Military Family in Need of Info (Pittsburgh, Bethel Park: apartment, rent, mortgage)

[kellyava1]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

There aren't as far as I am concerned.

Here's a few more for you now that I know more about what you're looking for...

Greensburg - 3BR House in Hempfield School District (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/377327816.html - broken link)
Townhouse located in Ramparts in Plum - Duquesne Blvd (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/372661444.html - broken link)
2 Bedroom Perfect Apartment (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/362205298.html - broken link)
End Unit Townhouse with Game Room (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/366602021.html - broken link)
dont rent an apartment, rent a house (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/356896012.html - broken link)
View Payne Hill Townhomes Apartments For Rent in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania - ForRent.com
View Heritage Hills Apartments For Rent in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania - ForRent.com

Getting harder to find decent places, but I'll keep looking!

Cap

Cap~ I love your help. Thanks again. I have to tell you something funny about Payne Hill Townhomes. Yes, they allow pets. 3 max as a matter of fact. And I have 3 small dogs. HOWEVER, they only allow, 2 dogs and a cat, 2 cats and a dog, or 3 cats. But not 3 dogs! What kind of sense does that make? Craziness. I like the Greensburg house...just wish they had more pics. I will probably call them and see if they have more. Keep 'em coming if you can. Thanks much.

[hikingotter]

Hi, I am a former Marine, my ex is still in - going on 26 yrs in!
I would also advise against buying a house, I have seen more service people
lose money basically because you don't stay in an area long enough to profit.
And since you move all over, buying and then renting out the home is not something usually possible. I do have some advice. If at all possible buy land
somewhere and hold onto it for 8 or more years. Buy something you like, who
knows you maybe able to build on it down the line, but either way you will
have a serious investment well worth it. Good Luck, Otter

[hudson1959]

Hi there Kelly,


My daughter and her Marine, soon to be husband are looking for month to month leases themselves.

Possibly using Map Quest.com to help you find areas about 20 miles from n. Versailles. It's not tooo bad of an area. Do not move into the city unless it's South Hills. Not South Side. It's bad there. To many bars everywhere and drugs. Monroeville area is beautiful and not to far from Versailles.

a nice place with everything you'd want in stores, shopping and schools. Hope this was of some help.

Good luck

[kellyava1]

Originally Posted by hikingotter

Hi, I am a former Marine, my ex is still in - going on 26 yrs in!
I would also advise against buying a house, I have seen more service people
lose money basically because you don't stay in an area long enough to profit.
And since you move all over, buying and then renting out the home is not something usually possible. I do have some advice. If at all possible buy land
somewhere and hold onto it for 8 or more years. Buy something you like, who
knows you maybe able to build on it down the line, but either way you will
have a serious investment well worth it. Good Luck, Otter

I just sold our house yesterday here in NC. I think buying is always smart. The fastest way to become a millionaire is owning real estate. The only reason I sold our house is because I didn't want to just rent it to someone that may or may not take care of it like we do. We will buy again, even if military. Not everyone's military career is the same. Yes, most move all the time. But we've lived in NC for 8 years!! This is our first time moving. They finally said we've overstayed our welcome and we need to see other parts of the country. Haha. I recommend to anyone that knows they will be in an area at 3 years to buy. We bought our house 3 years ago and we just made $30,000. But I've only found old, old houses in PA in our price range and I'm just not willing to make that kind of gamble. But we'll see. I'm still searching. Thanks for your post.

[kellyava1]

Originally Posted by hudson1959

Hi there Kelly,


My daughter and her Marine, soon to be husband are looking for month to month leases themselves.

Possibly using Map Quest.com to help you find areas about 20 miles from n. Versailles. It's not tooo bad of an area. Do not move into the city unless it's South Hills. Not South Side. It's bad there. To many bars everywhere and drugs. Monroeville area is beautiful and not to far from Versailles.

a nice place with everything you'd want in stores, shopping and schools. Hope this was of some help.

Good luck

Where are they looking? The same area?

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by hudson1959

Hi there Kelly,

Possibly using Map Quest.com to help you find areas about 20 miles from n. Versailles. It's not tooo bad of an area. Do not move into the city unless it's South Hills. Not South Side. It's bad there. To many bars everywhere and drugs. Monroeville area is beautiful and not to far from Versailles.

Good luck

I'm not trying to be rude by saying I basically do not agree with anything in this post. ...And that's OK... (nobody probably got that obscure reference to early 90's SNL)

Seriously... I would completely disagree with the "don't move to the city unless its the South Hills not the Southside comment"...

#1) There are TONS of nice areas north, south, east, and west. Fox Chapel is north and is, in my humble opinion, the nicest suburb of Pittsburgh. Moon, Robinson, and North Fayette are west and are beautiful. East is a bit tougher, but some of the Point Breeze-ish area is quite nice. My experience is that people that post things like "This is the only area that is nice" haven't seen the area. There are a lot of people that have never been 5 miles outside of the South Hills but claim it to be the best. Hogwash...there's lots of nice places.

#2) Southside has some of the most architecturally significant buildings in PA. Many of the residents are the "artsy" type and yes, it is Pittsburgh's local watering hole. It definitely ain't for everyone. It is however right up, say, MY, ally. So, to dismiss it so flippantly kind of annoys me. It also has some of the highest-priced real estate in Pittsburgh and since housing and land prices are driven by demand, I'd say this poster would be in the minority to dismiss the area.

