The blocks around Fordham Road, one of the Bronx's main shopping streets, where storefront buildings, prewar walk-ups and multi-family houses sit within a short walk of the subway and Metro-North.
When a Fordham owner sells with financing, the owner becomes the lender. Most owners price that loan off what banks charge: homeowners typically ask about 2 percentage points more than the national average 30-year rate, with a 5-year balloon payment, or an extension if both sides agree to one in the contract. The numbers below update every week.
| Week | Bank 30-yr | Seller-finance typical |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | 7.40% | 9.40% |
| Oct 8, 2026 | 7.40% | 9.40% |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 7.28% | 9.28% |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 7.03% | 9.03% |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 6.95% | 8.95% |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 6.76% | 8.76% |
| Sep 3, 2026 | 6.71% | 8.71% |
| Aug 27, 2026 | 6.66% | 8.66% |
| Aug 20, 2026 | 6.65% | 8.65% |
| Aug 13, 2026 | 6.67% | 8.67% |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 6.69% | 8.69% |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 6.66% | 8.66% |
Fordham is defined by Fordham Road, a wide commercial corridor running east from Jerome Avenue past the Grand Concourse and Webster Avenue toward Fordham University's Rose Hill campus. National chains, discount stores, sneaker shops, banks and small offices fill the ground floors, and the Bx12 Select Bus Service runs the length of the road. Just north of the corridor on the Grand Concourse, Poe Park holds the small cottage where Edgar Allan Poe lived in the late 1840s, and the former Loew's Paradise Theatre, a 1929 movie palace, stands just south of Fordham Road on the Concourse.
Away from the main road, the side streets between Jerome and Webster Avenues hold dense blocks of prewar apartment buildings mixed with smaller houses and storefront buildings. Fordham Plaza, beside the Metro-North station at Webster Avenue, serves as one of the borough's larger bus hubs. Subway, commuter rail and crosstown buses together make Fordham one of the better-connected parts of the Bronx, and that keeps demand steady for both apartments and retail space. For a buyer, the demand cuts both ways: rental income is easier to find, but prices for anything with a storefront on or near the road reflect it.
Getting around: B and D at Fordham Rd on the Grand Concourse; 4 at Fordham Rd on Jerome Avenue; Metro-North Harlem and New Haven lines at Fordham; Bx12 Select Bus Service
Fordham's most distinctive property type, the storefront building with apartments above, is also one many residential lenders will not touch. When a meaningful share of a building's space or rent comes from a store, banks often move it to their commercial side, where the down payment required is larger and the review of the business tenant is stricter. Buyers who run their own shops, salons, restaurants or delivery businesses may have solid income that shrinks on paper once deductions are taken. That pairing of commercial property and self-employed borrower is where many local deals stall.
Sellers in Fordham are often investors or long-time owners who have held a building through several business cycles on the corridor and now want out of active management. A mixed-use owner who collects rent from a store and several apartments may be comfortable trading that for a single note payment, secured by a building they already understand. Because fewer buyers can obtain a commercial mortgage, offering terms can bring in more serious offers and shorten the time a building sits unsold. Owners selling to a long-time commercial tenant sometimes use seller financing for the same reason.
Every owner-financed deal comes down to five numbers. Here is what each one means, what is typical in New York City right now, and how they work on an illustrative Mixed-use building: ground-floor store with two apartments above in Fordham.
What you pay for the property. Owners who offer financing sometimes hold firm on price because they are giving you flexibility everywhere else, so compare against recent sales on the block before you offer.
Example: $1,295,000Cash you pay at closing. It is the seller's protection if the loan goes bad, so expect 10% to 30%. A bigger down payment is your best lever for a lower rate or a longer balloon.
Example: 25% = $323,750The rate on the seller's loan to you. Owners typically charge about 2 points above the national average 30-year bank rate. New York's civil usury limit is 16% a year.
Today: about 9.40% (bank average 7.40%)The schedule used to calculate your monthly payment, usually 30 years. A long schedule keeps the payment close to what a bank loan would cost, even though the loan comes due sooner.
Typical: 30-year scheduleThe date the remaining balance comes due, usually 5 years after closing. By then you refinance with a bank or sell. If both sides agree up front, the contract can allow an extension, often for a fee or a higher rate.
Typical: 5-year balloon, extension if agreedIllustrative only, not a listing or a quote. Excludes taxes, insurance and closing costs. Payment recalculates from this week's rate.
It depends entirely on the seller. Mixed-use buildings are one of the property types where owner financing comes up often, because banks frequently classify them as commercial and many buyers cannot qualify. The seller decides whether to offer terms and on what conditions, so ask a New York real estate lawyer to go over the note, the mortgage and every commercial lease before signing.
Few parts of the Bronx have as many options. The B and D stop at Fordham Road on the Grand Concourse, the 4 stops at Fordham Road on Jerome Avenue, and the Fordham Metro-North station serves both the Harlem and New Haven lines toward Grand Central and the northern suburbs. The Bx12 Select Bus Service crosses the borough east to west along Fordham Road.
The Rose Hill campus brings students, faculty and staff into the area, and some nearby apartments rent to them, but the university does not set local rents or control private buildings. For a buyer, the practical effects are steady foot traffic for stores on Fordham Road and some interest in short-term rentals, which New York City law sharply limits, so do not plan on that income.
Browse Bronx listings where owners offer financing, or list your own property and set your own terms.
Open the Live Map List your propertyThis article is general education, not legal, tax, lending or investment advice. Seller-financing terms are negotiated between buyer and seller and every deal is different. Before signing anything, have a New York real estate attorney review the contract, note and mortgage, and talk to a CPA about the tax side. Rates shown update weekly from Freddie Mac's national survey; the seller-finance figure is a rule of thumb, not a quote.