Harmon Estate Sale, Part 2

Because my life wasn't busy enough already.... I am currently immersed in preparing for the second round of my father's estate sale. This time, we're tackling the trailers. What trailers, you ask? Funny story: my grandparents loaded up two trailers and a moving van full of antiques and personal possessions back in 1984. They parked the trailers and van behind my dad's shop, planning to retrieve them once they had found a new place to live. For various reasons, the trailers were never retrieved. They sat for 30 years as a small forest grew up around them, and as they sank into the ground up to their axles.

This past winter, we unloaded the trailers and relocated the contents to the Old Pin Shop in Oakville. The contents of the trailers, as well as the contents of my dad's house, comprise the next round of the Harmon Estate Sale, starting Saturday, August 9.

Neighborhood Housing Services

Full disclosure: I am Secretary of the Board of Directors for Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury, so you could argue that I'm biased about the organization. However, serving on their board has made me aware of and appreciative of the good work they do. Here's an overview.







Homebuyer Education and Counseling

For most people, it's not easy to transition from being a renter to being a buyer. It took me a couple of tries before I finally landed a mortgage. I understood the basic concept of home ownership, partly because my parents went from renting to owning when I was a kid, and partly because some of my friends had become homeowners, but the hard logistics of what you have to do to qualify for a mortgage and how to make sure you don't lose your home to foreclosure are things I learned as I went through the process. I can't imagine what it must be like for someone whose parents and grandparents and friends are all renters, who have no frame of reference at all for what is involved with a mortgage.

Neighborhood Housing Services, 161 North Main Street, Waterbury.
Photo courtesy of Neighborhood Housing Services.