Pants on Fire
I just returned to town and note that, a year after the town shut it down, construction has resumed on a building project near my own home in Riverside. This is good news for its neighbors who have been staring at an ugly foundation shell since work was stopped. It is also an excellent example of how costly it can be to play games with zoning and building officials. Because several phone calls to those officials were not returned, I’m a bit hazy on the facts here but, as I understand it, a permit was obtained to rehabilitate an existing house. Plans were changed, perhaps inadvertently, and soon all that was left of the house was its front wall, propped into place by a couple of angled two-by-fours. A windy day pushed the wall down, someone in one of the town’s enforcement divisions noticed and work was stopped. I assume that the past year has been devoted to reapplying for coastal permits to build a new house. In any event, the carpenters are back.
This “leave a wall up” idea has been abused throughout town for years, but I believe it may no longer work. Regulations, especially in our coastal zones, are being enforced more rigorously; perhaps because they are federally-mandated. The basic rule is that, if improvements exceed 50% of the cost of the existing building, the project must comply with the new flood-zone regulations. Those include raising the house as high as 17 feet above mean high water (depending on exposure to waves), open foundations, and a host of other changes. And it is not the cost of the land that triggers this, but the cost of the existing building. So if you’re paying a few million for a nice, direct waterfront parcel that holds a run down summer cottage, you should plan on building a new home. If you don’t, if you obtain a building permit for one set of plans and try to build something grander, you might find yourself staring at your own empty foundation for a long, long time. This, as my neighbor will attest, can be expensive.
Ah, Can I See That Again?
A house recently came on the market that my clients and I hated; a builder’s special, cheaply made and poorly laid out, in our opinion. But real estate being personal, another agent that I know had a client who liked it and made a reasonable bid on the place. The owners refused to counter, deeming the offer insulting. Perhaps the owners thought this would generate a better offer. It did not. Instead, another home on the same street came on the market two days later. Better house, nicer yard, same price. The original buyers shifted their attention to that one, made a bid and have already gone to contract. The first house sits unsold. There is nothing wrong with setting a desired price on your house and rejecting all offers that fall below that price, but if you do this, be prepared to own your house for an extended period of time.
Market Activity
Perhaps it’s the Iraq war, perhaps everyone is off to the Caribbean during private school vacation, but not much came onto the market this week. Houses are selling though. 42 Cary Road, perhaps the nicest lot on the worst street in Riverside, went to contract after its asking price dropped from $895 to $840,000. It’s a so-so house one a half-acre with direct access to the Mianus River and abutting town parkland. I’ll be curious to see what the new owners do to the existing house and, if they re-sell it, what a renovated home in that location goes for. No predictions here; I really don’t have a clue.
Kill The Messenger
A number of agents I know have recently lost listings when the properties didn’t sell. The owners blamed the agents; I blame the owners, because they rejected their agent’s advice and insisted on a price way above market value. Now, sadder but wiser, those owners have re-listed their homes at more realistic prices but with new brokers. This switch, I assume, is to punish their original broker for telling the truth. When the home now sells the buyer will feel justified; he really should feel foolish for having subjected his family to months of stress keeping a house in show condition when he had absolutely no chance of selling at his initial price.
I just returned to town and note that, a year after the town shut it down, construction has resumed on a building project near my own home in Riverside. This is good news for its neighbors who have been staring at an ugly foundation shell since work was stopped. It is also an excellent example of how costly it can be to play games with zoning and building officials. Because several phone calls to those officials were not returned, I’m a bit hazy on the facts here but, as I understand it, a permit was obtained to rehabilitate an existing house. Plans were changed, perhaps inadvertently, and soon all that was left of the house was its front wall, propped into place by a couple of angled two-by-fours. A windy day pushed the wall down, someone in one of the town’s enforcement divisions noticed and work was stopped. I assume that the past year has been devoted to reapplying for coastal permits to build a new house. In any event, the carpenters are back.
This “leave a wall up” idea has been abused throughout town for years, but I believe it may no longer work. Regulations, especially in our coastal zones, are being enforced more rigorously; perhaps because they are federally-mandated. The basic rule is that, if improvements exceed 50% of the cost of the existing building, the project must comply with the new flood-zone regulations. Those include raising the house as high as 17 feet above mean high water (depending on exposure to waves), open foundations, and a host of other changes. And it is not the cost of the land that triggers this, but the cost of the existing building. So if you’re paying a few million for a nice, direct waterfront parcel that holds a run down summer cottage, you should plan on building a new home. If you don’t, if you obtain a building permit for one set of plans and try to build something grander, you might find yourself staring at your own empty foundation for a long, long time. This, as my neighbor will attest, can be expensive.
Ah, Can I See That Again?
A house recently came on the market that my clients and I hated; a builder’s special, cheaply made and poorly laid out, in our opinion. But real estate being personal, another agent that I know had a client who liked it and made a reasonable bid on the place. The owners refused to counter, deeming the offer insulting. Perhaps the owners thought this would generate a better offer. It did not. Instead, another home on the same street came on the market two days later. Better house, nicer yard, same price. The original buyers shifted their attention to that one, made a bid and have already gone to contract. The first house sits unsold. There is nothing wrong with setting a desired price on your house and rejecting all offers that fall below that price, but if you do this, be prepared to own your house for an extended period of time.
Market Activity
Perhaps it’s the Iraq war, perhaps everyone is off to the Caribbean during private school vacation, but not much came onto the market this week. Houses are selling though. 42 Cary Road, perhaps the nicest lot on the worst street in Riverside, went to contract after its asking price dropped from $895 to $840,000. It’s a so-so house one a half-acre with direct access to the Mianus River and abutting town parkland. I’ll be curious to see what the new owners do to the existing house and, if they re-sell it, what a renovated home in that location goes for. No predictions here; I really don’t have a clue.
Kill The Messenger
A number of agents I know have recently lost listings when the properties didn’t sell. The owners blamed the agents; I blame the owners, because they rejected their agent’s advice and insisted on a price way above market value. Now, sadder but wiser, those owners have re-listed their homes at more realistic prices but with new brokers. This switch, I assume, is to punish their original broker for telling the truth. When the home now sells the buyer will feel justified; he really should feel foolish for having subjected his family to months of stress keeping a house in show condition when he had absolutely no chance of selling at his initial price.
posted by Chris Fountain at 1:02 PM
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