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

Tiny house Article - Funny, we didn't find much success in homes once we dived below 750 sq ft, but I guess, at least according the the media, the concept is alive and well.

Monday was a real whopper - one of those trite displays that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, in a spectacular and wild fashion. I know I'm painting a picture of our projects in Stone Ridge, Saugerties, Woodstock and Bearsville as seamless and perfectly executed, and for the most part, they go very well, are managed lightly but with laser precision. But being far from home, when things start to spiral the wrong way, oh lordy can they really deteriorate rapidly. So, at 7:45am I discover much to my chagrin that the 3 man crew sent from Eldred to Stone Ridge (1.5hr drive) failed to take a generator, and since the power is still not on, that means they drove 1.5 hrs (or 4.5 man hours) and now they can't work. Since Stone Ridge isn't really in the middle of anywhere, there is no local equipment rental shop around each corner - in fact, there is not equipment rental shop anywhere. I especially loved the fact that everyone was trying to solve this problem without me knowing it. The fact that the electric still was not on, and we are 65% finished with Cottage 38, well, that's a whole different challenge when you are building in new areas - new inspectors, new neighbors, new electric companies, etc.... With new areas and new building inspectors I always handle the inspections myself, since a lot of times the conversation and the attitude goes a long way. Nothing worse than having a project side-tracked by a fussy inspector and a amateur person from my team escorting the inspector around the house. I've built 100+ homes, so have done at least 400 inspections, personally - I know how to do it so everyone walks away satisfied. So, at 8:30, while I'm on my way to the inspection 1.5hrs away, I get a call from the same guy, Brian, saying the 'pressure gauges' on the plumbing pipes have been removed prematurely, meaning my plumbing and insulation and fireplace inspections are not going to happen, since there was some miscommunication, or actually lack of communication. So, can't work due to no electric and a fussy inspector is going to be pissed since I'm wasting his time since we called for an inspector, and then weren't ready. Because it's far away, putting this broken egg back together would take a lot of time and effort and coordination and money. Since I'm a guy into efficiency, really drives me nuts. I even called my plumber to hussle up there, 1.5 hrs away on a moments notice, to get the pressure back on the pipes (not a easy thing to do). (we put pressure on the pipes, with both ends closed, in order to prove there are no leaks in the piping, before we close up all the walls(. Then it started to turn. The typically ball-breaking (or very thorough, depending on what side of the coin you like) was accomodating, impressed with our progress and quality and showed some flexibility. My excavator who lives 30 minutes away just happened to be in the area, with a generator, that we could use for the day. And as I was leaving, the electric utility - Central Hudson - arrived to do the final hook up and give us some juice. A whirlwind of a morning from total collapse to total triumph. And the reason why I relate all this is because that's really an analogy for our business journey as a whole - if you don't stick with it, you never know how close you came to turning the corner and succeeding.

Like I said the other week, I sold 3 houses 2 weekends ago - houses that are yet to be built. One of them is a farmhouse style on 25 acres outside of Barryville. Farm 20 Guy (or F20G) is diggin' us big-time (which is par for the course, - that's not even being immodest for once - if someone is spending coin on a house these days, they are either really diggin' it, or they are getting a great deal, or some combination of the two).

He claims our website is 'one of the best he's been to' in terms of info and such, so that was a compliment, since F20G is probably at hundreds of websites a week, thousands a year. He thought, based on what he has drank from our website, that closely tracking his house design and construction might be interesting for our readers and a good addition to the information we put out there. Since he is pretty prolific, I just thought maybe he should post directly - and he agreed.

Anyone else who would like to document their journey with us can feel free to as well - or a recap, or just a snapshot. Just let me know.

So here we go -

"The Genesis of a Crazy Idea – or is it?

