Car-Free Country House in Beacon $274,500

 

It doesn’t get much better than this (and believe me, I looked HARD): This home is a brisk ten-minute bike ride to the Beacon Metro-North station, yet set back just a wee bit out of town and right on the edge of a more rural landscape.  The lovely Madam Brett Mill Park is a breath away, and the Dia Art Foundation and the waterfront are nearby, too.

There’s a glut of lovely real estate in Beacon, ripe for the picking.  Frankly, a lot of it is fancier and therefore pricier than this home.  But I’m spoiled.  I want it all.   I want sufficient space inside the house (look at the size of that bedroom in the picture to the left there), but I need to have some outside, as well.  In the summer, I treat my yard like another room, and I want to be able to walk or ride my bike to at least 50% of any given place I want or need to be during the week.  That’s why I like this place.

Oh, and there’s a really cool store in Beacon called Dream In Plastic.  I don’t get to Beacon a whole lot these days, but when I do, I make a bee-line for this shop.  I won’t spend a lot of time talking about how awesome it is, because I think that’s pretty evident from the website.  Just be prepared to spend some ducats, for their wares, though quite irresistible, are not cheap.

Long story short, you should live in Beacon.  You should live in this house right here, and then you should go buy some cool stuff at Dream In Plastic.  After that, you should grab your spouse/significant other/dog/tolerant cat and take a walk on Long Dock park, and then you should have some pad thai.  You can thank me later.

The stats:
70 Howland Avenue, Beacon (Kristie Alexa Difrancesco – Prudential) GMAP
Asking Price: $274,500
Beds: 3
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 1400
Land: .44 acres
Year Built: 1925
Taxes: $5241
Features: 2 car detached garage, wood burning fireplace, hard-wood floors

Claverack Passive Solar $285,000

I have to admit, I’m kind of a sucker for an open floor plan. Sure, it’s not always the best choice if you have children or you live with someone but enjoy your privacy, but I still love the airiness of it all. But then again, I was born and raised in Alaska, and it’s well known that we Alaskans love our open spaces.

Speaking of space, the property also features a nice and roomy 6+ acres to stretch out in, plus a waterfront view of the Claverack Creek. And although Route 23 is kind of the main drag in Claverack, it’s more of a country-fied main drag, which means less bumper-to-bumper and more farmland views, and it’s set far enough off the road to make this property quite the nice little get-away, either as a second home or a year-round residence.

The exposed posts and beams are not too shabby, either, if you’re into that sort of thing, and I am totally into that sort of thing.

Oh, and another thing: There are organic fruit trees! The land is suitable for keeping horses! The seven year old in me seems to be really excited about that.

The stats:
300 Route 23, Claverack (Beach & Bartolo) GMAP
Asking Price: $285,000
Beds: 2 (if you put up a privacy screen)
Baths: 1
Square Feet: 1300
Land: 6.45 acres
Year Built: 1989
Taxes: $7678
Features: Studio/guest room above detached garage

Claverack Lakefront Cottage, $275,000

Looking for waterfront? Affordable? Adorable? A short walk to a delicious restaurant, library, bookshop? Short drive to train station or to the Taconic? Sorry — I don’t mean to sound like a marketer, but I’m pretty keen on this Summit Lake cottage at 3 Lake Drive in Philmont for a country house. Beautiful water views, fireplace, woodstove, open floor plan. I love the kitchen. Okay, it has only two bedrooms and 1,700 square feet, which limits who’ll want it (someone who craves solitude, has only one kid or doesn’t want to bring lots of friends up with them for the weekend). I would try to outfit that garage as a guest house/studio, if the town will allow it — a big if, I know. It’s on half an acre, not bad for a village lot, but certainly not an estate. You will have neighbors. Built in 1930, with taxes under $6,000.
3 Lake Drive, Claverack (Peggy Lampman) GMAP

Athens Schoolhouse Fixer Upper, $275,000

This abandoned Athens schoolhouse gives new meaning to the term “handyman special.” Still, the term does have the word special in it! I’m pretty sure you can get this one for less, considering the average price of real estate here and the fact that this sits on a pretty busy route. But it has great views and great potential for the This Old House devotee. Right?

Newburgh Postcard Home $229,000

This home is located in the more spaced out area of Newburgh and, its close to Mount St. Marys College. It looks like it came right out of a holiday card. Everything looks well maintained and tastefully updated considering that the home is over 80 years old. The kitchen could probably use a renovation to reflect more of the general style of the rest of the house. But there are hardwood floors, a fire place, and what even looks to be a sun room/nook. LOVE those! The rooms seem to get a lot of light, and the tree lined block looks peaceful. See below for more photos and details.

Pine Plains Village Greek Revival, $295,000

Route 82 is a main drag out of town, but the times I’ve been down it, it hasn’t been that busy. So if you’re looking for a spot within the village of Pine Plains, and some rental income, this Pine Plains Greek revival is worth a look. You’ll have to look hard, though — a scarcity of photos are available for your perusal. The place is currently used as a three-family, but convertible back to one, and it comes with a membership to the town beach! Stats on the jump.

River Views on the Newburgh Bluff $229,000

Here’s another home up for sale on Bay View Terrace, on the Bluff in Newburgh Heights. Right now it’s listed as a multi-family. It seems the apartment is located on the top floor. It wouldn’t be that hard to convert back. There are some original details like, pocket doors, stained glass, and built ins. The other huge plus with this home is the garage. There are two of them! One is a two car garage, and the other a three car garage. You’d never have to worry about parking again! Some else I was quite surprised about is that this home comes with the vacant land across the street. Could something ever be built on it? It doesn’t seem likely. See below for more pictures and details.

Modern Ulster County Homes, from Affordable to Dreamable

I came across this post over on Dylan Taft’s website — he’s the real estate broker who gave us the inside scoop on Stone Ridge a couple of weeks ago. He’s done a great job picking out modern homes for sale in Ulster County that range from $250,000 to $850,000. Naturally, I love the most expensive one, but there’s a good mix here.

Turn-Key Farmhouse worthy of Country Home Magazine in Port Ewan for 238K

This  farmhouse/cottage has been on the market since at least this summer…Built in 1903, this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home is 1496 square feet and has been very tastefully renovated. It has special outdoor spaces that beg for lounging, gardening, lemonade, and dinner parties.

A total turn-key property for those looking for a reasonably priced cottage with many upgrades in a convenient location. Port Ewan is directly across the Hudson from the Rhinecliff train station and Route 9W runs through the main corridor. Within 5 minutes to Kingston NY, you will have anything you need, within 15-20 minutes you will have vineyards, antique stores and apple picking.

For the full listing click here

Beds:3 Bed Baths:2 Bath House Size:1,496 Sq Ft Lot Size:1.00 Acres Listing Agent: Sharon Breslau of Westwood Metes & Bounds Realty

Quirky Newburgh Home for $299,000

There is no doubt about it, this home is well placed. It is in between the new East Parmenter neighborhood and Washington’s Headquarters and the little shops nearby. The price however, does seem a bit high. What I really loved about this property is the little archway cut-out that was probably used for horses to be brought out back. A nice piece of nostalgic history since this property apparently dates back to 1850! These little quirky places make Newburgh such an interesting place. A little research at the library could probably provide more information on the original owners or use of these buildings.

I can’t tell if both sides are being considered as one but, the listing takes photos of both sides and says that there are 5 apartment units (ugh). These both look perfect for one family each. There are also more buildings out back that seem to service as garages and apartments. See pricing and other information below: