The "upper end" of lake communities in Sullivan County span wide range of prices, from York Lake, where lakefront houses can start at about $500,000, all the way up to the Chapin Estate, an exclusive gated community where houses can be as large (6,000+ square feet isn't uncommon) as their prices are high ($2 million + for some.) At upper end lake communities, you typically find more privacy, with 5 acre lot size minimums common. In addition to the newer gated lake communities that fit into this range, I've included a couple of older lake communities that straddle the mid and upper ranges but have decided to tip them in this direction.

Black Lake Estates, Bethel, NY

Price range: $400,000 to $800,000, non-lakefront. $600,000 to $1.2 million lakefront. Black Lake, developed in the 1980's, was the first lake community here conceived in an environmental mode, with larger parcels (minimum 5 acres) and extensive covenants to preserve the natural environment. For example, clear cutting of trees was prohibited and houses had to be built with natural materials and be of a color to blend in with the surroundings. Until the Chapin Estate opened in 2001, Black Lake was the most exclusive lake community in Sullivan County. Black Lake Estates is a gated community, and encompasses 3 non-motorboat lakes — Black Lake, the primary lake, about 250 acres in size, and two smaller lakes, Clear Lake and Meyer Lake. (A smaller lake community, Oxford Estates, with two acre lot sizes and less restrctive covenants, has a small footprint on the other side of main Black Lake.)

Given that the homeowners at Black Lake are, for the most part, quite well off, the homes here are surprisingly modest and understated. The community has an "On Golden Pond" feel, with the coziness of your favorite Pendleton woolen. The grand extravagances of Chapin would be frowned upon here.

There is a small lake access area for non-lakefront homeowners on Black Lake (and for lakefront owners on the two smaller lakes who also want to access Black Lake), but no other community facilities. Black Lake is all about the lakes and nature, not about swimming pools and tennis courts.

Chapin Estate, Bethel, New York

Price range: $500,000 to $1 million for a non-lakefront home; $1 million to $3 million for a lakefront home. The Chapin Estate, a 2,600 acre gated lake community with frontage on two motorboat lakes (Swinging Bridge Reservoir and Toronto Reservoir), is our most upper end development. Chapin was an instant hit when it opened for sale in the early 2000's, as it offered the only Adirondack-like lake setting on motorboat lakes within a couple of hours of NYC and was suprrisingly affordable comapred to upscale options in the Hamptons. Houses here can be quite large and extravagant, with a couple passing 10,000 sq. ft., although 3,500 to 5,000 sq. ft. is more the norm for lakefront houses. (More modestly priced non-lakefront homes here tend to be a bit smaller.) The style is generally some variation on "Adirondack lodge", with some of the more finely detailed homes sporting features like peeled tree roof supports and massive stone fireplaces. Chapin has a small lake club for owners on the Swinging Bridge side of the community, with a small outdoor pool, clubhouse/meeting room, exervise equipment, covered outdoor pavillion and docking space for non-lakefront homeowners.

Chapin is a beautifully conceived and executed development, with a couple of downsides. Property taxes here are high. A handful of the larger lakefront homes have tax bills of $50,000 or more, and taxes in the $30,000 range are common for most lakefront homes. (Property taxes for the non-lakefront homes hover in the $20,000's.) This isn't out of line, however, with the tax rate for the township, which is generally about 2.1% to 2.3% of market value. The other issue in recent years is widely varying lake levels, particularly on Toronto Reservoir. The lakes themselves aren't owned by Chapin, but are part of a power generating reservoir system owned by Alliance Energy, and Alliance has, at times, lowered the lake levels dramatically, particularly on Toronto. (See my July 2009 blog post on this issue.) Chapin and the homeowner's association there has been in ongoing discussions with Alliance about the lake levels, and hopefully an agreement will be reached to assure Chapin homeowners of consistent lake levels during boating season. The lake level tends to vary less on Swinging Bridge. When the lake level is up, the setting on Toronto is simply breathtaking, particularly the houses that sit at the end of one of the points jutting into the water.

Kenoza Lake, Kenoza Lake, NY

Kenoza Lake is one of our newest gated lake communities, with just 28 5 acre homesites, 15 of which are direct lakefront on 90 acre Kenoza Lake (non-motorboat.) Kenoza came a bit late to the upscale gated lakefront community party, opening for sale in 2005, so didn't quite catch the Chapin wave. That's actually good news for today's buyers, because a number of prime building parcels are still available, at far lower prices than during the boom years. A 5 acre lakefront parcel at Kenoza ranges from $195,000 to $465,000, about 35% less than their peak market ask. (Non lakefront building parcels here, with some water view over neighboring Hust Pond, start at $95,000.) Kenoza is quite lovely, and has the benefit of being located just about halfway between the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and Jeffersonville, one of our more charming country villages. Note: there are no resale homes currently for sale at Kenoza. The available land to build is included in the "Land for Sale" link above.

Merriewold Club, Forestburgh, NY

Merriewold is a delightfully charming throwback to another era. Founded in the late 1800's by Agnes DeMille's grandfather, Henry George, Merriewold was one of a number of "mountain clubs" organized as summer retreats for New York's intellectual elite. John Moody, the founder of Moody's Investment Services, had a summer home here, and Agnes Demille summered here until her death in 1993. The place just oozes Victorian charm, particularly at the clubhouse astride the pristine non-motorboat lake. Merriewold features a 9 hole, par 3 golf course, tennis courts and sport courts. Merriwold is very unique, and also quite pricey. Don't approach Merriewold planning to compare it, pricewise, to other lake communities. A non-lakefront cottage here will start at about $300,000 for a small 2 bedroom, up to $600,000 for a larger home. In my 9 years selling real estate here, I've never seen one of the lakefront homes come on the public market. Pretty much the only way to get a lakefront home here is to start out with a non-lakefront home and wait for a lakefront home to be come available. (And you could wait ten years or more, as most lakefront houses actually pass down through families.)

York Lake, Yulan, NY

Price range: $250,000 to $350,000 non-lakefront, $500,000 to $900,000 lakefront. York Lake (non-motorboat) comprises 2 gated communities, York Lake Estates and York Lake Shores. Both are similar, developed in the newer lake style with 5 acre lot size minimums and covenants to protect the natural environment and enhance privacy between houses. Houses here tend to be moderate in size, ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 sq. ft., but some are larger. There are no community recreational facilities apart from community beach areas for non-lakefront homeowners. Terrain on most properties is gentle slope to and into the lake, making this a very good swimming lake for children.

Tennanah Lake, Roscoe, NY

Price range: $400,000 to $1 million for lakefront. Most houses here are lakefront. Tennanah Lake is a 1 1/2 mile long motorboat lake west of Roscoe. Tennanah isn't a single community development, but individual houses around the lake, ranging from modest lakeside cottages to some large and quite dramatic lake homes. There is no single dominant house style here, but everything seems to meld together into a consistent and very appealing whole. I had some trouble deciding whether to include Tennanah in the mid range or upper end lake category because of the variety and range. I included it in the upper end group because the community tends to be quite well off, there are a number of high end homes here, and homes at Tennanah, across all ranges, tend to be priced higher than other lakes because of the particular appeal of Tennanah. Very few houses come to market on this lake. An added feature of Tennanah Lake is the Tennanah Lake Golf Club, a semi public course just a short drive from the lake, with a beautiful mountaintop course featuring stunning views. Note: a number of properties within a mile or so of Tennanah Lake have lake rights to the lake. However, this access does not include any motorboat dock space on the lake.

 

 

 

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