Well thank you http://www.restaurant.com/!
You can get "gift" certificates on clearance for local restaurants, so I snapped up $150 worth of restaurant food for a total of like $15! Talk about a deal!
First one I used was for G's Wood Grille after house hunting on a Friday night. 25 clams off the purchase of two entrees! G's is literally in a converted house in a neighborhood! No joke!!!
When the keys got locked in the car when we got out I should have known where things were headed. And when I walked in and saw that all of the cars belonged to people sitting at the bar I should have walked out and not worried abot the 3 bucks I spent on the certificate...
One other table had people in the DR (dining room) at 8:00 on a Friday night... I should have known, but I am cheaper than dirt and thought "what the hell"!
The painting of the abused children that lined the walls in the fake brick paneled room were a little off-putting. They were the saddest faces you have ever seen... until you saw mine walking out that night...
We ordered the fried calamari as an app... it was fine... The bread that was brought to the table I swear I heard them using a chainsaw to cut up for the basket... I thought it was just inedible and the strange garlic spread was not a help to cover the brick crust.
The entrees were Chicken Parmesan and Veal Oscar.
Chicken Parmesan looked like it would have been OK, but a huge portion of it was left on the plate when we left...
Veal Oscar... what can I say, I love eating baby cow... more than just about anything, except crab. Oh, you nasty crab, how I love you... Serving it all on a cream sauce; My GOD I AM IN HEAVEN... unless you order it at G's Wood Grille in Scranton, PA and then you swear you are in Dante's Inferno! My goodness, it was bad... just really, really, really, bad! The veal was so tough and grainy I would swear it was actually the venison my nanny used to cook in Alabama.... And the crab... it was an odd flavor... not really crab like and there was so damn much of it on the plate that unless the dish was $100 there is no way on this earth it was real... unless it was going to "turn" overnight so they threw all they had on my plate... The lemon lemon lemon garlic garlic cream sauce did nothing to salvage it... And the baked hockey puck, oops I meant potato, was so hard you could hardly get into it...
So, for one of the worst dining experiences in Scranton, it cost me $3 for a $25 gift certificate and $45 on my debit card that night. Let me say, it was a rip off for $48.oo! Completely and utterly not worth that kind of money... However, that $3 certificate kept the cops from being called because had I had to pay $70 for that Shiite there would have been a foshizzle kerfuffle!
G's is all wrong, except apparently for the old people at the bar... Nothing works. Not the interior, not the service and most definitely NOT the food!!!
This place and it's location is not suitable for fine dining, especially when the food sucks. If the owners were smart they would turn the place into a true pub. Bar on one side with pub food in the DR. People can drink at the bar and you have a separate dining area for families serving GOOD CHEAP FOOD, especially in that neighborhood, a street from the ballpark... , Meatloaf, Fish and Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, Pot Roast, Good homemade burgers, real fries. KISS (keep it simple stupid). They would have a gold mine on their hands, as it sits they have nothing worth ever visiting again...
Owners of G's: I am happy to came in and consult a new strategy for you... I love a good restaurant, unfortunately, yours isn't one...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
still looking...
and on a Friday night, nonetheless!
Our trooper of an agent lined up the 6 houses I had requested, and one as a bonus measure she wanted us to see. After carefully studying the Scranton real estate market we decided to look at some more moderately priced houses. There is no intention of living here forever, especially since I already have housing for retirement on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast. It seems like houses upwards of $200,000 stay on this market longer, and I think it is the relatively small number of people who can afford such a home in this area. So, we decided that we might get a house we love in that price range, if job changes come along we might get stuck with it and not be able to sell it...
6 houses on a Friday night; boy I know excitement!
First off was a house I had previously seen at an open house. Small in comparison to most at only 1400 AGF. (above ground finished) 1960s period ranch with brick walls for accent. Beautiful yard and literally across the street from the dog park. I still would need to do some updates (whole kitchen and bathroom) and it needs a roof! The owner has dropped the price some, but still wants the top of the CMA range and then some! It's a strong contender; if it's on the market still after the Fourth of July.
