A Move’s as Good as a Fire
My father always cited this adage in tribute to the value of de-cluttering one’s life. Unfortunately, it only works if, unlike a friend of mine I just helped move, you actually throw things out. If you merely shift possessions from one location to another you’ll make your movers happy but you will end up with the same stuff that made your old house seem crowded. So rent a dumpster and toss away. College text books, support documentation for your doctoral thesis, toys that your now-twenty-year-old discarded when he graduated kindergarten, wedding gifts in their original boxes, OUT! And while you’re in the deaccessioning mood, let go of those “window treatments”. As a real estate lawyer I used to fight fiercely at the insistence of my clients for the right to take the curtains to the next house. But they never fit the new windows or décor and they always ended up, rueful clients confessed, gathering dust in the attic. You’re selling your house—move on.
(And, having done so, if you find that you miss your clutter there’s a neat web site where you can restock: deaccession.com sells discards from museum and private collections. Need a pair of Confederate cavalry spurs? Here’s where to find them.)
Pricing Mystery
There’s a very nice house on a lake for sale in the mid-country that remains unsold due to its high price. The neighbor right next door brought his house to market but, unlike the first house, this one’s a tear-down. So if one house won’t sell at, say, $2.6 million (I’ve started disguising some of these prices so that other brokers will continue to speak to me), do you think that the dump next door should sell for almost the same amount? I don’t, the owner does. We’ll see.
On the Other Hand
Pat Brandrup’s new listing at 13 Martin Dale was well-priced at $2.295 and went to contract immediately. Martin Dale is a dead end (another year or so of this and I’ll be referring to them as cul de sacs) off of lower North Street. It’s quiet and wonderfully convenient to town; houses there always sell well. The house next door, 9 Martin Dale sold in January for $4.4 million (and the listing agent for that one, Virginia Ridenour, also described the street as a dead end-there’s hope for the profession yet). Number 2 Martin Dale just went to contract-asking price was $2.7. Thirteen hasn’t undergone the renovation that number Nine has but it sits on .73 of an acre in the R-20 zone, has a great yard and, as they say in this business, “good bones”.
Or There’s Always Kenilworth
For those who missed the Martin Dale opportunity, another home right up North Street, Lucy Gelb’s listing at 3 Kenilworth Terrace offers a bit more land (1 acre), a heated pool and a nice siting high on a hill. I like it.
Attention Special Ops
Way, way up in the Back Country is a new listing decorated in a manner that made me, at least, look about for Saddam or his son, Uday. No velvet pictures, but tons of marble and a freshly-minted opulence that would draw swarms of Baghdad looters if they learned of the place. When our forces grow tired of searching the rubble of that restaurant for the bones of the old dictator perhaps they should come up here and look around. Or in Paris.
The Market Continues
Martin Dale wasn’t the only well priced home to go to contract last week. 17 Cathlow Drive in Riverside ($4.25), 173 Stanwich ($2.19) and my favorite, 74 Old Orchard Road ($1.3) all sold. There is a bit of doom and gloom among other real estate pundits about a soft market but, from what I can see, the only difficulty is with unrealistic prices. There are plenty of buyers available for the right house at the right price.
Mum’s the WordI overheard the designer/builder of a new house explaining that he had painted each room with a palette of different, odd colors because he “wanted them to speak to each other.” The result is more cacophony than civilized conversation and reminds me of my own childhood when the Fountain boys would “talk” to each other: “Gimme that!” “No way!” Whack! “Maahhm!” My advice to builders is, even if the dealer offers a “buy 6, get 6 free” deal, you’re better off sticking to just a few, neutral colors.

Leaf Blowers and Whore Houses

The Hills Are Alive
Ah, Spring! Time for us real estate agents to lower the tops of our Mercedes and cruise the Back Country, admiring the daffodils and vernal ponds and shouting to be heard above the roar of leaf blowers. There isn’t a single acre in Greenwich free from the impact of these horrible machines. Every day, beginning at dawn and at our invitation, swarms of (illegal?) aliens strap on these assault weapons and invade our yards, choking entire neighborhoods with dust and the shrieking whine of two-cycle engines. I can’t explain why we tolerate this; quieter machines are manufactured and could certainly be mandated by law. As it is, jets landing at our local airport are required to be quieter than the leaf blower next door. If a barking dog made the nuisance these machines do, someone (not me!) would shoot it.

Location, Location, Location
There are number of nice houses currently on the market whose prices reflect their location near a “negative” detraction. For instance, Joan Suter’s listing at 104 River Road in Cos Cob is offered for $819,000. This house was recently stripped down to its studs and completely rebuilt. It’s a nifty job, but it is located across from the old Palmer Engine factory and close to the Post Road. The price is discounted from what it would “otherwise” fetch, and offers more house for the money than others in its price range. Similarly, Ray Renslow has a listing at 14 Stag Lane. Four bedrooms with a pool on four acres abutting the Merritt Parkway. The highway is loud; not as loud as trucks on 1-95 but loud all the same (outside-the inside of the house is very quiet). But at $1,275,000 someone can get a far better house, at a worse location, than what he or she could otherwise afford. So both of these houses make sense. Trouble comes, sometimes, when someone buys this kind of house at a discount and then gets used to whatever had caused the low price to begin with: railroad tracks, for instance. When they resell they insist on pricing the house as though the house were in a perfect location. Bad move.

