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Quick question: Why are the condos in Parkchester so cheap? For example, it's common to find a 3-bedroom condo for under $200,000, and 2-bedrooms for $150,000. Why is it that the condos and co-ops in Parkchester cheaper than similar apartments in crappy neighborhoods such as Morrisiana and Soundview?
I visited Parkchester South not too long ago and couldn't help but marvel at what the place has to offer. I saw a Starbucks, a Pizzaria Uno, a Macys, not mention a slew of proffesionals, both young and old. I also noticed that, while predominantly black and hispanic, the neighborhood is also home to people of many other races, such as asians and whites, though to a lesser degree.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm very interested in the neighborhood but am wondering if there's a catch. How can a 2-bedroom condo go for $150,000 in Parchester but yet go for over $200,000 on the Concorse or even by Fordham when Parkchester appears to be, at least in my opinion, much nicer?
There is nothing wrong with Parkchester,it's just that there is a seemingly endless supply of almost identical apartments on the market.That always keeps prices down.It's like at any given time 50% of all the apartments for sale in the entire Bronx are in Parkchester.Another 30% are in Riverdale where there also seems to be a constant glut.
It's a huge,huge complex and is still in transition.Probably most of the apartments still haven't been sold to individual owners so the management keeps putting them on the market or renting them out, so they control the market.
Eventually,when all the apartments are sold on the open market and there is a more slow paced natural turnover prices will probably go up.
Parkchester also might still suffer to some degree from the problems that it had early on when owners had to live next door to section 8 tenants that the management was putting into the empty units.Not that all section 8 tenants are bad but that kind of unpredictability is not what people want when they buy a condo or a coop.I think most of that problem has been eliminated and they now have pretty strict rental standards but it takes a while for bad reputations to die away.... as in the entire Bronx.
Parkchester apartments are probably a really good longer term investment because these problems will dissolve on their own over time.The 3 br apartments are probably the best investment- wise because there aren't that many of them.All of the apartments are big though... with oversized rooms.
That's what the Bronx in general is all about. When you actually compare what you get for the price, the vast majority of people see the value as compared to other boroughs and move here. It is not unique to Parkchester, you will find affordability to be a big draw for the Bronx in general.
I personally do belive that Parkchester does look like a nice place to live. I have family that moved in to Benedict Ave 4 years ago. They are just 5 mins away from all the places you mentioned...I was very skeptical about even visiting this place the 1st time. Initially I though it looks great, specially where they live a small block, only houses no buildings & they could enjoy enjoy everything Parkchester Apts. has to offer. But now 4 years later I noticed how gradually Parkchester changed a bit. I personally witness 3 crime scenes. One of them a gang fight right across the street from Macy's. Another one where two individuals attacked a man right in front of my family's apt. Benedict Ave. That combined with the nightmare "parking" becuase you can't find parking there literally.... & the horrible commute to the city makes this place not desirable at least to me. I live in Kew Gardens Queens, & was very, very close on renting a 2 bed atp in Parkchester for a very good price..But I'm really glad I didn't because I've never seen anything where I live..(6yrs)...This is only my opinion, And Im being very honest..Parkchester looks beautiful, clean, convenient etc..But at night I personally don't feel safe.
It looks like a nice area....but I remember the first time I went there 10 years ago to visit family, no sooner than we stepped out the car, we heard 6 gunshots coming from inside the same building we had to go into. My relatives didnt act as if that was something rare.
And the parking situation is indeed bad, they had to pay a local business 2 blocks away for a parking spot.
1. The bad condo conversion and failed mismanagement by Helmsley in the 80s and 90s brought the neighborhood and value down quite a bit, and took a long time to recover.
2. The Bronx's negative reputation, which it still cannot shake off!
When I bought my property, I said the same thing....this deal is just too good to pass up! Where else in this city can you buy CONDOS for this cheap, and with the type of neighborhood amenities that it has?
I really don't think crime in Parkchester is a major issue any more.It was pretty bad at one time but has gotten much,much better.And remember that seeing or hearing of something happen in the nearby area( where crime is also way down) is not the same as in Parkchester itself. People forget that Parkchester is a complex,it is not a neighborhood.There is a mistaken notion that areas to the East,South and West of Parkchester are Parkchester.They are not and most of those areas have names of their own.If it's not IN Parkchester,it's not Parkchester and Parkchester has it's own security force and it's own garage parking if you pay 125.00/mo. So,if you live in a Parkchester building there is no need to pay a business blocks away for parking.The free outdoor lot parking for Parkchester residents with a sticker is a problem because there are many more cars with stickers than there are spots.But that is a problem almost everywhere in the city.
One factor that hasn't been mentioned yet I think is the relatively high monthly common charges of Parkchester apartments.People shopping for condos are looking for and used to seeing common charges that are considerably lower than comparable co-ops. Parkchester has a very large security budget( they virtually have their own police force) and a very large common grounds budget( it takes a lot to maintain fountains,parks and gardens) so their monthly charges are actually higher than comparable co-ops.