Second house: yard, oh my, yard! and pool! sparkling pool, with wired speakers outside and 6 foot fencing in a large yard for the dogs... I was in love at first sight, however, I did have to walk back through the kitchen and I quickly was grounded in reality. A home already overpriced for the neighborhood and the kitchen was in SERIOUS need of a gut job... sad... I wanted it, but not for that money!
Next up a Victorian (my love) with an added family room and central air (my biggest wish list item). Nice, nice house at a good price. Kitchen was smaller and in a strange location. The additions have changed the layout of this house and it feels odd... Beautiful work throughout, though. If the layout was different, this would be a keeper. However, I got shocked coming down from the attic, and that is a no-no... Great price for this house on South Irving.... Someone could get a real deal here!!!
On to a house that was agent owned. I thought it had possibilities to alter the exterior to make a real statement house. In more of a business area, right across from Community hospital. The tenant is moving out so the house was in disarray. The only exit from the DR (dining room) was a pass through slot for a tray from the kitchen, other than that you had to walk all the way around the house and through the LR (living room) to get to and from the kitchen. The owner had made some changes to change what a previous owner had changed and you end up with kerfuffle of a mess that needs to be... changed! No yard made this a no...
Next house was actually listed by my agent. A house in a good neighborhood with extraordinarily high taxes! Was probably in its day one heck of a house, however in this day and age it just looks very, very tired... Note to owners of houses for sale: I don't want to see how your family lives! You should try and make the house as neutral as possible to attract the most amount of buyers. Also, if your kid put a hole in a wall... fix it before you list it... if you have a broken sink... fix it before you list it... water damaged walls and ceilings... fix it before you list it... pocket door into kitchen rubs the paint off (in your house entry nonetheless) fix it before you list it... yard overrun with weeds and door falling off garage... fix it before you list it... If your using an accordion door on the bathroom... fix it before you list it... If there is an inch of mildew and mold on your tub's glass shower doors... fix it before you list it... If your light's bulbs are blown... fix it before you list it...Also, if you have a small kitchen, don't put a big DR table and chairs in it and call it an eat-in. You ruin the floor plan and make the room feel cramped, especially in your DR when you have an end table surrounded by 4 dining chairs... And if you don't want to do anything... don't list for way above market and expect any offers!
On to the last house... Cute ranch that is much bigger than it appears across from a bar that used the "foshizzle" apparently... Walking up one tree in the postage stamp front yard had been torched, which is never a good sign...Walked in and the house, that is vacant reeked of what I termed cat pee! Everyone said it was something he had put on the floors, and I firmly believe he must have put cat pee on the floors. It burnt my nose hair! Owner did a good job on the interior, looks like it has been completely redone. However, the fridge compartment is small, so there is no way to put in a decent size fridge without extensive remodeling. Basement is partially finished... looks like it was stopped in the process... no dryer vent and no outlet for one... no exit to the backyard which had a huge deep pool that was a big hole of a mess! ripped liners and no telling how much work to get it going. HUGE covered patio with a real bar (stainless bar sink behind) and wired for sound and cable. Looks like the landscaping was amazing at one point. Story goes there used to be some off the hook parties back there "in the day". Now it's just a bid ol' mess, but there is a men's and a women's bathroom attached to the house for the foshizzle parties! Big downer is that there is no access to the yard from the house. You have to go down a half flight of stairs to your covered carport and then down the drive and through the privacy fence to get there. Not exactly easy for a family or people with dogs... Would have been best during the remodel to take the double windows in the eat-in K out and put French doors that lead to a deck that heads into the backyard. Overall, the price of the house isn't bad, but would need some work to make it do-able, and PP (purchase price) + RME (re-model expenses) would take it over the market for the area. No offense meant to anyone here, but the housing values in that neighborhood will continue to drop. It is not an area to invest in...
So... after 6 (plus the bonus which I didn't review) I was left with one strong possible and another that I am still considering...
I just wished I could walk into any house and say that there is nothing I need to do. If I find you can bet that I just might buy it!