#3) Monoreville is beautiful. That's subjective, so I won't argue the point. However, I don't want you to be misled. It is your average, strip mall and split level suburb. There are very nice areas of Monroeville, but it aint no paradise. I wouldn't call it good or bad...pretty darn average.

Having said all that- I still think you are best to look east of the city for commute purposes. If a 45 minute rush-hour commute doesn't bother you I'd look north and south next. West just doesn't make sense because you'd have two tunnels and a couple of rivers to cross and would be all but guaranteed to have a nasty commute.


Cap

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by kellyava1

Cap~ I love your help. Thanks again. I have to tell you something funny about Payne Hill Townhomes. Yes, they allow pets. 3 max as a matter of fact. And I have 3 small dogs. HOWEVER, they only allow, 2 dogs and a cat, 2 cats and a dog, or 3 cats. But not 3 dogs! What kind of sense does that make? Craziness. I like the Greensburg house...just wish they had more pics. I will probably call them and see if they have more. Keep 'em coming if you can. Thanks much.

Too funny How about 1 ferrett, 1 lizard, and a bird? What about 2 fish and a bunny? Hehehehe...

So, someone could have 2 Great Danes and a cat, but you can't have 3 tiny pups? Strange.

I will be in Greensburg tomorrow morning. That house is on the southeast side of town and I will be northwest. Still, if I've got time, I'll pop over there and see what the neighborhood is like.

Cap

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

I will be in Greensburg tomorrow morning. That house is on the southeast side of town and I will be northwest. Still, if I've got time, I'll pop over there and see what the neighborhood is like.

I did stop by to see what was up with the house. Though, I left the address at home and only remembered the street name, so I drove down the street but couldn't spot the exact home. Here's my thoughts...

THE GOOD NEWS:
The area, in general, is quite nice. There was a gas station/convenience store, pizza shop, and bank within walking distance at the corner of the neighborhood. About a quarter-mile down the road there are loads of "McMansions" in the $250,000 price range, so there is some money around. It took exactly 7 minutes to get to a huge shopping area that contained a Wal-Mart, Giant Eagle (our local Food-Lion type grocery chain), Sam's Club, Target, and probably 6-8 chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesday, TGI Fridays, Applebees, etc. amongst many other stores. You can bypass most of the traffic heading toward N.Versailles using the Rt. 30 bypass. It took me exactly 20 minutes to get from the rental to the Irwin exit of the PA Turnpike (I-76). From there, I'd suspect it to be another 15 minutes over to N.Versailles.

THE BAD NEWS:
The street where the rental is located was probably the worst street in the neighborhood. That isn't to say it was a "bad neighborhood"...not by a long shot. But there were typically very slightly run-down, very small houses on that street (which, incidentally is a circle that loops back around, so it stands to reason that there wouldn't be any thru-traffic). "Run-down" probably isn't even the right term...just that I saw several houses that hadn't mowed the lawn in a while, lots of siding that needed painting- that kind of thing. The next couple of streets over had some very nicely-kept homes for whatever reason. I'd guess the average home on that street would go for $80,000 or so, if that gives you any indication. A few streets over probably more like $150,000-$175,000. The neighborhood looks pretty average- nothing stood out too much except that it all seemed to be built around a large church. I don't know what else to say except it was just "average". I can't imagine it isn't safe. Looked like average folks living in the area to me. The only other thing that was maybe a tad goofy was there was a sign on the front door of the aforementioned convenience store that said "Only 2 students at a time allowed in store". I am guessing that the area is a popular hang-out for University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg students, as it is a couple of miles down the road.

I know that doesn't tell you much, but for what it is worth, for the price it is probably worth a look if you're going to be in the area doing any house-hunting.

Also, as an aside...The North Huntington area looked decent as I drove through it. That is 20 minutes closer and would be just as nice...you might want to search the web for rentals there as well.

Cap

[84girl]

The best little town i have found is Sewickley, PA. Everyone knows everyone and will only rent or sell to people they know. Its close to Downtown and the Airport and the Army/AF base as well.
Dont be intimidated by prices! Most homes are over a mill. BUT many are under 100g and rent is reasonable. The schools are Quaker Valley (super nice) and there is also a huge homeschooling network. You get what you pay for in PA and since you are going to be taxed to death here you might as well live in a nice place! (By the way...the Village of Sewickly is kinda like Mayberry: the big crime is parking tickets!)There is a Hospital, Library, Starbucks!!! etc...
I've lived all around the US and Sewickley is my first choice hands down!

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by 84girl

The best little town i have found is Sewickley, PA. Everyone knows everyone and will only rent or sell to people they know. Its close to Downtown and the Airport and the Army/AF base as well.
Dont be intimidated by prices! Most homes are over a mill. BUT many are under 100g and rent is reasonable. The schools are Quaker Valley (super nice) and there is also a huge homeschooling network. You get what you pay for in PA and since you are going to be taxed to death here you might as well live in a nice place! (By the way...the Village of Sewickly is kinda like Mayberry: the big crime is parking tickets!)There is a Hospital, Library, Starbucks!!! etc...
I've lived all around the US and Sewickley is my first choice hands down!

Unfortunately, it is about an hour commute at rush to North Versailles for the OP.