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

Dig it all you lovers of good soul music. Got turned on to some serious Motown the other week. - Sure we all know the hits, but delving a little deeper into Marvin Gaye's deep cuts have left me with a whole new direction to explore. I did an itunes playlist with Gaye, Charles and Franklin and even Jake the lab is getting groovy with it. You tell me- is there anything better than riding around in the middle of a hot summer day with the windows down listening to some easy tunes with Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet it Is"?- I mean, I'm telling you, you don't even need a honey to get a real kick out of your heart while listening to that song. He's got "What's Going On', 'Got to Give it Up', and a personal favorite "Let's Get it On', where he lets his groove hang real low for all to see. I'm not telling you anything new by relaying how much shit we got going on. A lot of homes, a lot of customers, a lot of transactional action, construction action, sales action, marketing action and a lot of administrative action. We are busy. There are a lot things and events that can distract an entrepreneur from his task at hand - and very few of the distractions have much to do with what you are trying to accomplish. Time is money - time is not only money, time is opportunity. Waste your time on distractions and hurdles, be looking one way while the action is the other, and before you know it - waste your time, and waste your opportunities - and since opportunities are never timed perfect - waste your opportunities and you will find yourself losing the edge that got you there in the first place. An opportunity is a precious thing - and those who waste and miss them end up with results merely a shadow of what was possible. I keep my eye on the ball, regardless of the personal and business distractions that occur - with a laser focus - that's always been our secret. Through sad and happy events, momentous and disastrous occurrences, very high highs and pretty low lows - keeping it all rolling, pushing ahead, turning the corner has always been one of secrets. No time to wallow too low or celebrate too long, for the disappointment will surely be supplanted by another shortly, and the victory's size is surely to be outdone momentarily. We have a NY Times story coming out some time this week, and then a blurb in the NY Observer. We have a hard-working NYC-based, ex-Rubenstein employee real estate PR rep seemingly kicking some pretty quick ass for us. I mean, it's an easy story at this point, but christ it's been hard to get it told. Sure, it's not really necessary, but like a bank loan offer when you don't need it, some great metro press ain't gonna hurt matters, for sure. And why not have a 2 yr waiting list - I think that is pretty much the definition of 'being the man'. Joe and Katie's Farm 16 just getting started on 8 acres.

And Eamonn and Mimi's Farm 11 going up, literally going up up the driveway.

On 12 acres.

From the 2nd floor.

And Matthew and Sarah's Cottage 36 on 15 acres.

And the Shack, which is for sale.

And the Barn, which is looking a lot like a winner.

And Heather's Micro 4, on 7 acres which we will be painting on the inside next week.

And the Ranch V coming along nicely.

Plus the 2 homes (1 pre-sold) that we got going on in Saugerties. Plus the 2 more we are starting in July. Lots of design and construction for sure. It's definitely getting easier being 'the man' - I think it really fits me well. And while it was a reluctant title for awhile, I'm starting to really feel it - or, like the funk master Mr Gaye might say (before his dad shot him for being such a desperate scary drug addict - back when the highs were still high), "No more standin' there beside the walls I have got myself together, baby I'm havin' a ball Long as you're groovin' There's always a chance Somebody watchin' might wanna make romance You can love me when you want to babe This is such a groovy party baby We're here face to face Everybody's swingin' This is such a groovy place Keep on dancin' You got to get it Got to give it up" Ever wonder how many people don't buy my homes from us because of my blog? I can hear the conversation around the dinner table - "We're not buying a home from that crazy guy at Catskill Farms. Are you kidding me?" It's always been an interesting point to wonder on during idle moments, one whose answer is impossible to know. You got to keep it fresh - after all, what else is there in life?

Nice hair dudes. I see rock band in Lucas' future.

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows we have struggled here and there with some of our early customers. I really don't make excuses anymore for since while we played our part in the drama, we certainly weren't the driving force of most of the inanity we suffered through. But as we have gotten better and there are more layers of insulation between me and every single little issue and problem and situation, most of the issues we deal with are put to bed relatively quickly and painlessly. James is a real master with the clients. So, it's a real marker of our progress as a company to be invited to Courtney and Bronson's wedding the other day. They were our first customers on Tuthill Road, proud owners of Cottage 22, and pioneers of the open basement stairwell look that has reinvented our small homes.

So they got married down in Tribeca at Duane Street Park and it was outside and pretty classy, avoiding a lot of the pomp and circumstance that can really confuse the purpose of the day. It was very tasteful, certainly full of class, and had that one thing that is real hard to achieve - the real affect of intimacy and affection. It wasn't a small wedding, but it was intimate, where the love of the people getting married, and the love of those who were there for them - was palpable and defining. It was cool, especially when Courtney got up at the music venue they rented in the lower east side and professed her love for Bronson - that is what they call a teachable moment. it was great. They invited their two dogs along, and I got say those dogs aren't typically that well behaved, but they were on this day. I love the story they tell of riding up in the old jeep Cherokee (or something like it) and the electric window motor on the passenger side didn't work - only the driver's side could control it - and the gaseous dogs would be smoking Courtney out and Bronson wouldn't put down the window - I love that type of 10 yr old humor - really works for me.

And from my window in Times Square.

Then, when it was raining every frickin day and we were just trying to get a little post painting down and one of our dumb efforts was to keep them dry with plastic bags - and then some immature person said this is what they 'look like with a condom on' - referring to the undersized bags - I was like 'really'? Grow up for once.

