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Upstate Theme Motel

Upstate Theme Motel published on 1 Comment on Upstate Theme Motel

What’s more fun that staying in a theme hotel room? Maybe creating an entire theme hotel. But ok, staying in one is cool enough for now. The Roxbury Motel opened it’s doors in 2004 when two Manhattanites bought the run down structure after it sat on the market for six years.

Located in the heart of the beautiful Catskills (as opposed to the “eh” Catskills….believe me, there’s a difference), The Roxbury is anything but “forgotten Catskills”. It’s hip. It’s now. It’s happening, baby.

There’s a Flintstone room, a Partridge room, a Genie room and a Bewitched room for those of us old enough to appreciate them. Of course, there is a Shagadelic and a Miss Kitty room for the younger-than-middle-aged crowd. As if that’s not enough, The Roxbury has a spa on the premises and a cocktail lounge/restaurant right across the street.

Disclosure: I haven’t been to The Roxbury Motel. I just got a bit carried away looking at the website. Groovy, baby.

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness published on 5 Comments on Heart of Darkness

You’ve read my take on leaving city life for the country a thousand times, but check out my husband’s version. He belongs to a toastmaster club and had to write a speech. This week he chose to talk about our move upstate.

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Let this serve as a cautionary tale to anyone thinking of relocating to the country – The Horror.

Back in 2002 my wife Phyllis and I  decided to move to the country and get out of the NYC rat race. We had bought a house in the Catskills near Kingston in 1999 and enjoyed our weekends and vacations surrounded by the woods with access to a trail far from the closest roads where we could walk our two dogs around a pond that lead to an old beaver dam. On Summer nights there was a cacophony of frogs calling from the pond.

Eleanor, the previous owner of the house was an elderly widow who lived close by. In fact her house was the only one within sight where she lived with her spinster sister Edna.

The reasons we decided to move were various but they included the over gentrification of our Brooklyn neighborhood, Park Slope and getting burnt out from work.

We packed up our things in a U-haul van and headed North permanently  in September, 2002. Our two dogs were in heaven. Instead of only getting to run around the woods once every two weeks they now could go crazy every day.

The first thing that put a damper on our move was our neighbors Eleanor and Edna. Whereas before we moved we were glad to have someone with keys to watch over the house, now we had someone with keys and a mandate to keep an eye on us. Everything we did or every move we made might come up as a topic of conversation. “Oh, you were out shopping this afternoon. We saw you taking the bags from your car.” If we wanted to take an afternoon nap we had to worry about them coming over and peering in our living room window and starting the dogs barking and letting themselves in if we didn’t respond in time. They even had a pair of binoculars to spy on us, which Edna forgot to leave home one day when she stopped by to check out the job the tree guy did…before we got out there ourselves to have a look.

I tried to get involved with the locals and signed up for the volunteer fire fighters. But this was just met with suspicion by the long term members and there were never any real emergencies, which might explain why we never really trained for one.

After living in the woods for a while we realized that nature is not as benign as we first thought. There was the time our dogs disappeared while we were grilling outside. When we went to find them we realized they were not so dumb since they were steering clear of a black bear foraging in the woods near the house. After eye contact with the bear, we quietly backed up and hightailed it back to the house.

The Spring thaw brought shad fly and mosquitoes which kept us indoors more than we liked. The natural order up there, with man as the main predator and neighbors too lazy to travel to hunt, meant intruders with guns on our land during hunting season and the discovery of a headless deer carcass.

When you live in the boondocks, the only way to travel is by car, even for milk or a newspaper, and with driving comes the hazards of creating road kill ( frogs, snakes, chipmunks, squirrels to name a few) and white knuckle driving on snow and ice until you get to the highway.

The result was after a year and a half of living the bucolic life we decided we needed to move closer to civilization, culture and takeout Chinese. So we first moved to Beacon (halfway between the city and Kingston) before the city, or Brooklyn at least, sucked us back in. Now we can remain anonymous in the crowd and the only danger from animals is that a stray cat will come looking for a home.

Upstate Homes Under $100k

Upstate Homes Under $100k published on 3 Comments on Upstate Homes Under $100k

These four discounted fixer uppers in the Hudson Valley look pretty enticing. All great deals in one way or another. Don’t let the amount of work scare you. Renovation is fun, kids! Wanna have a look? Road trip! I’m in. Kind of want to see them or myself. Got a car and real estate license. Let’s go!

