Relocating to Hartford: Picking a Town

So you’re thinking of moving to the Hartford area? That’s great – it’s quite lovely here! Have you thought about which town you might want to move to – where to put down roots? Greater Hartford is made up of lots of small towns that each have their own character, strengths and weaknesses. The challenge is that what may be a strength to one buyer is a weakness to another. If you have a job

A Hidden House

Ever since we lived in the Boston area, I have been interested in homes that were set back off the road on a lot that doesn’t have any real street frontage. I like to call them hidden houses. Take a look at this picture, can you see the house tucked between and behind the two on the street? What I find interesting about hidden houses is that they each have an interesting story. How did

West Hartford Revaluation 2011 – Mill Rate Estimate

Last Tuesday we wrote about the West Hartford revaluation, focusing on the informal hearings that allow individual property owners to challenge the market values that they received in the mail from the Town. Today we turn our attention to analyzing the big picture results of the revaluation. Amanda Falcone’s piece in the Thursday’s Hartford Courant quotes West Hartford Assessor Joseph Dakers Sr. as saying the new market values will “likely cause the town’s grand list

West Hartford Revaluation 2011 – Informal Hearings

West Hartford’s 2011 revaluation is progressing smoothly, and reached the public phase when Market Value letters began arriving during the second half of November. Before going any further, it is very important to emphasize three key points: 1. Property taxes don’t change until July 2012. 2. Taxes would be calculated based on the “New Property Assessment” in the bottom right of the letter, not the market value. 3. The mill rate will change, so multiplying

Burgers Around Hartford

The Hartford area has become a hot spot for hamburger restaurants. We’ve always had the fast food places, like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and the like, but over the past two years there has be an explosion of more upscale places featuring the burger. We like burgers, and have tried many of the options (though not all … yet). Each offers something a little different, and has their own strengths and weaknesses. In alphabetical order: