The Dilapidated Catskills

Bungalow Colony in Bethel

The snow less winter continues here in Sullivan County. We seem to be stuck in a perpetual November. At this point I hope it continues. We really only have another five or six weeks before real spring weather starts to hit. This is the strangest winter weather I can ever remember though. But for all you global warming pundits—we have already surpassed the snow totals of 1922, and  so far we are averaging a half a degree colder. No I think this just an aberration. Every once in a while you get a year like this. Although I feel bad for those that make their living off the weather, I certainly do not miss the nuisance of snow.


The real estate market chugs along here in Sullivan County. I am slow, but not stopped. I have heard others are busy, but February has always been a quiet month for me, and this year is no different.

My amateur photography distraction has switched over the last few months to the dilapidated. As all of us know, our region was a great draw—beginning right after the Second World War, until the mid seventies, with the peak in the sixties. The Catskills was the place to summer in. However, as the younger generation began to grow up, the allure of the mountains declined. As Max Kellerman put it "You think kids want to come with their parents and take fox-trot lessons? Trips to Europe, that's what the kids want. Twenty-two countries in three days. It feels like it's all slipping away."

And slip away it did. Now we are left with the rotting shells of that past. They dot our landcape--fascinating eyesores of a former generation.


There are many websites devoted to the decaying areas of our county—my favorite being The Vanishing Catskills. (My blog title is a thinly veiled forgery.) I really like Raymon Elozua’s style. I don’t think it is just the black and white either. He captures that strange feeling of desertion and abandonment that is left behind on these properties. Scott Haegner’s "Jennie’s Bed" is also a pretty cool picture. Was it really taken in the cottage where the matriarch of the Borsch Belt passed? Photo

And here are some shots of the Concord.

Although, using only my Coolpx 630, I don’t believe I have captured the same sensation as the other, more talented, I have included a few of my own. Click on the picture for a larger view.




Old Hardware Store in Parksville



Ed's Pharmacy in Parksville





Trailer in Livingston Manor at Sunset



And below are a few of the Paramount Hotel.

There were twenty properties reported as sold in the Sullivan County MLS. Click Here for Listings

End of the Year and BPO's

So we are at the start of the New Year. 2012—the apocalypse year. Its funny to me that people believe that the Mayan civilization would be able to predict the end of the world, however the use of the wheel somehow eluded them. I guess we will see though.


I am no longer going to apologize for my lack of blogging. It just gets old, and the few that do read this I’m sure find it half-hearted and patronizing. My new year’s resolution is to blog as much as I can, However, I will post the sold info weekly. That is what I have received the most flack for. My running commentary seems much less compelling then the stats of what has sold here in Sullivan County.

Year end for me was a lot of running around. Showings have slowed, however I have become more and more busy (perhaps I should have just used “busier”?) doing BPO’s—broker price opinions.

 As the real estate market continues to sell in the red, more banks are turning to agents and brokers for “opinions” on price before they decide on a foreclosure or short sale offer. It really is no secret that all they are trying to do is save a few bucks where they can. A licensed real estate appraiser has more often than not undergone more extensive schooling, and is held to a much higher standard under the law when determining value of real property. Therefore their fees are quite a bit higher.

So banks have turned to agents and brokers for an “opinion”. They make it very clear that it is not an appraisal. However they do require three sold and three active comparables. They require all tax information and want a detailed explanation as to why you have come up with your “opinion.” Some even require adjustments for square footage and acreage differences. For all intents and purposes it is an appraisal. But why pay an appraiser four hundred when you can pay an agent one?

Forget the fact that it is on a property that was thirty percent overpriced when it was appraised three years ago and sold via a “no doc.”, variable rate mortgage to a family that had no chance of making the payments. Now let’s try to save a few hundred as we take the 70K hit on the foreclosure. Penny rich and dollar poor.

At any rate I am happy to do them. They are fairly easy, and are a nice steady stream of income over the last few months. It has had me all over the county, and I was even offered a bribe at one particular property. It was actually pretty surprising. I felt like I was on a John Stossel’s “What Would You Do?"

