Catskills - Sullivan County - Ulster County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

The Narrowsburg Pig Mountain thingee was a huge success with a lot of people complaining 'it was too crowded' - believe me, for a Sullivan County event that is one problem that more event organizers wish they had for sure.  And honestly, an easy one to fix.  

In a way, they used a marketing trick right out of my book - flood the zone with savvy outreach, press,  and marketing like the event is much bigger - cast the net wide and deep, spend some bucks, hit the right platforms and mediums - in essence, do it right, not some half-assed typical thing we always see.

Here's my clients Jim and Mark at the Heron with their two new babies.

Lucas playing with his friend and classmate Freddie.

Doing some chores, without complaint.

Homeowner poker chips with their house emblazoned on them.

Saugerties at night.  I always like to say Saugerties looks like an instagram photo without the need for the app.

Now, I spent a lot time of nursing a lot of sunflowers this Spring and summer.  Lucas and I planted them inside to get them started, and they grew like an inch a week.  I had to keep changing out the 'splints' they were tied to so they would grow straight, and that was somewhat annoying since I'm a busy guy and thought I had invested enough time getting them planted to begin with.

Then I transplanted them outside where they grew like crazy and I had to build bigger splints, etc...

Here's an example of one of the 3 that survived, out of like 60.

this is what happened to most of them - the damn deer got 'em.

Thing about this, is that it was a high profile debacle, right on the road in front of my house - I'm sure a lot travelers on that road got a kick out my struggles.

And then these damn flowers grew every way but up...

Lucas and his sunflower friend...

Dumb bear tore down my 4 yr old pear tree - I mean, there was zero need to break it in order to get the fruit - it was just mean spirited if you ask me.

Pig Mountain day we had a pre-party and a post-party, the pre party at the Big Barn over in Narrowsburg.   He had some fine afternoon champagne which lit my wick for a while.

The Owner.

Master Bedroom.

Wine Room.

Dog, Ax, BB gun...

His Mailbox out front keeping it real.

Ohayo Mt Rd Farmhouse 24 that is for sale (but maybe not for long).

Wednesday Pizza at El Costellos in Barryville.

Lucas does the moon... (note the embarrassing sunflower stubs behind him)

Good look, I think.

Heading into the City for the West Indian Parade in Brooklyn over Labor Day.

Up in Saugerties there is a family with 3 generations or more working in the furniture business, and generation after generation, living above the furniture on the 2nd floor.  For the first time in a long time, that space is now not only convenient, but awesomely modern.  Jonathan, the son of the owner, is a real hard-ass - and he was happy to report that he, his young wife and 1.5 yr old greatly enjoyed their first 3 nights in the space last week.

The Kitchen.

The block-long 1800's building.  Someone told me that most funeral homes back in the day doubled as furniture stores because coffin making was a consistent source of business and cash flow.

Pre-renovation below.

Post-renovation.  I think it took us 4 months and Jonathan is spending all his time astounding all project inquirers with yawns of non-drama timeliness and accountability.

Pantry to the right on the sliding track, bath off to the right.

The Bath.

Pre.

Previous Space commandeered for the new bath.

One of the existing bedrooms - with great paint, bad carpet.  We went to demo this place and the frickin' ancient plaster was literally made out of thin concrete.   Really hard heavy work.

New rooms, with great paint, classic wainscoting, and some original exposed brick.

The new library, which will rock with a rug, some good Dickens selections, and some comfy chairs.

And the Master bedroom.  I think the ceiling are 12'.

The entrance way was reinvented, using the original steps, but using our wildest imagination of reclaimed white washed wood, black stair treads, white stair risers and a new twist with the galvanized hand rail system.

What modern loft would be complete without the cable rail accent.

The demo, and tons and tons of debris, literally.

Good bye torquiest toilet.

Framing that hasn't the light of day since the 1800's...

New partitions...

And wallah -

And the other end of the block, the back side of the building...

Between this and the Barryville Schoolhouse, we have done some serious design and build work this year.  These jobs couldn't have been more complicated, demanding and successful.

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Saugerties Loft Conversion.  Nearly complete.

Cottage 45 in Barryville revving its engine...

Barn VII in Barryville kickin' it...

Great shot of Cottage 44 in Saugerties the other day - the sun accenting the reds and cedars.

Mini- Barn in Barryville coming out of the ground - this "I'm so cool' little barn house will be priced under $200k, maybe under $175k, depending on how the stars line up.

Modern VII in Mt Tremper is 40 days from finish.

Farm 24 one mile outside of Woodstock NY is shaping up nice.  This 3 bed, 2 bath home on 6.2 acres is for sale for $500k +/- (hey, what's half a mil between friends?).

Sort of a busy weekend, with a pre-pig mountain party at the Big Barn, then Pig Mountain, in Narrowsburg, then a Post Party at the Shack.  A house tour on Sat and Sun with prospective clients.  At least I got the blog post done.

08/August typically catches us by surprise each year, with the singular mid-august leaf changing color and dropping here and there.  And temps typically dip into the 40's once or twice just to remind us what's around the corner before a standard warm up again.  This time of year, the temps can swing from 40 degrees at night to 80 during the day - it's typically the time of year I lose a ton of clothes as I layer up in the morning, and peel off during the day at the multiple locations I'm need at.  Then I'll see one of my guys wearing it two weeks later and he'll be like, "what, this, naw, my mom got it for me last Christmas.'

NY Times wrote the area up a few time last week -

One article about upstate foodie restaurants which mentioned the Heron in Narrowsburg, and the other about reinventing the old bungalow colonies as getaway coops (with the writer mentioning that no fresh food can be found).  Back when we did our big Selling NY spot, we highlighted the Heron on national television, but they were so embarrassed to be associated with our anti-local establishment politics that they didn't even mention it.  Whatever, history shows us over and over, if it shows us anything, how common and even profitable it is to go with the flow, culturally, politically, etc...  I kinda view that homogeneousness as a prison of sorts, especially around the predictable view points of your typical ex-pat, up-here-awhile New Yorker - considering the success we've had being non-conformist in our business strategies, I can't say I regret giving up a few friends for some out of the box thinking.

Think Different.  Didn't some company brand that?

 I'm super happy for the Heron, and for Narrowsburg in general, a great little success story in Sullivan County, one that definitely benefited from our 100 homes and homeowners.  I always show off that Town when I can, and am super impressed with the longevity of some of those Main Street businesses.  There's not a shop upstate that can compete with our own River Gallery for taste, inventory and service.

The Heron is an interesting case study because it shows how important and tide-changing a restaurant can be to a small main street - it drives traffic, undeniably.  And they succeed because they hit the niche right - the vibe, the food, the location, the prices.  I've said often over the years that business opportunities exist for niche ideas with good follow through and good execution and constant improvement and consistent service.

I think this is the 3rd straight weekend of super awesome weather.

David Cross is shooting a movie up here in Eldred and Liberty.

Pig Mountain next week in Narrowsburg.

Catskill Farms has invested and reinvested $40,000,000 in the area.