Tips for Buying Catskills Real Estate in the Post-Irene Era

  |  September 9, 2011

Okay, maybe it’s not an era, but surely buyers’ feet are a little colder after seeing entire Catskills towns flooded with muddy water. On the other hand, says Timberland Properties’ John Tufillaro, “I’ve seen some places where you would never know there was flooding in the area.”

So, how to pick a safe bet? It’s not just avoiding the valleys, says Tufillaro. “I could point out properties in valleys that are untouched by what happened here.” Rather, it’s about picking properties that are high enough — 15 feet minimum — from a stream or other body of water, and far enough from them. The higher properties are, for the most part, the better they do…unless they’re on the side of a mountain that’s gushing down water. Suddenly, a stream-side cottage doesn’t look as good.

As we mentioned last week, you can also type in the property’s address to this website and find out if it’s in a flood zone.

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