Catskills -- problems to avoid? (Rhinebeck, Roxbury: appointed, vacation home, buyer)

[Jason_Els]

PS- I think, to gauge the noise situation myself, I'll go take a look at a turbine. I'm trying to find one near me but may have to wait until I drive up to Vermont. I happen to have an SPL meter too!

[ss58yy]

I guess I shouldn't have mentioned wind turbines in my original post

Would it be possible to avoid most of the "wind turbine" problem by just making sure not to buy anything near a hilltop or ridgetop, or will they also be putting turbines into the valleys, too? (Of course, you don't want to be too close any flood-prone streams and rivers.)

Does anyone have experience with home break-ins (when you're not there) or home invasion type robberies up in the Catskills? To me, this would be a lot bigger problem than the wind turbines.

[mels]

The area I know best is southeastern Chenango County (Norwich, Bainbridge) and western Delaware County (Sidney, Walton). I haven't heard of any problem with break-ins of weekend homes. The area is a mix of mostly full time residents with some weekenders. A lot of the second home-types pay full time residents a small amount of money to mow the lawn in the summer and keep an eyeball on things. Some of these towns are really small so everyone knows who should be at what house, which are weekend homes, and they keep an eye on things in the neighborhood. The only real crime I remember in recent years was a rash of ATV thefts. People would leave the ATVs out in the yard overnight and they would go missing. Even when that happened the cop (sherriff?) went around to all of the local houses to let everyone know about it and to keep an eye out.

[D&T]

I can't help you much with Western Greene, but if you're interested in the southeastern part of Greene County, I could help you a bit.

[JustSayNo]

ss58yy-No, it is good you mention them, because that means you are AWARE of the possibility-smart buyer

It is VERY hard to get info on prospective sites, as the companies have learned that us Upstaters are all not the "dumb farmers" that they thought and that many residents choose to stand up and ask questions such as: Do these turbines work; how much profit will the compny make off our land and our value; how much will the town be paid; will there be decommissioning funds in place; and just who the heck actually own the installation (there are many many shell comps in the forms of LLCs-several of which disappear and another company takes over-that is worrisome). Residents are demanding safe setbacks and noise levels. The wind companies do not like that so they have become EVEN more secretive in their dealings.

Anywho, it appears, based on prior targets, that YES the ridges are th most desired, yet in Stamford I beleive the project does include valley (not sure). So, the best way is to ASK the RE agent straight out, first thing. By law they must tell you what they know. It is really the Western Catskills, Central and Western NY that is being heavily looked at-if you stay in the Eastern Catskills you could be fine.

As far as flooding, drainage is an ART up here-proper drainage is everything! Not only on your propery, but also on the road where your property sits. I think you are safe, and we did the same, to avoid creeks and streams on the propr. While I love them so very much, I have seen what a small streem 100s of yards from a home can do. So we avoided it, and have one less worry. BUT maintaining your drains is just as important as any other yard work. If you are really worried, I would avoid low-laying land, avoid areas where several running waters run to (like the many of the NYC resv.). Basically, come up and look, look, look. Ask a lot of smart questions, and don't settle for the common "I don't know."

Good luck!

[joer]

My friend has a place in Summit. His neighbor recently stopped by while I was there to warn us of robberies. His house was broken into several times. I think it is to be expected in low income places. Most people, specifcally the younger ones, tend to believe everyone from the city with a weekend home is rich. I have a place in Schoharie, which is about 40 minutes east of Summit and I personally believe there is a much better element there.

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by joer

My friend has a place in Summit. His neighbor recently stopped by while I was there to warn us of robberies. His house was broken into several times. I think it is to be expected in low income places. Most people, specifcally the younger ones, tend to believe everyone from the city with a weekend home is rich. I have a place in Schoharie, which is about 40 minutes east of Summit and I personally believe there is a much better element there.

Interesting -- I wonder if this problem is widespread throughout the Catskills? I suppose one strategy for coping with this problem would be to keep the place mostly empty, with nothing of value inside. When visiting, sort of "camp out", using paper plates, plastic utensils, just a few tables and cheap chairs, an old bed, etc. I suppose the vandals/robbers would eventually strip out all the appliances and fixtures, plumbing, etc., so you couldn't rely on having any way to cook things.

The same guy that told me about the breakins up at a 2nd home in Summit also mentioned that in some places the full-time residents would come by and shoot holes in the roof and walls, and shoot out windows (this was out West, somewhere). I've also heard of folks being bludgeoned to death in their vacation homes by intruders (maybe Columbia county and also near the Sacandaga Resevoir?, IIRC), although I hope this is rare. Of course, we're all aware of the recent incident in Margaretville/Arkville some weeks ago.

Does anybody have a feel for how often this stuff really goes on in the Catskills? (let's hope it's rare)

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by D&T

I can't help you much with Western Greene, but if you're interested in the southeastern part of Greene County, I could help you a bit.

If you're referring to places like Haines Falls, Tannersville, Platte Cove, and Hunter -- sure, I'd be interested. I've looked in that area, but had planned to concentrate a bit farther west.

[D&T]

Originally Posted by ss58yy

If you're referring to places like Haines Falls, Tannersville, Platte Cove, and Hunter -- sure, I'd be interested. I've looked in that area, but had planned to concentrate a bit farther west.

Yes, that was the area I was referring to.

One of the major hurdles to 'overcome' in this particular region is the NYC watershed and their 'take' on rules/regulations in the NYC reservoir land areas. Honestly, aside from that, the specific region you referred to above is really a nice, beautiful area - that although quite a distance from any 'major' civilization, offers local amenities that would give you the basics needed for day to day living.

The surroundings are gorgeous, with many beautiful locations for you and your family to enjoy Mother Nature and get plenty of R&R.

I don't know your specific reasons for looking into Western Greene County, but I hope the info I shared with you will help you out some!

PS....the hamlet of Palenville located at the bottom of 23A is a beautiful artist colony - with a ton of history behind it.

Enjoy searching for the 'right' spot for you and your family to have as a second home!

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by D&T

Yes, that was the area I was referring to.

...

I don't know your specific reasons for looking into Western Greene County, but I hope the info I shared with you will help you out some!

...

Thanks for the info. The reason I'm now concentrating on a specific limited area is so that I can find a buyer's agent who can cover it.

I gradually homed in on the central Catskills: At first, I was considering the Adirondacks, Catskills, Berkshires/Green Mountains, and even the Poconos. The Poconos have a lot of places available (1000s, it looks like), but that area is really too far south for me. The Adirondack region is one of my favorite areas, but it's also too far away, and doesn't have that many places for sale. The Berkshires are small, and I didn't really like the area all that much on the few occasions that I visited. The Green mountains were also far away, and also seemed somehow to have a (hard to describe) "fancy" character, so I gave up looking there after spending quite a while.

That leaves the Catskills. Over many years, I looked around just about everywhere in the area bounded by Rensselaerville, Summit, Luddingtonville?, Meredith, DeLancey, Downsville, Livingston Manor, Denning, Pheonecia, Haines Falls, and back up to Rensselaerville. This is too large an area for one agent to cover, so I artifically restricted it to the "central" Catskills -- Eastern Delaware County, Western Greene County, extreme western Ulster County (Turnwood, etc. but not much there), and perhaps southwest Schoharie County (Jefferson, Summit etc.). There seem to be at least a few agents that will do buyer's representation in most/much of this area.