Getting the keys to your dream home involves more than just coming up with the down payment. Here are the most common costs home buyers in The Catskills and Hudson Valley will encounter, including specific dollar amounts. These reflect actual expenses from recent transactions, but please note, each deal is different and your experience may vary. I’ve excluded mortgage-related fees which we’ll cover in a separate post.
Read MoreA turnkey property, great design and killer pics to bump your Instagram page — that’s all it takes to launch a successful Airbnb rental, right? If you think it’s that easy, prepare yourself. Towns throughout the region have been enacting laws that regulate Short Term Rentals (STRs), and some are tough enough to change the whole trajectory of your plans.
Here we take a look at a few examples of commonly enacted STR regulations in our area.
Read MoreThe doom and gloom of national headlines on the topic of real estate justify the expectation that the real estate market should be tanking. But so far prices have largely held in, thanks to fundamental underpinnings to The Catskills and Hudson Valley economy that have shifted in recent years, most obviously during the pandemic. It’s worth exploring these factors because buyer expectations of a bubble burst may be misplaced or over-estimated.
Read MoreResponses to our recent buyers’ poll were not unexpected, with the word “waiting” dominating. But others referenced looking forward to property prices dropping and seem to be anticipating reentry when that happens. Is that a good strategy? National media refers to the state of the housing market using doomsday language, but our area does not always operate in lockstep with the rest of the country. So what are we seeing in terms of price movements, buyer behavior, and what can we expect over the coming months?
Read MoreWhile the panic buying of the first heady months of Covid are thankfully long behind us, the real estate market in The Catskills and Hudson Valley remains exceedingly competitive for the most desirable properties. As prices continue to push the envelope, bank appraisals often lag, creating nearly a requirement that buyers looking to snap up their dream home pony up more cash, sometimes substantially more, than the standard 20% downpayment. We explain the workings behind the strategy and share our recent experiences.
Read MoreIt’s been a seller’s market in The Catskills and Hudson Valley for several years now, with Covid pouring gasoline on an already white-hot market. So who are the the lucky ones winning those bidding wars? And how are they coming out on top? There are definitely strategies, and I’ll share my Top 7 here.
Read MoreWhy do listings show a “town” and a “city”? The answer affects your taxes. Think you know which areas have the highest and lowest taxes? You might not be looking at the right “town”. This post shines a light on the labels and on what’s behind property taxes.
Read MoreIn this upended world where every day is a month, my last post two-and-a-half weeks ago appears to have been more of a hunch, while now I have at least some stronger anecdotal evidence to cull from, regarding the coronavirus’s impact on the second home market in The Catskills and Hudson Valley.
Read MoreWhen we’re free in the world once again, will the feeding frenzy of recent years be even more frantic, or will the bottom drop out leaving only the sound of crickets? I do have a strong sense of optimism about the real estate market in The Catskills and Hudson Valley, however, borne out of anecdotal feedback from our second home buyers including what their current general frame of mind is, as reflected in emails and my little Instagram survey.
Read MoreI write this still giddy with excitement at my own real estate purchase a week ago, and am looking forward to using my upcoming experiences with the renovation and grounds improvement as a way to provide insight to prospective, or even current, homeowners about how stuff works…or doesn’t.
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