Sales pick up as 19 closings total $36M
Last week 19 real estate sales closed in Greenwich for an total of over $36 million. Sales included 16 singlefamily homes, two condominiums and one Putnam Park co-op. That’s a big increase from the previous week.
My “buy of the week” selection is on a short cul-de-sac spur off North Street in mid-country Greenwich. Marketed for 660 days since August 2018 starting at $4,490,000, this 1966 brick ranch on 12.27 acres is ripe for renovation/tear down. More on it later.
My “sale of the week” selection was an historic Federal-style home on North Street that only lasted 17 days before selling for a hair under asking. Our town has many historic homes and this one is from 1864.
Here’s a summary of last week’s sales presented in table form.
Sale of the week
63 North Street
This week’s “sale of the week” selection is a compelling choice for those who are looking for “character” or an antique home to house their period furnishings. Historic homes in Greenwich have a following and both investors and buyers keep a keen eye out for listings of homes built before 1900.
There’s 5,135 square feet of finished space inside and the plot size of 0.81 acres is sizeable in this neck of the “woods.” If you travel down North Street towards town, you’ll probably remember this iconic house on the right side just before getting to the North Maple Avenue intersection.
This home has a beautifully renovated kitchen with all the latest appliances and finishes.
Closings reported June 1-7
Annjim Drive 16 Boulder Brook Rd. 52 Burying Hill Road 75 Cos Cob Av., #8 15 Cottontail Road 7 Dempsey Lane
24 Lia Fail Way
142 Lower Cross Rd. W. Lyon Farm Dr. #202 1 Mansion Place 63 North Street 48 North Ridge Rd. 57 Oak Ridge Street 25 Orchard Hill Ln. Putnam Park, #174 25 Richmond Hill Rd. 14 Rockview Drive 76 Shore Road 8 Skylark Road
Total Average Median
Add a large center island with open family room and a stonewalled fireplace, and you really have the best of both worlds, then and now. Four bedrooms, three full and three half baths and three fireplaces make this a nice family home. The only negative is that there’s no garage. I guess you’ll have to keep your horses outside.
Buy of the week
7 Dempsey Lane
Dempsey Lane is a short lane off North Street well below the Merritt with easy access to town. At the end there’s a rotary and this home. There’s a very large plot of land, 12.27 acres, and it has already been subdivided into two five-acre lots with conservation land set aside. If you’re a developer or just an investor, this is an interesting proposition.
This brick ranch was built in 1966 and the home was an estate sale. There are four bedrooms, four full and three half baths and a two-car garage. The interior is large with 5,326 square feet of finished space but it’s really dated, as you might expect.
I’m looking forward to lots of exciting things happening on this home and the two additional building lots. Nice pickup for a smart buyer.
Why rent-to-buy?
Houses can be listed for sale or for rent. Right? How about both? In a rent-to-buy offering a house can pursue renters and those who would be buyers but can’t because of a low credit rating or not enough saved for a down payment or both. Or maybe they want to “try before buying” referring to the house, street, neighborhood, commute, school system or town amenities. To be sure, there are real advantages for buyers who take this route.
One big benefit is the locking in of a purchase price in the agreement in a rising real estate market. They know what their future purchase cost will be ahead of time and have locked it down.
Any time during the option period (their lease) they can give written notice to the owner that they want to close on the sale and recoup the portion of their rent that was set aside each month in an interest-bearing escrow account. It’s used as a credit to them at the closing table.
They’ve lowered the cost of the house while continuing to save for the down payment. And it’s much better than throwing away rent payment after rent payment while housing prices continue to escalate.
They can also shop for financing and when interest rates and their own credit-worthiness are optimal, they can notify the owner and pull the trigger to buy.
Many other benefits accrue to the buyer. They’ll intimately know the house’s good and bad points and can get any issues resolved with their landlord/ future seller as tenants. Leaking roof? Faulty heating system? Balky plumbing? That’s the landlord’s problem to fix.
If they decide they don’t want to buy but also don’t want to walk away from their escrow account they can sell the house, even at a profit if they can sell it for more than their option price.
The Realtor who arranged the rent-to-buy is tasked with finding another buyer and if it’s for more than their option price, they’ll keep the profit. They then buy from the owner in the morning at the option price less escrow and sell it in the afternoon. Sweet!!
… the seller’s motivations!
For sellers who don’t need the proceeds of sale after a closing to buy a replacement property (this is key) it’s a way to get their asking price down the road and possibly trim their capital gains tax at the same time. They also have a steady stream of income from the rent payments.
After deducting the capital improvements that they’ve paid for and documented and the cost of sale, the closing price gets adjusted down with the credit to your buyers. That helps to greatly reduce your capital gains on the sale.
If this was your principal residence it works even better as long as you lived there two out of the last five years. Then you can also claim the capital gain exemption from your principal residence.
While it’s not for everyone, it’s a real win-win for sellers and buyers in many cases!
This Week’s Success Quote
“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.” — Bob Hope