Haven't posted in awhile, because I've been busy.

It has been a week since my last blog post, which I suppose would make the real estate "experts" purse their lips and shake their heads in disapproval, but I have a good excuse. I've been busy.

Real estate busy. I was double booked all weekend, and had listing appointments the last two days. Two of my showings turned into offers, one has been accepted, and the other...fingers crossed...looks like it will be accepted as well.

Now they aren't Chapin lakefronts that I sold. One is a $130,000 house, the other is a $90,000 piece of land, (which puts me squarely in the new Sullivian median) but to borrow a phrase from the youth of America, I am still stoked.

February numbers will be out soon, and I think they will be as putrid as we have seen. Volume of closed homes in Feb. will be very low. I think that we are finally seeing post Lehman numbers, and the landscape, even to the most optimistic looks bleak. But as we all know, there is a lag between getting an accepted offer, and the closing, when the sale shows up on the stat sheet. So the bleakness we are seeing is really from the frozen deer in the headlights period at the end of '08 where people did nothing for a few months.

But for now, I have inspections to go to, people to call back, and listings to upload. Busy feels good.

Main Street Cafe in Narrowsburg

I suppose an upside to the slow down in the economy affords me a rare Sunday off. Today my wife and I ate breakfast at the Main Street Cafe. I forgot to bring my camera, and upon searching for a picture on google, the one above is the only one I could find. I apologize to the original owner if there is a copyright infringement, but it is a great picture of the outside deck.

The place was busy at 10:30, almost full. We got a table by the window, in the sun, it was a pleasant atmosphere from the beginning. It is small, probably about ten tables inside, and a bar that seats five or six. I would guess there was about twenty five diners, which is just about capacity.

The food was delicious, our waitress friendly, and although there was a wait for the food, it didn't bother me. We sat, and people watched, and read the paper. It reminded me of a few places I used to go too when I lived in Hell's Kitchen. The whole restaurant has that cozy tin ceiling feel. It would have fit right in on 10th Ave. (although the prices are definitely Sullivan County)

I know many of my customers come here to run away from people, but sometimes it feels good to be around folks, and after this long dreary winter, It felt good to be among humanity. I would recommend checking this place out, especially this summer when they get the deck open.

Barriger Houses in Contract in Callicoon

I just found out today that the three houses up on the hill on Forelich Drive over-looking Callicoon, are all in contract. I am surprised given the state of the economy, but am also buoyed by the news. People are still buying second homes in Sullivan County.

All three were built at the height of the boom. The entrepreneurial contractor backed by Barriger, bit off a little more than he could chew, and before the houses were finished he had defaulted. Barriger foreclosed, and had the first two finished and the last was getting close. But then they had there own financial issues. Essentially the houses were foreclosed on twice before anyone ever put a piece of furniture in them.

The lower house sits on 18 acres, however the acres are a steep hill. It is a four bedroom 2 bath home with board and baton siding. It has a nice view, but it is not as nice a view as the houses further up the hill. Below are pictures of the first house.

This house was listed for $299,000 (originally when it was first on the market, the price tag was $425,000.) I am not sure what the accepted offer is, but I am curious to find out.




House #2 is the biggest of the houses. It is 3,600 sq feet. It has a big covered porch looking out over the view, and the view is one of the best you'll get in this county. (pics below.) Original tag was $599,000. When it went into contract it was at $425,000. Again curious to see what the accepted offer was.








House number three had the most issues, but has the best view. The driveway is very steep, and was washed out when I was up there. Also it was still not finished. It is smaller than the others, but the master bedroom views are really breathtaking. Original price was $599,000 finished. Last price was $329,000. I am guessing with the work that needed to be done, this house went for low to mid two's. Again I will be curious to the final price.

It goes back to my theory that there still are buyers out there. They just need to know that they are getting a bargain before they will take the leap. I guess a house that was on the market for $200,000 more last year constitutes a bargain to some. Congrats to the soon to be new owners, and welcome to our town.