Best place to purchase a summer home? (New York, Ithaca: condos, house)

[Pootnami]

I'm interested in buying a cottage upstate (I'm currently living on Long Island). My wife and I are teachers so we would like to make it a four seasons place. On a body of water would be a bonus. We travel to the Adirondacks quite a bit and love it there. However, we realize it's quite expensive. What are some other options? Lake Ontario? Finger Lakes? Lake Champlain (far from LI?) As for price, we would like to keep it under 150,000. What do you think? Thanks in advance.

[ss58yy]

Anything on a lakefront is going to be pretty expensive, unless it's really small or something is wrong with it. In the Catskills (much closer to LI than the Adirondacks), $150K will get you avery modest or rustic (perhaps needing work) non-lakefront place in the southern or eastern Catskills, or perhaps a more reasonable (but small) non-lakefront place in the western or northern Catskills. There's not a whole lot of lakefronit in the Catskills, anyway. West and north of the Catskills, out in central New York, things appear to be cheaper, but I'm not familiar with second homes and prices in that area.

[MovesAlot]

Originally Posted by Pootnami

I'm interested in buying a cottage upstate (I'm currently living on Long Island). My wife and I are teachers so we would like to make it a four seasons place. On a body of water would be a bonus. We travel to the Adirondacks quite a bit and love it there. However, we realize it's quite expensive. What are some other options? Lake Ontario? Finger Lakes? Lake Champlain (far from LI?) As for price, we would like to keep it under 150,000. What do you think? Thanks in advance.

I sent you a private message on a nice area if you want to check it out.

[Pootnami]

thanks for the reply

[TeaJay]

Watkins Glen is a cute town- my husband always looks at prices for fun and it seems like there are reasonable prices there. It's on Seneca Lake, near Ithaca (which we also love) and the wineries in the area are great. IMO, best scenery in NY is in the Finger Lakes.

[hmtklein]

Adirondacks! Lake front anywhere will be tricky under $150,000. These guy work in a large area with 2 offices 40 miles apart they might be able to suggest an area or two to consider. Moderator cut: please use DM when linking to realtor websites, thanks

[Lillietta]

Good luck with the $150,000. Even in the hinterland here in Minnesota on a lake, you couldn't get a place for that amount of money.

[VTP]

A house or cottage lakefront, or with real lake rights (as opposed to merely the town beach) you will not find for this money, unless, maybe, you went really far north, near the Jay area, and got something run down. That's too far to travel from Long Island, though. I would say you need to be in Schroon Lake or south of there if you want to get there regularly from Long Island. However, I have seen several listings for very inexpensive condos ($80,000) at a place called Green Mansions, on Route 9, just north of Warrensburg. I believe this would grant lake rights to Tripp Lake. It's not the nicest lake out there, and it's a non-motorboating lake, but it gets you a regular place to stay in the area. It's only 15 minutes from Gore Mountain, and if you have a boat you can trailer, you can use the public ramp at Brant Lake (free, about 15 mins away) or the Loon Lake Marina ramp (I think it's $8 to launch; the town ramp there is for residents only). A little further up the road, less than 1/2 hour, is large and beautiful Schroon Lake, with a free ramp. Lake George is only 20 minutes away, Friends Lake Inn (wonderful dining) is 10 minutes away, and the villages of Chestertown and Warrensburg are nearby, with stores and some nice places to eat. Green Mansions also has some amenities, like tennis, and there is a golf course next door. The pictures I've seen of the 80K condos show them as dated in terms of decor, and I think they have 2 bedrooms. Like I said, though, they get you into the area, and as you know, there is no place nicer than the Adirondacks. You need to get a copy of the North Country Realty Guide (it comes out monthly and appears in stores and restaurants all over the place). DM me if you want the website, or you can Google it. For 150K, I think you could get something small off the beaten path in the Southern Adirondacks, but it wouldn't be close to a lake.