I had pretty much let go of the idea of pursuing the old house in the country in Upstate New York, when on a recent Sunday morning, I was minding my own business, drinking coffee, and reading the Sunday Times … and then I was triggered.
There was an article about a dance studio building built “in the Hudson Valley,” and as I read the article, there were two things that caught my attention: the building is on a large estate in the same town as the Mission Revival home of my interest, and – the owners of the building (and estate) in the Times article are a couple of which the husband is a significantly-famous artist of the past 50 years. I’m not going to name any names out of respect for this artist, and it’s clear that they want privacy, as the exact location of this Times-featured building and property cannot be found online – but it strikes me that someone of his renown and artistic reputation chose this particular community as a place to live and work. Call me funny, but is it a stretch to think if this location in Upstate New York is good enough and/or inspiring to this particular famous artist, then it could certainly be inspiring for me? It’s like the decision to pursue it is somehow validated.
That thought process took place about a week ago, and then today, I see that the asking price for the property was dropped by a significant amount. All of a sudden, all those past thought-out reasons to not buy this property seem pushed to the back-burner and I’m excited again. Let’s review: this property includes a Mission Revival home, a 2nd smaller home (which could be fixed up and rented), a barn, and several sheds, all on 2 acres.
Let’s review the downsides: it’s 2 1/2 hours from New York City (where I enjoy visiting art museums and galleries, which are only a half hour away from where I live now), and it’s 3 hours away from Ocean Grove Beach, which I can get to in an hour now. It’s out in an agricultural region, next to a working farm, but it’s 15 minutes away from numerous Hudson River towns of decent size with plenty of local offerings as far as restaurants, shops, etc. The barn needs a huge amount of work, but – how many artists can claim a two-story 2,000 square foot barn as a studio or exhibition space? The property taxes are high, but the 2nd house as a rental could offset those taxes with a little profit beyond that. The main house needs electrical work, might have some water issues in the basement, and is over 100 years old – but it’s also on a registry of historic homes and has a fascinating backstory (along with its own Wikipedia page). By all logical thought, it could be a money pit … but who says that everything has to be fixed or made like new right away, or even at all?
I don’t think this story is over yet.