Closed in Crown Heights: 857 Park Place

Week in, week out, Crown Heights offers some of the best values in all of Brooklyn.  And while people dream of finished townhomes west of Nostrand for $800K or less, one of the best FHA-able deals in all of Brooklyn sells a few doors east of Nostrand for $750K.  857 Park Place was in the finishing stages of a conversion to a 3-Family, and ready to put the finishing touches on.  On a great block, what this brick house lacks in typical brownstone charm, it makes up for in size and pricepoint.  If you've got less than $200K down for a live-able, mortgage-able play any cheaper than this, you can't really stand to be picky.  Each townhouse that sells for the price of a condo a few blocks west is a unique miracle, like 1379 Pacific Street,  348 New York Avenue, 894 Sterling Place.  And just because you can find the occasional deal at this pricepoint doesn't mean that getting it with a low downpayment is easy.  We were bullish on 857 Park Place last year as the market was moving up, and the $850K asking price was coming down.  It quickly became apparent that local broker Celeste Moses had one of the next-best buys on her hands.  The pictures don't even do it justice..

We were pleasantly surprised when we walked the space.  Platinum Members had the lead on the deal when it was available again over the summer.  Deals falling through don't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the property.  Just ask 10 St. Charles Place, which listed for $920K, accepted a $999K offer, and topped that then when it re-listed after the $999K deal fell through.  Platinum Members had a second chance to pick up some prime Crown Heights play at 857 Park Place at last year's prices when the deal from the summer fell through recently.  Some of the best deals in town are deals that fall through, like 270 Sterling Place just over a year ago, 71 Irving Place a year ago, and 148 Gates Avenue a month ago - all of which Platinum Members got a 2nd stab at.


Pro's:  3-Family, pricepoint, size, great block, one of the most affordable looks in the area

Con's:  updates to be done, not everyone's favorite curb appeal, financing got tricky, you don't see these often

Ideally:  if you're hunting in the sub-$800K market, not much else beats this these days