Meanwhile, on The North Fork

Out in Orient Point rests a nifty waterfront rental that started with one bedroom, a widow's walk, and not much else. The owner says it took "about seven years to take this place from an empty half-acre to its current 2,000 square feet." Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was this house! After three years of saving, he spent the later four years completing minimal additions, including a gunite lap pool. But the work paid off: Today, the cottage rents between $4K and $20K per month. Sometimes you just gotta start small! [NYT]