Most of these BPO’s are on the other side of the county, and driving through there, it has reinforced to me how depressed parts of Sullivan County really are. I have taken a bunch of photos and plan on doing a blog post on them at some point when I get a chance. I was going to post a few this week, but pictures of run-down, closed hotels and businesses just didn’t seem like the right first post of the new year.

Happy New Year to All!

There were 25 properties sold in the last thrity days here in Sullivan County.

Click Here for Listings.

Sullivan County Vacant Land

Once again me being busy has made my blog suffer. I just haven’t had that two hour block where I can sit down and write a witty, compelling yarn. Having a twenty-month old is a surprising amount of work, and I also seem knee deep in short sale paperwork, or answering emails.


Vacant land has been the theme of the last month. Up here in Sullivan County, the fall always seems to bring attention to larger land lots, because many of the avid hunters that come here have a dream of owning their own large piece, and being able to hunt it with impunity. There are quite a few pieces of state owned land that people can hunt on, but just like any other “public” area, this brings others into the equation. Everyone knows how annoying the Speedo wearing cell phone guy is at the public beach. Well put him in the woods with a gun. That is the hunter’s equivalent.

No, the dream of sitting in your own tree stand, on your own twenty-five to fifty acre piece, as dawn arrives and the sun breaks over the mountains is pretty powerful. And pretty universal for those who are into hunting.

I also think land ownership is a deep, ingrained desire. Owning you own space, and inviting those who you want, and denying the rest is a basic human (or perhaps even primate) trait. “I own all that I can see!” This kind of stuff has been around for centuries.

I have mentioned it before, but by far land here in Sullivan County is cheaper than I have ever seen it since I started selling real estate. I have compiled a list of my five favorites. These are all larger land lots, that I feel are really good bargains in today’s market.



50 acres 99K


I featured this piece last week. This is a foreclosure near Callicoon Center. It is fifty acres with a bunch of frontage on Nort Branch Creek, and a really nice pond. This is one of those pieces that would have had a 450K price tag on it in '07. This piece has just been surveyed, so that cost would not be needed upon purchase. Half wooded and half open fields.
Link

 
 

41 acres for 99K

This piece is located just outside of Jeffersonville, within ten minutes of Bethel Woods. I have shown this piece a few times to hunters, and the concern was houses in the immediate vicinity. This is a great, flat piece of land however, also with a little stream. It has been on the market for over two years, with the original price well over 200K. It is sub dividable.
Link
 
 
 

37 acres 225K

How much is a view worth? This 37 acre piece is priced higher than some of the others, but it has the best long range views from a piece for sale that I have seen in a long time. It is located just outside of Jeffersonville, by the desirable Beechwoods area. It has only been on the market for a few months, and they have already dropped the price some, showing motivation. Really nice open piece.
Link
 
 
 

70 acres for 279K

This is another open piece with long range views, almost but not quite as nice as the one in Jeff. It is lot more acreage however, just under seventy. This piece is located outside of White Sulpher Springs, as you go up the mountain towards Livingston Manor. It has been on the market a whopping 1500 days. Original price tag? 995K. It is now listed for 279K. Can you say sellers fatigue?
Link
 
 
 

130 acres 349K

There were a few I was flip-flopping on for the last one, but I picked this one for the sheer size of it. It is 130 acres down in Glen Spey off of Kalin-Weber. This is another piece that has been on the market forever. I believe the original tag on this one was around 800K. It is now 349K Or just under 3K an acre. Being less than two hours to NYC makes this one a pretty good deal.
Link
 
 
 
 
There were four properties reported sold in the Sullivan County MLS in the last seven days. Click Here
 

Short Sales in Sullivan County

Two of my four deals currently going on are short sales, and two deals already completed this year have been short sales. It seems the inevitable changes that life brings continues, but now as more people are upside down on their mortgages than ever before, being able to pick up and move is not so easy.

So more and more people are going the short sale route. What was once the root canal of the real estate world is really not that painful anymore. The last one I did was forty-five days from offer to full acceptance. Soup to nuts as my Dad would say.


