About Catskills Buyer Agency
Catskills Buyer Agency was founded in 1991 by Judith Haas-Siegel, when the concept of buyer representation was virutally unknown in the real estate world and the number of buyer agents who only represented buyers (and never took listings) could hold an annual convention in a phone booth. Judy believed very strongly in buyer representation, and unable to work the way she wanted as an exclusive buyer agent within the structure of a traditiional listing brokerage, she struck out on her own. Judy pioneered buyer agency here in Sullivan County, at a time when many traditional listing brokers were downright hostile to the idea.
When I moved to Sullivan County from the Pacific Northwest in 2000, I wasn't in the real estate business. I was a buyer. Now, by 2000, buyer agency was an acccepted concept in the west where I came from. So I was surprised, when I went into real estate offices here when I was looking for property, that there weren't buyer agents in every office who worked exclusively with buyers. Everyone in the business I came across acted only as traditional listing agents, representing sellers. I never did find Judy. Remember, this was before every broker had a website, and you could Google to find anything. (Judy didn't put up her first website until 2001.)
A year later, in 2001, I decided to try my hand at real estate (long story) and signed up for a real estate salesperson course. Judy was the instructor, and we struck up a fast friendship. When I finished the course, I asked Judy if she would be my broker. (Newly licensed salespeople need to work under the auspices of an established broker.) She agreed, and I joined her at CBA. Now there were two of us.
In 2008, we were joined by a third Realtor, Kathy Rieser. So now we are three. CBA remains Judy's company, with her as the designated broker.
The three of us focus on somewhat different market segments. My focus tends to be the moderate to upper range of the second home market, including waterfront properties. I also have a fondness for modern houses, from mid-century to current contemporary. While Judy knows the second home market well (she's been selling real estate here for decades and grew up spending her summers on Edgewood Lake north of Livingston Manor; her family owned the Edgewood Lake hotel), she has in-depth knowledge of the primary home market that Kathy and I lack. She can tick off which school districts have the best music programs and which are best for budding athletes. Kathy has carved out expertise in the affordable range of the second home market — little cabins and farmhouses, as well as cottages in places like Smallwood. Kathy also enjoys showing and selling raw land.
We all crossover, but amazingly, don't step on each other's toes. We have a cameraderie where we help with each other's clients, and are never territorial with each other. Because we have different areas of expertise, we may recommend that a buyer work with one of the other two if they know that property category better. If you're looking for a little getaway cottage in Smallwood, Kathy is a better fit because she knows that inventory, which houses are gems and which are dogs. Likewise, if you're looking for a more suburban style primary home, Judy is a better match.
One question that sometimes arises is "Where is your office?", particularly when someone says they're coming up to the county and want to drop in to meet and discuss property. We don't have one in the traditional sense. We used to have an office, on the northern end of White Lake. But we gave it up because we just weren't using it, and having a storefront isn't an advantage for us because our business model isn't oriented around walk ins. We set up that office initially to have a central place to rendevous with clients to go out and look at houses. But we found out that it was seldom the most convenient meeting place, and we ended up doing more looping and backtracking than if we met our clients at a point closest to the route we'd be following. (It was just ridiculous to meet someone in White Lake to head back down to Glen Spey or Eldred to see houses.)
We do have an official address — 3 California Avenue, Liberty, NY 12754 — which is Judy's house, where she keeps files and records. But that's not where we meet clients or venture out to show property from. Instead, when we go out on a house hunting trip, we'll meet you at the most convenient location.
In terms of reaching us by phone or email, my phone number and email address are posted all over this site. If you'd like to reach Judy or Kathy directly, here is their contact information:
Judith Haas Siegel ph. 845-292-5100 email: haasiegel@aol.com (Licensed broker for Catskills Buyer Agency)
Kathy Rieser ph. 845-482-4247 email: kathy@catskill4sale.com
David Knudsen
845-468-5710
email: davidk@beechwoods.net