Sullivan County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

Traveling and Construction

2012-02-13T10:45:00.010-05:00

James and I just got back from the 2012 International Builders Show, hosted in Orlando this year. Last time we went it was in Vegas in 2009. Thats James below (on the left).And at the Marriott, getting ready to go to the gym and pool.We were right across the street from SeaWorld.and a highlight of the show was this spray foam sculpture.A lot of construction for mid-winter. We have Ranch VI,

Bergen County Press

2012-02-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

We get a lot of customers from the 5 boros, but are still perfecting our outreach to the Westchester NY and Bergen County NJ areas. It's amazing how much exposure Catskill Farms brings to Sullivan County - With our $200k+ marketing budgets, tech savvy approach and powerhouse press agents, we probably rival the County's own tourism program in effectiveness in drawing people to the area.Bergen

Cottage 39

2012-02-01T12:26:00.006-05:00

It may be warm, and the snow might have melted, and the frost might be coming out of the ground and what that means to us country (or 'rural' as someone called us the other day) folk is mud. Pretty serious mud actually. Muck boot mud, if you will.In a telling reflection on my friends, family and co-workers, no one mentioned that I had mislabeled my last post, mis-identifying the Cottage.The

Gifts, The Intrepid, Saugerties, Narrowsburg and Whistler's Mother

2012-01-30T11:57:00.009-05:00

lyrics from a song I like currently, 2nd verse -"For once I didn't say anything stupid--my lover never once looked bored.And soldiers come in smeared with lipstick,like the last day of war.The band divided up the money,but the drummer could not stay.He said he's gonna meet us later,at The Dream Cafe."Got some great unexpected gifts over the weekend - happy early birthday and belated Christmas to

Cottage 38 in Contract (or, Same Old Song and Dance)

2012-01-25T10:42:00.002-05:00

I caught Clark and Andrew (the handsome guys in the center) snooping around Cottage 38 in Stone Ridge a few weeks ago and instead of calling the cops, I sold them the house.Just kidding - they had actually signed up a few weeks prior. Interestingly, this was a brand new process for me, Mr Control Freak. Not only did I not directly sell them this house, it was sold through the tried and true

More Extrapolation on Aragon's Idea

2012-01-22T06:33:00.003-05:00

Think if you owned a restaurant but you could only put tables on half the floor space, the other half was required to remain open. Of course it makes the prospects of success much less, but also is a bit intrusive.Or if you rented office space, but then you were told you could only use half of it. Maybe Luiz was offended or concerned about the noise, the traffic, or even the parking on a busy

Farm 17 Sold (one martini in)

2012-01-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

Like clockwork, exactly as promised, a few weeks AHEAD of schedule we delivered Farm 17 to Catherine and David. A fascinating conclusion to a very validating journey we took with them. Although conclusion is not nearly accurate since for the most part this is only the middle-age of our relationship with these folks - the home build is finished but the breaking in period and small tweaks are

Gone Fishin'

2012-01-20T16:59:00.003-05:00

Ok - my annoyance at retarded zoning and clueless people has passed.So, let's talk fishing. As someone who is incredibly not handy with 'projects around the house', not talented at outdoorsy stuff like hunting, gardening, fishing, it's always a challenge when I aspire to turn over a new leaf and develop that side of things.Typically it starts and stops with a trip to an expensive outfitter like

Luiz Aragon's View of how to Use Your Land (let your neighbors use it)

2012-01-20T14:02:00.005-05:00

Luiz Aragon's full email, and what it really means (what I love most is he confidently cites sources from 1999, 2002, 2003, and 1996, like the world has not drastically changed since those text books were written) - "While Lumberland has an abundance of open space, the predominance of the land is in private ownership. A whittling away of this open space through conventional subdivision, even

Boycott Luiz Aragon's Brookhouse Gallery

2012-01-20T06:15:00.003-05:00

Luiz Aragon, head of the Planning Division of Sullivan County, only in the community for a few years at most, not even a resident of New York (unless you count the fake apartment above his gallery), and now proposing to TAKE YOUR LAND through a fear-mongering 'don't turn Lumberland into a suburb' zoning initiative.Luiz Aragon states (I can hardly believe it) that most of the land in Lumberland is

A few of my favorite things...