This Marlboro 1940’s 3 bedroom is only $39,000. Yes, it looks like it’s falling apart. It’s probably a complete gut job, but as long as it’s not a tear down, it could be a sweet deal. The home sits on 1/2 acre in a “tucked away location”. The stone wall on the property is all that.

Marlboro is on the west side of the river, somewhere between Newburgh and New Paltz, close to 9W.

The four bedroom home above is nothing to look at. It’s a vinyl sided house built in 1937 that needs work. It sits on .11 acre. $79,900. Meh. The reason I chose this is because of location, location, location. Rosendale is an awesome little town that offers everything…water, mountains and even it’s own vegetarian restaurant and art movie house.

Yeah baby, this is THE one! $89k in Lake Katrine near Saugerties. No interior shots, but let’s assume it’s in terrible shape. 17 rooms on 1.8 acre. Can you say “Bed and Breakfast”? This got written up in Upstater.

There isn’t much info available on this 1912 Red Hook ranch. The two bedroom on nearly a quarter of an acre is $95k. It does need work, but the price seems decent for something that’s within “close proximity to Bard”.

 

 

 

Dutchess County Homes Under $100k

Dutchess County Homes Under $100k published on

The upstate home deals are out there, kids! This week we’re looking at Dutchess County. Dutchess is on the east side of the Hudson, accessible via Metro North if you lack a vehicle.

A lake house for $55k? Yup, this 3 season 600 square foot cottage is located in Millerton, NY, near the border of CT. The house needs work but the lake looks perfect.

Nothing special about this 4 BR house in the city of Poughkeepsie. Nothing except the price. $45k will buy this handyperson special offered as an estate sale. Poughkeepsie isn’t exactly a second home destination, but it’s pretty close to some great hiking, boating and even skydiving. Poughkeepsie is a hit or miss place. Some areas are better than others.

Finally, here’s a Beacon single family for less than $100k (actually $99k). The house is right near Main Street. Take the train up and walk everywhere from here. You don’t even need a car! This house is listed with my broker, so if you decide to look at it, let me know. I’ll make him give you special treatment.

Upstate Homes for Under $100k

Upstate Homes for Under $100k published on 2 Comments on Upstate Homes for Under $100k

Dreaming of a log cabin? This 1937 home seems to be pretty clean. Located in Bethel (the REAL Woodstock), it only sits on .17 acre. There is access to swimming, boating and tennis nearby though. The price? $54,900.

This is the one that made my jaw drop. It needs sooo much work drooooolll but it’s sooo worth it. Check out the pictures of the interior. OMG, I’m in love. A 3800 square foot grand center hall colonial in Catskill on 1.5 acres. It’s listed at $75k but the sale will be an auction.

Ok, so this Amenia home is very close to the road, but hear me out. Hello B&B potential! It needs work, but $79,900 the price reflects that. No, I did not make a mistake and forget to put the one in front of that number. 4.2 acres. Dreamy!

This 1790 cottage doesn’t resemble anything from a bygone era. The only detail left intact is the stone fireplace, otherwise it’s new reno. Not my thing. But for $100k on 7.3 acres, it could be your thing if you don’t want to give your weekends away to the Renovation Gods.

 

Dining Out For A Good Cause

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Hey NYC, still feeling guilty about kvetching about how lame Hurricane Irene was only to find out that upstate was devastated? Well, here’s your chance to redeem yourselves. And don’t worry, it doesn’t involve donating your favorite pair of shoes or picking up a hammer. It’s something we all love to do….dine out!

Dine Out Irene means that this Sunday (yeah, today) participating restaurants will donate 10% of sales to aid local farmers who were hit hard a few weeks ago. Not enough notice? Check the list. Some restaurants are running it tomorrow as well. Annnndddd….there are a few joints outside of the city, so if you’ve got some spare change in your pocket, you really don’t have an excuse not to do this now, do you?

 

 

Buying a Country Home. Or a Commune.

Buying a Country Home. Or a Commune. published on 5 Comments on Buying a Country Home. Or a Commune.

