Page 19 - Housatonic Avenue Brochure New

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE HOMEOWNERS

WHY DID YOU MOVE HERE FROM FAIRFIELD?
Everyone asks us that question and our response is always the same: value
for your money. Stratford and its waterfront in particular is an undiscovered
gem. Any house on Stratford’s 14 miles of river and coast waterfront is less than
half of any other coastal town in Fairfield County. This beautiful home in Fairfield,
Westport, Darien, etc. would be at least double and no other town has these
panoramic views. We know; we looked! The taxes on our home are actually several
thousand dollars less than our home in Fairfield because it is appraised lower. So
the answer to your question is simple: value for our money. You get so much more
for so much less here and you are only 2 train stops away from Fairfield. Most of our
neighbors come from towns in lower Fairfield County; Darien, Stamford, Trumbull.
They all recognized the value of real estate in this town.

WHY DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS HOUSE?
The views. They are simply spectacular. Every level of the house has a large bank of
windows overlooking the river and the view is panoramic. The house needed a lot of
work but we recognized the potential. This home has ¾ of an acre of landscaped yard.
Very few waterfront homes have that much land.

TELL US ABOUT THE RENOVATION PROCESS ...
This house was originally built in 1969 by a builder for his daughter so we knew the
“bones” of the building would be good quality. This builder also brought in fill to raise
the level of the property at least 6 feet higher than any of our neighbors. That would
not be possible today but this was 1969 and it was perfectly legal. The result is that
we never have any flooding. Even during Sandy when so many waterfront homes
had severe flooding, we were safe and sound. The water never even came close!
When we purchased the home in 2005 we ended up gutting the house leaving the
stone and brickwork which permeate the house and is its signature but we replaced
all the sheetrock, electrical, plumbing, etc. We used high end materials such as
Anderson windows, sliders and patio doors, premium grade hard wood flooring,
granite, mahogany and cedar for decking, architectural shingles and wood cedar
shakes for siding. Everything was brought everything up to code including the roof
which was built to hurricane standards. And we added a commercial grade dock
with state and DEP permits. Not even Hurricane Sandy could harm this dock!

WHAT WILL YOU MISS MOST ABOUT THIS HOME?
There are so many things we will miss that we will never be able to replicate. The
wildlife, the swans gliding by, the boat parades, kayaking through the sea marsh, jet
skiing from the dock, taking the boat up or down the river and tying up at a riverside
restaurant. We will miss all of that. But for me, I will miss the light the most. There is a
time almost every morning when the river becomes transfixed. Before the sun rises over
the Milford coast, the light becomes very diffuse and soft and warm bathing the water, the
teaming wildlife and the commercial fishing boats silently slipping out to sea into a world of
mystery and beauty. It only lasts for perhaps 20-30 minutes but everyone who lives on this
side of the river wakes early to look at it. You become transfixed. The colors change with every
season from white to light green to dark green to yellow and back to white again with the coming
of winter. The light and it’s reflection off the water touch your soul. It is truly a unique experience
and we experienced it every day.