boating, skiing, and things to do (Rochester, Binghamton: real estate, houses, purchase)

[Mollyob]

Family of 4 looking for a vacation house in the lake area of NY. We want to be able to use this house winter and summer, we love snow skiing(downhill) and boating. We are looking at Lake Canandaigua and Lake Skaneateles. Anyone has info??
Wondering about real estate taxes?

[Mollyob]

family of 4 , looking to purchase a vacation house in NY, lake front and near downhill skiing. Would like to use this winter and summer. Canandaigua and Skaneateles-what about real estate taxes.

[choosing78]

Where are you from? Are you looking for "good" skiing? Taxes are extremely high in NY but again it depends on where you are from. If you're form NJ they're probably about the same. I always recommend the Adirondacks to anyone looking for outdoor recreation in NY. Some areas of the Catskills too have a lot to offer.

[ki0eh]

Otisco Lake might be a sleeper choice - perhaps not as pricey as Skaneateles Lake but not too far from Skaneateles village for shopping and even closer to SONG MOUNTAIN RESORT taking the back road to Preble. From Keuka Lake, you're not much further from Bristol Mountain and Swain as on Canandaigua Lake. Seneca and Cayuga Lakes are the biggest and also connected to the NYS Barge Canal system so you could boat anywhere if that appeals to you, the other lakes are landlocked.

Watch out for the houses on private lanes - maintenance is by shared arrangement and if you're the only one coming in the winter out of the 10 cottages on a lane there might be some tension. Picture driving in with the propane or heating oil truck too. Service providers can make a lot of excuses for not getting into absentee owned places in the winter.

For winter access it might be more practical to be on a hard surface road but most of those along the lakes are fairly busy with traffic and noise. Many complaints about Route 41 on the east side of Skaneateles Lake especially since truckers try to use that as a short cut between Binghamton and Rochester. The Cortland County end of Skaneateles Lake (overlapping into Sempronius and Spafford but with a Homer 13077 address) is mostly accessible by plowed county road with no real through traffic and could be another not so well known quieter place to look - about 20 minutes from http://www.greekpeak.net/ which is perhaps the largest (although incrementally less vertical than Bristol) of the Finger Lakes ski areas.