Always QuickL Photos Garden History Legal TestLinks Bottom HotStuff

Salisbury Mills House Description and Photos

Sylvan 1BR House
1hr from NYC
Garden, Creek, Workshop

Cross-country ski,
Fish, Garden, Hike,
Paint, Read, Swim, ...

Jeffrey is the owner

The house has a large bedroom, sleeping porch, dining room, and utility porch.

It is situated on 14 acres of beautiful countryside, bordering the Moodna Creek. The entire area and mountain to the South are a part of a wild land trust. The property is located on the South side of Orrs Mills Road and is bounded on the East by the spectacular railroad trestle. (See photo below.)

The house is set back 300 feet from the road, behind a lilac hedge so it is very, very private. I've eaten rainbow trout from the creek.

About 100 feet from the road, on a paved driveway, is a very large garage, storage shed, and insulated workshop. If you like a place to tinker, let me know, and I can make the power tools available...

The house is bit over one hour from NYC along the beautiful Palisades Parkway. The world famous Storm King Art Center is a few minutes down the road.

There is a modern oil burner for heat. For the very rustic and frugal there is a very efficient Morso Danish wood stove. Properly stoked, the wood stove will go for 36 hours without attention. There is ample downed wood to heat for the next century. Ah, and very important -- the doors of the stove open to make a very cozy fireplace. Warning! It is romantic but it can get very cozy!

Available Now. Rent is $1,100 per month.

email Jeffrey8@Trestle8.info

Call Jeffrey at 415-994-2562 (On National DNC Registry!)

Rental Unit Photographs and Diagrams

You can see all the photos I have (thumbnails and full size) here: All Trestle Nook Photos

I'm still working on photographs. Please be patient!
There are some text layouts of the property, the house, and the garage.
The .TXT diagrams are very primitive ASCII text files.
Please let me know if they are too ugly.
You MUST use a fixed font to display these diagrams.
You also need some imagination here. ):

Link Reference	Description	Note Top
w:\k\real\SALHS09C.JPG	The North Side of the House in Winter	20021206
w:\k\real\SALHS04C.JPG	East View Out of the Bathtub/Shower Window	20021206
w:\k\real\SALTRS1C.JPG	View of Trestle Just East of House	20020917 0193 0735.0512
w:\k\real\SALAREA.TXT	Property Overall Area Layout Diagram	20020920
w:\k\real\SALAREG.TXT	Garage and Workshop Area Layout Diagram	20020920
w:\k\real\SALAREH.TXT	House Area Layout Diagram	20020920
w:\k\real\SALMAP1C.GIF	Local, Hand-drawn Map from 1984	20020920

The Vegetable Garden

At the present time the vegetable garden, about 20 feet by 40 feet, is overgrown. But, it once yielded the best corn, radishes, sugar snap peas, green beans, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, zucchini, and lots more.

The asparagus patch is still going strong all by itself. You just need to be there at the right time in the spring to pick them young and tender, and eat them on the spot. You'll never buy better tasting asparagus!

Top Index Bottom		Document Links
Link Reference	Description	Note

History and Assorted Tirades

This section contains some background information which might help you make up our mind. It might seriously dissuade you, too.

This is a chronological discussion with the most recent note first.

2007/04/24 -- Back on the rental market. Call me.

... More to come when I get some time ...

2002/09/18 -- Wow! So many responses in one day!

Craig's List rocks, as the youth of today might say.

So, to answer some of the very fine questions raised by those who responded (Is there a noun to describe such a person?) here are, in no particular order, the answers to the questions.

The house, according the tax assessor is 749 square feet of living space. The gross, outside dimensions are, very approximately, 20 feet by 40 feet.
See the really crude text layout of the house that I just "drew" from memory. (You'd think with all the fancy graphics programs and my many computers I could do better, but...) Caveats:
- Not to scale.
- I'm well over 50, so my memory is ... what's my name?

There is a fine shower, in the full-size tub, fed by a deep well pump and a 40 (or 50?) gallon new hot water heater. (You pay the fuel, you have long, hot showers while staring idly into the woods looking for deer.)

