Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more.
Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more
You talkin' to me?
A Fox Network conservative commenter is assaulted at restaurant, water thrown on her, while crowd chants "fuck that white bitch!". I'm not suggesting that a .45 Long Colt between the eyes is an appropriate response to this sort of attack (although I'm not suggesting otherwise, either), but had she been carrying, I doubt the coward who went after her would have dared.
44 Close Road, a foreclosure property that was never occupied since it was built back in 2002 has sold for $3,849,880 million. Custom built for Tommy Hilfiger, he changed his plans (and his wife) and sold it to Steven Braverman in 2005 for $9.5 million. Braverman, in turn, tried for $13.995 in 2007, before finally losing it to Mellon Bank.
The bank listed this for $4.770 back in February and I lost a client, and a friend, when I lost my temper with him for demanding that I submit a bid of $3 million (I did submit the bid — as his agent, I was required to, but we parted ways thereafter). My bad: $3 million wasn't going to do it, especially when the listing was just two-days old, but some patience on my part might have pulled this deal off. Again, my error.
5 Knollwood Drive, asking $2.650 million, has found a buyer after almost a year on the market. It's a beautiful, 1926 home, updated and close to town, but its slow sales history points out, to me at least, where the market's trending.
It sold for $2.850 million in 2007; that buyer renovated it, put it back on the market for $3.995,and finally sold it to these owners for $2.730 in 2014. And now they're taking a hit, too.
Nothing at all wrong with this house, to my taste, but the market seems to differ. Active buyers might want to look at older homes, because they're apparently going at a discount compared to their more modern competition. Just as "brown furniture" pieces — hand made, gorgeous antiques — are currently a drag on the market, vintage homes also offer a comparative bargain. Tastes change, and prices for antiques and classics may recover. If not, at least you'll have enjoyed them during your ownership.
Why the agent failed to go full-zebra puzzles me, though. the cow never works (even with an extension cord beneath it)
96 Maple, down to an asking price of $2.950 after its preposterous 2015 start of $7.2 million, reports a pending sale. Sadly, it's been marketed "as is", and suitable for three-unit multi-family, so the house may not be long for this world.
Then again, at this last price, someone might be planning to restore it and live there happily ever after; I hope that's the case.
2 Dartmouth Road, off Cat Rock, asking $2.4 million. Started at $2.995 in January, 2017 and will, I'm guessing, close at around $2.2.
Which I could have told them eighteen months ago, but some people enjoy strangers traipsing through their house for a year or two. Others have better things to do.
Selectman Sandy Litvack has sold his house at 39 Day Road for $2.350 million, down considerably from the $3,113,500 ($4.407 in current dollars) his (now) wife paid for it in 2001, and well below the $5.495 they sought in 2008.
11 Dearfield Lane is new to the market today, priced at $3.3 million. A house flipper bought this 1928 house back in February, 2004, did a remarkable job completely renovating it and practically doubling its size, and put in back up for sale five months later for $3.690. Much as I admired the work done, I, and the market, thought that a silly price and so it proved. The current owners paid $2.9 for it a year-plus later, July, 2006, and, in my opinion, didn't overpay.
Further improvements have been made, and this asking price, subject to some negotiation, is not wildly implausible. It's a house with great charm, and for those seeking an in-town property, in this price range, a house well worth viewing.
(Totally unrelated, and more as a suggestion to other sellers, I note that one of the pictures in the listing is a portrait of the owners' son. Nothing wrong at all with leaving that portrait up during showings, but in this age of kooks and weirdos, I'd be wary of putting a child's picture on the Internet. I'm probably paranoid: after all, the houser and address are posted, but ....)
19 Tait Road, which asked $1.795 million when it hit the market at the end of March, closed Friday at $1.850.
Hot market in the under-$2 range.
16 Indian Head Road, asking $3.775 million, 82 days (and one price cut) on market. I've never understood the appeal of this house: to me, it's a cobbled-together, dog's breakfast of additions and expansions, but I'm obviously a minority of one, because it's sold several times over the years, so what do I know?
These owners paid $3.9 for it in 2013, but all in all, they're getting out clean.
Caught some of the ceremony on the internet, and was struck by (a), the Brits know how to stage pomp and circumstance, and (b) how utterly irrelevant the kingdom is to world affairs.
Britain has 80,000 soldiers — the US fields 1.1 million — only 60,000 of whom are deemed fit for combat, has no naval fleet, and basically no air force. The country just built an aircraft carrier, but has admitted that it lacks the funds to procure airplanes to station on it. A preacher at Harry's wedding went on and on about the "power of one", and I suppose that's how the Brits intend to rule the world. Fat chance.
It was interesting to see from that live feed — it was from the "Today" show — how supposedly adult correspondents were reduced to dripping puddles of fawning adulation over "royalty". I haven't witnessed such mindless mewing since Obama left the scene.
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