Bernie buys a lake home, igniting Twitter snark
Earlier this month, real estate agent Franz Rosenberger closed a deal with Bernie and Jane Sanders for a $575,000 lakeside home in North Hero — a second home where the Sanders family could gather with children and grandchildren for weekends on the water, the Realtor said.
"It has a nice gradual pebble beach that's protected, which was important for them, for their grandkids," he said. "It has big views of the lake and the Green Mountains. They really wanted to be looking at Vermont."
Cue the Twitter snark, and take your pick of unsubstantiated allegations that flowed from news of the sale earlier this week. The story, first reported by the weekly newspapers the Lake Champlain Islander and Seven Days, was picked up widely, from the Washington Post to Vanity Fair.
False rumors flew: Bernie bought the house with campaign contributions. He used a payoff he received for endorsing Hillary Clinton, who defeated the Vermont senator for the Democratic presidential nomination. In the era of making claims without proof, the purchase received the response that has come to be expected in a politically divided nation. The supposed hypocrisy of a self-proclaimed democratic socialist owning three homes — the Sanderses are long-time Burlington residents and also have a Washington, D.C., residence — was too much for some people to resist.
Jane Sanders did not respond to a request for comment from the Burlington Free Press, but Rosenberger explained that she sold a property in Maine a year or two ago that had been in her family for many years. The Realtor said Bernie and Jane Sanders wanted to find something closer to home, and easier to visit.
Rosenberger said the Sanderses are "incredibly nice, down-to-earth people." He described the lakeside home as "a modest property." The original cabin was built in 1920, part of which still exists as the master bedroom, Rosenberger said. In 1986, the owners added a log home to that structure, which is now the main cottage, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Rosenberger said there's a "nice screened porch" on the Lake Champlain side of the 1.13 acre property.
"Then there's a guest cottage with an additional bedroom, bunkroom and bathroom and a nice porch," he said. "It's very private, which was appealing to Jane and Bernie."
The property occupies a point of land on the east side of the Champlain Islands community, with beachfront that wraps around to the north and east. The site is about 36 miles northwest of Burlington — about an hour's drive.
Rosenberger first listed the property in the spring and began working with the Bernie and Jane Sanders in June.
"We looked intensively over a couple of weeks," Rosenberger said.
The Sanders family got a good deal in the property, considering that Rosenberger said he originally listed the home a year ago for $659,000. The owners were Roger and Caroline Sorg, who operated The North Hero House Inn in the 1970s and 1980s.
"It was their summer home," Rosenberger said of the Sorgs, who live in the Florida Keys.
The buildings total 1,883 square feet, and the property has 500 feet of lake frontage, complete with a dock. Taxes are $9,156 annually.
Rosenberger, who lives in Grand Isle, believes the Bernie and Jane will fit right in with the island culture. He said they also might help boost house sales.
"I'm excited for the community if this creates a buzz for the area, which is special and unique," he said.
This story appeared online on Aug. 13, 2016. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanDambrosioVT.
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