Our trooper of an agent lined up the 6 houses I had requested, and one as a bonus measure she wanted us to see. After carefully studying the Scranton real estate market we decided to look at some more moderately priced houses. There is no intention of living here forever, especially since I already have housing for retirement on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast. It seems like houses upwards of $200,000 stay on this market longer, and I think it is the relatively small number of people who can afford such a home in this area. So, we decided that we might get a house we love in that price range, if job changes come along we might get stuck with it and not be able to sell it...
6 houses on a Friday night; boy I know excitement!
First off was a house I had previously seen at an open house. Small in comparison to most at only 1400 AGF. (above ground finished) 1960s period ranch with brick walls for accent. Beautiful yard and literally across the street from the dog park. I still would need to do some updates (whole kitchen and bathroom) and it needs a roof! The owner has dropped the price some, but still wants the top of the CMA range and then some! It's a strong contender; if it's on the market still after the Fourth of July.
Second house: yard, oh my, yard! and pool! sparkling pool, with wired speakers outside and 6 foot fencing in a large yard for the dogs... I was in love at first sight, however, I did have to walk back through the kitchen and I quickly was grounded in reality. A home already overpriced for the neighborhood and the kitchen was in SERIOUS need of a gut job... sad... I wanted it, but not for that money!
Next up a Victorian (my love) with an added family room and central air (my biggest wish list item). Nice, nice house at a good price. Kitchen was smaller and in a strange location. The additions have changed the layout of this house and it feels odd... Beautiful work throughout, though. If the layout was different, this would be a keeper. However, I got shocked coming down from the attic, and that is a no-no... Great price for this house on South Irving.... Someone could get a real deal here!!!
On to a house that was agent owned. I thought it had possibilities to alter the exterior to make a real statement house. In more of a business area, right across from Community hospital. The tenant is moving out so the house was in disarray. The only exit from the DR (dining room) was a pass through slot for a tray from the kitchen, other than that you had to walk all the way around the house and through the LR (living room) to get to and from the kitchen. The owner had made some changes to change what a previous owner had changed and you end up with kerfuffle of a mess that needs to be... changed! No yard made this a no...
Next house was actually listed by my agent. A house in a good neighborhood with extraordinarily high taxes! Was probably in its day one heck of a house, however in this day and age it just looks very, very tired... Note to owners of houses for sale: I don't want to see how your family lives! You should try and make the house as neutral as possible to attract the most amount of buyers. Also, if your kid put a hole in a wall... fix it before you list it... if you have a broken sink... fix it before you list it... water damaged walls and ceilings... fix it before you list it... pocket door into kitchen rubs the paint off (in your house entry nonetheless) fix it before you list it... yard overrun with weeds and door falling off garage... fix it before you list it... If your using an accordion door on the bathroom... fix it before you list it... If there is an inch of mildew and mold on your tub's glass shower doors... fix it before you list it... If your light's bulbs are blown... fix it before you list it...Also, if you have a small kitchen, don't put a big DR table and chairs in it and call it an eat-in. You ruin the floor plan and make the room feel cramped, especially in your DR when you have an end table surrounded by 4 dining chairs... And if you don't want to do anything... don't list for way above market and expect any offers!
On to the last house... Cute ranch that is much bigger than it appears across from a bar that used the "foshizzle" apparently... Walking up one tree in the postage stamp front yard had been torched, which is never a good sign...Walked in and the house, that is vacant reeked of what I termed cat pee! Everyone said it was something he had put on the floors, and I firmly believe he must have put cat pee on the floors. It burnt my nose hair! Owner did a good job on the interior, looks like it has been completely redone. However, the fridge compartment is small, so there is no way to put in a decent size fridge without extensive remodeling. Basement is partially finished... looks like it was stopped in the process... no dryer vent and no outlet for one... no exit to the backyard which had a huge deep pool that was a big hole of a mess! ripped liners and no telling how much work to get it going. HUGE covered patio with a real bar (stainless bar sink behind) and wired for sound and cable. Looks like the landscaping was amazing at one point. Story goes there used to be some off the hook parties back there "in the day". Now it's just a bid ol' mess, but there is a men's and a women's bathroom attached to the house for the foshizzle parties! Big downer is that there is no access to the yard from the house. You have to go down a half flight of stairs to your covered carport and then down the drive and through the privacy fence to get there. Not exactly easy for a family or people with dogs... Would have been best during the remodel to take the double windows in the eat-in K out and put French doors that lead to a deck that heads into the backyard. Overall, the price of the house isn't bad, but would need some work to make it do-able, and PP (purchase price) + RME (re-model expenses) would take it over the market for the area. No offense meant to anyone here, but the housing values in that neighborhood will continue to drop. It is not an area to invest in...