There are two telephone lines to both the house and the garage. One former tenant used the second phone line for a high-end security system. The system is still there, but the service, I suspect, is not active.

There is a cable television line from the road to the house. (This is also an interesting story...)

The wood stove is also a fireplace. I often fell asleep on the couch, mesmerized by the embers... I also had some nice romantic moments there, but that was then...

The garage and workshop is about 20 feet by 40 feet. You can get three cars in there. I have some personal stuff stored there. By moving stuff around you could have a sizeable clear area to work.

Here are the driving directions from New York City.

Enter West Side Highway at 96th Street after 7pm on Friday.
George Washington Bridge to NJ using the upper level Yes, this is important. Try the lower level and suffer...
Palisades Parkway North ... watch out for deer!
Watch out for the fork to route 9W. Go right to Bear Mountain Bridge.
Go around the circle and take route 9W North.
Go through some small towns -- watch out for radar traps!
Go over Storm King mountain (very scary in winter!)
Take exit from 9W North to Cornwall, after coming down from the hill.
Make a left and go about half a mile, then downhill to Route 32.
Make a right and go North on Rt 32 a few hundred feet until you
Make a left onto Orrs Mills Road and cross the bridge
Proceed West for about 2.7 miles. If you can't see the railroad trestle you are blind, or it is dead dark on a moonless night!
The house is the first left West of the trestle. There should be a mailbox. The address is
162 Orrs Mills Road Salisbury Mills, NY 12577-5312
There used to be a plaque on a tree with my name -- Katz.
It is one hour (low flying, radar detector) or one and a quarter hours (sane, human driving) since you left Manhattan. Make a martini, cook a little, relax....

Public Transportation is Not Your Best Option

If you don't have a car, life could be inconvenient. It's about six miles to serious shopping in Vails Gate. An 80 year old woman, somewhat eccentric, lived next door for several years without a car. She went shopping with some aid to the elderly bus service and occasional help from neighbors.

There is Metro North commuter service to Hoboken. The Salisbury Mills station is at the North end of the trestle at Route 94. The station is about a half mile from the house, but that's through the woods. By road, it's about 1.5 miles. There's a big parking lot for park and ride. A bicycle would work except in winter. In winter, you can see the trains while taking a shower. From Hoboken you take the PATH to Manhattan. It's a long trip -- about two hours. I did it a few times. Someday, but not soon, they will route the train across the Hudson River and down to Grand Central Station. That will be fabulous!

There is excellent bus service from Newburgh to the Port Authority bus terminal on 8th Avenue and 40th Street. The bus also runs down Route 32 -- about 3 miles from the house. The trip is about 1.5 hours. However, without a car, it's hard to get to and from the bus. On rare occasions, when I'd left my car in the country, I'd take the bus to Vails Gate and then take a taxi.

2002/10/04 thru 2002/11/15 -- Listed house with Lori Mason

She was referred by my very reliable contractor, Eric Mason.
Lori took care of everything. Thanks.
Eric rebuilt the bathroom, installed all new windows, painted inside and out. Nice job!

2002/09/17 -- First public listing on Craig's List.

I've used Craig's List to successfully rent apartments in San Francisco for a few years. Craig's List is definitely the first place to go! Here's some background:

I spent a few hundred dollars on San Francisco Chronicle Real Estate advertisements with virtually zero return.
I listed my units on several proprietary local rental web sites which also had almost zero return.
When I listed on Craig's List I got very prompt replies.

2002/09/17 -- This property may NOT be for you!

I bought the place in 1973 for all the cash I had at the time.
I fixed it up!
- New heating system.
- New deep well pump.
- New roof on the house.
- New oil burner and additional hot air vents.
- New hot water heater.
- Added a 20x40 foot extension to the garage.
- New roof on the garage and workshop.
- Completely rewired the house.
- Added electric service to the garage and workshop. f:\k\SALRENL.DON ; Haight Rental Ads Lease Credit
- Tripled the size of the workshop and storage shed.
- Etc., etc., etcetera
- I moved to San Francisco in 1997, but could not part with the place.
- It was rented continuously from 1999 to date...