Some sellers may consider letting a property go into foreclosure rather than a short sale. With a foreclosure, especially with the backlog that still exists with big banks, a seller could stay in the property, essentially rent free, for well over year before being forced to evacuate. But that fact alone does not mean a foreclosure is better. With a short sale, yes the home will be listed, added to the MLS, people will tromp through, break appointments and invade your privacy. All the inconvenience of selling a home will be present. And what are you left with? A clean slate.

Basics of a Short Sale

Short sales happen when a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed against the home because there is not enough equity to sell and pay all costs of sale.

How is the Seller’s Credit Affected?

According to Allan Franks, division manager at Citi Mortgage, sellers will take a bigger hit on their credit report by going through foreclosure or giving the lender a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Franks says the points lost on a FICO score are as follows:

Foreclosure or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure--Both of these solutions affect credit the same. Sellers will take a hit of 250 to 280 points. This means if a seller’s FICO score before foreclosure was 680, it could dip as low as 400.

Short Sale--The affect of a short sale on a seller’s credit report is much less damaging. The ding on credit will show up as a pre-foreclosure in redemption status, Franks says, which will result in a loss of 80 to 100 points. This means a short sale with a previous FICO of 680 will see it fall to 580 to 600.

Waiting Period Before Buying Another Home

Foreclosure or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure--Franks says a seller who wants to buy another home after foreclosure will end up waiting about 36 months before a lender will offer any kind of interest rate that makes sense.

Short Sale--The good news for short sale sellers is the wait is much shorter before buying another home. “They can buy again in about 18 months at a good interest rate,” says Franks.


Short Sale / Foreclosure Deficiency Judgments

The bad news is a seller could be subject to a deficiency judgment for the difference between the loan amount and the amount paid. In New York, purchase money loans are not subject to deficiency judgments; however, hard money loans, equity loans and refinances are. Other states have laws regarding personal guarantees, which could also result in a deficiency judgment if the home owner is personally liable for loan repayment.

The lender has sole discretion whether to pursue a deficiency judgment in those instances when the judgment is permitted. To determine whether a pending foreclosure or short sale is subject to a deficiency judgment, talk to a real estate lawyer. At no point should you move forward with a short sale if a deficiency judgment is a possibility.

If you’re a seller trying to decide whether to let a home go through foreclosure versus attempting a short sale, salvaging your credit is the main advantage to doing a short sale. But seek legal and tax advice before making that decision.

I haven't done a "pick of the week" in a while but this piece in Callicoon Center is a steal. 50 acres with a stream and a pond for 99K Land Piece

There were nine single family homes listed as sold in the Sullivan County MLS in the last ten days. Click Here for Listings

Favorite Farmhouse Listings

     We had our first snow of the year, (I am sure pretty much everyone on the northeastern part of the country already knows this). Sullivan County didn’t get hit as hard as other areas though. I had about eight inches on my back porch, and in and around Monticello I heard just over a foot. No major power outages or anything, I even showed some hunting property on Sat., before the flakes began to fly.


     I have remained fairly busy over the last week, I am getting a lot of hits on my website. Most of those hits have been about farmhouses. It seems that the trend (at least for me) is back to the country farmhouse getaway. The good news is, there are a few good—priced right properties out there. Properties that just a few years ago, would have had astronomical price tags on them. However, here at the end of 2011, getting a nice farmhouse for under 250K is doable. I have compiled a list of my favorites below.

32501—Priced very nicely at $179,000, this is an almost 3,000 sq. foot turn of the century farmhouse in Callicoon Center. A lot of the original elements remain, although there is some evidence of paneling and drop ceilings. The bones of the house are great, however. Although it is on 1.6 acres, it is located basically in the town of Callicoon Center, which may be a turn off for some, but an advantage for others. Click Here for Listing.

