No home will ever meet everyone’s expectations. Every home has its pluses and detractions – it is up to each potential buyer to weigh the pros against the cons. But when it’s right, it changes your life!

Twenty years ago, long before I started a second career in real estate, my partner and I decided that it would be great to escape from our co-op in the Big Apple and find a place in the country to spend weekends.

We each had a car that we used for business, so we set a time limit on how far we were willing to drive to get to this future home. We also knew that finding a location near a train would be a big advantage to ourselves, our family and friends without cars.

Originally the thought of an old farmhouse was what we had in mind. But most farmhouses we saw were built too close to the road, had small rooms with low ceilings, and needed extensive and costly renovations.

Eventually after many months of searching rural NY and NJ we stopped at the then Houlihan Lawrence agency in Pawling. The rest is history – we made an offer and purchased the fifth home the agent showed us. A renovated ranch in a lake community, with vacant land on either side of the property (that we have subsequently purchased). Swimming, boating, cross-country skiing, hiking the Appalachian Trail, golfing , gardening - and the bugs – are all near by and a part of our life.

Twenty years later we have just semi-retired, doubled the size of our home, and recently sold that city co-op. The majority of my real estate career has been listing and selling homes in this area to other city dwellers looking for that great second home escape.

It’s the way we live. Let me help you enrich your life the way we have enriched ours. Please can contact me at: 917-208-0630.

Posted by:  Bruce L. Radler