The Paths of the Laotians'
Cross Dresser's
or
The End of a Bachelorhood
In 1980, I sponsored a young Laotian family so they could escape confinement
in a Thai refugee camp and come to America. The father, Vilay, was bright
and mechanically gifted and within months was making good money as a partner
in my construction firm.
Together we soon bought land and built a home for their family. Since
a mortgage was not an option for them, I put time and money in, in return
for a half equity in the property.
Although prospering, after a few Woodstock winters -- never before having
endured snow -- they longed for the climate of their homeland. About this
time one of my tenants, Chloe Dresser, asked me if I knew of any home she
could buy with a small inheritance.
To make a long story short, Chloe bought Vilay's half interest, Vilay
took his family to Louisiana and used his capital to buy a shrimping boat.
By the time of closing, Chloe and I had fallen in love, and still are,
now 17 years later, with two children of our own.
- Andrew Peck
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Spring 1966:
The Good Old Days
I was 21 years old, in the Midwest on tour as stage manager for the Woodstock
based Turnau Opera Company when my mom called to tell me of an artist's
studio for sale on Glasco Turnpike for $3000. This became my home base
for the next 2 decades.
Little did I know when I bought it, my next door neighbor was then Chief
of Police Wm.Waterous - one who might not appreciate a "hippie"
type -- shoulder length hair and old VW - - living in a shack with an outhouse
next door to him. To its credit, however, the police force was quite concerned
about my safety. A few times each month my car would be pulled over for
a check of the lights, signals, horn and tires.
Two notes on "the good old days:" total closing costs including
title abstract and legal fees totaled $100., and the same property was
appraised in 1987 for $101,000.
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home, please call me. For
investors, there are specialized services I can offer. I made my living
for years as a real estate investor, with more than 50 purchases/sales
for my own account. In some cases I can offer buyers broker services for
the purchase of properties at foreclosure auctions and tax auctions both
in Ulster and surrounding counties. Auction research is my favorite specialty,
as properties can be found for less than half their market value - but
not without hard work and research.
-Andrew Peck
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