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Here we go again! It’s a vicious cycle for me. City home. Country home. City home. Country home. After losing my shirt on the Beacon home during the market downshift, I vowed never to invest anywhere other than the 5 boroughs again. I also vowed that would be my last renovation.

But I am an addict. I’m itching for a renovation even though I know it’s bad for my physical, mental and financial health. And right now, upstate New York is one big bargain basement!

Good thing I don’t even have the savings for a bargain right now.

But…

Now is the time to buy. There are plenty of second homes on the market. The economy is depressed. Towns are even more depressed. Interest rates are as low as they get. Passing through Stone Ridge last week, it looked as if every other house was for sale. In once completely unaffordable Rhinebeck, there were actually a few places under $200k. People are nervous and can’t do the second mortgage and high taxes. They are purging.

Ah, we didn’t get to see that Millbrook property I wanted to look at. Decided not to schlep to Millbrook when we saw that there’s already an accepted offer. Somebody is making a good move.

What *I really want is an entire bungalow colony. A house? Been there. Done that. Borrring. I need more of a challenge. I’m bringing back the Catskills, baby! (*Notice I say “I”, not “we”.)

We looked at two abandoned colonies in Ellenville (see below for listings). The town didn’t seem as run down as it did a couple of years ago, but maybe that was my rose colored glasses. There were some active colonies that had been taken over by Hasidic Jews. It was nice to see some life up there even though those people wouldn’t play with me. My idea is to make a colony for the oughts. I hate to say it, but a hipster colony.

The reason the Catskills faded was that people were able to fly to distant destinations. Although that still remains true, the staycation has become more popular since flying is a pain in the ass now. Less money, less time, more responsibilities means staying closer to home looks better.

The idea is exciting. Probably a helluvalot more exciting than actually restoring an entire colony. I have some peeps who may be interested in doing this with me and we’ll probably look into it more seriously come September. A cooperative thing would be easier than going it alone.

Ping me if you want in. What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll learn to renovate and have a place to go for the summer.

Camp Road. 21 units on 7 acres. $284,999.

Katzman Road. 13 units on 35 acres. $218k.

Diamond in the Rough, Millbrook

Diamond in the Rough, Millbrook published on 8 Comments on Diamond in the Rough, Millbrook

This had me at hello. I was perusing the Dutchess County MLS yesterday, just because, when I found this beauty. Call it what you will: Diamond in the Rough, Handy Man Special, Fixer Upper. But I’m in love.

The abandoned home sits on nearly 2 acres in chichi Millbrook. It was built in 1976. Yeah, 1976! Doesn’t it look like an old farm house? I know!

There were other houses up in that neck of the woods that have been better taken care of, but I’m always attracted to the underdog. Is there something wrong with me? I mean, I look at it and want to save it. I look at it and see an awesome friggin bargain. But then I wonder if my elevator doesn’t go to the top floor.

So, here’s the thing…For $159k (Oh yeah, did I mention that?) you’re not buying the house as much as that incredible property. Have a look at the photos below so you know what I’m talking about. Huh? Huh?

Seriously, I’m up there all next week and I’m gonna have myself a look at it. Wanna come with? Contact me. I might need help fighting off the family of raccoons living in the bathroom. (Just kidding! Maybe.)


The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn!

The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn! published on 4 Comments on The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn!

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The Times has done it again. Declaring the next big thing ten years after the fact. They’ve written yet another article about how the Hudson Valley and certain towns are super hip right now. The new Brooklyn, of course. I feel the need to weigh in on this since I considered and moved to Beacon after a 2004 article hyping the town.

Let me begin by clarifying that I’m not blaming The Times for my move to Beacon. I was tired of Brooklyn at the time and wanted a better quality of life. I stayed for 6 years so there had to have been something I liked about it.

Instead of picking apart the article, I’ll just fill you in on my take on the situation. My usual kvetchfest about upstate.

Yes, there are wonderful antique shops. They tend to only open up a few days per week.

The galleries lining Main Street are great! Too bad it’s the same artists over and over again.

Some great restaurants opened during the years I was living in the Hudson Valley. I’d guessimate that 3 out of 5 of them closed within a year or two.

