Peter Kostmayer and Doug Hirn often had a number of mates across the metropolis who owned second properties in fairly locations. Not being outside sorts, they weren’t certain if it was one thing they wished to strive.
“We thought it regarded like plenty of work,” mentioned Mr. Hirn, 48. “We additionally didn’t know the way a lot we’d use a second place. Attending to and from one dwelling to a different may 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 house, which he’d purchased the earlier yr after serving seven phrases as a United States Congressman from Pennsylvania. In 2021, once they acquired married, the couple moved to Brooklyn, after which to a three-bedroom apartment within the Two Bridges neighborhood on the East Facet of Manhattan.
Regularly, the thought of getting extra outside area grew on them. “New York in August is sizzling,” mentioned Mr. Kostmayer. “You’ll be able to’t actually open the home windows. So we thought it will be good simply to get away after we wished to.”
They began fascinated about 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 had been keen to spend one other $150,000 on renovations, had been searching for privateness and a spot that had allure or that they may make charming.
“We appreciated the thought of getting land, form of a buffer round us that we might take a look at,” mentioned 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.
All of the sudden, the alternatives appeared infinite. “Truthfully, if somebody had mentioned, ‘Why don’t you look in Litchfield County?’ we in all probability would have thought we couldn’t afford it,” mentioned Mr. Hirn. “However we had 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 mentioned. “The L.I.R.R. commute and the crowds are horrendous. We don’t have that.”
After spending a while exploring the realm, Mr. Kostmayer and Mr. Hirn fell in love with the surroundings. Additionally they appreciated the under-two-hour commute from Grand Central, and that they may park their automotive at a practice station for $500 a yr.
Mr. Fairty took the couple to a few Litchfield cities: Kent, New Milford and Cornwall.
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