A reader using foreclosure.com reports that it shows 100 houses in the process of foreclosure in town, with “none in Old Greenwich”. Hmm. While it may be true that banks have yet to file on many bad loans, I believe there are far more than 100 out there. In Old Greenwich, for instance, I’m aware of one builder with three unsold spec houses, none of which has a chance of selling for what is owed. The loan may be in forbearance but that has more to do with the bank’s desire to keep its balance sheet looking pretty than any confidence that it will be getting its money back. And also in Old Greenwich, there is a house on the market for less than 80% of its purchase price of four years ago – the buyers put just 20% down, their loan is in default and they’re going down. Interestingly enough, you won’t learn that from the listing. And then there’s everyone’s favorite, 23 West End Avenue, that is supposed to be a short sale but the lender can’t seem to get its act together so the house sits there, empty and rotting, while nothing happens.
Those are just four OG houses off the top of my head and there are plenty more. So don’t be too confident in RealtyTrac and Foreclosure.com’s numbers – by the time a house comes to their attention, it has been troubled for a long, long time.
For What It's Worth 
Chris,
On Foreclosure.com, you have to type in “Old Greenwich” for the city vs just typing “Greenwich”. The site lists 12 in “Old Greenwich”, 7 in “Riverside”, 14 in “Cos Cob” (sorry Cos Cobber!) and 100 in “Greenwich”. The overwhelming majority of these listings are “Preforeclosures” too.
Rockwood
Ah – thanks, Rockwood.
14 in Cos Cob? How could that be…it was such a good snow year.
Cos Cobber – That was a beaut! I can’t stop laughing. I know I personally paid for an above-ground pool in your ‘hood.
23 West End is rotting for sure. I checked out this place and the trim was literally rotting. Not good, not good at all.
And Stan, if you go ito the crawl space, you’ll notice that the builder used interior plywood in the ceiling and it’s now warped and delaminated. Plus, when the jerk ripped out the powder room vanity and toilet he destroyed the seal, at least, and it’s leaking. Plus, no bank will issue a loan on an uninhabitable house which, now that the builder has stolen the kitchen, is the situation here. Plus, would you buy a house from a thief, an incompetent builder and a filled- in bit of swampland next to the sewage pumping station that overflows several times a year? Plus, plus …. sheesh.
Cue the bulldozer!
Chris – you forgot to mention West End is on a busy street and the lot backs up to train tracks. That’s actually a bonus if you have kids who like Thomas the Tank Engine
But they also have to like sewage pumping stations too.
Hey CF, if the pumping station occassionally overflows, doesn’t that put you in harms way down on historic Ole’s Ditch?
Cos Cobber, when my Granny bought one of our houses on that creek in 1957 (for $17,000) the town used the West End pump station to collect raw sewage from Old Greenwich and discharge it untreated into Ole’s. The smell at low tide did much to explain both the low price for Granny’s house and the reason why the relator only showed it at high tide. Sewers came in in 1967 but as late as the 80’s, when Pal Nancy and I lived there, a hot sun on the mud flats brought back fond memories. So the occasional whiff of stinky stuff nowadays is more an occasion for nostalgia, rather than concern. In fact, it rather reminds me of Cos Cob!
I am currently squatting in 23 West End and am quite enjoying myself. The popping sounds of walls shifting lull me to sleep at night. And the sun shining through the roof gently wakes me in the morn
lol. you were pushing 23 west end not too long ago.
At $999, it’s price could have overcome it’s location. When I discovered it was already rotting and thus incredibly poorly made, and saw that it had been stripped inside, my opinion changed.
Rockwood is correct, I am in error again. Sorry, I knew I should have rechecked that last night but it was late (midnight by my time zone) and I got sloppy.
It’s not much earlier tonight (11PM) but I do see the same number for OG as Rockwood did, including one listing for a house on W. End.
I “think” the site pulls from the county/city records for delinquencies so as Chris points out, there are more distressed houses out there than show up in their records. They simply haven’t had legal action taken against them yet.