2012-01-13T05:04:00.000-05:00

Lucas' ipad creation ( I helped)....Remedial photoshop farting around....Stickers and stars from the Monkey Game...An oar I bought at a local antiques store for my swanky apartment I'm furnishing in Saugerties, NY....My favorite book-keeper.... Been with me from the very beginning when it was just me and her and a whole lot of debt....My favorite barber shop in Saugerties, named Hot Towel, no

Cottage 37 Sold - 1 Down in Ulster

2012-01-06T07:04:00.003-05:00

Corby and Ben came to us a few months back - veteran homeowners, had renovated in the city, etc..., ie., knew what they were getting into and had high expectations for the process.And I think that's par for the course - we inspire confidence in people that this process can go well - that it can be fun, inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime. We tout it in our marketing, and we tout it during tours

Sullivan County Homes

2012-01-02T08:11:00.007-05:00

We have built a lot of homes in Sullivan County and I plan to keep on building. We typically concentrate along what I like to call the Delaware River Corridor which stretches from Pond Eddy to Narrowsburg.Here's some shots of our winter projects in this neck of the woods.Barn V above and below - a super neat house being built by Bill and Veronica. They have a young son named Patrick. On a road

Cottage 38 - Stone Ridge - Going into Contract

2011-12-27T15:09:00.004-05:00

8 days on the market. In a brand new area. Using my new real estate/marketing team.Bam - Sold. Just like that. My realtor's jaw is still dragging the ground.For us over here at Catskill Farms, just another day at the office.Man I can feel the pins being applied to my voodoo likeness in offices across the Region.Nice Work Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty.8 days on the Market. All the

Gettin' Ready for Christmas

2011-12-22T09:03:00.008-05:00

Here's Lucas with Santa on a train ride in Honesdale PA. Asked what he wants for Christmas, he said 'trains, lions and Thomas.' But we will back to that a little later...My good friend David, who is the official stat keeper of all things real estate in Sullivan County, posted there were 9 sales above $300k in Sept-November. Our homes are not included since they are not sold or listed through

Catskill Farms Christmas Party

2011-12-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

Well, another year and another 15 houses or so. This was our second year for our famous party- and I kept saying the same dumb thing when people came in - "I got 4 words for you," I'd say, slurring a little more each hour - "Free food, free drinks". That's Deb from our amazing book-keeper with Wayne and George from Jeff Bank, who has been powering Catskill Farms with our financing since the

My New BFF's

2011-12-13T13:48:00.006-05:00

My entrance into the Ulster County real estate market has been a huge success to date. We are building Farm 17 (picture below) which is set to sell in a month, and we have just finished Cottage 37, which is set to sell the first week of January. One of my too-often-repeated is that I came to Woodstock and Saugerties, and sold $1,000,000 of real estate myself before I even knew where the grocery

Christmas Shopping - Go Local

2011-12-09T10:24:00.002-05:00

I'm not the first one to point this out, nor is this the first time I've pointed it out - but to all the readers of this blog, be sure you use your buying power to shop local. It can't be overstated how each and every dollar spent locally not only helps the small businessperson, but the area as a whole.So, if you are gonna drop some coin, drop it up here. I'm sure they do mail order for those

Saturday Tours (and Farm 18 is gone)

2011-12-06T14:05:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite customers, who bought Cottage 6 way back in like 2008 is David Cross. I throw his name around when I'm showing prospective customers around more often than proper or seemly. Then I follow it up with 'what about Gavin McInnes? And Albert Hammond Jr?" I always get the appropriate and due respect following.Well, David strikes again I found out when I went to see the new Muppet

New York Times Baby - T Magazine

2011-12-05T10:44:00.002-05:00

Ok, when you're hot you're hot - and today baby we are too hot to touch.NY Times high-falutin' design magazine "T", did an article named "Me and My Man Shed" and did a nice little thing on our writer's shack at Barn IV. Congrats Emily and Sean.We are outfitting most of our new homes now with writer's sheds, potter's barns, or in the case of the couple who signed up for Farm 18 this weekend (

Wednesday

2011-11-30T12:39:00.002-05:00

One of my tasks today was to tackle this top draw mess of my desk. I mean, if you look closely it's a varied assortment - the standout being the 1700 british pounds that Gavin gave me for a job at his house - I kept refusing it, and then he frickin' showed up at my office and threw it on my desk with some exaggerated claim of how good of a deal I was getting considering the exchange rate, etc..

