog — http://casacara.wordpress.com. Cara Greenberg is an old-house aficionado, who emphasizes that she is not a real estate agent but admits to owning five old homes in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Dutchess County.
Love old houses? Check out this woman's new blog.
All are filled with tenants. A longtime resident of the Hills & Gardens, she is a veteran freelance writer who has published articles on interior and furniture design, architecture, real estate, antiques and collecting, gardens, and travel. Greenberg’s work has appeared in Metropolitan Home, Garden Design, The New York Times, and Home Miami. She has also written several books, including Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. In addition to the writing, Cara Greenberg is a location scout for several interior design magazines. Ms. Greenberg gets around.
Greenberg recalls that the idea of sharing her passions on a blog came to her as she was assessing “the load of ideas, written content, and photographs that, for one reason or another, have not found their way into print. By self-publishing a blog, I can get this worthy material ‘out there’ and not have it go to waste.”
If you love antique houses and enjoy nosing around new neighborhoods, surf on over to http://casacara.wordpress.com. The blog is well-written (and punctuated!) and plucky without being the least bit snarky, and Greenberg’s text is illustrated with abundant color photographs of her real estate and design discoveries.
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© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009
IT HAPPENS TIME AND AGAIN. I get suckered in by the pretty language in real estate ads. “Diamond in the rough” never fails to excite me, serial renovator that I am.
Here are a few classic real-estate euphemisms and what I now, in my growing cynicism, suspect they mean:
- “magical cottage”(ramshackle dump)
- “mature specimen plantings”(horrifying weed patch)
- “endless possibilities” (given enough cash)
- “quaint country kitchen” (formica & linoleum)
Fortunately, I’ve found that you when you call for more information, most brokers open up.
The magical cottage? That one “is really about the property.” The “walk to bay beach” takes you past an auto body shop or two. If you’re looking for privacy, that “hideaway cottage” is not for you — it’s cheek by jowl with other hideaway cottages.
Here’s one I’m planning to check out next time I get out to the East End of 
Long Island. The cheery write-up begins: “A couple of nails, some paint, and voila!”
If only!
What are some of your ‘favorite’ real-estate come-ons?
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