Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

$90K for a one bedroom is a nice price, wherever it is. Rob, if you can find a condo that takes FHA loans, you only need about $3100 for a 3.5 percent down loan and maybe you can get them to roll closing costs into the loan or the sellers will pay closing costs. :)

I never saw that Bushwick place, but I called about 12 times on a house on that block -- maybe it was the same one. First the agent couldn't get me in to see it, then she never called back. A year later she called and said the downstairs had been vandalized by an occupant who didn't want to leave -- that it was a foreclosure. There was a lis pendens filed on this property in 2004, so maybe it was the same one.

I almost rented the upstairs apt in the house next door. It was in near-perfect original condition, with a big ornamental grill thing separating the two parlors, and a giant pier mirror in place of a fireplace in the front parlor. The usual setup with gigantic dining room in back, small bedroom in middle with the usual array of built-ins, stained glass skylight, etc., hallway dish cupboard thingie, etc., etc.

Also saw another place for rent across the street and almost bought a short sale around the corner. On my way home from seeing one of the places, I had to call the cops because a man was beating up a woman on the street. Cops were driving by -- there are a ton of police around there.

Posted by: mopar at August 27, 2009 11:49 AM

Pretty funny.

Posted by: mopar at August 27, 2009 1:12 PM

Hi Joe! How are you?

The area at Myrtle/Wyckoff *above* Myrtle is awesome. (Also around Dekalb.) Not much available there, however. I did see a three-family and a two-family both in Ridgewood at this stop that I would recommend. Don't know if either are still available. I think both were on Grove and no more than two blocks or so from Wyckoff. Both were around $600,000 -- maybe the two family would come down some. And there's that four-family by NEK that's gotten some attention on BushwickBK.

Are you expanding your empire?

We are moving to Broadway on the JMZ in the next month or two. I will really miss this area so much.

Posted by: mopar at August 27, 2009 5:46 PM

aysataba, unfortunately, my experience is with coops, so I am not sure. In fact, I don't understand why the condo has to specifically accept FHA loans, but that's what someone said on this site. I know condos don't have specific requirements for how much you have to put down like coops do (though occasionally there are coops that allow 10 percent down). So I guess I would recommend just looking at condos you like and asking if they take FHA loans. Some of the fancy condos in Williamsburg advertise up front that they take 3.5 percent FHA loans and will wrap the closing costs in. Of course, they're not $80,000, unfortunately.

Posted by: mopar at August 27, 2009 5:51 PM