Great moments in real estate listings

The only good picture of the house; it must have been mistakenly included in the portfolio

News that a toney preschool in NYC had shut its doors after “allegedly” being looted by the founder’s philandering ex-husband led me to another NY Post article on that ex, one Hugh Levey, who, at least according to the Post, owned a “$5 million home in Greenwich”. Curious, and having nothing better to do on a Sunday morning before a holiday, I looked it up, and discovered the house in question, 2 Calhoun Drive, which sold via short sale for $1.570 million in 2017. I’m pretty sure the house was never worth anything close to $5 million, though there seems to have been over $3 million in debt improvidently loaned on it.

But what interests me — cuckolds, philanderers and bankrupts are a dime a dozen in Greenwich and hardly worthy of note — are the listing photos. They were obviously intended to provide the worst possible views of the house; most, in fact, show the deplorable condition of the ruined tennis court, and the rest are no more enticing. The listing agent is an excellent, experienced saleswoman who knows how to present a house, so clearly that was not the intention here, and truth in advertising is not a skill much practiced in my real estate profession. So what was up? I don’t know. I could call the agent and ask her, but it’s more fun to just point out the paradox and wait for her to email me with the explanation (and I know you will, Joy).

LISTING SERVICES IN THE REAR

FINALLY, AN INTERIOR SHOT!

THE PHOTOGRAPHER MAY have been iN this picture, BUT I DON’T THINK HER HEART WAS