So... after 6 (plus the bonus which I didn't review) I was left with one strong possible and another that I am still considering...
I just wished I could walk into any house and say that there is nothing I need to do. If I find you can bet that I just might buy it!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Really?
Well, my first 4.5 months in NePA have come to an end...
It has been, well, interesting.
Coming from many years in Chicago and then on to Connecticut I can say in all certainty that NePA is from another time, still! We settled in Carbondale which is definitely caught somewhere circa 1981. Yeah, a bit scary. The best way I can describe it is that old movie Children of the Corn. You get in, but can you get out. If the current residents are indicative I would hazard a guess of "no"! Everyone is pleasant enough, but there seems to be a "look" in their eyes. I am avoiding drinking the water just in case...
Dining in Carbondale has been an experience, and one I would rather not repeat in the near future. So, dining out means I have to trek down to Dickson City where fine dining options include the OG... Olive Garden. Yeah, it's all chain food, but at least you know what to expect...
The IMAX theatre in Dickson City is great, and as soon as I pay off my credit card from the first time I was there (yeah... not cheap and I went to a matinee) I might take out a loan and go again...
Haven't made it down to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, but have been many times to the original and I just can't imagine that the smaller imitation can compare. I also have this sort of gut check about lining the coffers of any Indian tribe from Connecticut while their cousins have wrongfully been shut out of the game...
I rented (with the option to buy) a lovely (in the pictures) house in Carbondale. It's hard to rent with the dogs and all I really had to go on was the pictures and the realtor. Admittedly, it was the middle of winter (one of the worst in CT history) and I didn't have a lot of options and Carbondale has no numeric limits on pets so I was thrilled I got this huge old Victorian pretty cheap... remember, I was paying CT living expenses. There is a difference. I truly do enjoy the layout, but there happens to be a natural spring in the double lot backyard. So even after 10 days of no rain if you step on the grass you sink to your ankle, so the dogs get the patio to potty, which has to be scrubbed daily. All of that water in the yard ends up in the basement which is waterproof… that is water seeps in, but doesn't seep out. That makes for a lovely smell of rot, death, mold and mildew.... Then there is the fact that 120 year old windows aren't very energy efficient which makes it difficult to heat 3500 square feet. And when it is 95 degrees outside you really hate the person who painted the windows shut! Yeah, those windows, it would cost me $30,000+ to replace them if I bought this place.
"What's that Mr. Owner? You know the windows suck, the yard is a cesspool that turns the basement into a literal cesspool and that the whole exterior needs to be painted and that you didn't even touch the upstairs or the 1950s kitchen, but you still want to make $20000 on a house you paid too much for 7 years ago in Carbondale?"
"Yeah, Mr. Owner, I am no moron and your best bet when I walk out of here is to turn this beast over to the bank. Yeah, take the hit on your credit cause this place is so upside down on your mortgage (which I pay monthly for you per your RE Agent) that you will never see the light of day. And trust me, even these children of the corn (oops meant Carbondale residents) aren't stupid enough to buy this place for what you want!!!"
So, I have been looking for another house to buy, and that has caused me to do tons of research on the market and what is and is not selling. And my “Mr. Owner” isn't the only moron out there; in fact 95% of sellers are equally dumb. God bless www.Zillow.com.
“Yo, seller, you bought that piece of crap in '05 for 350% more than it was ever REALLY worth, you've done NOTHING to it, and now you want someone to pay you $50,000 more than what you moronically paid for it? DON'T THINK SO!!! “
So, the next posts will be my general impression of the market, at least here in NePA, what I have seen while out looking and my impressions of what the hell is going on in and around here in NePA... Trust me, if my Agent has shared my comments with the other agents there is no way we would see any houses. I am brutal, but honest. This is a big expense, and if you want $250000 of my money it better be worth it or I am coming for you!!! LOL
Also, this will be very "confidential". I really don't want to be blacklisted by the agents in the area. So, when I am done looking and I buy something I will tell you all who the best and worst agents in NePA are... I have the best, and everyone should hunt her down... maybe I will start hiding clues in my posts....