Getting it all wrong.

2011-11-27T12:30:00.004-05:00

I know, I've sworn I was going to take it easy and let a few things breeze past me instead of catching everything in my net, but then my friend David puts this house on this website as a 'good deal' and I couldn't help but look into it further since it was dabbling in our new old house style.I'm not too concerned about competition these days since what I have learned is our competition always

Shop At REGION

2011-11-23T13:58:00.003-05:00

In the big 'buy local shop at small businesses' push upcoming, we'd like to encourage you all to patronize a fun general store opened by one of our clients, Bryce Boyd. Great taste, great selection and a great place to chew the fat and find out all the local gossip.So, if you are looking for something unique and regional, shop REGION.

Farm 16 Sold

2011-11-23T11:11:00.009-05:00

It's been another year of a lot of sales here at Catskill Farms. By the look of it, every 3 weeks we were at the closing table giving away another little masterpiece to some family to grow into over the years - build treehouses, hike the property, discover the area, cook great meals, have extended family and friends up, play some Monopoly, teach the kids how to fish.Farm 16, inspired by the

Saturday Morning Masterpieces

2011-11-19T10:31:00.003-05:00

The other day someone was claiming that I engage in constant self-promotion. I have no idea what they mean :(.We got some fabulous houses being constructed presently. Farm 18, Barn V, Cottage 37, Farm 17, Farm 16. We are just about ready to get started on Ranch VI and Cottage 38. We got the Big Barn going on. Just a ton of fun stuff in the middle of the great recession (actually, my god, I

Winter Warmup

2011-11-14T16:14:00.009-05:00

Interestingly, 2011 was not a year of smallest homes - I would venture we designed built and sold twice as many $375k+. 1500 sq ft+ homes this year as last, resulting in revenue figures 25% higher than 2010, with about the same amount of homes built and sold.We just started a real winner - 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Farmhouse 18. It's inspired by Farmhouse 1, without the some of the '

New York Times Baby

2011-11-10T14:35:00.004-05:00

So, there you have it - our first New York Times mention. That Tuthill Road bunch attract the press like bees to honey.Power Envy by Penelope GreenNice mention of my favorite cool young Cottage 22 owners Courtney and Bronson, who are always aggressively and strategically vying for that "#1 Customer Slot".

Halloween, Snow and Construction

2011-11-02T07:38:00.001-04:00

God, if you want to be depressed, read the NY Post or Daily News some morning over coffee. Between the promising young boxer who was pushed over the bridge in a car pile up, or the mom who got hit by a grocery cart, or the 15 other depressing news items, really quite the way to start off your day. I must be getting soft!Here's a suitcase of amputated arms and legs Lucas and I came across.And

Big Barn in Narrowsburg

2011-10-27T10:59:00.003-04:00

Up above, big Luke who just turned 3, is playing around our new decorating scheme at the office.and below is the trail of progress, as done by Catskill Farms and its team of high-performance subcontractors.Middle of September starts the excavation for the Big Barn, but we hit rock, but that's no prob since old Norm just rents a rock buster and then we use the chipped rock for our driveways.Then

Farm 11 - Sold (or, 'sounding like a broken record)

2011-10-24T09:50:00.003-04:00

Our construction efforts were delayed in the Spring due to the rain, so instead of everything nice and neatly staggered, our 5 spring start homes all started about the same time, which was tough on the old schedule and definitely tough on the old wallet, since we pay for these homes until they are finished, when the client comes in with their cash and mortgage and takes a finished, ready to go

Halloween and Homes

2011-10-18T08:20:00.006-04:00

Big Time Halloween party scheduled this year for Lucas and I so we picked out some serious Buzz Lightyear Costumes - these aren't pics of him or me , just snap shots from the Target site, but give us two weeks and we will be partying big time, and generally just making the universe safe for all other toys and less important creatures. Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!We have a closing on Friday of

Mid-Century Retro Ranch V in Pics

2011-10-15T11:44:00.004-04:00

Halloween Clearance Special - For Sale - Under $200k. Name your price.5 acres, with 1200 acres of explorable public land behind it. 1 bedroom. 1 bath. Radiant heat. Concrete floors. Wood burning fireplace. And 1 sensational carport.