Off North Street
One house with no location problems is Blanche O’Connell’s listing at 31 Lindsay Drive. Almost 5,000SF, renovated in 1997, heated pool, 2 acres, 5 bedrooms, nice grounds. I like to estimate prices before looking at the listing sheet and I guessed $3.5 million on this one. Asking price is $3.45. If the mark of genius is the extent someone agrees with you, Blanche is one smart woman.

No Address On This One
Just saw a house that I think is a million dollars over-priced. On a three million dollar home, that’s quite a miscalculation and I wonder what the owner was thinking. A “renovation” in name only, the master bedroom was built without a bath or shower, the “pool” is merely a possible site and the house itself is tiny, at least for this range. The literature boasts that the building can be expanded to 7,000 SF but it’s priced as though that had already been done. It has not. If, as a seller you won’t trust your broker’s advice, at least get out and view some other houses in the price range you are considering. Your buyers will be comparing values, why don’t you?

Commercial Real Estate
Readers with a long memory may recall the incident a decade ago when a Greenwich policeman conducting a private, under-the-covers investigation at a local massage parlor attempted to break up a robbery while wearing nothing but his towel and badge. The poor fellow was knocked down, his gun and his badge were stolen and a rather frantic search for same was conducted on the Post Road. That story was disinfected and buried almost as quickly as news of it flashed across the police scanner but justice of sorts was eventually done: fully clothed state health inspectors visited the same establishment a year ago and were shocked to discover that services other than massage were being offered by unlicensed personnel. The place was closed. I recently noticed that it has re-opened as a nail salon, open 24 hours a day. Why the burly men entering through the back door should require manicures at 10:00 PM is a bit of a mystery but it’s a wonderful testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of the proprietors that they’re willing to meet that need. Seven days a week.

Judiciary vs. Greenwich P&Z

Far Out?
The recent Appellate Court decision in Poirier vs. Town of Wilton may finally drive a stake through our own town’s Floor Area Ratio regulations. The homeowners in Poirer bought a house in a subdivision originally approved in 1954. In 1999, they sought to add on a garage and a breezeway but were turned down because the addition would exceed Wilton’s maximum coverage allowance, an amendment added to Wilton’s zoning code after 1954. The homeowners appealed, claiming that under Connecticut law (C.G.S. §8-26a(b), Wilton was prohibited from enforcing regulations stricter than those that were in effect when the subdivision was approved. A unanimous Appellate Court agreed with the homeowner and, unless our state’s Supreme Court reverses, Greenwich’s own FAR regulations may be doomed. Here’s why:

There are dozens of subdivisions in Greenwich which, Poirier says, cannot be further restricted by new regulations like FAR. I don’t expect our zoning board to give in gracefully on the issue, but if they try to enforce the FAR on, say, Cat Rock Road but leave Old Stone Bridge alone (as an approved subdivision) an excellent argument could be made that the law was being applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner—a fatal flaw.

If the Appellate Court’s decision stands, there will be some interesting complications for every town. A home built in Havemeyer, for instance, might be regulated by zoning laws in effect right after WWII while a home in Sherwood Farms would be subject to the zoning code of 2001.

The court’s decision mentions “vested rights” (which cannot be taken away without due process and, perhaps, compensation) but it primarily focuses on “legislative intent”. It is possible, therefore, that the law can be re-written to make a uniform zoning code once again applicable throughout an entire town. Until and unless that happens, though, I think Greenwich will either ditch its FAR regulations or spend more on legal fees than it presently devotes to the school budget. Almost nothing could lure me back into practicing law, but a rich town like Greenwich trying to enforce what appears to be an illegal law sounds like a slam-dunk way to put my kids through college. Interested readers can find the case at: http://www.jud.state.ct.us/external/supapp/Cases/AROap/AP75/75ap202.pdf

Hello, I’m Russ and I’ll be Your Waitron Tonight
Russell Pruner and his associates have changed their name to “Shore & Country Real Estate”. I understand that Russ gave (almost) no consideration to the more obvious alternative, “Surf & Turf”.

North Street Beauty
Pat Cameron (Coldwell Banker/Curtis) has a new listing at 392 North Street, a 1900 center hall colonial renovated in 1998. It’s very, very nice. 5,000 SF, 1.8 acres of lawn, pool, huge kitchen, wrap around porch (“veranda” to speak Realtorese), six bedrooms and so on. I overheard a fellow agent say, “I’ve finally found my dream house” and I believed her.