31170—This brick farmhouse on almost eight acres is one of my favorite active listings, and I am surprised it has not been snapped up yet. Built in 1949, it has four bedrooms, great original hardwood floors and cast iron radiators. The property is flat and open with apple trees and a great barn. This is a unique property at a good price (210,000), just outside of Narrowsburg on a quiet road. Click Here for Listing

32255—Built in 1890, this is a great little farmhouse in Obernburg with some really nice long range views. Like so many others, it was paneled and carpeted at some point, but the current owners have done a great job minimizing and re-doing. It is on a road that is somewhat busier than others, which may be a drawback for some. Click Here for Listing

 32639—I guess not technically a farmhouse because a farmer never lived there, but this home, built in 2002 has all the bell and whistles of a farmhouse. The views from the porch are phenomenal, and it has a nice pond. Taxes are a bit steep at $7,500 Click Here for Listings

30587—Probably my favorite active farmhouse listing. This is a pre-Civil War farmhouse on 13 acres, with a huge barn and a carriage house. House has been done impeccably. You put this house in Fairfield County and the price tag is a million dollars. Here in Sullivan? $249,000. Click Here for listings. Click Here for Listings

 
 
 
 There were fifteen properties reported sold in the Sullivan County MLS. Sullivan County Solds

Smallwood and Multiple Offers

Smallwood Streamfront Cabin 129K

I had an inspection in Smallwood yesterday, but no scheduled showings this weekend. That is in stark contrast to last week, where both days were chalk full, and on Saturday I met six different customers. The day was fruitful however. I ended last weekend with four offers.

Three were on the same house, however. It is a short sale that I have listed, and have had listed for almost four months. When we first put it on the market, it got a bit of mild interest, but then tailed off, and despite the fact that I dropped the price a few times, and marketed the hell out of it, it sat without a whole lot of activity.

Well last week, I dropped it another ten thousand, and all of the sudden I started getting calls on it. I had to squeeze in four different showings on Sat. morning, and of course—feast or famine—three of the four showings resulted in offers.

This is the first time I have been in a multiple offer situation like this. And believe me I am not complaining. I think most brokers would love to be in this predicament, but unfortunately I liked all three couples, and all three really liked the property. So we asked for everyone’s highest and best by Tuesday—and on Wednesday I was in the odd position of calling two of them with bad news. I felt like Simon Cowell sitting at the desk after the contestants make the long elevator ride. It was a weird feeling and no fun at all.

But the couple that did “win” are very happy. This is a special property, and hopefully the bank will agree to the short sale.

The other offer I received was from a couple that has been looking for awhile in Smallwood. I had shown a few houses in Smallwood prior to this, but with these buyers we looked at between 10-15 homes. I was pleasantly surprised at Smallwood, and I plan on recommending this area more to people who are looking for affordable second home getaways.

Smallwood is a hamlet in Bethel, tucked in between White Lake and Swinging Bridge. It was originally settled in the 1800’s by eastern European immigrants, but it was not until A.N Smallwood came along in 1928 that it began to change into what it is today—A rural country escape, small, modest Adirondack style cabins hidden away under giant pine trees. Click Here for a History of Smallwood. As the years have gone on, more substantial—year round homes have been built. However Smallwood still has that feel of a working class summer retreat. If you are looking for a second home on a budget, you should definitely consider Smallwood. Although the pictures do not do it justice, Click Here for Smallwood Streamfront 

There were 19 properties reported sold in the Sullivan County MLS in the last ten days. Click Here for Solds.

Fall in Sullivan County

Sonoma Falls in Livingston Manor

Peak fall foliage is just around the corner. This year will probably not be as spectacular as some, because we have had all the rain this year, which has knocked off a lot of the leaves before they could reach full potential. However over the next seven to ten days, most of Sullivan County will be in prime color. The cold nights mixed with the warm days are making the middle of our autumn season quite enjoyable. If anyone is thinking about coming up this weekend for a sightseeing trip, I would think that you will not be disappointed.

There are quite a few activities and events going on throughout the fall. It really is not a matter of what you should do while here, but what you should skip, because it is not possible to cram it all into one weekend.

Sonoma Falls in Livingston Manor is a great place to stop by if you are in the area. They have an old fashioned cider press set up in a barn, a country store that sells fresh produce and fruits, hayrides and a pumpkin patch for the kids, and some pretty spectacular water falls, with hiking trails—definitely a good spot to spend that afternoon. Cider Mill.

Bethel Woods has its rustic craft show this weekend. This expanded specialty craft event will showcase wood carvings, handmade furniture, pottery, accessories and accents for the home. They also have large tents filled with local fruits and produce. Bethel Woods

Segway Tours in Woodridge has fall foliage tours throughout Oct. Fall Foliage Tours

All farmers markets are in full swing, and will continue throughout Oct. as well. Farmers Markets.

