About Julie Houghton-Duffee
I would liketo introduce myself. I am Julie Houghton-Duffee, an Associate Broker with Warren Real Estate in Ithaca NY. I was in the mortgage industry, but went stir crazy sitting behind a desk. I absolutely love Real Estate. No two days are the same.
My Great-Grandfather was one of the founding fathers here in Ithaca. He was the co-owner of the general store on Cayuga Street..Treman & Sons. The store is gone, but there is a plaque on the original site. He was in the Ithaca Yacht Club, and had the first motorized boat on Cayuga Lake. Unfortunately he passed at the young age of 27 of Typhoid fever, leaving his wife Leeta to care for and raise 4 children. She took a job as treasurer of what is now known as The Tompkins Trust Company.
My father went to Cornell. After graduation he purchased a farm from my grandfather. It has grown to be the largest in Tompkins County. I know what hard work is. But I was lucky to have a great family. As a wedding present, my grandfather gave my parents some lakefront property. Summers were great! We swam, waterskied and spent every moment on the raft that we could! My best memories of growing up are there on the lake.
In the winter we skated on the pond. Our neighbors loved it too! We had a little shack with a woodstove, mom would make us hot chocolate...it was the best! Lots of hockey games were played on that pond. I remember a couple of times we skated on the lake. The lake doesnt seem to freeze like it used to though.
I also am an equestrian...born with boots on I guess. I rode hunter jumpers, and still get goosebumps watching a great three day event! I hung up the show helmet long ago, but love a nice trail ride with my daughter or dad. I have a lovely Hanavarian and a Quarter Horse these days.
I grew up in this great area, but left it for awhile. All the time yearning to return. I knew that I wanted to raise my 2 children here. We came back over a decade ago.
It is such a wonderful area. The lake is so inviting, we spend time at my grandfathers house every summer. I have skied since I was 4, but my son conviced me that I should take up snowboarding.....well, it took some doing, but I was back on the black diamond trails in a couple of months...and I love it!!! The skis have been collecting dust for 8 years now.
We have a wonderful log home, 2 horses, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and thru re-marriage 2 young men, and 2 beautiful young ladies....life is good here! I absolutely love Ithaca, contact me and I can show you why!
My Client-First Philosophy
There are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent real estate professional - integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills and a high-quality professional network, all of which are hallmarks of how I work.
That said, in my experience as a Ithaca real estate professional, I've also found that providing the very best service is essentially about putting my clients first. This means keeping myself accessible, being a good listener as well as a good communicator, and responding quickly to your needs.
This "client first" philosophy has always been my approach and it requires me to continually improve my skills and ways of doing business. In addition, I've found that the latest technologies are enabling me to do everything I've always done, only much more quickly and efficiently. They've also helped me to extend the range of services I provide to my clients.
So when you decide that you'd like to buy or sell a home in the Ithaca, Trumansburg, Lansing, Dryden, Groton, Interlaken, Lodi, Cortland, Aurora areas, please contact me.