New York Daily News Link

2011-10-07T11:41:00.003-04:00

Link to the Real Estate Story in the NY Daily News -Country Time

Cottage 36 Sold (and NY Daily News Article)

2011-10-07T10:24:00.004-04:00

You know, being a hard driving guy always keeping the pedal to the metal, I always love to use my son - god bless his heart - as a real decoy as to my soft cuddly other side that if I could I would show more often. it's that 'big softy' aside I hear as I walk out of a room I most enjoy (and actually have never heard - oh well, here's to dreamin'). Lucas turns 3 next week.Fun article in the

Did you hear the one about...?

2011-10-06T09:36:00.003-04:00

Did you hear the one about the little design and build company that started with nothing, made it's mark in Sullivan County designing and building new cottages and farmhouses, and then to just really tempt fate and push the envelope and try our luck we expanded into Woodstock and Saugerties two hours away, where we know so little about the area that we have to use gps to get to the grocery

Trust

2011-10-03T18:02:00.005-04:00

We do a lot things well over here at Catskill Farms. We are good businesspeople, we are talented house designers, we are hard nosed construction managers, we are productive members of the community, etc... and so on.But I think what really makes us stand out is how much our clients trust us. On many levels. Families who choose to build with us are not just entering a business contract with us,

White Picket Fence

2011-09-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's Lucas, over at Farm 15, looking through some binoculars at his long term plan.And then caught red-handed at the Brooklyn Marriott with Buzz Lightyear trying to crack to code to the room safe.And Erin and Greg participating in our photo shot for the big spread coming out in a city rag shortly. They own Ranch 1, outside of Barryville NY.Gary and Nikki, owners of Barn III, did a few

Daddy's Got a New Pair of Shoes - Barn IV Is Gone & Sold

2011-09-22T12:47:00.017-04:00

It used to be, when houses sold real slow, and I owned them for a long time, Lisa and I used to celebrate each sale with a special purchase. At first, I used to go out and buy a nice suit, back in 2003/2004/2005 - a got a Burberry, a Canoli, Brooks Brothers and a few others. But as sales started to accelerate, obviously living in the country I wasn't out there wearing suits everyday, so how

Learn from This?

2011-09-16T16:08:00.005-04:00

I've always thought this blog was in a way interesting since I just lay it out as it is, and try to do it unfiltered and a reflection of how it really happens.Here's a check book...Here's a checkbook after going through the washing machine and dryer.Have a nice weekend and check those pockets.

Marching Onward

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

This time of year in the country, for people in my line of work, you start to get that gnawing notion of anxiety, knowing the winter and all the logistical struggles that come with it, are coming closer with each dying day. the morning light is markedly later, and jackets are starting to come out.Here's the handsome devil himself, below. And Lucas is pretty cute too. He likes running around my

9-11

2011-09-11T10:25:00.004-04:00

One of the fortunate things about living in a rural area is that we are not unavoidably bombarded with media - sure you can find your NYTimes and your Wall Street Journal and whatever else you want, but it's not like everywhere you turn are 1,000 titles screaming the latest echo chamber news event.I plan on quietly marking the decennial anniversary with my son Lucas the Bethel Harvest Fest and

Upstate Flooding, New Homes, Press and Lucas' 1st Day of Pre-school

2011-09-07T10:46:00.006-04:00

Old Lucas - today is day number one of the rest of this life. Responsibilities, obligations, duties. Life's never stopping train of added loads.He didn't much care for the idea this morning - though he was looking sharp, nonetheless, in his sleeveless sweater. Lisa made me swear I wouldn't put this one picture of his pre-school struggle up on the blog, but that's asking a lot of a flawed

