Thomasine Helsmoortel, the broker-owner of Helsmoortel Realty in Saugerties handles residential and commercial real estate, from single-family homes to investment properties.

Helsmoortel is also involved in the insurance and travel industries, though just a decade ago burgers, beers and good times were her primary business.

In 1994 she opened The Dutch Tavern on Main Street with her husband Greg. “He was the driving force behind this endeavor,” she says, adding “he said ‘you are a good cook and you like to entertain,’ reluctantly I said ok.”

Then new to the business, she says her respect for restaurateurs grew daily. “We were very successful thanks to the help of family and friends, and after six years my cook approached me offering to buy the restaurant,” says says.

Around that time Helsmoortel had taken a course in real estate, and earned her salesperson’s license. Within two years she would have her broker’s license and hang out her own shingle for Helsmoortel Realty.

“The timing was perfect,” she says. “I never thought of the restaurant being the stepping stone it was.” Helsmoortel says many of her customers at the Dutch Tavern subsequently came to her for their real estate needs. “From there it just grew,” she says. “I really love working with people and it is very rewarding when I can make them happy—be it a home or a garlic-stuffed cheeseburger.” She adds that “many of my clients have become my friends. When their children or relatives want to purchase a property they give me a call.”

For the past five years, her stepson Scott has been her “right-hand man,” says Helsmoortel. “He, along with my eight agents, understand the stress buying and selling can be at times, and believe that professional and friendly service is key,” she says. “We have, and will, go to the ends of the earth for our clients.”

Among its featured listings is a truly unique home built in 1840: the house at 12 Malden Avenue (U.S. Route 9W) features four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and several fireplaces. Upstairs, the master suite includes its own bath and a fireplace; the second full bathroom is also upstairs and there an half bath downstairs. An open room on the second floor currently serves as a library, according to Helsmoortel, who says it would serve nicely as a study as well. On the first floor, a large living room features another fireplace and built-in cabinets and there are hardwood floors throughout. “There’s a nice sized dining room with a (currently) non functioning fireplace,” she says.

The house also features a large fully-equipped eat-in kitchen with service stairs to the second floor. Attached to the kitchen there’s former pantry, now converted to an office. The washer and dryer are located in the full basement, part of which served as a real estate office many years ago and is currently an art studio. “There’s walk-in access to this part of the basement,” says Helsmoortel. Mahogany porches on two stories can be reached from within.

Set back from the road, and sitting on a double lot of 0.72 acres offers views of Seamon Park across the road. With its own mature landscaping the property includes mature trees and tall hedges.

Helsmoortel says the furnace is new and the electric is updated. Not counting the partly-finished basement, the house includes 3,444 square-feet of living space. Above the two-car detached garage there’s an apartment, currently rented month-to-month by a caretaker.

The asking price is $450,000 and the house is just a short walk from the village center, with its thriving community. Adjacent to the north is the Horse Shows in the Sun Facility, also known as HITS, an equestrian riding and show complex attracting hunter/jumper riders from novice to olympic caliber for its summer series.

“Saugerties has become more popular every year,” says Helsmoortel. “Our draw is that we have the mountains and the river, both made accessible to the public for hiking, biking and with new boat ramps along the Hudson River—there’s great boating and kayaking.”

“Our lighthouse (a bed and breakfast) has a two-year waiting list,” says Helsmoortel. “We have a village with antique sores, eateries, art galleries and retail shops. The movie theater, schools and churches are all within walking distance, along with a sport complex for baseball, soccer and more. There’s an indoor ice rink for free skating, performances and hockey.”

The house is also a short walk from the site of the annual Saugerties Farmers Market, featuring local produce, crafts and music each year from spring to fall.

And in the fall, Helsmoortel adds, one of the largest food-theme festivals in the nation the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, brings upwards of 60,000 visitors to Saugerties.

She says construction for a state-of-the-art library will begin this May, and the town of Saugerties in the process of extending water and sewer lines west of the village, laying the infrastructure for business expansion there.

Across from the southbound exit of the Thruway, 800 acres of farm land that hosted the Woodstock ‘94 concert is attracting much attention as a development site for high-end industry, according to Helsmoortel. “The town is pursuing eco-friendly industries with mid to high-level employment,” says Helsmoortel. “Our location is prime, being two hours from New York City and one hour to Albany. There are airports to the north and south, just one hour away.”

“Saugerties offers charm and history, just like this featured property,” she says. “This particular home was once the homestead of Valley Farm, harvesting ice in the Sawyerkill Creek, as well as raising livestock. Animals are still part of the landscape as a portion of the former Valley Farm is now home to the HITS show grounds.

“Many people like myself have lived here all our lives and raised our children here,” says Helsmoortel. “We care about where we live and … are very community-minded. With new development around the outskirts of the village, we now have new families coming here to live,” adding that “[p]art-time city friends have been making this their full-time home and making their city homes more part time. Whether you purchase a new or older home here, it’s all about the community.”

Helsmoortel Realty can be reached at 845 246 9555 or online at www.helsmoortel.com. The office is located at 148 Burt Street /Route 9W in Barclay Heights, just south of the village center.