Buying a house in Pittsburgh, 2 Questions as to which would be more valuable. (Lebanon: crime)

[bdaswat]

In terms of House value for selling in say 5 years, and / or if I decide to turn it into a rental.

My sitution: First time home buyer (FHA loan) I'm looking at 2 houses:

1. Nice part of Carick 1 block from the Bus line 2 br completely redone house with 1 car attacked garage. $80,000

2. Nice part of Beachview 1 block from the T. 3 br (4 if you count the 3rd floor redone 'bedroom" with 2 car detached garage. $90,000

Question 1 - Which is more valuable, being near the Bus line, or the T?
Question 2 - which area is likely to go up in value more in the next 5 years in your opinion?

[Hopes]

It's a no brainer that a 3/4 bedroom with 2 car garage will be more desirable to future buyers than a 2 bedroom with a 1 car garage.

Question 1: For the South Hills, being close to the T is definitely more desirable than being close to a bus line.

Question 2: No part of Pittsburgh goes significantly up in value over just a few years. It's a steady housing market with slow increases over long periods of time.

[I_Like_Spam]

People definitely like 2 car garages better than 1 car, and being next to the T is certainly better than being next to the Carrick bus.

However, its not a smart idea to pick a house based on what you think it will be worth down the line. A friend of my mum's bought a house on Mt. Washington circa 1960, the thought was that it would go up in value because of the view even though it was old and rickety.

Well, it did, but not until the 90s, and they had to live there for 30 years and one of them died before they could "cash in".


Buy the home that meets your needs and lifestyle.

[PreservationPioneer]

Which house do you like more? Neither neighborhood is poised for housing to increase in value. Both are somewhat declined, but still safe and liveable, neighborhoods.

Beechview and Carrick probably have more similarities than differences. I would go with the one you like best, however I must say that $80-90k seems a bit steep for either neighborhood.... You might be able to get into Mt. Lebanon or Dormont for that.

[bdaswat]

Well the $90k house isn't done yet. my realtor i've been working with flips houses on the side, and we've been looking for about 8+months now and i picked out a house that was 2 doors down from his, so he showed me it, and some rehabs he's done in the past (with houses that have an identical setup..) and he does nice work. Plus I don't have to pay comission, kind of an "insiders set up" since we've become pretty friendly over the past couple of months.

the 90k beechview house is in a neighborhood too as opposed to the carick is on a main busy road. I'd prob like the 90k house more once it's rehabed for sure.

[Faer]

I wouldnt buy a house in either neighborhood at that price. Its just too high. Beechview I'd definitely take over Carrick, the crime issue is a small bit better.

[Copanut]

Beechview, hands down!

[PeterRabbit]

When you are about to buy ask your realtor friend to see some comparables first.

[robrobrob]

I guess it would depend on how nice the renovated house is. Our first house was two bedroom one bath and it was recently renovated when we bought it. We still put a fair amount of money into it. It was great starter house for a short time, a very short time. Ours was a three year house as opposed to a five year house like all of friends who bought 3 bedroom starter houses. In our old neighborhood. A jump from a 2 bedroom one bath to a 3 bedroom 1 and half bath was a huge jump in price. So, we bought a two bedroom house. If we could afford a three bedroom we would have done so. Since, you can afford a threee bedroom buy it.

We sold it very quickly, priced it at a loss and moved on. My wife stills says how very lucky we were to sell it.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

So, we bought a two bedroom house. If we could afford a three bedroom we would have done so. Since, you can afford a threee bedroom buy it.

We sold [the two bedroom house] very quickly, priced it at a loss and moved on. My wife stills says how very lucky we were to sell it.

Yep. Most people don't want a two bedroom house. They don't sell well because most families want at least a three bedroom.