I can go on, but you get the point. Those towns upstate are always on the verge of gentrification but they never quite arrive. Nothing wrong with that. I’m no yuppy who wants to live in a totally gentrified area. Crap, that’s the reason I left Park Slope! But I do like to have a choices.

Maybe the hubby and I had a bad attitude while living up there. We were the only ones complaining while all the other newcomers loved it. Since moving back to Brooklyn a year ago, we feel alive again. The restaurants, museums, shows, concerts are all at our fingertips. We can do whatever we want, when we want. That’s something we took for granted prior to moving to greener pastures all those years ago.

So, are Brookynites really moving up there in droves? My real estate broker says that 90% of his home buyers are coming from Brooklyn. That doesn’t mean they are from Brooklyn. They lived here briefly. I met one other native Brooklynite in the 6 years I lived in Beacon. That might explain why my feelings differ from most other folks living up there. If you grew up in the big city, it’s really hard to leave that behind. Eventually, small town living just started to suck the life out of me. People from small towns and suburbs probably feel that way about cities.

So, thinking of moving to the Hudson Valley? If you’ve been a city dweller all your life, my advice would be to keep your options open back home. I’m all about weekend places. It’s nice to get some fresh air and escape the rat race every now and then! In fact, next week we’re renting a place in Red Hook (NOT Brooklyn) so look for more upstate posts.

Thankfully, I’ll be writing them from the prospective of a weekender.

Buy The Red Apple Rest Stop

Buy The Red Apple Rest Stop published on

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Me and The Moms took a trip upstate for a couple of days last week. We drove the Old 17 Route so we could pass the Red Apple Rest Stop. The Red Apple was THE place to stop before the NY Thruway was built. Back when it took 5 hours to get to Sullivan County. It was still open up until 2007 when it became condemned.

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While we stopped to get pictures, there was someone else swinging by to have a look, remembering the place from his childhood. I wonder how many people go out of their way to check out the old rest stop. Could be a great restoration project and business venture.

The number is on the “For Sale” sign below. Just sayin’.

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Sullivan County Homes Under $30k

Sullivan County Homes Under $30k published on

Think you can’t afford a second home? What if I told you you can grab one for as low as $15k? Yup. I’m not saying it’s the most desirable house in the most desirable area, but you can make it a sweet getaway.

Don’t even THINK of grabbing that house above for $15,000. I want that one. Looks like an old farm house but it was actually built in 1970. This could be a plus, as it sits on 2.31 acres and old farm houses are almost always right on the road. So it’s possible this house is set back a bit. It’s located in Monticello. Last time I was in Monticello, I was about 12. No kidding. It was kind of crappy back then, although it’s a beautiful landscape. Anyway, who cares about any of this? The. house. is. $15k.

This listing doesn’t give much detail. I guess the agent couldn’t be bothered to even take a picture for her commission on the $29,900 list price. Looks good from that angle. It’s a 2594 square foot four bedroom in Hurleyville, NY. I think I have an idea of where that is. Nice hikes and all, but not much going on culturally. In fact, I do believe that if you’re not an orthodox Jew, you may feel a bit out of place. On the other hand, if this is a flip, a 4BR would be a selling point.

Yeah, I know. It looks like a trailer. But hear me out. It’s actually a 1950 ranch on 4.9 acres. divided into 2 parcels. Still with me? Good. Take a look at the interior shots. There’s something to work with here. Can you see your mid century fab getaway? Are you seeing the fifties kitchen? Oh, I didn’t mention that it’s in Neversink and includes lake rights and three outdoor sheds.

**When you’re looking at distressed properties, please keep in mind that you may encounter wildlife living INSIDE of the house. Try not to freak out. Where boots and bring a flashlight (although, if the realtor doesn’t have a flashlight for abandoned homes, they should be fed to the wildlife).

Vanishing Catskills

Vanishing Catskills published on 2 Comments on Vanishing Catskills

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A friend turned me on to this fabulous Vanishing Catskills site. Visual artist Raymon Elozua photographed the abandoned bungalow colonies and hotels around Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The site is easily navigated by type of structure or map.

From the site: “The desire for a new improved lifestyle, assimilation into the American melting pot, and the aging of an older immigrant population were underlying factors coupled with a time when air travel became cheaper and newer chic resorts and communities were springing up elsewhere spelled the end of the Catskills by the 70’s.”

