Update on the Lakefront Dream House in the Catskills: There’s Still Time to Win it…

  |  February 8, 2017

…all you have to do is write a 200 word essay on how owning the Lakefront Dream House would change your life.

We posted about this contest to win 391 Woodstone Trail, Bethel back in December, but since then, the contest has been extended past its original January 31, 2017 deadline date. The same rules apply: The essay must be no more than 200 words, and entrants must pay a $149 entrance fee ($100 of which is refunded if the required 5500 people do not sign up, the other $49 goes toward administrative fees).

The NYT recently took notice of the log cabin-style property located on Swinging Bridge Reservoir in Sullivan County and the contest to give away the home, which had a listing price of $825,000 in 2015. The article brings up the fact that, given the property taxes of around $11,000/year and the fact that the house is considered income and will be income taxed accordingly, this might not be such a bargain, after all. The owners of the house, Andrew Bares and Kelly Lavorgna, plan to donate “$5 per entry for the first 5500 entries, and $10 per entry received in excess of 5500 entries” to two charities: Girls, Inc. and National Pediatric Center.

Will house giveaways replace listing a house on the market the old fashioned away? According to the NYT, not likely. Christine Vande Vrede from Chapin Sotheby’s International Realty was quoted in the article as saying: “I don’t see this happening in this neck of the woods.” Thoughts? Is the risk (taxes) worth the reward (a lake house in the Catskills)?

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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