REALTY: Not always reality

I sat down to read the paper and came across an article about Coeur d’Alene Place and Mr. Rob Brickett. While reading, I thought to myself this really sounds like a nice place to live; I also thought that it was funny that two completely different places in the same town would have the same name. Well, there isn’t, Mr. Brickett was talking about the Coeur d’Alene Place I live in. It became apparent, at least to me, that Mr. Brickett has not driven through CDA Place in a very long time and must be fantasizing about someplace else.

Brickett mentions the Homeowners Association and the CC and R’s that are here to protect the property values of the homes. An example of its effectiveness is in order.

The homes are listed as single family homes; when a complaint was filed about four unrelated felons living in one home it was suddenly determined that single family home means up to four families. By the way, this home belonged to one of Greenstone’s contractors.

If you drive through my part of CDA Place which has its own entrance, you will see several unkempt yards, some with broken down vehicles sitting on what would be grass if it wasn’t weeds. Bring this to the attention of the developer-owned HOA and chances are you will be told they are not a police force and we should handle the situation by ourselves. At the very most nothing will be done.

As people realize this, the number of unkempt yards is getting close to the number that still care. I should point out that my neighborhood has been built out and sold out for many years, so other than our dues it is of no concern to Greenstone or a Realtor. $216 a year dues for the cheap seats might not seem like much, but multiply that by the roughly 100 homes in the neighborhood, and now you have $21,600 a year that is supposedly eaten up watering our non-existent green areas.

A few more things that just didn’t match are the “Elegant brick monuments at the base of lamp post and street signs.” I ran out to see if they had been built overnight; I guess they forgot my street. Next is the “wide variety of shopping and dining options” in the commercial area. I don’t know about Mr. Brickett, but I don’t think a quickie mart gas station fits the bill. I should add that our little piece of park is 100 feet by 200 feet, with two benches and a jungle gym.

The moral of my story is simple: “Caveat emptor,” or as it’s better known, Buyer Beware! I don’t want to insult anyone, but I sure got the feeling that the article belonged in the used car section.

MICHAEL TEAGUE

Coeur d’Alene