A Renovated One Bedroom Under $300,000, and the Seller Is Paying the $45,000 Assessment

201 12th Street, Unit 19 in Palisades Park is listed at $299,000. There is a special assessment against the unit of approximately $45,000. On a full-price offer signed by both parties on or before October 15, 2026, the seller pays that assessment in full at closing.

Virtually staged photo. The furniture, rug, artwork and decor shown here are digital renderings added to a photograph of the unit. They are not included in the sale, and the unit is delivered unfurnished. The flooring, cabinetry, appliances, air conditioning unit, lighting and balcony door are actual features of Unit 19.

That is the whole offer, stated in two sentences, and the rest of this page explains what it is worth and what comes with it.

Offer deadline

October 15, 2026

A full-price offer at $299,000, fully executed and signed by both parties on or before that date. The seller then pays the approximately $45,000 special assessment in full at closing. Below full price, or after October 15, this term is no longer offered.

What the assessment term is actually worth

Special assessments are the part of condominium buying that people find hardest to price, because the number sits outside the purchase price and most buyers only learn about it after they have fallen for the unit.

Here it is on the table at the start. At full price with the seller paying the assessment, what a buyer brings to the closing is $299,000. Not $299,000 and then a $45,000 surprise. The assessment does not follow you into ownership and it does not come out of your reserve or your moving costs.

That is the trade, and it is worth naming plainly. The term is tied to full price. An offer below $299,000 leaves the assessment with the buyer, which on a $45,000 obligation means almost any discount you negotiate costs you more than it saves. The arithmetic favors paying the ask here, which is not something I say about most listings.

For a one bedroom in this town, $45,000 is a meaningful share of the purchase. It is worth understanding clearly rather than skimming past.

What you are getting for $299,000

The owners renovated this unit after their previous tenant moved out, which means the work is finished and it is already reflected in the price. There is no project waiting for you after closing.

Inside the unit:

• Fully renovated kitchen and bathroom
• New flooring throughout
• New sliding glass doors and a new bedroom window
• Built-in air conditioning, with gas baseboard heat
• A private balcony off the kitchen with sunset views
• A walk-in coat closet
• An on-site washer and dryer room in the building

What you get outside the front door

Palisades Park is about one and a quarter square miles, which is small enough that most of what you need sits within the borough rather than a drive away.

Getting to Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is roughly ten minutes by car. NJ Transit bus routes run to the Port Authority from the borough, so the commute does not require the car at all.

Broad Avenue. The borough's commercial spine, and the reason people from outside Palisades Park drive in. Korean restaurants, bakeries and specialty grocers sit along it, many of them open late, alongside the ordinary run of pharmacies, banks and services. You can eat very well within a few blocks of this unit without getting on a highway.

Green space. Overpeck County Park is close by, and the Palisades Interstate Park system sits along the ridge to the east.

Medical. Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Englewood Health and Holy Name in Teaneck are all within a normal drive.

I keep a full town guide covering commuting, dining, parks, shopping and the rental market, and it goes deeper than this section does. Read it here: Living in Palisades Park.

Virtually staged photo. The bed, rug, lamp, plant and artwork are digital renderings and are not included in the sale. The window, flooring, gas baseboard heating and air conditioning unit are actual features of the bedroom. This is the separate bedroom, with a door, rather than an alcove.

What the monthly actually looks like

The $316 maintenance fee is doing more work than the number suggests, and it is the detail most buyers skip over.

It covers heat, hot water and your garage space. In a lot of buildings at this price, each of those is either billed separately, rented separately, or simply not available. A garage space in Bergen County is not a small thing in February, and heat included means your winter bill does not move with the weather.

Add property taxes of $3,836 a year and you have a predictable monthly picture before any financing. That predictability is worth something to anyone who has spent years absorbing a house's surprises.

The building, also said plainly

This is a three-story brick walk-up built in 1975. There is no elevator, and Unit 19 is on the third floor. That is two flights of stairs every time you come home, and two flights every time a delivery does not.

I am putting that in the second paragraph of a marketing page rather than letting you find it at the showing, because it is the kind of detail that decides the purchase for some buyers and means nothing at all to others. You know which one you are better than I do. What I am not going to do is write around it.

