Nave and Ramos of Berko broker $3.5 million sale of vacant six-story mixed-use property

Itai Nave and Angel Ramos of Berko & Associates completed the sale of 215 East 3rd St., a six-story mixed-use front building shell and a four-story back building in the East Village section. The all-cash transaction closed at $3.5 million. The property was mostly vacant at the time and needed a significant amount of renovations to the building. Nave, a sales associate with the firm, who represented the seller said. "It was not an easy task to get a buyer to commit to a non stabilized property in this market. There is no conventional financing for vacant buildings and paying hard money rates was out of the question for most buyers. We were quietly marketing the deal to qualified buyers aggressive enough to pay all-cash and move quickly." Ramos, an associate broker with Berko, knew exactly who to approach. "I sat down with my clients and their contractor and we analyzed the future potential of the asset. After a couple of hours, I saw the look in their eyes and I knew that they would do whatever it took to buy the property. The buyer insisted on meeting the owner at the offices of Berko on Fifth Ave. that very Sunday. After a short meeting between the property owner and the purchasers both sides agreed on all terms and shook hands. 24 hours later the seller received a signed contract and a hard deposit was wired to his bank account." The buyer plans to renovate the building and lease out the retail and the apartments.