Life After Death
Sharon Kinney’s $10,900,000 listing at 516 North Street has gone to contract. This was a truly outstanding, 12,450 SF whopper of a house: custom-made bricks, incredible quality throughout and well deserving of its price, but the most encouraging news is that there is still a market for houses in that price range.

Riverside North
The nicest house currently on the market in the $1.3 range is Mandy Fry’s listing at 74 Old Orchard Road in Riverside. An acre of privacy (and for more FAR lunacy, consider that you could build a 13,000 SF house on this site—larger than permitted in the 4 acre zone) and a beautifully renovated home. It’s a great house as is and an excellent value.

Cary Road Update
I recently suggested that Cary Road was “the worst street in Riverside”. Bad decision, as several of its outraged residents have informed me. It is true that the street has many virtues, offering a wonderful river life and good solid neighbors. I recommended the house in question to several of my clients and one of them made a substantial, albeit unaccepted offer on the place. But, while my labeling it as the worst street east of the Mianus was undeserved, surely even Cary Road supporters would agree that the street’s ambiance would be improved if residents eschewed rusty chain link fencing as property boundaries and substituted more traditional white picket fences. So what IS the worst street in Riverside? Readers are invited to nominate their (least) favorite roads and if I ever again lose my mind, I’ll print them.

FAR Madness

Do We Really Need This?
At the risk of angering FAR supporters and boring the rest of you with yet another horror story of that regulation’s oppressive effect, here’s an example of what we have done to ourselves. There is a ranch house in central Greenwich which is built into a hillside. One floor peeks above the hill while the walk-out basement serves a very nice terrace and pool. As of January, that basement is considered a full floor. Because the R-1 zone prohibits more than 2 1/2 stories, the house can no longer be turned into a real two story building. Fair enough, I suppose, except that the other houses on the street have been, or are being converted into $4.5 million homes. Every other lot on the street is worth at least $1.5 million just in land value. Not this one. I won’t estimate its eventual sales price but I guarantee that it will be below its present asking price of $1,495 because there is nothing one can do to it—it is, and will remain, a simple ranch, flanked on both sides by huge homes. If the goal of FAR is to achieve homogeneous streetscapes, what are we to make of this situation, where the street in question will soon be made up of a dozen large mansions with one lonely little ranch stuck in the middle? It’s easy to see whose property value has been destroyed; it’s harder to determine who is served by this inflexible new law.

There are many such examples cropping up as the new FAR takes effect. Most homeowners aren’t aware of what has been passed, but when they go to add a small addition and discover that they have to pay $10,000 in professional fees for grade surveys, interior square foot measurements and the like before shovel bites dirt, or when they learn that their house will sell for $500,000 less than their neighbor’s, they (that’s you and me) will be bitterly disappointed. The RTM has tried to rein in the P&Z on this issue, so far without success. Jefferson said of bureaucrats, “few die and none retire”. Perhaps that should change.
The Case of the Disappearing Home
Despite my occasional rants about over-priced houses, one particular slice of the market has absorbed almost everything thrown into it—that’s the $1.4 to $1.8 range. In just the past few days, 174 Cat Rock Road ($1,575) went immediately (via multiple bids), as did Doug Lederman’s (New England Land Co.) listing at 22 Indian Mill ($1, 685 – purchased in July 2002 for $1,450), 39 Indian Mill Road ($1,640), 15 Shore Acre Road ($1,595), 332 Stanwich ($1,495), 293 Stanwich Road ($1,595), 23 Frontier Road ($1,875) and on and on. A few houses remain in that price range but they’ll either be gone by the time you read this or they are still over-priced because of their location or other problems. One bit of brand new construction seems to have been designed by an architect who obtained his degree from the back of a matchbook; a steel fire door leads from the master bedroom to the garage, for instance; I don’t think they teach that design trick at Yale.

Two points: first, for buyers in this range, the market is moving away from you. Prices are going up, not down. Second, because of the shortage of decent houses in this price range, a modest profit can be made by picking up (the right) house at, say, $975,000, putting $300,000 into renovations and placing it back on the market at $1,550,000. While you may not want to boast at your next cocktail party about only earning a few hundred thousand dollars, the return will look and sound a lot better if you also own the NASDAQ at 5,000.
Man Bites Dog
I see that an oriental rug company on the Post Road is conducting a grand opening sale. How long before order is restored to the universe and it holds its first going out of business sale?
Shameless Plug
Just across the street from that amazing sight, East Putnam Variety has a fresh supply of my book, “The New Millionaire’s Handbook”. The store is located in the same shopping complex that houses Starbucks and Whole Foods and it’s where I conducted most of my research for the book. The sight of spandex-encased young mommies dueling for the handicapped parking space in their SUVs is awesome. If you haven’t already enjoyed the phenomenon, go see for yourself.