The garage space is at grade and it is included in the maintenance fee, so groceries and luggage come in from the garage rather than from the street.

The financing, said plainly

I would rather you hear this from me now than from a loan officer three weeks in.

This is a non-warrantable project. FHA financing and conventional financing are not available here. A purchase is cash, or a portfolio loan from a lender that keeps the loan on its own books. Portfolio lenders on a project of this type generally look for twenty to twenty-five percent down.

Financing eligibility depends on the association's current reserve, litigation, occupancy, delinquency and insurance status, and none of that is something I control or can promise. Confirm terms with your own lender before relying on any financing assumption. If you do not have one who handles this kind of project, tell me and I will point you at two or three local banks that do.

The seller paying the assessment does not by itself change the project's status. It changes what you pay, which is a different and more immediate thing.

What I am still chasing, and will hand you either way

I do not yet have a written answer from the management company on what the current assessment funds, when that work completes, or whether the association anticipates further assessments. I have requested all of it, along with the reserve study and the last twelve months of minutes.

You will get the entire package before you are asked to decide anything, and I will tell you what is in it rather than letting you assume. A further assessment is an open question here, not a closed one, and anyone marketing this unit to you without saying so is doing you a disservice.

Your attorney should also address post-contract assessments specifically in the contract rather than relying on the standard form. That is a legal question and it belongs to your attorney.

Who tends to do well with a purchase like this

Three situations fit, and they are about how you are buying rather than who you are. All three assume the stairs are not an issue for you, because that is the honest first filter here.

You are buying your first place and can put twenty percent or more down

With the assessment handled by the seller, a portfolio loan becomes a real path at this price. It will not be an FHA loan and it will not be a conventional loan, and you should go into it knowing that. What you get is a finished unit at an entry number in a corridor where entry numbers are scarce, and two flights of stairs are usually the least of anyone's concerns at this stage.

You are buying for a long-term hold

A one bedroom at this price is the easiest size to rent and the easiest size to resell, because it has the widest pool underneath it. The renovation means it can be occupied the month after closing rather than three months later. Worth knowing: in the Palisades Park one bedroom rental market, walk-up buildings are the norm rather than the exception, and very few of them offer a garage space, built-in air conditioning or in-building laundry. Ask me for the rental comparables and the carrying numbers and I will send them so you can run it yourself.

You are paying cash

The financing constraint that removes most of the market does not touch you at all. No lender, no project review, no appraisal contingency. What is left is a renovated unit with a garage space and a very short list of people bidding against you. The stairs are the trade, and they are worth walking in person before you decide either way.

What I would do if I were you

Come see it, and ask me for the documents before you decide anything. The deadline on the assessment term is real, and so is everything I have written above about the building. Both of those things are true at the same time, and you should weigh them together rather than one at a time.

See the full listingBook a call

You can also call or text me directly at 201-970-3960, office 201-592-8900, or email [email protected]. If you would rather ask questions at your own pace first, my AI assistant is at delphi.ai/scottselleck.

Not sure what you are looking for yet? My buyer and seller resource hub is 7 questions and takes about 90 seconds.

Questions I get asked about this one

What is the price, and what am I actually getting?

$299,000. A one bedroom, one bathroom condominium of approximately 674 square feet on the third floor of a three-story walk-up, with one garage space included in the maintenance fee.

Is there an elevator?

No. 201 12th Street is a three-story brick walk-up built in 1975, and Unit 19 is on the third floor. The garage space is at grade.

Who pays the $45,000 special assessment?

The seller pays it in full at closing on a full-price offer of $299,000 that is fully executed and signed by both parties on or before October 15, 2026. Below full price, or after that date, the term is no longer offered.

What financing is available?

The project is non-warrantable, so FHA and conventional financing are not available. A purchase here is cash or a portfolio loan, and portfolio lenders on a project of this type generally look for twenty to twenty-five percent down. Confirm terms with your own lender before relying on any financing assumption.

What does the monthly maintenance fee cover?

$316 a month, including heat, hot water and garage parking. Property taxes are $3,836 a year.

Can I see the association documents before I make an offer?

Yes, and you should. The association document package, the current assessment detail and the management company's written answer on whether further assessments are anticipated go to any buyer or buyer's agent who asks, before an offer rather than after.