February 29, 2012

(Before we even start, I want to disclose that I’m not a professional writer, not a shill for Chuck or the Catskill Farms, not a builder or real estate professional… none of that. I’m just a new customer and I like to write. I also have learned so much from Chuck’s web site and blog that I figured I should contribute and give back, so future farm builders might learn from my experiences, questions and answers, and struggles.)

The Beginning

My story starts back in Fall 2008. The financial markets were in turmoil and everything seemed like it was falling apart. I recall bumping into a colleague and friend I hadn’t seen in a while walking in the street, mid-day. This was a bit unusual because both of us rarely stepped out of the office during lunch – but here we were, chatting on 49th St. in New York City in the middle of a beautiful day. She was in a daze, almost in tears; she thought she would be out of a job by day’s end, her ATM card had suddenly stopped working or something like that, and going to the bank was futile because there was a mob in the local branch… customers doing God knows what, but probably withdrawing as much cash as they could. Did it even matter? Would that bank even be solvent by week’s end?

Things were not good.

Later that day, a few colleagues and I walked over to the Applebee’s for beers. People make fun of Applebee’s but we loved the place. The bar generally wasn’t crowded like all those shee-shee places, the bartenders and servers were nice, and those chicken fingers and onion rings… mmm. But most importantly, happy hour was cheap. Don’t forget, everyone thought – and it felt like – the world was coming to an end.

In melancholy times, this group of friends and I talked about ridiculous things. At Applebee’s, we played the “how much money do you need to retire?” game. This, of course, was a pretty dumb game because the end result was always the same. If you said a number that was too low for the group, they brutalized and made fun of you. “Cheapskate,” “dumb”, “unrealistic”, and “are you kidding me?” were usually muttered after you blurted out a number deemed too low by the group. If you said a figure that was too high, they brutalized and made fun of you. “Ridiculous”, “princess”, “greedy”, “are you kidding me?” were typically the responses in that situation. You never said the right number, and I guess that was part of the fun. It also got more interesting the more beers the collective group consumed.

We quickly moved on to the “if you can’t do what you currently do, or live where you currently live, what would you do and where would you live?” game. Oh, we had wild answers, like a painter in Italy, pimp in Las Vegas, movie star in California. “Dude, you look like a lizard and you can’t act… and you can barely talk – nobody understands you on the phone, you can’t be a movie star!” When it came to my turn, I wasn’t prepared and hadn’t given it much thought, probably because I was dishing out most of the punishment for everyone else’s answers. I blurted out, “I don’t know, I’d build and live on my eco-farm.”

The group erupted in laughter.

I don’t remember the exact responses, but I’m sure I was ridiculed. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” “You’ve lived in big cities all your life…” (true) “…do you even know what a farm is?” Most people asked what exactly was an eco-farm but I didn’t have a good answer. It was just a silly term I invented on the fly.

But it was the truth. Don’t give me wrong, I love living in New York City with its amazing energy, facilities, close friends, wildly different neighborhoods with restaurants, bars, hoards of people, and adventures… but something inside also yearned for a simpler, slower, more peaceful and natural lifestyle. “If you couldn’t live where you live…”

Catskill Farms

Fast forward about two to three years, and somehow I stumbled onto Chuck’s website. I don’t recall exactly how, but immediately I was hooked. The eco-farm idea had been constantly bubbling in the back of my head, and here’s a turn-key solution that hit many of my initial, uneducated criteria. Under 2.5 hour drive from New York. Plenty of space so you can choose not to see or be seen by neighbors. Green, natural, beautiful. It seemed like this was a master builder and construction manager that “got it”… no McMansions to show off with crazy foyers and huge winding staircases. I know plenty of folks in NJ and Long Island who overbuilt and had ridiculous amounts of unused, wasted space, and it’s a tremendous pain from a maintenance, utilities (heating/cooling), and property tax perspective. No, all I saw from Catskill Farms were highly functional, beautifully constructed, low-maintenance country homes and farms. Perfect.

