Catching Up with Carl: February/March 2016

This is a combined newsletter as I missed February. No, the one extra day did not get me off track; just busy with deals and other stuff.

Saratoga Spa Polo is my main focus. With 100 units, we estimate that the majority will be first or second homes, whole units. We plan to keep about 20 units of the 100 aside for fractions.

The project was originally planned, just before the recession, to be 100 percent fractions. Saratoga Springs has picked up so much steam that a few years later there’s a lot of movement up from Albany [the state capital] 30 minutes away for those who want culture and to be closer to the outdoors. And,Saratoga Springs is a real draw in itself. 

We assume, supported by local brokers, that those either downsizing or upsizing will be the primary, first home market. The second home, or pre-retirement market, may come from neighbor communities nationally or internationally due to the polo exposure.

As the property abuts up to Skidmore College, we expect a good play from its alumni. Skidmore has a collegiate polo team, one of some 140 colleges with a team. And, a polo field is 9.5 times larger than a football field, so there’s quite a green belt.

Note: partner Mike Connor, of Connor Home, has a 12-part program on This Old House on PBS featuring a Connor home.

We held a focus group comprised of local Keller Williams agents a few weeks ago. We had a lead agent servicing the 30s market, the same for 40s and 50/60s markets, in addition to the ‘boss’ who owns the KW franchise for the Capital Corridor area. They were very high on the first and second home markets for whole units. We did not get into fractionals with them.

We plan to have single-family detached homes; duplexes (though not the typical type—ours will have a main house and then a ‘carriage’ house, with some larger and smaller so one can buy either or one or the other); and then condos in a four-plex configuration.

The property has a commercial zone, so we are planning a small inn with community pool, workout facility, café, etc. to cover that part of the amenities. And yes, the polo matches will still go on in the summer as they have since 1898.