I think it is the high number of apartments( for sale) and the relatively high monthly fees that are the two biggest factors in Parkchester's lower prices.But obviously,for people who want that security and all those trees and gardens around the buildings maintained ,Parkchester can make a lot of sense.At least they can see where that extra money is going.
I personally do belive that Parkchester does look like a nice place to live. I have family that moved in to Benedict Ave 4 years ago. They are just 5 mins away from all the places you mentioned...I was very skeptical about even visiting this place the 1st time. Initially I though it looks great, specially where they live a small block, only houses no buildings & they could enjoy enjoy everything Parkchester Apts. has to offer..... Another one where two individuals attacked a man right in front of my family's apt. Benedict Ave. That combined with the nightmare "parking" becuase you can't find parking there literally.... & the horrible commute to the city makes this place not desirable at least to me.
You thought your family would be enjoying everything Parkchester has to offer .........except the security and the grounds inside the Parkchester complex.Benedict Avenue is not in Parkchester.You can't be in Parkchester with only houses and no buildings because Parkchester is nothing but buildings.
If your family lived IN Parkchester they could park in the open lots that are reserved for Parkchester residents or they could pay a relatively low monthly fee to park inside the garages for Parkchester residents.No need to pay a business blocks away for parking.
During the morning and evening rush hours the 6 train runs express from Parkchester to Manhattan.The trains run ever 3 minutes and the time from Parkchester is 30 minutes to midtown.How is that a "horrible" commute ?
Given that most Parkchester residents live within a few minutes walk of the Parkchester stop and the frequency of the trains they can probably make it from inside their apartments to midtown in less than 40 mins. If you think that is "horrible" you must be commuting by helicopter.
I think the commute on the 6 is more realistically 40-45 minutes to midtown. Factoring in how packed those trains get in the morning, delays, etc. But still not a horrible commute. There is also a midtown express bus. Depending where you work, Parkchester is a very good affordable option.
The parking in the buildings is very limited, and so is street parking. Don't even bother trying to go locals who have small lots and rent spaces because those spots are pretty much taken up, and a lot of times it comes down to whether you know somebody. There are however several garages and the rates seem to be in 120-150 per month range.
There was an article recently in the daily news that shed some light as to why the pricing is relatively cheap,
As for crime, I have a sis who has lived there (in the actual complex) for almost 10 years now. The surrounding area definitely has gotten better, but to be honest I never felt the complex area was unsafe to begin with. There are still some issues with the surrounding area but nothing horrible, and nothing most seasoned NooYowkurs can't handle. One thing to look out for is that there seem to be a fairly large amount of car break-ins, but you can mostly avoid that if you avoid street parking.
I've witnessed a lot of things over the years visiting my sis but good things mostly not bad. For instance, one time a car ran over a girl, and the girl ended up with part of the car on top of her leg, and a bunch of people ran out to help her and lift the car. There was also the time some kids were fooling around (pre-teens fooling around sexually) in the halls of one of the buildings, and the people in the building called the security force and the security force quickly came over, called parents and handled the situation very well.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 12-12-2009 at 08:51 AM..
You thought your family would be enjoying everything Parkchester has to offer .........except the security and the grounds inside the Parkchester complex.Benedict Avenue is not in Parkchester.You can't be in Parkchester with only houses and no buildings because Parkchester is nothing but buildings.
If your family lived IN Parkchester they could park in the open lots that are reserved for Parkchester residents or they could pay a relatively low monthly fee to park inside the garages for Parkchester residents.No need to pay a business blocks away for parking.
During the morning and evening rush hours the 6 train runs express from Parkchester to Manhattan.The trains run ever 3 minutes and the time from Parkchester is 30 minutes to midtown.How is that a "horrible" commute ?
Given that most Parkchester residents live within a few minutes walk of the Parkchester stop and the frequency of the trains they can probably make it from inside their apartments to midtown in less than 40 mins. If you think that is "horrible" you must be commuting by helicopter.
Well, I wasn't aware of the parking blah, blah you just mentioned.
However for your information Moderator cut: Not necessary.Benedict avenue is a small street right at the entrance of Parchester. Same zipcode as Parkchester & under 600feet to the Main Entrance of Parkchester..So, If I lived there I would consider myself as part of Parkchester. And about the parking options you just mentioned I don't think they help much, you can never NEVER find parking @ Benedict ave. & that's because of the residents of these blgs you just mentioned take the parking spots of this 1 block-houses only-block...And about 6 train and all of that..Moderator cut: Not necessary commuting from the Bronx to Manhattan using the "green" lines sucks. If not, check this link by nytimes.com where they call this commute CHAMBERS OF TORTURE.
Sorry, I didn't mean to talk bad about Parkchester, plus I have loved ones living there. I was there this XMAS eve..[mod] though I was not contradicted about the crime there.
God bless.
Last edited by bmwguydc; 01-05-2010 at 06:56 PM..
Reason: Removed inflammatory comments (All caps) and paraphrased statement to remove personal nature of commentary re: other post.
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Hum---I think you're taking this too personal.