That’s when my family started going there. From the mid 70’s to early 80’s, my parents rented a bungalow in a colony where all the other cousins stayed. The destinations changed every few years…there was Greenview in Spring Glen, Jan’s in Ellenville and Rosenblum’s in Spring Glen from what I recall. Some of the places (like Greenview) had already started to decay. But we had fun anyway.

My fascination with abandoned dwellings coupled with my history in the area has put Vanishing Catskills near the top of my obsession list this week. And the memories these photos triggered! OMG, I recognize that Homowack bowling alley! OMG, I helped my Grandma cook in kitchens exactly like that! (And see that pink and white chair? I have that set in yucky brown!)

Too bad my Grandma is rolling over in her grave whenever she sees me “cook” now.

Related:

Catskills Past

Borscht Belt. Then and Now

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Beacon Heats Up Just As We Leave

Beacon Heats Up Just As We Leave published on

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It seems like the best thing that could have happened to Beacon was our move back to the city. Every time I go back up to sort things out with the house, a new place has popped up on Main Street.

Ah, but there are two huge projects in the works that have everyone in Beacon stoked.

The Beacon Theater went dark in the 1960’s and has remained that way ever since. Finally! 4th Wall Productions has purchased the 800-seat performance hall and has plans to restore it back to it’s original 1934 glory. It will be used as a performance space as well as a movie house.

The theater is raising funds to help with the restoration. There’s a concert coming up on September 18th featuring who-else-none-other-than-Pete Seeger. He probably played the original venue.

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The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls sits on the east side of town overlooking the water fall. The cluster of factory buildings has been abandoned for years. Finally! Restoration of the land and buildings have begun. The Roundhouse will evolve into hotels, artist live/work spaces and a catering/event venue. All green development!

Electric Windows in Beacon

Electric Windows in Beacon published on 3 Comments on Electric Windows in Beacon

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There’s a big ole abandoned building on the east side of Main Street in Beacon. In the town’s heyday, it was the electric blanket factory. Today, each window is covered by a fabulous work of art.

This Saturday, July 31st, the street artists will converge on Beacon once again to do a live installation. They’ll create the works of art right in front of the building during “Electric Windows”. There will also be music,vendors, the works!

If you plan on spending the night in Beacon, there’s an after party at The Piggy Bank starting at 10pm.

Then you can fall in love with Beacon and go buy my house.

Open House on Sunday!

Open House on Sunday! published on

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So, after just 4 weeks, we’ve decided to reduce the price on our Beacon house. We are motivated sellers! Although, not so motivated that we’ll go down much more because we haven’t left ourselves with wiggle room now.

A 4 BR friggin drop dead gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian for $379,900. We already hate the people who are going to buy it because they’re ripping us off. But it was our decision to make. We’ve moved on, so holding onto the house for several months just to make a few more bucks isn’t going to do us any good.

This Sunday will be the first (hopefully the only) OPEN HOUSE! So, if you’re thinking of moving to Beacon but didn’t want to bother realtors because you’re not ready yet, here’s your excuse to check it out.

I’ll even plan your day for you….

Take Metro North.

Go to DIA.

Walk up to Main Street. Lunch @ Homespun. Continue to walk through the crappy mid section of town….there’s more at the other end. Make sure you get to the waterfall on the east side of Main.

Ok, so if you’re too tired, take the loop bus back down Main because the house is back on the west side.

Hit the open house. Put in a really, really high offer because of the bidding war that will undoubtedly be going on.

Walk back to train. Feel superior to all the people in their cars because they don’t live within walking distance to public transit.

The Deets:

When: Sunday June 6th, 1-4pm

Where: 1189 North Avenue (that’s Rt. 9-D south side) Beacon, NY 12508

How: Metro North to Beacon station. Front of train (That means walk to the back at Grand Central). Walk up the hill to W. Main, take left, then left on 9-D. House is third in from corner of Tompkins. There is a 33 on the door, but no 1189. JonCar Realty sign out front and if the agent is any good, there should be balloons or something.

Driving? 9-D South from Rt 84. Park on Tompkins (beyond the house) as it’s a tight driveway for too many cars.

* Don’t forget to bring your mortgage pre-approval and check book! 🙂

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