Mid-Century Retro Ranch V

2011-08-29T10:19:00.006-04:00

James, our project manager on the left, and Eamonn/son, the soon-to-be owners of Farm 11, posing for a Saturday afternoon snapshot. Two snazzy gentlemen, but nothing compared to our newly completed and for sale little modern number (sorry guys, no appeal or recourse available). It's our 5th Retro Ranch. It's on 5.5 acres, borders 1200 acres of public land and for all intent and purposes just

Micro Cottage 4 Has Left the Building - Sold

2011-08-24T08:57:00.006-04:00

Here's part of the Barryville Chamber of Commerce at the ribbon cutting of Bryce and Thom's new store named, appropriately enough, REGION. They carry local one-of-kind type useful items like a beer making kit, bluestone cutting stone, pickled stuff and lot of other good and unique stuff. I think Bryce was a pretty fancy luxury retailer before he built a house with us, caught the fever and now

Yankee Lake House Nears Completion

2011-08-18T10:30:00.004-04:00

We do a lot of new construction, but we also do a fair amount of renovations and construction for hire. Old farmsteads, old lake houses, or like we did last year for the Blog Cabin TV show, we reinvented a house that wasn't super old. Here, Scott and Erica took a badly pieced together over the years lake house, stripped it to the bones, added here, tucked there, and 4 months later a brand new

More Press and Lucas Upstate and at the Fair

2011-08-11T13:42:00.007-04:00

I was up with Lucas in Saugerties over the weekend and we did a bunch of stuff, like go to the Ulster County Fair, and then the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary, which was an odd place of randomly rescued pigs, goats, turkeys and chickens. One chicken came over and unexpectedly pecked Lucas and then he went around for two days saying the 'chicken got him' (saying it over and over and over). A

August Rush

2011-08-09T08:25:00.005-04:00

Just so you know - I'm diving head first into this stock market. Those who bought in in the panic of 2008 are still way up even with the recent declines. We have a lot of great clients and they do a wide range of pretty great things, including spending a lot of money locally and in a very impactful way, helping drive the economy of our local towns. Some businesses 'get it' and try to cater and

Micro Cottage 4

2011-08-01T13:24:00.005-04:00

Micro Cottage 4 - all 800 sq ft, all 7+ acres, all screened porch, all back stone patio, all 2 bedrooms, 1 bath - is nearing completion. And boy is it a beauty.It's simple. It's modest. It's hot.Heather signed for this one back in May, and she will be able to enjoy most of the fall in the home. we expect to close on it here in the next week or two.The Micro's are great - the bedrooms are

Saugerties and Woodstock

2011-07-29T12:22:00.005-04:00

This Cottage 28 redux is going up and going up and going up. It's on 4 acres, 7 miles from Saugerties, 7 miles Woodstock, on a real nice piece of land. it's for sale. 2 bedrooms, 1300 sq ft, 1.5 baths, full walkout basement - you know, the works. - $375k.And Farm 17 is 'in the ground' now too. This was pre-purchased by a couple with a neat story - to neat to detail at this moment.Real nice

Cottage 36 (and Texting abbreviations)

2011-07-22T08:52:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I've doing a lot more texting now that I got my new Iphone back in March. Before that I had some stupid non-email, non-text phone, where when someone sent me a text, responding was so laborious that typically I just needed to pick up the phone and call them back (PIK - pathetic I know).AFAIK (as far as I know), I'm dragging tail on the text abbreviations so I've decided to pick up my game

Yankee Lake House and Barn IV

2011-07-20T14:03:00.004-04:00

Our renovation on Yankee Lake continues apace, with a finish date expected for Mid-August. We started this project back in April, gutted it to the bone, did an addition, raised the roof, and put her back together again with the help of Scott and Erica, the owners.The interior was cramped with a weird flow, but it had one very unusual saving grace - very high first floor ceilings. it allowed us

Client in the News

2011-07-19T10:52:00.003-04:00

Bryan Ledford, Owner of the William Bennett Gallery in Soho and also owner of famous Cottage 34, recently experienced the hot media spotlight when his gallery was one of the victims of a brazen bi-coastal art heist spree that captured the media's imagination.Here's the NY Times' first piece of coverage as the story emerged -Sommelier Stole Art Openly, Police say.Fitting that a Warhol aficionado

Progress on all Fronts

2011-07-15T11:14:00.006-04:00

Lucas in standing at the driveway entrance to my first 3 homes on Tusten Farms Road. Stormy weather.And Farm 17 getting started outside of Woodstock NY.And Cottage 37, outside of Woodstock as well. This 2 bedroom cottage is currently not spoken for.Micro-Cottage 4...Ranch V...Farm 16 framed up, roughed in, and ready for insulation...Farm 11, insulated, sheetrocked and ready for some siding...

