Flipping in a Flop Market

Greenwood Lake, NY—Given the current state of the real estate market, chances are if you told anyone you’re embarking on a business model of flipping houses, they’d label you as crazy and move on. Not so in Greenwood Lake, NY, just 45 miles north of Manhattan. It’s here where one Manhattanite saw a unique emerging market. In Greenwood Lake, investors can affordably break into the real estate game and there’s a large stock of properties just waiting to be revitalized. Long a retreat destination for wealthy Manhattan families, Greenwood Lake experienced a Golden Age in the late 1800s. Grand hotels thrived along the shores of the nine-mile long lake, steamships ferried travelers to their destination and Sunday mass could be heard by canoe in front of Chapel Island. This was the start of Greenwood Lake’s rich history. In the 1950s a new era began, that of the “summer bungalow.” Greenwood Lake was mostly comprised of summer residents only and the town embodied all that a resort area should be. By the 70s, an interesting shift began. Year round residents from New York City’s five boroughs were discovering that Greenwood Lake was a great place to call home and was still close enough to commute to Manhattan. Because the housing stock was originally designed to be summer residences, those mostly first time home buyers found that smaller square footage and sometimes quirky layouts were a plus because that meant an affordable entry into homeownership. Now, thirty years later, a lot of these bungalows and cottages have been left to linger. Some would see them as neighborhood eyesores, others, like Manhattan investor Chad Sellier, see them as a business opportunity that benefits the community on various levels. By starting a business to buy, renovate and sell these neglected little gems Sellier is revitalizing Greenwood Lake one house at a time, providing quality housing for first time home buyers, and is setting the stage for Greenwood Lake’s next Renaissance. “I see a boom about to happen in Greenwood Lake,” says Sellier. “For some reason Greenwood Lake has remained a bit hidden from the public eye, but once people discover it they can’t believe that such a beautiful place exists so close to Manhattan. It’s like Lake George, but only an hour a way.” Sellier’s first project was a huge success. Purchased for a minimal investment he then gutted the property during an 11-week work schedule. Complete with a granite kitchen, new bathrooms and a lot of curb appeal, the property had a buyer the day of the open house. Not a common occurrence during these economic times.  Sellier is nearing completion of his second project (which should be finished in time for first time buyers to beat the November expiration of the government’s real estate tax credit) starting work on the third project and has his eye on a number of properties, both residential and commercial, for the spring season of 2010. “The dynamics of Greenwood Lake is again shifting,” says Barbara Moore, the Village of Greenwood Lake’s Mayor. “Greenwood Lake, because of its inherent beauty, is attractive to a variety of residents, especially architects, athletes, and artists just to name a few. Here in the Village ‘lake living’ can be had at an amazingly affordable price.” For interviews, photos and more information contact: Lisa Mulcahy, 917-363-1665, lisa.mulcahy@gmail.com

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