Age: Old enough!

Hometown: NYC

How long have you lived in Woodstock: 15 years in the same house (I bought the house I was renting after looking at many houses)

How long have you been doing real estate: 9 years as a top producing agent in UC earning my ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative, CRS Certified Residential Specialist, Luxury Home Marketing and Green designations)

Why did you decide to become an agent: I can’t tell you because I’m a secret agent

What is your favorite thing about working with buyers: Getting to know them, being part of that moment when they find the “one.”

What are some things that can help buyers be better clients:

1. Defining & articulating their wants & needs

2. Asking questions

3. Asking for help

4. Working with an agent they trust

5. Being able to make me laugh and keeping a sense of humor (more…)

These two cottages have so much potential! You pass over a cute little bridge over the creek and find two charming chocolate gingerbread cottages, that would make ideal rentals or a weekend home for an artist with studio space…there are many possibilities. As cute as they are, there is even more potential left to really make these places sing with your personal touch.  There is a screened porch, stone fireplace, and a large deck making this a great, cozy romantic retreat.

Price:$229,000

• Beds:3 Bed
• Baths:2 Bath
• House Size:1,420 Sq Ft
• Lot Size:0.73 Acres
• Year Built:1945

Click here for the full listing

We last took a look at this place as a potential housing swap, but it’s on the market for rental, too. The cottage is rustic, to be sure, but inside, it’s a comfy little slice of heaven in an idyllic locale.

We know the proprietress, Elissa, so can give it a personal thumbs up.

The property is secluded and private, and includes a barn and gardens. Trailways has a stop right at the end of the driveway, just in case you’re keen to leave your car at home and rough it in the woods, but Elissa recommends a car to check out the towns close by and to make a stop at the farm stand nearby for supplies.

The cottage is located in the sleepy Ulster County hamlet of Willow, just outside of Phoenicia and a few miles from Woodstock. There are tons to do outside around the property, too: Hiking, tubing on the Esopus, swimming holes a-plenty.

The cabin rents for $150 a night, $975 a week, or $2200 a month. Accommodates up to four guests. Includes a kitchen, washer and dryer, landline, Internet, and a television. Here’s the website for information and reservations, including a location map.

The folks who own this cabin in Willow, NY say they’ll swap it for a place in…anywhere. So we assume that includes New York City. Once again, I must marvel at the photography — it can make a house look so much better than it really is, but no one around here seems to have figured that out yet. As with the others, this listing has few interior pictures, and the ones that are included show an alarming amount of clutter. Although, actually, I applaud the owner for being honest, if photography can be honest, about the pad.

I think people tend to include so many exterior photos because they assume folks from the city are in search of mountain views and nice foliage and rambling lawns. And while that’s true of many of us searching for upstate properties, I think we’re probably even pickier about the interior in a country pad, where, in theory, you’ll spend even more time inside (no neighborhood bar, coffee shop, etc to escape to).

Still, if you want a free getaway in one of the loveliest areas of the Catskills (just outside Woodstock), might be worth dropping these folks a line. More photos on the jump. (more…)

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There’s a reason the pictures of this renovated lodge for sale by owner in the Catskills looks so good: said owner is himself a professional photographer, and his artist’s eye sure has done the place right. I find this Willow, N.Y. home, 10 minutes from Phoenicia, to be just the right combination of updated and rustic–doesn’t look completely Design Within Reach (which has always been out of my reach), nor does it feel too earthy and outdated. All 70s hippie on the outside, all metro Brooklyn on the inside. And the pond! And the European HVAC system! And the kitchen!

Taxes are nothing to sneeze at–$500 a month–but you get three acres and a pretty decent location, if you’re interested in the left bank of the Hudson. As always, I wish floorplans were provided, because much as I love an open floor plan, I prize the ability to shut the door, and the noise, for a heavy country sleep.

Catskill Mountain Contemporary (NY Times) GMAP
Asking Price: $395,000
Square feet: 1,700
Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Land: 3.09 acres
Taxes: $500/month
Distance to NYC: 118 miles; 2 hours, 25 minutes
Transportation: Bus to Phoenicia