My girlfriend at the time (now fiancée) thought I was nuts, but I think she slowly turned and saw the allure. With some trepidation, I filled out on Chuck’s web site and started the conversation. After getting the response, I had the feeling this would be the beginning of a really fruitful and fun project.

Catching Up

Okay, so fast forward again to today, and I’m excited to report that we’re working towards closing on some property in upstate New York. I always knew I wanted more space than less (because it’s always harder to upsize later than downsize), so we found a 20+ acre piece with lake rights. I’m going to leave out many of the gory details and summarize what I’ve learned the past few months:

Go and visit, of course. Web sites and electronic communication are great tools and have come a long way, but there’s no substitute for actually visiting an area or a particular site. You get a “feel” for the area, a sense of the natural surroundings and people, and a much better idea of how you would “fit” into the environment. I cannot describe how amazing it is to actually step foot into one of Chuck’s cottages or farmhouses. They already look great on paper and on the screen, but seeing the structures, observing the details and fixtures, hearing the wood planks on the porch as you walk around… it’s an entirely different experience. Don’t get me wrong, I found online tools very helpful in the initial searches. Use aggregator web sites like Trulia, Realtor, or Zillow to get a sense of land listings, and then zero in to individual realtor sites for further detail (or even the actual MLS public listing, using a local agent’s login credentials). But definitely get out there and check out the counties, towns, and local sites that you think you’ll like. Eat at a local restaurant, have a beer at the bar… it’s not just about a particular potential build site, but the whole package.

You need to go local. We city folks really have no idea what we’re doing (at least I don’t), and we’re going to miss all the small details someone local will immediately notice. Right off the bat, I knew I would need to rely on Chuck’s professional judgment and experience. After all, he’s the one who has built 100+ houses in the upstate area and I’m trying to build exactly one… my first one. Imagine all the expertise, the mistakes, learning experiences, and so forth? Why wouldn’t you want to leverage all of that? Yes, it takes a bit of effort to make the plunge and put yourself in someone else’s hands (the trust element), but I did it very early on and I’m very pleased with that decision. Chuck noticed, for example, several suboptimal things with build sites I thought were the best thing since sliced bread… more on that later. But you’ve got to go with local expertise – because they know!

Line up your incentives with your master builder. Everyone has different incentives, and I think it makes sense to line up your incentives with Chuck, for example, as early as possible. I want the “eco-farm” (just a concept right now), in the best shape, with the most features, at the best price point possible. Chuck presumably wants to continue expanding his wide base of very satisfied customers so he can continue growing… and nothing sells better than word of mouth. The only potential conflict is cost or price, but as long as communication levels as high, it shouldn’t be a problem. (For me, it has not been an issue this far into the project, but I expect down the road we’ll be making some hard decisions to keep things under budget.) Real-estate agents or land brokers have different incentives. I won’t open that can of worms because we could be here all night (for fascinating reads, check out various academic papers available online or “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner.) I suggest doing the land search yourself and only contacting the listing or selling agent towards the end, or letting Chuck make contact to manage the process. For example, we had a situation where an agent was showing us property he wanted to show and sell us – lakefront (ooh, aah!), but smaller and more expensive than I could afford – and not necessarily what or where we wanted to build. I don’t fault the land broker at all, and if anything he’s just doing his job and is very good at it (remember, incentives!); in the end, it pays to go with Chuck to keep things on track. He immediately noticed suboptimal factors like land shape, location, road noise, wet/dry issues, and so forth. Yes, I’d love waterfront as much as the next guy, but if it doesn’t fit within the framework of things, it’s only going to complicate issues, slow you down, and raise your costs. Basically, along with going local, use Chuck as your eyes and ears and the tip of your spear… not only does he know the business, area, and people, but he will not let you down.

Costs and experiences so far:

Breakfasts at Perkins: 2

Miles driven around upstate checking it out: 462

Meetings at Chuck’s headquarters: 2

Costs: $10,000 deposit to Catskill Farms

Next post will hopefully be about the land closing and initial stages of building the farmhouse!

