Months in the Making on Macon: 295 Macon Street

Who says buyers with 25% down can't snatch a great deal out of the clutches of the big bad cash buyer boogie-man??  It's not easy to do, but it can be done.  Platinum Members closed last week on a sweet fixer upper brick house at 295 Macon Street in the expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District for less than $1.2M.  Although it took months in the making to deliver vacant and with clear title, sometimes all it takes a little deep digging and just a little patience to find a deal in Bed-Stuy.  The house is a healthy 20' x 40' 4-story on a great block...

Around the corner from the train and $2M listings.  And you know the rest... high ceilings on the parlor, exposed brick, original parquet floors, a handful of mantles, molding, etc.  Most of the house in live-able condition with affordable upgrades on the way...

Configure it as a double-duplex or triplex over garden, and you're good to go...

Think of this as a less decadent, less expensive version of 196 Hancock Street, which supposedly soared over $2M after asking $1.85M on the market as a fixer-upper this year.  Brewing since last year, 295 Macon Street has historic charms of its own...

 

 Babbling brook in the front yard too?!?

No wonder it appraised over purchase price!  Don't try this on your StreetEasy, your NYTimes, or your Brownstoner.com (at least not in this decade...), and don't use this as a comp unless you factor in that this contract price was negotiated almost a year ago and the market has moved up significantly since then.  Nobody said it was it easy to navigate this outrageously inefficient market, but patience, persistence, and perseverance paid off again in Bed-Stuy.

Pro's:  almost turnkey full-sized 4-story on a great block for under $1.2M, original details in great condition, delivered vacant, didn't take all-cash to do it, market kept rising while purchase price stayed the same

Con's:  tricky deal to pull off, work to be done including water damage to some floors, took a long time

Ideally:  a quintessential 4-story barely-on-market value deal with market equity and sweat equity already built into it on day 1