The Hunt
Two New Yorkers Hiked Up to the Hudson Valley With $700,000. Which House Was the Right Fit?
Knowing they would be competing against others from the city, a couple searched Ulster and Dutchess Counties for a house they could afford near the natural wonders they love.
Unlike many recent New York City transplants, Dina Elachi and Victor Wong started looking for a house in the Hudson Valley in 2019, before the Covid pandemic supercharged the market.
“We had been coming up here a lot for biking, hiking, rock climbing and ice climbing,” said Dr. Elachi, 36, a neonatologist and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
The couple had known for a while that they wanted to move out of their East Harlem apartment, but it wasn’t until Dr. Elachi was about to finish a three-year fellowship and start a higher-paying staff position that they got serious about their search. Another catalyst was Wonton, the Jindo mix from Korea they adopted mid-pandemic.
“The area we were in wasn’t good for Wonton,” Dr. Elachi said. “There were a lot of rats in New York City that he liked to hunt, and there were dogs in our building that would jump on him and scare him.”
The timing thrust Wonton’s humans into a fiercely competitive Hudson Valley housing market, as many New Yorkers were scrambling to find homes outside the city.
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Dr. Elachi and Mr. Wong, 34, an environmental engineer for a New Zealand consulting firm, hoped to find a sizable property in Ulster County near the Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska State Park Preserve. At one place they visited, they started chatting with the listing agent, Laurel Sweeney, an associate broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell Realty.
“It was really tough for buyers then,” Ms. Sweeney said. “And they were going to have a mortgage, and we were up against cash. They knew in this market that they would have to make some compromises.”
The couple’s budget was about $700,000, and they planned to finance the purchase through a special loan for physicians with medical school debt, which would allow them to offer a small down payment and forgo private mortgage insurance.
Of course, as Ms. Sweeney reminded them, “For most sellers, a lower down payment would not be a good thing. It was up to me to sell the story of allowing someone with debt to do what Americans want to do, which is own a home.”
The search was “very exhausting,” Dr. Elachi said. “I came up after being on call and sometimes after long shifts to see houses, because it was very time sensitive.”
Among their options:
No. 1
Rustic Cottage in Gardiner
Built in 1926, this three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,176-square-foot cottage sat on 2.7 acres in the town of Gardiner, surrounded by the wooded Mohonk Preserve and adjacent to a stream called the Coxing Kill. The main house had wood paneling, beams and flooring, as well as French doors and skylights. The secluded property included a separate barn/studio with a deck overlooking the stream and a heated lap pool. The asking price was $679,000, with annual taxes of about $7,680.
No. 2
Updated Cape in New Paltz
This four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom Cape Cod-style house sat on 12.8 acres in New Paltz, a short drive from Mohonk and Minnewaska. The 2,600-square-foot house, built in 1988, had an open floor plan and plenty of room for guests. Updates included a new primary bathroom and kitchen. There was also a sunken family room with a wood stove, and a large stone deck overlooked the park-like grounds. The asking price was $620,000, with annual taxes of about $11,100.
No. 3
Spanish-Style Cape in Poughkeepsie
This three-bedroom, three-bathroom, Cape Cod-style house was near the center of Poughkeepsie — closer to the train back to New York, but farther from hiking and climbing. The 1920 house was about 3,032 square feet on 1.9 acres, with a bluestone patio in back, a sunroom, a spacious modern kitchen and original details like a solid oak door, wood beams and three fireplaces. The primary suite had an office with built-ins and a walk-in closet. The asking price was $725,000, with annual taxes of about $14,380.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Rustic Cottage in Gardiner
Updated Cape in New Paltz
Spanish-Style Cape in Poughkeepsie
Which Did They Buy?
Rustic Cottage in Gardiner
Updated Cape in New Paltz
Spanish-Style Cape in Poughkeepsie