And then Sunday was guys day and Lucas and covered some serious territory. I like to include pics and stories of Lucas cause it makes me seems soft and cuddly as opposed to the total arrogant sob that is rumored to be more accurate. It's all just talk - Here's Lucas saddling up the bar at Baker's Tap Room in Yulan.

Then we traveled up to Apple Pond Farm in Callicoon Center, and checked out the horses, goats, chickens, etc... he's sporting his 'love stinks' shirt and boots with eyes on them.

then we came across this crate of horns and skulls. We saw Van and Eric of Cottage 31 fame at Apple Pond Farm - they were taking a tour of the farm and some of the energy efficient techniques they use - Eric, the Times writer, just published a fun article on the hotty tennis player Maria Sharapova -

And Lucas back at a cottage I own with Jake and his bone.

And then, when he just couldn't go anymore, the all-in big nap.

We got a lot going on - and the weather has been terrific.

Wow, in September, 2007, I started this blog (i reposted that thread at the bottom) and once, or twice, or 3x I week I go around, snap some photos, brainstorm on an angle of interest, edit and upload the photos, and write some narrative, sometimes compelling, sometimes angry, sometimes depressed but all the time real. The goal was to track the highs and lows of this endeavor, and with remarkable consistency, I've done it, for better or for worse. They say that like 99% of all blogs are abandoned or un-updated for over 6 months, so just the consistent enthusiasm necessary to get it done on a weekly basis is pretty telling as to the enthusiasm as to which we tackle our day in and day out of running this home design and build and sell company. Here is a retrospective of the first home in each of our home design lines - Farm 1, our very first home, inspired by a run-down home outside of Fremont Center, started in 2003, and sold in 2004. Every driveway rock, every piece of lumber, every nail and window nearly bankrupted me - now we build 8 homes at a time and have money left over. We've come a long way baby.

This home was purchased by Phil and Karla and their two children, and they still own it, 7 years later, which is a long time to own a country home. The house wasn't perfect, but it's standing the test of time. When it used to take us forever to sell a house, we used to furnish them. This one we furnished with a lot of shabby chic antiques. I was so all in in the house, that during the winter I slept there during the coldest nights just to ensure there was not a heat malfunction of any sort.

Matthew and Christopher bought Cottage #1 in May-ish of 2007. Farm 1 was an interesting idea because it was an attempt by Catskill Farms to give upstate retreaters another option besides 'this old house'. This old house is fine, but it's not for everyone. Most of our homeowners have experienced zero extra homeownership costs - which compared to the owners of 'that old house', is an extraordinary way to stay stress free and keep that dough in your pocket - or at least spend it on fun things like furniture, landscaping or building out the basement. So Cottage #1 was developed with a macro idea in mind as well. At the height of the McMansion/ Hummer craze (sorry Christine), Catskill Farms understood the marketplace well enough to understand what the real sweet price point for our target buyers was. It was around $300k - was true in 2003, was true in 2007 and remains true today. Problem was that prices had inflated to such levels that it became very difficult to find anything half-decent.

So, in a very contrarian and counter-intuitive move, we kept the cool design, we kept the details and the aethestic, but we shrank the house, eliminated a bedroom and brought to market a brand new idea - a small, 2 bedroom, 1300 sq ft perfect little house. We have just started Cottage 38, so I'm guessing we were onto something. At the time, small was not cool, modesty was way out of vogue, and money was cheap and easy like some whore from a Tom Waits song. Now, everyone builds small, everyone builds affordably, everyone had reduced unused living space. But back in 2007 - you couldn't find a well-designed small home to save your life, irregardless of how much cash you had. To keep things real, we also launched a few new styles, like the Barn #1 we built in 2006. We've now done 4 barnhouses, all with great lines, and loft-like attributes.

Once we started building small, we started really playing around since the one thing that keeps us moving is our inclination to keep things real and fresh and new. It's a hard thing to do- especially in building homes when all efficiencies come from standardization. But it's a trap, one that you don't escape from if you sell to clients as savvy as ours.

Mid-Century Ranch 1 is such a great story - It was a 900 sq ft 2 bedroom recession house, with both the bank and lumber company pretty skeptical about us starting 3 spec homes in the beginning of the great slow down - granted, no one knew how bad it would get, but it was pretty bad by the end of 2008. Erin comes up, middle of January, freezing cold, looks around, sees the Ranch which was just a bunch of studs (framing lumber, not me and James), checks out Albert's barn/music studio that was under construction, and says she'll take it. She buys it, loves it, ends up getting married and the whole story just is really great, especially since her house hunt took all of 12 hours (some families take months and years). Very cool home and interior.

Mini-Cottages were meant to hit a new price point - the mid to high $200's. With 1000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, a bath and 5 acres on Tuthill Road, Jason and Justen are pretty settled in 18 months after the purchase.

This is Cottage 19.

And Mauricio's MicroCottage - our first 800 sq ft effort. We really sweated this one - since no one had dared to build a cottage of such miniature dimensions. but it worked out good, and now we've built a half dozen of them.

It's plenty of space, especially when you add in the front porch, back deck, couple of acres and the basement.

And the Shack - 500 sq ft of lovin'. It's our first one - It's cute.

So there you have it. 75 plus homes, $25m invested into this little community, 150 new people introduced to the area and added to the school and town tax roles, all tracked and documented on this little ol' blog of mine. Which reminds me of a song, 'Sweet Child of Mine', but that's for a different day, different time. To all of our faithful readers, We Salute You. That actually reminds me of a song as well - "For Those about to Rock, We Salute You'. So, to our clients, and to our team, hats off. it's been a whale of a ride.