Calkins Creamery will be having an in-store tasting and demonstration this weekend Calkins Creamery is a small, farmstead cheese operation on Highland Farm in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Emily Montgomery, the cheesemaker, produces an array of raw milk aged cheeses as well as fresh, pasteurized cheeses. Emily's father and brother, Bill & Zack, operate the 6th generation family farm. Cheese are aged at the creamery and underground in the caves at neighboring Calkins Creek Vineyard. Creamery Link

There will also be two Halloween parades. One in Callicoon on Oct. 29th at 1PM, and one on the 30th in Jeffersonville at 6PM. Another great activity for the kids.

There were eight single family homes reported sold in the Sullivan County MLS in the last 14 days. Click Here for Listings

Deed Restrictions

We don’t have very many subdivisions with extensive deed restrictions here in Sullivan County, and the ones we do have generally are pretty lackadaisical. Mostly you see no trailers or mobile homes, or no further subdivision. That is pretty much the extent of it.


However apparently in Spring Texas, they take their deed restrictions very seriously. Now I get it—the role of the deed restrictions are to protect the property values of the homes in the subdivision. The deed restrictions spell out what you can and can not do to or with your home, often including what color you can paint your house, or what type of mailbox you can install—Conformity equals value I suppose.

The Sardo family who live in just such a subdivision are learning all about deed restrictions and lawsuits. The Sardo family own a pot-bellied pig and according to the Thicket at Cypresswood’s deed restrictions no animals, livestock, poultry, reptiles, or insects of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any lot in the subdivision. The Board of the Home Owners Association (HOA) for the Thicket at Cypresswood has informed the Sardo family they are in violation of deed restrictions and Wilbur, the pot-bellied pig, must find a new home. The Sardo family says Wilbur is a pet and not livestock and thus they are suing their HOA to keep their pig.

Who will win? Who knows. But there will be a lot of money spent on lawsuits over a pig. A much loved pig, I might add. There has probably never been any pig with more Facebook friends than Wilbur. At last count and still growing Wilbur had over 5,000 Facebook friends.


After hearing this story I jumped on the computer to research other odd deed restrictions. Apparently as long as the restrictive covenants do not break any local or federal laws, you can pretty much put in what ever you want. There is a house in Tennessee that has a giant statue of a cat in the front yard. Subsequent owners have been unable to remove it because it is in the deed that it must remain. Other strange restrictions include a stripper pole in a Las Vegas home, and a home in Colorado that must remain a deep purple.

On a more sobering note (although obviously no longer enforced as law now prohibits) there are deeds here in Sullivan County that restrict resale to “non-Caucasians and Jews.”

There were 11 single family homes sold in Sullivan County in the last seven days according to the Sullivan County MLS Click Here for Listings

Irene in Pictures

All my weekend appointments canceled in anticipation of the storm, so the last few days have not revolved around real estate. I couldn't take the network news coverage much past Sat. morning. The buildup was ridiculous. I know it was a category 1 hurricane, and nothing like this has hit the east cost in thirty years, but sixteen mind numbing hours of batten-down-the-hatches coverage? Bloomburg and Christie got plenty of face time. Every time I put on the t.v. it was one or the other.

Well our power went out early Sunday morning, but the real crux of the storm did not hit my section of Sullivan County until probably between 2 and 5 PM. It was blustery and rainy before that, but the winds really kicked into high gear around 2, and blew pretty steady for the next few hours.

By that time I had some major cabin fever, so I headed out to see what damage Irene had done. Nothing really major. We had a bunch of trees down, and the Delaware and all the streams were pretty flooded. We got our power back here in Callicoon pretty quickly, but as I write this Monday morning, many in our areas are still out.

Delaware River above Hankins

Looking Downstream

Tree down on Obernburg Hill

Volunteer fireman cleaning up CR 121 above Hankins

On the mountain on CR 121. You can't really tell by the picture, but the clouds were moving, and the wind was really blowing. Christie would have told me to get the hell off the mountain.