(no F20G is not a paid shill, but I definitely owe him a beer, don' t you think. What's nice about this post and all the high expectations set forth is that I comfortably know, without question, we will deliver F20G exactly what he wants, without a lot of pain, suffering and annoyance. It took me a lot of homes to get here, but we are a company firing on all cylinders on many different levels at this point in time)

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I hate setting myself up for coming up short by prenaming this blog post as I have, but I'm really feeling it and to be honest, a lot of shit is going on to write about. I'm in Saugerties just settling into a beer and my apartment after two meetings in Woodstock, while managing by satellite 7 homes going up in Sullivan County. Shannon Mc Nally is singing a cover of I'd Rather Go Blind and it's a bit chilly outside and now She & Him are singing You Really Got a Hold On Me (I want to leave you, dont want to spend another day, you do me wrong now, , my love is strong now, oh you really got a hold on me...)

This picture above is the sort of thing that really warms my cold downtrodden heart - a house-warming gift from wife to husband of Cottage 36, defining the entry mudroom. It's of a local bowling alley, where the pins are handset, custom framed back in Rye. Like our homes, and their homes in particular, it's in very good taste. Thing is - I have no business having such an instinctual sense of taste and design, - there is nothing in my background or upbringing that would point to me being able to hold my own, and even compliment a pretty savvy and talented set of clients. But it's there, and it's fun to let the talent grow and bloom on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis - watered not only by constant practice but by the uber-fertilizer of collaborating with fresh client talent constantly. I mean, my clients have good taste - there is no other way to frame it - and they come to us to help them fully realize - and actually live in - the design called their home. And the dolphin I bought for lucas in Orlando at the International Builders Show James and I attended the other week. Interestingly, James and I were talking, and somehow we started talking about the last time we called someone 'fart face'. Neither of us could remember, but we did faintly recall it was a real good defense in certain situations. Not too vulgar to get in trouble with the 'rents, but good enough to really put some bully in his place.

I own and run a spray foam insulation business, which James and I started back in the height of the panic when the world was ending - Winter and Spring of 2009. It was like 'screw it, let's double down' so we talked to Jeff Bank who's been financing me and my ventures since 2003 (they just helped us buy another spray foam rig last month) and they gave me some debt and we here we are, still in bizness a few years later. Spray foam is the bomb, and we haven't looked back since discovering it in late 2008.

That's Mike posing for what I guess is the 'The Guys of Spray Foam' calender coming out next year. I was talking to someone today about coming out with a 'women of catskill farms' calender, but I think I better stop there before this becomes inappropriate even by my loose standards.

Yep, you see it below. That, in the flesh, is Deb's business card in Ranch III - Deb from Selling NY. In the flesh, Getting her makeup down in Cottage 35, trading gossip with Cat Greenleaf and the Director at Cottage 34.

I mean, as you all know who have been following for any amount of time, we get a fair amount of press and attention. NYTimes, NY Post, Daily News, USA Today and a lot of other pubs. But a starring role in HGTV's #1 show, a show with 3m viewers (yes, 3m, not 1.7m as earlier reported), a show with international reach, a show that showcases Manhattan's hippest and most expensive property - now, a starring role in that show, that's really saying something about who we are, where we are going, and who our clients tend to be. And there we were. Lil ole Catskill Farms.

The cast and crew at Ranch III above...

and Cottage 36 above...

and the bright and early breakfast I supplied at Cottage 35 - bagels, fruit, donuts that no one admitted eating but they disappeared nevertheless, juice, coffee, pretzels, etc... And yes, they are Oreos off to the side of the table end.

I bought all this Friday night, prior to there bright and early Saturday morning rendevous of 5 different cars at Cottage 35 - so I bought all this stuff then proceeded to break into the donuts, oreos, ice cream and pretzels, making a big bowl of awesomeness, which evolved into a stomach ache pretty quick.

