Peter Kostmayer and Doug Hirn normally had a couple of associates across the metropolis who owned second properties in fairly locations. Not being outside varieties, they weren’t positive if it was one thing they needed to strive.
“We thought it appeared like a variety of work,” stated Mr. Hirn, 48. “We additionally didn’t know the way a lot we might use a second place. Attending to and from one residence to a different will be difficult.”
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Shortly after they met on-line in 2004, Mr. Kostmayer, 78, and Mr. Hirn moved into Mr. Kostmayer’s West Village condo, which he’d purchased the earlier 12 months after serving seven phrases as a United States Congressman from Pennsylvania. In 2021, after they bought married, the couple moved to Brooklyn, after which to a three-bedroom apartment within the Two Bridges neighborhood on the East Aspect of Manhattan.
Step by step, the thought of getting extra outside area grew on them. “New York in August is scorching,” stated Mr. Kostmayer. “You possibly can’t actually open the home windows. So we thought it could be good simply to get away after we needed to.”
They began fascinated by a modest-sized home for round $700,000, ideally within the neighborhood of a city with a direct practice line to Manhattan, good eating places, and no Hamptons-like site visitors or social scene. The couple, who have been prepared to spend one other $150,000 on renovations, have been on the lookout for privateness and a spot that had appeal or that they might make charming.
“We favored the thought of getting land, sort of a buffer round us that we may have a look at,” stated Mr. Hirn, a lawyer.
The couple scouted areas in Pennsylvania and the Hudson Valley. Then Mr. Hirn’s Zillow search redirected him to Litchfield, the Connecticut county that hugs New York’s japanese border.
Out of the blue, the alternatives appeared limitless. “Actually, if somebody had stated, ‘Why don’t you look in Litchfield County?’ we most likely would have thought we couldn’t afford it,” stated Mr. Hirn. “However we have been pleasantly shocked by the choices we had.”
For steering, they contacted Dave Fairty, a dealer with Regency Actual Property in Watertown, Conn. “Most of my purchasers are sick of the Hamptons scene,” Mr. Fairty stated. “The L.I.R.R. commute and the crowds are horrendous. We don’t have that.”
After spending a while exploring the world, Mr. Kostmayer and Mr. Hirn fell in love with the surroundings. In addition they favored the under-two-hour commute from Grand Central, and that they might park their automotive at a practice station for $500 a 12 months.
Mr. Fairty took the couple to 3 Litchfield cities: Kent, New Milford and Cornwall.
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