Building A New House in Riverside next year (2020)

Building A New House in Riverside next year (2020)

Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 1 vote

I live in Riverside, CT (part of Greenwich) and own the house next door to me. It’s a rental, and my partner and I use it as an extra income. Next summer (2020), we plan on putting the property up for sale. The house itself is a tear-down, but it’s on waterfront property so the land is valuable (over $1 million). Ideally, we’d like to demolish the existing house and build a new house. We realize, especially being first-time builders, that this is a very large (and expensive) project to take on. Because of this, we’d probably hire a professional to help us manage the project and see it through.

We also realize that a recession seems inevitable, and need to take this into account. Luckily, we have a year to observe how the markets do, and thankfully live in an area that’s in demand. If we end up just deciding to list it “as is”, we want to find a buyer who is going to tear down the house and rebuild. Our property line (we live in the house next door) currently runs right through the existing house next door, and we’d like to keep it that way (minus the house...haha). Is it possible to advertise the property as “an opportunity to build a new waterfront home”?

Ultimately, we’d like to maximize our profit on this property in whichever way possible (with the least risk). Any advice or suggestions are much appreciated.

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  • Rental Property Investor · Greenwich, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    Hey, @Account Closed. Did you post about this previously? Sounds familiar for some reason.

    I live right down the road in Central Greenwich and serve on the RTM's Land Use Committee. Have you spoken to anyone on P&Z about the property-line issue? That sounds like a potential road block or at least a pain.

    While waterfront property is the most desirable, I'd be very nervous about starting a spec house that likely won't be complete for 2+ years (after approvals, design, etc.). If you're nervous about a recession...

    The good news is that part of Riverside demands the highest price per sq ft in town. The bad news is you'll probably be $4MM+, which is a very slow segment of the market with about 3 years of inventory currently. $2-3MM seems to be the sweet spot. That may be a tough price point to hit on such valuable waterfront property. Certainly not best and highest use.

    Have you spoken to any of the local developers about potentially partnering up? Longo has been doing a lot on Milbank. The woman who did 140 Park Ave is highly regarded, sorry I can't recall her name.

  • Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Thank you for the suggestions! The property line issue has been resolved already, thankfully. We’re just in the beginning phase now, talking to some developers. 

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