Later NePA!
It has been, well, interesting.
Coming from many years in Chicago and then on to Connecticut I can say in all certainty that NePA is from another time, still! We settled in Carbondale which is definitely caught somewhere circa 1981. Yeah, a bit scary. The best way I can describe it is that old movie Children of the Corn. You get in, but can you get out. If the current residents are indicative I would hazard a guess of "no"! Everyone is pleasant enough, but there seems to be a "look" in their eyes. I am avoiding drinking the water just in case...
Dining in Carbondale has been an experience, and one I would rather not repeat in the near future. So, dining out means I have to trek down to Dickson City where fine dining options include the OG... Olive Garden. Yeah, it's all chain food, but at least you know what to expect...
The IMAX theatre in Dickson City is great, and as soon as I pay off my credit card from the first time I was there (yeah... not cheap and I went to a matinee) I might take out a loan and go again...
Haven't made it down to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, but have been many times to the original and I just can't imagine that the smaller imitation can compare. I also have this sort of gut check about lining the coffers of any Indian tribe from Connecticut while their cousins have wrongfully been shut out of the game...
I rented (with the option to buy) a lovely (in the pictures) house in Carbondale. It's hard to rent with the dogs and all I really had to go on was the pictures and the realtor. Admittedly, it was the middle of winter (one of the worst in CT history) and I didn't have a lot of options and Carbondale has no numeric limits on pets so I was thrilled I got this huge old Victorian pretty cheap... remember, I was paying CT living expenses. There is a difference. I truly do enjoy the layout, but there happens to be a natural spring in the double lot backyard. So even after 10 days of no rain if you step on the grass you sink to your ankle, so the dogs get the patio to potty, which has to be scrubbed daily. All of that water in the yard ends up in the basement which is waterproof… that is water seeps in, but doesn't seep out. That makes for a lovely smell of rot, death, mold and mildew.... Then there is the fact that 120 year old windows aren't very energy efficient which makes it difficult to heat 3500 square feet. And when it is 95 degrees outside you really hate the person who painted the windows shut! Yeah, those windows, it would cost me $30,000+ to replace them if I bought this place.
"What's that Mr. Owner? You know the windows suck, the yard is a cesspool that turns the basement into a literal cesspool and that the whole exterior needs to be painted and that you didn't even touch the upstairs or the 1950s kitchen, but you still want to make $20000 on a house you paid too much for 7 years ago in Carbondale?"
"Yeah, Mr. Owner, I am no moron and your best bet when I walk out of here is to turn this beast over to the bank. Yeah, take the hit on your credit cause this place is so upside down on your mortgage (which I pay monthly for you per your RE Agent) that you will never see the light of day. And trust me, even these children of the corn (oops meant Carbondale residents) aren't stupid enough to buy this place for what you want!!!"
So, I have been looking for another house to buy, and that has caused me to do tons of research on the market and what is and is not selling. And my “Mr. Owner” isn't the only moron out there; in fact 95% of sellers are equally dumb. God bless www.Zillow.com.
“Yo, seller, you bought that piece of crap in '05 for 350% more than it was ever REALLY worth, you've done NOTHING to it, and now you want someone to pay you $50,000 more than what you moronically paid for it? DON'T THINK SO!!! “
So, the next posts will be my general impression of the market, at least here in NePA, what I have seen while out looking and my impressions of what the hell is going on in and around here in NePA... Trust me, if my Agent has shared my comments with the other agents there is no way we would see any houses. I am brutal, but honest. This is a big expense, and if you want $250000 of my money it better be worth it or I am coming for you!!! LOL
Also, this will be very "confidential". I really don't want to be blacklisted by the agents in the area. So, when I am done looking and I buy something I will tell you all who the best and worst agents in NePA are... I have the best, and everyone should hunt her down... maybe I will start hiding clues in my posts....
Later NePA!
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