And Another Piece of Press (we're on a roll)

2011-07-12T14:20:00.001-04:00

Watershed Post talks us up -The Rise and Rise of Catskill Farms -Damn, and I just bought all these hats while traveling that are obviously going to be way too small....

Press, Press & more Press

2011-07-12T08:07:00.006-04:00

Well, we are back from Yosemite, back from San Fran and back to work. Few good articles about our efforts and ideas while I was away...New York Daily News Article -Best place of the week: Catskills country retreat for under $300,000Times Union (Albany)Something Old, Something NewTimes Union BlogHouse of the Week: A shack in the Catskillsand an NY Observer piece and NY Times advertising

Going to Yosemite (no time to post)

2011-07-05T11:23:00.005-04:00

Cottage 36Barn IVFarm 11Farm 16Cottage 35

Marriage and Construction

2011-06-24T15:24:00.010-04:00

Ok Bryce, Thom, Dean, Pedro, David, Cheri, Mark, Jim, Justen, Jason, Andy, Tammy, Sasha, Tracy, Christopher, Matthew, Jeanne, Deb and all the others and even Gavin McInnes (who just came out last week) - congratulations on the big big win yesterday as the State of New York approved the gay marriage bill. No one knows better than us here at Catskill Farms the commitment of the Partners we see

Progress

2011-06-17T11:18:00.004-04:00

"Problems are the price of progress. Don't bring me too much good news - it weakens me " - good quote by someone, and I agree with it.Chapin Estates sent out another eblast saying they were really super double dog serious that these new cottages (whose 'time had come' no less) coming to the market were all-inclusive and included everything and nothing would be extra and it was just a great

Lake George Road Trip with Lucas (and major flattery from Steve Dubrovsky's Chapin Estate)

2011-06-11T07:19:00.009-04:00

Lucas and I hit the road on Thursday for a guy's weekend in the adirondacks. We are staying at the Sagamore, one of those old time old school perfect hotels I like - The Wentworth in Portsmouth New Hampshire is another. These turn of the century bastions of marking history through generations of weddings and parties and anniversaries and wars and recessions and presidents. Time moves, but

Motown, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, And Aretha

2011-06-07T15:23:00.009-04:00

Dig it all you lovers of good soul music. Got turned on to some serious Motown the other week. - Sure we all know the hits, but delving a little deeper into Marvin Gaye's deep cuts have left me with a whole new direction to explore. I did an itunes playlist with Gaye, Charles and Franklin and even Jake the lab is getting groovy with it.You tell me- is there anything better than riding around in

Albert Hammond Jr and Lucas -

2011-06-04T14:03:00.003-04:00

Nice hair dudes. I see rock band in Lucas' future.

Cottage 22 Gets Hitched (and endearing pics of Lucas my son)

2011-05-31T12:57:00.009-04:00

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows we have struggled here and there with some of our early customers. I really don't make excuses anymore for since while we played our part in the drama, we certainly weren't the driving force of most of the inanity we suffered through. But as we have gotten better and there are more layers of insulation between me and every single

500th Blog Post

2011-05-25T08:33:00.006-04:00

Wow, in September, 2007, I started this blog (i reposted that thread at the bottom) and once, or twice, or 3x I week I go around, snap some photos, brainstorm on an angle of interest, edit and upload the photos, and write some narrative, sometimes compelling, sometimes angry, sometimes depressed but all the time real.The goal was to track the highs and lows of this endeavor, and with remarkable

Fr*(%^$#cking Rain and Mud

2011-05-20T07:45:00.001-04:00

Do I need to say any more? This is what we've been reduced to.

Broken Guitars and Bloody Fingertips

2011-05-14T10:08:00.006-04:00