House for 9k? Johnstown, ok what's the deal?

[goozer]

Originally Posted by Caligirlrefugee

This particular property is in East Conemaugh Valley and based on all the maps that I have looked at the house **seems** to be in a decent neighborhood.

It just boggles my mind that I could actually pay cash for a house, even if I would just use it for a vacation place. My family is originally from Johnstown (circa 1900's to late 1960's) and I am sure I would be able to get a lot of use out of it letting extended family members use it for a "trip back home".

I need to buddy up with someone who can actually drive by and see some of these places!

In this day and age, I cannot imagine buying a house -- no matter how cheap -- without seeing it first. If you are serious about buying real estate back east, you would be well-served to buy a $300 plane ticket to fly out and look at some of these places. In some instances, you can indeed get a cheap fixer-uper with good bones. But in other instances, you would be throwing all of your money down the toilet. Plus, if eventual re-sale is your plan, you should understand that some of these towns are never going to see jobs come back and you may never be able to sell the house if and when the time comes for you to unload it (hence the reason the current sellers have listed that one place at $9,000).

[Honest Bob]

I live in a old coal patch town and the town was built by one contractor that won a contest - "who could build a house the fastest".
His company built 150 houses in one summer. That included all the outhouses and all the coal sheds.

The houses were built on stilts - because the town was never designed to last more then the length of the coal mine. Most coal mines had a life expectancy of about 20 years. Because the coal mine was a major producer of metallurgical grade coal - it lasted approximately 50 years.
Most coal mine towns, once the coal ran out - was torn down or burned to the ground, everything would have been leveled, and in 40 years, you wouldn't even know that there was a town there anymore. Elenora PA is one good example. Helevatia is another...

In the case of my town, a coal miner / scrap iron magnet family by the name of Kolvolchick bought the town and rented it out to the people who lived there for another 30 years. After 30 years of no improvements, the residents got fed up with paying rent on a place that had no real value anymore, and after already paying several times more in rent then what the house was worth, they all got together and formed a corporation and bought the town and sold the houses to the residents for $3000.00 a house. Some houses that were in bad shape - were sold for about 1/3 of that amount.
Kovalchick Corporation
Kovalchick Salvage CO (Kovalchick Brothers) - Sykesville, Pennsylvania (PA) | Company Profile
Adrian Mines & Coke Works, Adrian (Delancey P.O.), Young Twp., Jefferson Co., PA, USA
http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancest...feleanora.html

At that time, there were people who lived in the town - when the coal mines were working, who found out about these great deals and bought up the delinquent houses at bargain basement prices - sight unseen.
One individual even went so far as to believe that someone would rent one of these houses and fix it up with their own money - and then the landlord would get his / her house rehabilitated for free.
One person actually bought up 9 houses and in the end, lost 8 of them to the tax sale when they found out that it would cost more to fix it up then to build a new house.

There was a house down the road from my house that was in ok shape, that was sold several times and each time one person left, the next person did more damage then good to the house until it got to the point of where it was uninhabitable. A person from California - some kind of investment banker found the house on Craigslist for about $5000.00 and bought it sight unseen. When they sent a contractor to look over the house - after they had bought it, to see what it would need to fix it up a little and flip it.
The contractor told them that the house did not even have windows or doors anymore. The damage exceeded the value.
The last I heard, another gypsie family - who was thrown out of Rossiter PA, bought the house and has done some repairs and is now living in the house.

For those of you who is not familiar with Rossiter PA. Rossiter PA - must have something wrong with the water, because more mentally retarded people comes out of Rossiter PA then most any other town in Pennsylvania. There is more Personal Care Homes per a capita in Rossiter then most anywhere else in Pennsylvania. When they closed down the state hospital system. The people who lived at Torrence State Hospital were all moved to Rossiter. The state of PA even built a Mental Health Center on the main street, because it was easier to send 4 employees from Indiana PA to Rossiter, then to haul 400 mental health patients a week to Indiana PA for assessments and treatment.

To get thrown out of Rossiter - you have to be pretty bad!

[tabcoyne75]

oh and out in ca they mostly have no basements. here is a must have and an exit out of them.

sold my father in laws house for 989,000 four bed, 1 1/5 bath, two car garage, nice locatin with a club house. a dated home 70's

my house in pa 55k biger home but no garage no garage. it was remodeled too. it was a victoran home 1900's

[js1mom]

I live in Johnstown right now and they exist ($9,000 homes.) I personally wouldn't live in one, but then--- I also lived in San Diego, CA before and have been to LA... the very worst neighborhood in Johnstown is the best "ghetto" in LA. If you can live there--- you will think this place is paradise. A very BORING paradise---but paradise! I am from the DC area and at first coming here was a nice change, but after nearly 4 years... the perpetual "entitlement" mentality, run down or abandoned homes, and corrupt "good old boys" city government get to ya... and forgot getting a job here! If there are any decent jobs---they go to the locals (it's who you know.) But if you want a decent fixer upper that you can definitely live in now--- go for at least a $30,000 place. I bought a 4000 SF Victorian that was made into three 1285 SF 2 bedroom apartments for $94,000 in one of the best neighborhoods in the area with excellent schools (and high taxes to match it.) I live in one, rent out the others and have no mortgage. Can't do THAT in LA! Good luck.