2002/08/01 -- Listed house with Spinnaker Management

I thought it was the thing to do.
My attorney recommended them.
What a mistake!
They did not forward messages within their office.
They did not contact me to keep me up-to-date.
They made lame excuses about missing messages.
They made representations of progress that were not true.
I cannot find ANYTHING about them to recommend!

1996 December -- I'm recruited to move to San Francisco!

Put in a real gravel driveway. For 23 years I lived with the gravel and overgrown grass driveway. I like rustic, but, during the spring thaw, the driveway was less than friendly. I had my tractor, so, if I got stuck in the snow or mud I could... Boring!
Fix the steps and get a new insurance agent. (I will never forgive Allstate for the egregious insult regarding my homeowner's insurance.)
Paint the whole house.
Do lots of that other cosmetic stuff that would be required for real people to live in this place. ):

1973 through 1996 --- Like you really care? Duh!

I bought the place in 1973. I was unemployed, so I had lots of time and no money.
There was a wire from the road to a pole near the well.
- Then the wire went from the pole to the house.
- One 30 ampere, 115 volt circuit. When you started the toaster, the lights got dim.
- No electricity in the garage.
The heating system was a home-made plenum with a fan over a cast iron stove that had been converted from coal to oil. This monstrosity made Rube Goldberg look like a watchmaker.
I rewired the house and added service to the garage. There is plenty of juice -- primary comes to a transformer on the pole right next to the garage. You could run a kiln. I ran an electric welder.
There is a modern heating system serviced by a very reliable oil delivery company. There is a relatively new hot water heater.
Sometime in the 1980's I added a large storage area to the garage.
To be continued... (Only if you beg me! LOL)

Before July, 1973

I lived in a really nice building on West 87th Street.
My neighbors rented a house in the country and I went there with them from time to time. I'm a pretty good handyman.
One day, the wife tells me that the place next door is for sale.
- I take a look at the property -- 2.5 acres, at that time.
- I can't see into the house, but I fall in love with the land.
- I buy the place.
- My friends decide they like the beach better than the country.
- My friends decide they like to be divorced better than married.
- The rest is history...

Legal and Other Landlord - Tenant Issues

This section contains the rules by which I expect to conduct business. In San Francisco, where I now live, I must follow very strict rules. If I don't, as a landlord, I'm history.

Since, in Orange County, New York, there are no rent control laws like New York City or San Francisco, I tried to be a bit more relaxed regarding this house. Not a good idea. I permitted a tenant to get way far behind in rent and, guess what, he abused my trust and I had to get a laywer and ... Well, you've got the idea.

We are not going to do that again. Period. So, to make sure we are on the same page, I'm setting forth the terms and conditions right up front.

I send the application to a processing service.
The service does a complete credit check.
The service checks for unlawful detainer, e.g., evictions.
The service checks for bad check history.

I personally verify your references including:
- Current employment
- Personal references
- Previous landlords

Assuming everthing is OK order, we sign a standard lease which

You sign a standard lease which summarizes all these terms.
You get the signature notarized.
You send or FAX me the signed and notarized document.
You send a check or deposit funds for the security, first month's rent or pro-rated current month's rent.
You get the keys from me (in SF) or my representative in NY.
You move in and enjoy the house!

While all of the above sounds complicated and time-consuming, it's really not. I've got things done in one day here in San Francisco.

Test Links Not Ready to Use. Caveat Emptor!!!

The links in this section may or may not point to the correct object. Don't bother to inform the page owner of broken links in this section. The links, when ready, will be moved to the appropriate location.

Link Reference	Description	Note Top
w:\k\real\KWRSALP.HTM	Salisbury Mills House Description and Photos	This Page
w:\k\real\KWRSFNP.HTM	San Francisco Apartments Dot Net
w:\k\real\SALTRS1B.JPG	View of Trestle Just East of House - Big Orig	20020917 0619 1529.1065

Link Reference	Description	Note Top
http://www.Trestle8.info/	Jeffrey's Salisbury Mills Page	20060725