Seller Financing in Highbridge, Bronx: Hillside Homes and Walk-Ups

Today's bank rate vs. a typical seller-finance rate

When a Highbridge 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.

About Highbridge

Highbridge is named for the High Bridge, the stone-arched bridge completed in the 1840s to carry Croton Aqueduct water across the Harlem River into Manhattan. It is the oldest standing bridge in the city, and after decades of closure it reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in 2015, linking University Avenue in the Bronx with Washington Heights. The neighborhood rises steeply from the river and the Major Deegan Expressway, so many blocks sit on slopes, and public staircases connect some streets that lie at different heights.

Most of Highbridge's housing is in pre-war apartment buildings, from five-story walk-ups to larger elevator buildings, with shops along 167th Street, 170th Street and Ogden Avenue. Mixed in among them are a smaller number of older frame and brick houses and some newer two- and three-family homes. Yankee Stadium and Macombs Dam Park are close by to the south, the elevated 4 train runs along its eastern edge, and the Grand Concourse with its B and D trains is a few minutes away on foot.

Getting around: 4 train at 161 St-Yankee Stadium, 167 St and 170 St; B and D on the Grand Concourse a short walk east

What you will find for sale

• Pre-war five- and six-story walk-ups and larger elevator apartment buildings, many on sloped lots with retaining walls at the rear or along the side.
• A limited number of older detached and semi-detached frame and brick houses, some set above or below street level on hilly lots with stairs from the sidewalk.
• Newer two- and three-family attached homes from the 1980s onward, filling lots where earlier buildings were lost.
• Mixed-use buildings with storefronts and apartments on 167th Street, 170th Street and Ogden Avenue.

Why seller financing fits Highbridge

Buyers in Highbridge are often looking at small walk-ups or two-family houses as a way to own a home and earn rental income at the same time. Banks weigh rent rolls carefully, and older buildings with rent-stabilized tenants, deferred maintenance or open violations can fall short of their standards. Income is the other sticking point: many buyers here work health care, transit, construction or retail jobs with shifting hours, or run their own small businesses, and some have only a short credit history or an ITIN.

Owners of Highbridge walk-ups and houses have often held their buildings for decades and paid off the mortgage long ago. Selling for cash can mean a large one-time tax bill, while accepting payments over time spreads the gain and provides steady income. Hillside houses with long flights of stairs, retaining walls or aging systems can sit unsold when interested buyers cannot get bank approval, so an owner willing to finance can reach a wider set of qualified buyers. Estates selling inherited property have similar reasons to consider it.

The 5 terms you will negotiate

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 2-family frame house in Highbridge.

How to buy owner-to-owner in Highbridge

1. Find owners open to financing. Start with Highbridge properties on the SellerFinanceNYC live map, where every listing is checked against ACRIS deed and mortgage records. Owners who have held a building for decades with no open mortgage are the most likely to carry a note.
2. Offer on all five terms at once. Price, down payment, rate, amortization and balloon trade off against each other. Put them in a short written term sheet so nothing gets lost.
3. Hire a New York real estate attorney. Your attorney drafts or reviews the contract of sale, the promissory note and the mortgage, and confirms the seller has no existing loan with a due-on-sale clause. See our guide to finding an attorney.
4. Do local due diligence. In Highbridge, check:
   • Retaining walls on sloped lots may fall under the city's periodic inspection rules and can be expensive to repair; have an engineer look at any wall on or beside the property.
   • Walk-ups with six or more apartments built before 1974 typically contain rent-stabilized units; request DHCR registrations, current leases and the rent roll and go through them with your attorney.
   • Check for HPD and Department of Buildings violations, including facade, boiler and lead paint issues that are common in older apartment buildings.
   • Blocks near Yankee Stadium see heavy traffic and parking pressure on game and event days, which matters if you rely on street parking or plan to rent out a storefront.
5. Close like a normal sale. The deed transfers to you, you sign the note, and the seller's mortgage is recorded with the City Register. Buy title insurance, and consider a loan servicing company to collect payments and escrow taxes and insurance.
6. Plan the balloon from day one. Use the five years to build a payment record, fix up the building and document income so you can refinance well before the balloon is due.

Questions buyers ask about Highbridge