Tune In To Today’s Show At 11:00 AM!

The dapper, some would say “debonair” developer Tom Rich, President of FD Rich.

Today we have, in-studio, the President of Stamford’s FD Rich Company, Tom Rich, for the full hour. Tom, the handsome, vivacious (if that’s the word I want) man-about-town has been conceiving and building some of Stamford’s and surrounding area’s most impressive buildings for decades. He’s credited with turning around the company after a (yet another) government-caused economic catastrophe nearly sank FD Rich back in the 1990’s.

My suspicion is that ol’ Tom is a Democrat and a liberal, so the challenge will be to get him to say mean things about Guv Malloy and nice things about Prez Trump. In any case, I assure you it will be an amusing interview, don’t miss it (or at least dig up the %#@&-ing podcast and listen later).

Here’s Tom, dishing the dirt with the future President of the United States, many years ago.

Finally! The Market Heats Up

6 Ford Lane, Old Greenwich, waterfront house w/extra lot, asked $7.5M, one week later, DEAL.
list: Steve Archino
sell: Dena Zarra

Long before the Greenwich MLS publishes reports of deals under contract, there is “scuttlebutt” among us brokers. Are you busy? Are you showing lots of stuff? What happened last weekend, how many people did you take out?

Until very recently, the usual answer was zip, zero, nada, but now, suddenly, I am getting reliable reports of genuine…dare I say it?…busy-ness among my compañeros (at various firms). And it’s not because of this warm weather, the deals I’m hearing about clearly started in the last two weeks.

Here are two very fresh examples: 6 Ford Lane, Old Greenwich waterfront, $7,500,000. 1986 house with some updating, land size .71 acres, which includes an adjacent vacant parcel of .29 acres. Part of the house is in the flood-zone (oh no!), but the first-floor’s at 20 feet, so gimmie a break… if that worries you, you need to undergo years of analysis. Anyway, perpetual market-worrier Archino puts this baby on Feb. 13th and had a done deal in SEVEN DAYS. Hot enough for ya?

Second example:

8 Mayo Avenue, Greenwich, $2,695,000. In the heart of Belle Haven, but….not in Association. Nevertheless, instant deal with multiple bids.
list: Kristy De La Sierra
sell: Blake Delany

8 Mayo Avenue* , Belle Haven section of Greenwich, but not in Belle Haven Association (oh no!),  $2,695,000. Great old 1944 brick colonial, some updating, .57 acres, got a deal in about a week, three bidders!

By the way, that’s .57 acres in the R-1 zone, meaning a paltry FAR of just 3,352 square feet, but wait! FAR was further restricted by the adjacent right-of-way to a rear property. Total FAR, therefore, is a mere 2,780 sq.ft. Did the bidders give a hoot? They did not!

Market heating up. If you’ve been watching some place, waiting for the price to drop again, make your move now.

• For several years, financier Louis Bacon lived across the street from this one. I’ve always liked that combo, “bacon on mayo”, but no one else found it amusing (interestingly, Bacon moved to Rye, and sold his Mayo house to Mr. Lettice, I swear!)

Why Are Companies Fleeing CT? Tune in to tomorrow’s show to hear the sad truth.

John Boyd, Jr. of the Boyd Company, location consultants, i.e. “the executioners”, from the standpoint of CT politicians. But don’t blame Boyd!

Companies have been fleeing high-tax/high-regulation Connecticut for years. They won’t stay here, they won’t move here, they certainly won’t start here. Nope, there’s no escaping the fact that our once-great state now sends a very clear message to the business world: STAY AWAY.

What can be done? On tomorrow’s radio show, I will interview John Boyd, Jr., Principal of The Boyd Company, which consults major companies on site selection. As you can imagine, by the time a CT company contacts Boyd, they have already decided they’re going to move, so Boyd helps them pick a state with the most favorable tax and legislative climate.

I’ll be asking John if there is any hope for our dopey state, and what realistically could we get (those idiots up in) Hartford to do to fix things.

Tune in tomorrow morning Wednesday, Feb. 21st, 11:00 AM -12:00 PM. The interview with Boyd starts around 11:30, before that, Jonathan Wilcox and I will discuss the Greenwich real estate market and why, oh why, should it take an average of 320 days to sell your damned house?

Gid’s radio show, every Wednesday morning, 11:00-12:00. On your radio, it’s 1490 on the AM dial. On your computer/mobile device, go to http://www.WGCH.com

Gid’s Big Media Break

Yesterday morning at the glamorous downtown Manhattan studios of WOR Radio. Gideon and Susie , guests on the great Mark Simone Show. This WOR complex hosts about a dozen of the hottest radio stations in the country. (The internet not only didn’t kill radio, it gave it a 2nd life)

After donating a sufficiently large amount to “Charitybuzz” * , I obtained the right to appear on WOR’s Mark Simone Show, 710 on your AM dial (or online at iheartradio.com). I’m used to pestering a few dozen people at a time with my, er, wisdom, but this was the first time I got to inflict myself  on MILLIONS of listeners.

And that part was a complete surprise, my expectation had been that all I’d get to do was sit behind the glass and stare at Simone while he did his show, but no, Susie and I got ushered into the studio and I was interviewed like any other guest.

Mark Simone is one of the world’s best interviewers, he could interview a ventriloquist’s dummy and make the dummy sound like a genius, so naturally, I think I came out of it looking good! Did it help that he restricted the question subjects to Greenwich real estate and related matters? Yes, since that is what I know, it certainly gave me an advantage.

Anyway, click on the hyperlink below, listen to the Podcast, and see what you think:

(my episode is number 3 on the list, titled “Charitybuzz winner”)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-simone-show/id1253585516?mt=2&i=1000402483767

* Charity Buzz is a legitimate, for-profit internet company that raises funds for nonprofit organizations through online charity auctions. They have amazing stuff to bid on, like appearing on radio  and TVshows, golf with Jack Nicklaus, NASA zero-gravity experience, yacht cruises, you-name-it. Very cool.

Gideon’s “New” Radio Show

CORRECTION: DAMNED SHOW STARTS NEXT WEEK: February 14th.

This is an old flyer from the original show, in 2004…

I’ve decided to resurrect the real estate radio show I used to do with fellow-Realtor Jonathan Wilcox.  Starts tomorrow, and then every Wednesday, 11:00 AM – 12:00 noon. WGCH 1490 on your AM dial, as usual, but you can now pick it up on your mobile device. Just search “WGCH 1490” and you’ll see various options like “Tune In”.

For the moment, the show’s called “Your Greenwich House”, until I come up with something better. We’ll talk about the state of the Greenwich real estate market and, in the mood, take calls: (stupid questions welcomed!) 203-661-5051.

To listen on your iPhone/Android, just go to TuneIn.com and search WGCH, here’s what you get:

A Good Sign?

I was busy this week signing up some new for-sale listings, which is swell, of course, but what about buyers? Has Hartford finally made it unbearable to live in CT, or are there still a few hearty souls willing to take a chance?

Judging by the busy parking lot I just observed at broker Rob Johnson’s public open house going on now at 81 Lockwood Road, Riverside ($2,599,000), the answer is yes, there are actual buyers out there looking, praise be to [deity of your choice]!

As I was leaving, three more cars showed up, so really, that is a significant sign. Nice house, by the way, with a phenomenal rent-record, fetching as much as $13,500 per month. Walkable to Eastern Junior High* and Riverside Elementary.

* I’m no longer cooperating with the label “middle school”.