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

Some nice anonymous person made up a sign for my new road and hung it out front with little ribbons on it. At first I thought it was Mrs Carr, but then the ribbon effect probably means it was Maurizio or Benoist. Doesn't really matter - a pretty nice gesture.

Bella Drive, newly posted, at 7:30 am, rising from behind the McInnes property. This project is pretty exciting from a client vantage - Lot 1 is a first time homeowner from a distant land, Lot 2 is a writer/food team expecting their first child (and our 1st full time residence after 25 homes), Lot 3 family just sold a magazine they spent eleven years establising, and Lot 4 is a cinema star.

And then there is me - with a beard that went from chic to hick one morning without me even noticing it.

And then a little more polished in Rome, probably 2 sheets to the wind.

‍

Chapin Estate - Lot 45, Top Ridge, Bethel NY. 6000 sq ft of perfect country living. 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, fireplace, woodstove, etc..., etc...., etc....

A quick picture of the rear of the house. Note my full length cover alls hanging over the railing, the debris pile on the right handside, and the rack propped up against the staircase. Not the sort of thing that makes Lisa real happy.

Below, my home office on a Friday afternoon. A little bit of everything happens here. Lisa and I werent' sure if an active home office would be good thing since I tend to work too much as it is, but it has turned out pretty good, and allows me to nibble away at my work without leaving home all the time.

The living room showcasing the fireplace, the duel balconies and, of course, my lucky charm picture of Abe Lincoln.

Me with Bella.

Our Farmhouse at Chapin Estate has always been our most accomplished home. From a design perspective, it is nearly a perfect getaway home due to the fact that the guest wing is completely separate from the rest of house, giving true privacy for guests and family. Details galore such as old-fashioned radiators, wood plank ceilings, barn board walls, large crown mouldings, full house audio and security, wide-plank floors, fireplace, woodstove, sliding barn door, bluestone flooring in the mudroom - all the usual suspects of our homes except more of them. We don't normally build this large, but for the standard at the gated community at Chapin Estate, this is on the small side of what people are building. Built as a spec home and finished in Jan 2007, Lisa and I decided to move into it because it was a fabulous house and we needed a place to live after our 30 acre farm sold in Bethel near Jeffersonville. So we raised the price and took it off the market for all intent and purposes, and as is usually the case, as soon as we did not want to sell it, a young family decided it was the perfect house for them (it's a perfect house, period, if you ask me.) This is the 3rd time in the last year and a half that I have sold our home out from under my wife to be, and while she is quite the sport, I think I better not do it again. Since we are glass half full type of people, we are appreciative to have lived in several diverse spaces over the last 2 years, because when we go to build our next and permanent farm, we will have had the experience to really design a home from the pros and cons of previous spaces we lived in. As I have told her, you got to take one for the team every now again and hopefully it all pays off in the end (it's a little easier to believe these days, because I think she was just humoring me over the course of the first few years, when debt was through the roof, business was a roller coaster and the learning curve still steep.)

‍

The architectural landscape of Sullivan County real estate is about to be enhanced once again with the completion of the Carr Farmhouse near Barryville New York. Above photo was taken during the sheetrock polishing phase. What I like about this photo - as the boss - is how clean the house is. Not many things besides actually finishing a job shows the merit of a builder than the cleanness of the job sites. Good for many reasons, not the least being safety and efficiency. The hand hewn beams that were delivered by ol' yeller many months ago stand proudly, separating the fireplace room from the reading room. Sheetrock spackling and polishing is not a romantic trade but is critical to the quality of a home.

Cottage red cedar siding, primed and painted in the factory, being installed rather slowly by the siding crew. I would have liked to see this completed by now, but to be honest, there are lots of things I wish for that I don't get. For instance, a day without being aggravated to the extreme by some nonsense, a little more cash in the bank, or the return of the 34" waistline come to mind as examples. Well, at least I have my health.

This house is going to be sharp - the Carrs have done a fantastic job with not only the design collaboration, but also making decisions in a timely manner. As a whole, the many clients we have collaborated with - Chris and Matthew, Katrina, David, Maurizio, Steve and Christine, Tammy, just to name a few - have not only been amazing in their aesthetic, but also their respect for the process and the deal they struck with Catskill Farms.

‍

I know I've said this before, but Saturdays are busy. What's more, we are seeing a surge in interest in our homes that exceeds even optimistic projections. Why - I think because we have a good idea, and keep working hard. Tuesday I have a new 'project manager' starting, that I am hoping can help us manage the office and field work of the business. A tall task, but the time has come to hire a overseer of sorts. What's interesting about this time when I sent out feelers for help, the response I got was much more talented than before - and I think the reason is because the building industry is seeing a true slowdown. Since we are busier than ever, we have been able to find talented persons who have been gainfully and happily employed over the last few years, only to see that work dry up. Today was filled with site meetings, with both subcontractors, existing clients who we are building for, and for prospective clients who are scouting the area. Tomorrow the future owner of Cottage 6 is coming up, meeting me at Good Old Things in Scranton PA where we are trying to find a large unique salvaged window to serve as his second floor gateway to his exquisite 6 acre backyard. From there back to the house to decipher a few design ideas before he heads out for a few months to make a movie. Rumor has it next week will be 50 degrees, after 10 days of very cold weather hovering near zero degrees. That may sound good to you, but what it means to me is MUD. Inside the houses, on the tools, on the porches, on the materials, on the boots. It's been a trying winter on our houses. Rain, snow, ice buildup. So far so good, because even though I sit by the phone like the Maytag mechanic, we really don't get many emergency calls. This round of brutal weather has played havoc with people's electronic low heat sensors, but for the most part, our 30 houses around the county seem to be holding up excellently.