Vintage Island Winery Sold

A nearly 40-year-old winery in West Tisbury was officially sold recently, as the estate of late owner Catherine F. Mathiesen sold off Chicama Winery in West Tisbury for an overall price tag of $3.7 million. Mathiesen had opened the winery with her husband, George, in 1971. Mathiesen passed away in October 2007, and word of the winery’s closing first got out in the spring – to the dismay of local fans.

Even Money For Professor’s Row Home

One of Cambridge‘s priciest addresses – and former home to culinary legend Julia Child – got bought up well below asking price recently. Newly minted Harvard Law Professor Michael Klarman dropped $3.7 million on the five-bedroom 1889 Victorian at 103 Irving St. The home, which has about 6,000 square feet and was remodeled several years ago, was listed in August for $4.4 million. It’s also part of Harvard’s "professors’ row," a line of homes heavily populated by pipe-smoking, tweed-wearing stereotypes. At least we’d like to think so.

And who vacated the home? Jean Pierre Sommadossi, founder and CEO of Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company Idenix. He bought the house for about $3.7 million, too, back in 2004.

Flood Insurance Debt Still Out To Sea

Remember when $18 billion worth of federal debt seemed like a scary amount? Last year, insurers and lawmakers were bickering and wringing their hands – it makes you almost nostalgic now – about the National Flood Insurance Program‘s massive money troubles and proposed reforms. The NFIP, a federal program that provides flood insurance to Americans in designated risk zones, had an estimated $18 billion in debt from Hurricane Katrina. The NFIP was due to get an overhaul before it expired on Sept. 30. But if you recall September, you’ll also recall that everyone was way too busy watching their wealth evaporate – and possibly weeping openly at their desks – so the deadline was extended to March 6.

Months have passed, but lawmakers are still too busy to deal with reforming the flood program. The word from Frank O’Brien , regional vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association, is that lawmakers are extending the NFIP again, this time until September 2009.

"When the national program was last extended, the thought was they’d get together to implement some reforms," O’Brien said, "but then the you-know-what hit the fan."

Not a great situation, considering the intervening seasons will likely bring more flooding to parts of the U.S. And the central question of whether or not the NFIP should provide wind damage coverage still draws consternation from consumer groups and private insurers – but there’s simply no way to address that now.

"Will the problem be exacerbated? Yes. But given the extraordinary times that we’re in, there are larger problems," O’Brien said.

But Massachusetts-specific insurance issues, such as the availability of homeowners insurance on Cape Cod and the islands, are also taking a back seat this year, he said. The commonwealth’s State House only just got organized after a change in house leadership, and the state has its own crippling budget woes.

With the exception of health insurance, "the insurance issues are not the big type of issues that most lawmakers in Massachusetts are talking about," he said.

Say That Again?

It’s strange to think in These Economic Times, but you can still get a mortgage with no money down – you’ll just have to get it from the U.S. government. The USDA’s Rural Development program is possibly the only remaining game in town when it comes to handing out such mortgages, and representatives say the program has seen a big uptick in popularity in the past few months. The point of the program is to keep rural communities strong, but many applicants just mostly want a path to homeownership.

The catch: you have to live in designated "rural" areas. The plus: places like Hopkinton, Sudbury and Acton – woodsy, smallish towns, some close to major metro areas – are considered "rural."

There are more strings attached, of course. Your income has to be below a certain level based on the property you’re applying for. It has to be a primary home (you can’t already live in a decent house in the area), and other restrictions apply. Also you have to be able to, you know, repay the loan somehow.

The list of eligible communities is actually pretty sizable. A sampling includes Sturbridge, Manchester, Southborough, Ipswich and others.