The Hunt
Their Hearts Were Set on a House in Hudson. Could They Afford the One They Wanted?
Taking their second shot at an upstate New York home, a couple went looking for a place with space for art supplies, music gear and chickens.
When Charles Roberts and Debbi Calton-Roberts set out to find a home in Hudson, N.Y., they had to be mindful of some new family members: their chickens.
They hadn’t planned on the chickens. A couple of years ago, after Ms. Calton-Roberts retired from her career as a radio host in Philadelphia, she and her husband, a professional guitarist who goes by Chip Roberts, set their sights on a new home in the Hudson Valley. They wanted to buy something in Hudson, the small but bustling riverfront city in Columbia County, but were priced out amid the pandemic frenzy.
“For people who were supposed to be staying in place, we were very busy during the pandemic,” Ms. Calton-Roberts, 68, said. The couple had barely taken a beat since moving their 32-year-old son, who is high-functioning on the autism spectrum, into an apartment in Atlanta.
But they regrouped and settled on a house in the town of Coxsackie, about 15 miles north, where prices were more reasonable. It had a country porch, as well as a big garage to house his music gear and her stained-glass workshop. (She also hosts a weekly online radio show, which she records from home.)
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To Mr. Roberts’s delight, the 1.6 acres came with an established flock of hens. “That sold me on the house,” he said. “They’re so much fun.”
But while Mr. Roberts, 71, grew attached to their new pets, Ms. Calton-Roberts felt isolated. And their son, who had come to live with them during Covid lockdowns, struggled in the rural location, too. “He was going crazy,” she said. “It was hard to find a place that would even deliver a pizza.”
It wasn’t long before she admitted that her heart was still set on Hudson. The couple had previously owned an investment property on Columbia Street, in the heart of the city, but it needed work so they had sold it. (“Sure wish we had held on to it!” Ms. Calton-Roberts said.)
And they still had plenty to do in Hudson: Mr. Roberts’s band, Cowboys in the Campfire, rehearses there, and Ms. Calton-Roberts does volunteer work in town. So the couple renewed their search last year, armed with a budget of $600,000 and a short wishlist: a first-floor bedroom, a yard for a chicken coop and an easy walk to Hudson’s main drag, Warren Street.
The median sale price in Hudson is about $587,000, according to Realtor.com, but most homes in that range are fixer-uppers, said the couple’s broker, Dina Palin, of Houlihan Lawrence.
With a vibrant arts community and an Amtrak train station, “Hudson is its own market, and it’s very highly desirable,” Ms. Palin said. It would be a challenge to find something that suited the couple’s needs.
Among their options:
No. 1
Updated Tudor-Style House
This four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom 1930 Tudor was about 2,964 square feet, with a bedroom suite on the first floor, custom built-ins in the den and a fireplace in the living room. The property, a double lot, included a big, landscaped yard with a gazebo, an above-ground pool, a shed and a two-car garage. Updates to the house had given it an awkward first-floor flow, but it was listed well within their budget at $535,000, with about $7,400 in annual taxes.
No. 2
Townhouse With Mountain Views
This four-bedroom, four-and-and-a-half-bathroom 2011 house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac in a townhouse community overlooking Hudson from a hill. Its 4,062 square feet included an open kitchen, one bedroom suite on the first floor and another on the second, three decks, two garages, a fully finished basement and central air-conditioning. There was a patio out back, and what the property lacked in yard space it made up for with mountain views. The price was $673,000, with annual taxes of about $7,500.
No. 3
19th-Century Brick Rowhouse
This four-story brick townhouse from 1880 was ideally located: right off Warren Street, in the heart of Hudson. It was about 2,280 square feet, with seven bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, a fireplace in the country kitchen, a sunroom, an unfinished basement, a screened rear porch and a detached two-car garage. The gravel backyard was good for the roost, but had lots of steps. It was listed for $695,000, with annual taxes of about $7,000.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Updated Tudor-Style House
Townhouse With Mountain Views
19th-Century Brick Rowhouse
Which Did They Buy?
Updated Tudor-Style House
Townhouse With Mountain Views
19th-Century Brick Rowhouse