Another

Callicoon Creek

Jeffersonville Creek

Trees and debris in Callicoon

Hankins Creek



Another tree on a wire in Milses above McGurrins. For a moment I thought about trying to make it, but that is not how I want end the legacy.



Somebody had already cleared a way through. Fremont Township

Another of the Delaware. It crested at 2AM Monday. No big issues









There were eight properties listed as sold in the Sullivan County MLS in the last seven days. Click Here for Report

My pick of the week is one of my listings. It is an old farmhouse on Menderis Road in Swan Lake on five acres. This really is a special spot. It is very secluded, and it has an old post and beam barn, huge blueberry bushes and apple trees and grapevines. It is a short sale, and we currently have it listed at 169K. It is a great price, but I have only had one showing on it since I listed it last month. Someone is going to come along and fall in love with this property. Swan Lake Farmhouse



















Trains

Once again my blog post is later than I would have liked, but the fact of the matter is, I have had a very busy week. I got offers on both of my lakefront listings this week, after a summer selling season of little action. Both weekend days were full of appointments, as well as some showings during the week. It is like people realized it is Aug. and they better get in gear.


Both of my showings this weekend were Manhattanites, mid thirties, looking for a second home. What was different about both couples is they were not necessarily looking for privacy. They were looking for convenience. It was a little surprising, because I have gotten used to seclusion being sort of the mantra for the urban searchers. For many they want to be tucked away among the trees, out of sight from Fri. until Sunday.

Well it seems as I encounter more of these thirty-something shoppers, their priorities are different. First of all many do not own cars. Now if you are to buy in Sullivan County, you have to own a car. (Or rent one every weekend.) So I have had a few buyers who are looking for a house and car at the same time. However the issue is, many want to entertain in their upstate home, and most of their friends don’t have cars. So rather than having a house out in the woods, where house guests will be essentially trapped for the duration, dependant on the hosts to go anywhere, they are looking for closer, even in-town homes, where a guest can get up earlier than everyone else if they choose, and stroll into town for a bagel and coffee.

Also both buyers I took out this weekend are considering the Ulster/Greene county areas. There are a lot of reasons why they like Sullivan County better (besides price--we are on average 25% cheaper) one made the comment that our area has a “country feeling” that those more populous areas have lost. However what those areas do have is a train. This is a huge draw for thirty-something buyers. Guests can hop a train to Rhinbeck, or Kingston, and be picked up at the train station. Even a day trip visit is possible with a 90 minute scenic Hudson Valley train ride.

I think this is another example of how our county is lagging behind. Yes we are dependant on tourism, and we have made strides in making our county more attractive to visitors. However there is a train route in place, and twice a day a locomotive carrying what looks like garbage and roofing supplies, chugs through Callicoon. I know there had been big plans a few years back (Train article) to bring the trains back through. However like so many others, they fizzled with little fanfare.

I have done very little research on the history of the train line that ran up the Delaware in the last century. I do know it was the lifeblood, and many of the towns around us would never have existed if it weren't for the train. Callicoon was originally Callicoon Depot, and the entire town sprung up around the station. This link gives a little more info on the history of the train lines.

What would it take to bring a passenger train to Sullivan County? I don’t think it will happen without some sort of government subsidy. Conrail, the owner of the railway that snakes its way up the Delaware from Port Jervis to Hancock, makes its revenue from freight. Commuter or passenger revenue can not compete. A private venture like the one proposed by Mr. Wilson I believe is just to grand of an undertaking for the private sector. No, we need a local elected official to go on a mission. Someone with a little influence who can persuade those that frown on gas drilling and gambling, that perhaps a Sullivan County renaissance is as simple as a once a day commuter train from NYC.

There were eight listings reported sold in the Sullivan County MLS. Click Here for Sold listings

My house of the week is one of the in-town houses that I showedd this weekend. It is pretty big four bedroom completely redone farmhouse on Mill Street, right by the brook in Jeffersonville. It has two cool barns on the property, and it is set underneath a bunch of giant pine trees. The grounds are private despite being in-town, and you hear the constant sound of the brook anytime you are outside. The interior has been done with great attention to detail. It really needs to be seen to be appreciated. The pictures do not do it justice.Recently they have dropped th price to 249K, which I think is a great price. Jeffersonville House