Working With a Catskills Buyer Agent

There's a version of this page that lists our awards, repeats our stats, and tells you we're passionate about real estate. You've seen that page on every other agent's website. This isn't that page.

What we'd rather do is tell you honestly what working with us actually looks like — what you can expect from us, what we'll ask of you, and what we'll handle so you don't have to. Because the best way to know if we're the right fit is to understand exactly what the relationship looks like before you sign anything.

That last part — before you sign anything — matters more in 2026 than it ever has. The rules around how buyer agents work and how they're paid changed in 2024, and those changes affect every buyer in this market. We'll get to what that means in a moment. But first, the part that hasn't changed: what it actually feels like to have a knowledgeable local guide on your side from the very first showing through closing day.

It Starts With a Real Conversation

Not a pitch. Not a presentation. A conversation.

When you reach out to us — whether you've been searching the Catskills for months or you're just beginning to wonder if a place up here might make sense — our first priority is understanding your situation. What you're picturing. What you're worried about. What “the right place” actually looks like for you, specifically.

We ask questions most agents don't bother with. Is this a weekend place, a future full-time move, or something in between? Are you driving from the city or from further? How do you want to spend your time when you're up here — quiet acreage, walkable hamlet, working farm, river frontage, hiking out the back door? What's your timeline, and what would make you walk away from a property you otherwise loved? The answers shape everything that follows — which towns we point you toward, which properties we surface, and which ones we tell you to skip.

This first conversation is free, it's unhurried, and there's no obligation. If we're a good fit, you'll know it. If we're not, we'll tell you that too.

A Word About the New Rules — and Why They're Actually Good for You

In 2024, a settlement involving the National Association of Realtors changed how buyer agents work with the people they represent. Two things changed in practical terms, and both of them are worth understanding before you tour your first property.

A signed buyer agency agreement is now required before we show you a home. This is true of every agent in the country, not just us. The agreement spells out what we're going to do for you, how long we're working together, and how we get paid. It's a written commitment that we are working in your interest — not the seller's, not the listing agent's, not our own. For a long time, the buyer-agent relationship was assumed and informal. Now it's defined and explicit. That's a good thing. It means there's no ambiguity about whose side we're on or what you're entitled to expect from us.

Seller-paid buyer commissions are no longer assumed. For decades, listings advertised a commission split, and buyer agents were paid out of the seller's proceeds. That's no longer the default. Some sellers still offer to cover buyer agent compensation. Some don't. In a typical Catskills transaction we negotiate this on your behalf as part of the offer — and in most of our deals, the buyer agent fee is still ultimately paid through the transaction without coming out of your pocket. But we walk you through the math up front, in writing, before you tour anything. You know exactly what we're earning, exactly who's paying it, and exactly what you're getting for it. No surprises at closing.

The honest read on these changes: they make a quiet, longstanding relationship visible. The work a good buyer agent does was always real — it was just hidden inside a commission structure most buyers never thought about. Now it's out in the open. We think that's the right way to do business, and it's exactly the kind of relationship we want with our clients anyway.

What Having a Buyer Agent in Your Corner Actually Means

The buyer agency agreement isn't paperwork. It's the start of a relationship where someone with deep local knowledge is legally and professionally obligated to put your interests first. Here's what that looks like in practice in the Catskills.

A guide to a region — not just a salesperson for properties

The Catskills are not a single market. Andes is not Margaretville. Bovina is not Bloomville. Roxbury is not Roscoe. And Delhi is different from all of them! Each town has its own character, its own school district, its own tax structure, its own quirks around water, septic, road maintenance, broadband, and what you can and can't do with the land. The MLS won't tell you any of this. Zillow definitely won't.

A good buyer agent saves you from buying the wrong property in the right town — or the right property in the wrong town. We've walked the dirt roads. We know which hamlets are revitalizing and which are quieter than they look on a Saturday in October. We know which “10 acres” is genuinely usable and which is mostly wetland. We know which views are protected and which are about to have a neighbor.

Honest assessments — even when it's not what you were hoping to hear

This is probably the most important thing to know about working with us.

We don't pressure. We don't tell buyers a property is a great deal because we want to write the contract. We don't gloss over a foundation crack, a failing septic, a NYC DEP conservation easement, or a flood map that should give you pause. If a house we're touring isn't right for you, we'll say so out loud — even if it's the third one we've seen that day and you're tired and ready to just pick something.

If a property has a problem, we'll help you understand what it is, what it'll cost, and whether it's a dealbreaker or a price negotiation. If a price is too high for what's there, we'll tell you and we'll show you the comps. If we think you should walk away, we'll tell you that too.

Buyers who work with us sometimes hear things they weren't expecting. In our experience, they're almost always grateful for it — because the alternative is finding out from an inspector after you've gone hard on earnest money, or from your contractor a year after closing.

What We Handle — So You Don't Have To

Buying a Catskills property — especially from a distance — has more moving parts than most buyers expect. Many of our clients are looking from the city, or from another state, or from another country entirely. Here's what having us alongside you takes off your plate.

Property curation, not property dumping. We don't email you every new listing in a 60-mile radius. We learn what you actually want and we send you the handful of properties that fit — including, sometimes, off-market opportunities and pre-MLS listings we hear about through the local agent network. We'll also tell you, frankly, when something you've sent us isn't what the photos suggest.

Showings that are actually useful. We meet you at the property, walk it with you, and tell you what we're seeing. We point out the things a listing photo can hide — water stains on the basement beams, the angle of the slope behind the garage, the road noise you can't hear in summer but you'll hear in February when the leaves are down. We answer questions about the area, the neighbors, the commute, and the seasonal realities of life in that specific spot. We don't hand you a lockbox code and wish you luck.

Due diligence on the things that matter up here. Catskills properties come with considerations that suburban buyers rarely think about: well water and septic systems, oil tanks (active and abandoned), wood-burning stoves and chimneys, knob-and-tube wiring in older homes, stone foundations, NYC DEP watershed regulations, Ag District designations, conservation easements, flood zones, road maintenance agreements on private roads, and the specific permitting quirks of each town. We know what to look for, who to call, and which inspectors and tradespeople actually know what they're doing on a 1900-built farmhouse with a stone foundation.

Offer strategy that reflects the actual market. We tell you what we'd offer and why — based on comparable sales, days on market, the seller's likely motivation, and what we know from talking to the listing agent. We help you think through contingencies that protect you (inspection, financing, appraisal, well, septic, title) without making your offer non-competitive. If a property warrants an escalation clause or an aggressive timeline, we'll tell you. If it doesn't, we'll tell you that too.

Transaction management from accepted offer to closing day. Once you're under contract, the work intensifies. Attorney review, inspections, well and septic testing, oil tank scans, appraisal, title search, survey or ALTA endorsement, mortgage commitment, walkthrough. We coordinate the moving pieces, keep your attorney and lender on schedule, anticipate problems before they become crises, and communicate with you proactively so you're never wondering where things stand. If a financing problem comes up, we know which local lenders can solve it. If an inspection finding requires negotiation, we know how to keep the deal alive without overpaying for a fix.

Remote coordination when you can't be here. Closing-day logistics, power-of-attorney arrangements, contractor walkthroughs after closing, even checking on a property after a snowstorm before you arrive for the first time — these are the kinds of things our clients regularly ask us to help with. We don't disappear at closing.