Every summer you visit the mountains, it's the same story: the family crams all their belongings into suitcases, which are then crammed into an overstuffed car, and then everyone scrambles to find his or her place. Then the fun really begins as you, the driver, have to figure out which off-ramp to use to get to you hotel or campground, which, every year, you hope is better than the last one. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. And while there is a certain charm to staying in a hotel that doesn't switch out your towels every day, there is a better way to see the mountains: get your own little slice of Catskills real estate.

In recent years, the Catskills real estate market has exploded. People from New York City and other areas wanted to buy a summer home, or just get out of the city completely, and started purchasing parcels of land and cabins in the area in and around the Catskills preserve. This drove up the price of Catskills real estate considerably, but with the recent dip in real estate prices and a good nose for a bargain there are still plenty of properties that are a good buy. To find the Catskills real estate deal of your dreams, you need to narrow your search. Do this by prioritizing: what are you going to use the property for?

If you are looking to buy into Catskills real estate primarily as a get-away home, maybe you want a more isolated cabin. You can book this out when you're not using it and turn your new source of relief into an investment as well. Or, if you are looking to relocating once and for all to the country, you might want to think twice about getting an isolated location. Especially during winter, when it snows, getting to and from civilization (and provisions) can be difficult. Other things to consider are whether there are good schools in the area, how close the nearest ski resort is, the amount of summer tourists, etc. Make a list of the things that are important to you and then narrow the scope of your search accordingly. You'll be surprised to see how much more you can find by looking over a smaller area.