Fridays at 11, Brownstoner Upstate brings you a selection of properties within three hours north, and a little east or west, of New York City.

43 sky top ashland ny
43 Sky Top, Ashland: $345,000

Last week, we looked at four properties in Greene County all under $200,000. In this week’s installment of Greene County Gold, we’re flipping it and starting from the more expensive end of the spectrum. The market is sparse when it comes to multimillion dollar properties, so you might have to wait until we spend a week in Putnam County for those. You just get more bang for your buck in Greene County, so even the pricier homes are relatively reasonable. Case in point: The house plus barn featured after the jump.

43 sky top ashland ny2

What a lovely property and two-fer deal. Not only do you get the big 3 bed contemporary, you also get a red barn set up as a studio space. Lot size is 5 acres located in the town of Ashland midway between Prattsville and Windham. Speaking of Ashland, we’ve been seeing a lot of good stuff on the market there lately. Anybody been? We haven’t yet, but we’re considering a road trip. Beds: 3. Baths: 1.5. Square Feet: 1,739. Lot Size: 5.3 acres. Est. Taxes: $4,914. Google Maps Distance from Brooklyn: 3 hours.

43 sky top ashland ny3

43 sky top ashland ny4

43 Sky Top Drive, Ashland (Coldwell Banker) GMAP

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12 north church street athens ny
12 North Church Street, Athens: $329,000

If living out in the middle of nowhere isn’t your style, here’s a beautifully-preserved Victorian located in the village of Athens, walking distance to amenities and the riverfront just a couple of blocks away. We could look at this house all day, it’s so easy on the eyes. We love the wrap-around screened in porch, the ornate original details, the wood floors, high ceilings, we could go on and on. Great house in a great village. Beds: 3. Baths: 2.5. Square Feet: 2,400. Lot Size: .11 acre. Est. Taxes: $5,230. Distance from Brooklyn: 2 hours, 30 mins.

12 north church street athens ny2

12 north church street athens ny3

12 North Church Street, Athens (Gary DiMauro) GMAP

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2 elka park hunter ny
2 Elka Park, Hunter: $435,000

Elka Park is a swanky private community, complete with clubhouse and pool, in the ski-loving town of Hunter, situated a bit south of the villages of Hunter and Tannersville. It’s also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This renovated old school house is right in the heart of it all located on two acres. The interior has a light-filled open floor plan, 14 foot ceilings, and a living room fire place. Beds: 4. Beds: 2.5. Square Feet: 2,116. Lot Size: 2 acres. Est. Taxes: $4,272. Distance from Brooklyn: 2 hours, 33 minutes.

2 elka park hunter ny2

2 elka park hunter ny3

2 Elka Park Road, Hunter (Coldwell Banker) GMAP

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154 trailside road windham ny
154 Trailside Road, Windham: $799,000

Speaking of ski-loving in Greene County, this chalet at Windham Mountain is prime real estate if you like to hit the slopes. In fact, you can seem them nearly every window on the main floor the house. While the picture of the exterior above is kind of meh, the interior photos tell a more attractive story. Like a giant cat, we could easily find ourselves curled up in the sun in front of the wall of glass when we’re not skiing. Beds: 4. Baths: 2.5. Square Feet: 2,296. Lot Size: .3 acre. Est. Taxes: $8,167. Distance from Brooklyn: 2 hours, 48 mins.

154 trailside road windham ny2

154 trailside road windham ny3

154 Trailside Road, Windham (Coldwell Banker) GMAP

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What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. How about another boring discussion about taxes? Let’s consider 12 N Church St. , with “estimated taxes” of $5230. It’s currently assessed at $259,000: http://www.infotaxonline.com/ViewProperty.aspx; and its school tax burden alone, at the present time, is $4,407.00 (which means the school tax mil rate, or multiple per thousand dollars of assessment, is ($4407/259), or 17.02).. Now if you go to the Town of Athens website and look under Assessor, you’ll see that the non-School District mil rates (that is, dollars per thousand of assessment, collected by other tax jurisdictions) are: 5.78 for the County, 2.77 for the Town, and .75 for the Fire District (assuming that Town of Athens residents are responsible for only one such district, which isn’t clear). OK, that’s a cumulative current mil rate of 9.3 for everything OTHER than that school taxes; and ($9.3 x 259) = $2,409. So figure right now, with the $259,000 assessment (currently alleged by the Assessor to be 100% of this property’s Fair Market Value), the tax burden is ($4,407 + $2,409), or $6,816 (rather than the $5,230 alleged). But the next time Athens has a revaluation of its properties (which often happens every three years upstate), if this lovely house sells for its current asking price of $329,000, the first thing the assessor will look at is its most recent sale price, which according to assessors is proof of Fair Market Value. And then the assessment will surely rise. Potentially to $329,000. Now, if the mil rates have not risen at that point (a dubious theory), the school taxes will go up to (17.2 x 329), or $5,659; and the remaining cumulative mil rate of 9.3 for everything else will add (9.3 x 329), or $3,059, to the tax burden. So be ready to see your taxes go from $6,816 to ($5,659 + $3,059) or $8,718 annually in the not too distant future – and that’s only if the mil rates don’t rise, in addition to the assessment. Just an observation.

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