Almanac Weekly Article: Rustic Without the Rust
Catskill Farms was recently features in the Almanac Weekly's article, Rustic Without the Rust, by Lynn Woods:
Rustic Without the Rust
Charles Petersheim didn’t know a soul in the Catskills when he left New York City post-9/11 and purchased an abandoned shack in Sullivan County. Petersheim, who had done construction and real estate in the City, found work upstate renovating old farmhouses for weekenders – and quickly made an important discovery: The first-time second-homebuyers who were his customers found the process unbelievably stressful. The charming rustic cottage on three or four acres that is every Manhattanite’s or Brooklynite’s country dream sometimes turned out to be a money pit with all kinds of disappointments and problems.
Petersheim saw an opportunity. In 2002 he launched Catskill Farms, which offers the ideal alternative: building new homes modeled after the old farmhouse. Using salvaged wood as accents and planks for the floors, refurbishing old radiators for the cozy steam-heat systems and siding his abodes in pine or cedar, with metal roofs and fireplaces as options, he realized that he could build farmhouses with all the charm of an original but none of the hassle.
All his homes are energy-efficient, with spray-foam insulation and on-demand hot-water heaters. Plus, the customer can weigh in on the design, such as the height of the ceilings, size and placement of the windows and location on the property, avoiding a common pitfall of old homes, which is they are too close to the road. “We’ve been able to capture the romantic essence of an older home, which is a very subliminal thing,” Petersheim said. “Our homes have a heart.”
As you may guessed from that remark, Petersheim is also a marketing whiz. His company’s website, www.thecatskillfarms.com, powerfully evokes the Catskills’ down-home appeal, from the personal testimonials to the vintage graphics to the country-music classics that play as you flip through the virtual brochure. The company has been featured on DIY’s Blog Cabin, and three of its homes will be featured on the February 14 episode of HGTV’s Selling New York program at 6:30 p.m.
While the 1,600-square-foot “farmhouse” and 1,300-square-foot “cottage” are his most popular models, he also constructs mid-century ranch-style “moderns” and “micro cottages and shacks”: 700-square-foot cottages that start at $185,000. Customers can pick features from different models and combine them and choose where to put the driveway, said Petersheim. So far, Catskill Farms, which employs 15, has built more than 100 houses, with sales of $36 million. Nearly half of them were small farmhouses priced just under $350,000: the “sweet spot” for most customers, Petersheim said.
Most of his houses were built in Sullivan County, where land was cheaper and more available. It has been Petersheim’s dream to build houses in Ulster County, and last summer that dream became a reality. In 2012, he sold 18 homes, nine of which were in Ulster, and plans to expand into Columbia County next. The farther east he moves, the more expensive the houses: Petersheim said that his farmhouses sell for 12 percent more in Ulster than in Sullivan County and start around $395,000.
Petersheim said that the strength of Catskill Farms’ product is borne out by the fact that he has not only survived during the Great Recession, but prospered. Partly it’s because of his business savvy. For example, the company is vertically integrated, meaning that it offers everything from soup to nuts (realtor sales to the final paint job). And to save on the cost of spray foam, which he said is priced artificially high due to a monopoly, he started his own company, Ecotech Spray Foam, in 2009.
Based in Barryville, Petersheim said that working in Sullivan County has been challenging. “My day-to-day existence was one of loneliness and having no industry peers in what I was doing. I spent a lot of time in an area with scarce resources and a shallow pool of labor, and it was a real struggle to grow.” Hence, expanding into Ulster is a kind of arrival.
On the other hand, he said that his company serves as a gateway to the Catskills for many urbanites, regardless of the county, with an average of 12,000 hits to his website a month. “So many people fall in love with the area,” he said. “We would like to leverage real estate and construction skills and resell other homes. I’m positive we have many more challenges in front of us, but I’m excited there will be less of a headwind and more tailwind.”
Happy Birthday to Me
"Birthday", the Beatles
- James in the office and me weirdly share the same birthday.
"They say it's your birthday
Well, it's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you
(Four, five, six, seven, eight!)
Yes, we're going to a party, party
Yes, we're going to a party, party
Yes, we're going to a party, party
I would like you to dance (birthday)
Take a cha-cha-cha chance (birthday)
I would like you to dance (birthday)
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net ]
Dance, yeah
Whoo, Come on, C'mon, Baby
Happy birthday to youSongwriter(s): John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Catskill Farms hits the Small Screen - HGTV's Selling NY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A LOVE LETTER TO LIFE THE CATSKILLS
Catskill Farms featured on Valentine’s Day episode of HGTV hit, Selling New York
February 11, 2013 (Eldred, N.Y.) – The Valentine’s Day episode of HGTV’s top-rated Selling New York focuses on the search for an upstate country home with an old-fashioned look coupled with modern, working amenities. Like many young urban professionals drawn to the region have found, local design/build firm Catskill Farms fills that niche perfectly, having designed and built over 100 getaway homes in Sullivan and Ulster Counties. HGTV’s Selling New York will spotlight three of the builder’s unique homes on Thursday, February 14th at 6:30 p.m.
The program, which debuted in 2010, features three of New York City’s top real estate companies selling properties to New York’s elite. Now in its fifth season with three million viewers, Selling New York recently taped an upcoming episode featuring Catskill Farms’ homes in the Narrowsburg area, a first for the series which usually focuses on luxury properties within New York City.
“After the great exposure we received from working with DIY’s Blog Cabin, Catskill Farms was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with HGTV’s most popular real estate program, Selling New York,” explained Charles Petersheim, Catskill Farms founder. “Millions of viewers will get a taste of the beauty and simplicity of life in Sullivan and Ulster Counties. We are proud three of our regionally-inspired custom farmhouses and cottages were highlighted as the ideal for someone seeking a Catskills getaway of their own.”
Catskill Farms was founded by Petersheim in 2002 after finding refuge in Sullivan County himself post-9/11. Positioning the Catskills as the ultimate escape from weekday city life, with the charm of country living in a classic farmhouse on a big, beautiful piece of land has helped Catskill Farms become one of the region’s most dynamic and successful design/build firms. The company’s success can be attributed to a clear mission: build small, well-designed, high-quality farmhouses and cottages for those seeking a simpler way of life. When most in the industry struggled to survive Catskill Farms more than doubled in size, with more than 100 total homes built throughout Sullivan and Ulster Counties, including over $3 million in sales in just the last three months. They completed and sold 18 homes in 2012, including 9 in Ulster County, and are currently expanding into the Rhinebeck/Hudson region.
Catskill Farms is also an important local success story and an example of how small business is fueling the economic recovery. During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, this small homebuilder grew into a vertically-integrated development, design, construction and real estate company, expanded into Ulster County and continues to grow. They have won multiple awards and been recognized by the national press including USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Builder Magazine and the New York Daily News among many others.
For more information about Catskill Farms, please visit www.theCatskillFarms.com
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ABOUT CATSKILL FARMS:
Charles Petersheim founded Catskill Farms in 2001 after leaving NYC after 9/11. Since then he has designed and built more than 100 unique getaway homes in Sullivan and Ulster Counties for the NYC weekend crowd, specializing in well-crafted, well-designed, small homes, gaining national attention along the way. He lives in a home he designed and built outside of Eldred, NY with his young son and Labrador.