But before that, I had to rush 30 minutes down the road to a zoning meeting a Lumberland Town Hall, which was moved to the local school due to all the people who were expected (ok, maybe I had something to do with that). This was the zoning changes I've been blogging about, - new land use regs that make no sense in the rural area which we reside, etc...

The absurdity of the Supervisor Nadia's tenure and leadership of this zoning never better demonstrated by the constant presence of police at these meetings. It's like 'seriously, what's really going to happen here that we need police'. The two towns up the river didn't feel the need, it was just really insulting but only par for the course. They say 'difficult times make great men/leaders' - meaning only those leaders in power during tough times end up lasting in the historical spotlight. Tough times also expose those not ready for the role, and never has this been more true than in the Town of Lumberland - a leader without the skills to navigate the seas on which she sails.

So I create stiff breeze, and blow her ship off course, and while sacrificing quite a few friends and relationships along the way, end up alerting and motivating an entire community about the threat on their respective doorsteps. And they responded enmasse. Super interesting to communicate outside the typical channels - very annoying to the powers that be, those who pretty successfully miseducate entire communities on certain issues. Local newspapers, local politicians, etc... Without alternative sources of news, very scary how agenda-motivated people with the right connections can manipulate an entire community. Of course all media have bias, but when there is no other voice, it's pretty serious.

Below are our 3 local constables, ready for action.

And the gym is full, with people who have never attended a meeting before, concerned with a basic invasion of their rights and privacy. That's James filming the whole thing - they were lying so much we just decided to tape it for the record.

So that was Saturday before 10:30 am.

Here is the Big Barn and now the Big Garage being built outside of Narrowsburg NY.

From the back deck, looking at the 3 openings that will be retractable garage doors, with the garage sitting down below politely.

Painted, trim going up , tile complete, lap pool filled, and ready for action.

The upstairs bedroom (below) is open, looking down to below. It's a big space, just what the owner wanted.

Great looking garage, for sure.

Modeled after my friend's Benoist's house.

Cottage 38 in Stillwater just turned two big corners, with the Ecotech Spray Foam Insulation being installed this past week, and that all important mortgage commitment and accompanying validating appraisal, verify not what I say the house is worth, but what the area's recent sales say the house is worth. This was the big wild card as we enter new marketplaces - yes, maybe if you are skilled enough you interest someone in your home, but at some point the bank comes in a comes up with it's own value - the biggest issue in modern day home buying.

But here we are, area after area, house after house, - getting our houses financed, getting them appraised accurately - or, simply, in a nut shell, getting it done. Getting the job done.

And Farm 18 is no joke either. This beauty is on the home stretch, with the the horses pounding and jockeys sweating and whipping.

It's a home that mirrors the homeowners. Truly unique, but within the bounds. Tech start up guy and his microsoft spouse. Like I always say, our clients are half the story.

This pics are pre floor stain phase, which by the time I write it, the floors are done, finished, polyed and ready to roll.

As the owner of the company, this pic below says one thing - get those lights lifted up before someone cracks something into them and breaks them and leaves me with the bill. James, are you hearing this?!>!?

And Ranch VI, modeled after unsold Ranch V - just a little bigger, and a little deeper in the woods, with a basement. Just enough to make it their own.

Tomorrow we start the insulation.

Dancing Queen just came on the local Saugerties pub radio where I am finishing off a quesidilla and a beer.

And Barn V rock and rolls and is preparing for a mid-May finish.

Big spaces, real live spaces.

And Lucas behind my offices, playing on a stone wall. He's such a little man now, with full sentences and a real understanding of the important things in life like cookies, toys and Momma.

It's nearly 9. one of the truths of our success to this point is I know how to work like a mule - and so does everyone who is associated with us. For the sole benefit of our clients - funny how simple it is sometimes.

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