Investing in pittsburgh (California, Republic: 2013, rental market, neighborhood)

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by juliegt

I totally get your Lombard Street reference, I've thought of that myself too. My problem is that I'm renting in San Francisco and I can't afford to buy here. If I buy something for around $150,000 in Pittsburgh it will cost me less than I'm spending on rent here even with higher property taxes. If I owned here, I might make a different choice.

Hi Juliegt,

I see your point and Pittsburgh is a wonderful city to live in. I've thought long and hard about a move but I guess I'm too cheap to pay what I'd have to on property taxes. Your situation definitely warrants making a move and personally I don't think you could make a better decision than moving to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has much to offer.

Best of luck with your Mom's situation. Maybe you can find a place that could accommodate 2 families, but Pittsburgh can be difficult for elderly people with mobility issues.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Hi Juliegt,

I see your point and Pittsburgh is a wonderful city to live in. I've thought long and hard about a move but I guess I'm too cheap to pay what I'd have to on property taxes. Your situation definitely warrants making a move and personally I don't think you could make a better decision than moving to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has much to offer.

Best of luck with your Mom's situation. Maybe you can find a place that could accommodate 2 families, but Pittsburgh can be difficult for elderly people with mobility issues.

Thanks. Not sure if Pittsburgh is the right place for my mom, but I'm going to explore areas that might work for her when I visit along with exploring the areas I'm interested in. The other thing is that I'm ready for a change. I may no stay in Pittsburgh forever, but I'm ready for something new.

[bophisto]

juletgt, you're enthusiasm has me even more excited. I'll be visiting in about a month for a short trip, I plan to experience the city and checkout the neighborhoods. Any particular neighborhood you are planning to move to? It's kind of hard to really get a feel for a neighborhood or city from the internet...but everything ive been reading makes me think it would be a city I would enjoy.

The high taxes does suck...but like you said if property values are significantly lower plus if the quality of life is better it could work out to still be less... plus state taxes I believe are much lower than California.

I'm a bit tired of the way California has gone downhill while costs have gone up and up. Even with the housing crash anything in a decent area of SoCal is very expensive and rents are at their highest levels.

[eccotecc]

bophisto,

I find it interesting your focusing on Pittsburgh since most of the California exodus has been directed towards the northwest.

Depending on how much you hope to pay for a home, I may be able to make a few suggestions. I currently live in California but I'm originally from Pittsburgh and somewhat familiar with the city.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by bophisto

juletgt, you're enthusiasm has me even more excited. I'll be visiting in about a month for a short trip, I plan to experience the city and checkout the neighborhoods. Any particular neighborhood you are planning to move to? It's kind of hard to really get a feel for a neighborhood or city from the internet...but everything ive been reading makes me think it would be a city I would enjoy.

The high taxes does suck...but like you said if property values are significantly lower plus if the quality of life is better it could work out to still be less... plus state taxes I believe are much lower than California.

I'm a bit tired of the way California has gone downhill while costs have gone up and up. Even with the housing crash anything in a decent area of SoCal is very expensive and rents are at their highest levels.

My rent in San Francisco is killing me. I'll probably rent a studio apartment at first while I get to know the city. Then I'd like to buy an old house to renovate. At this point I'm considering a bunch of neighborhoods. I don't want to narrow it down until I've actually lived there for a while. I hope to get a job with a construction company. It would make buying a fixer upper a whole lot easier. I work for a remodeling company now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be too hard to find a similar job in Pittsburgh.

[escilade18]

Cost of housing in one major difference between Pittsburgh (or PA in general, even Philly is significantly cheaper than much of coastal California). Even with higher taxes as others were saying, the lower property values will more than even things out.

[Hopes]

Even though the Carson Street property quesiton is old, I thought I'd toss in my two cents on this recent comment.

Originally Posted by concept_fusion

That may not be a bad buy on carson if you have a good concept on how to use the space. As a purely real estate investment to rent out, I think that's more iffy. You may not find the right tenant, have to do lots of renovations, etc.

That end of Carson Street is dead. It's not worth 300k.

[infoscott]

I lived in Southern Cali for 17 years, so know where the original poster is coming from.

I'd say hands down for an investment in a fixer upper, go with Uptown/Bluff/Soho region. The architecture is iconic, the area is scary but not hood (think SOMA/SF), the prices are giveaway, and the location is convenient to Downtown, Oakland, and the Strip. You'll need to bring a lot of money for renovation, but the value is there. You're also along 8+ bus lines going through, normally a shortage here in PGH.

If you want to flip the property, you have high income buyers in Mercy Hospital, Carlow University, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and the technology row near the Hot Metal Bridge. Any of these folks could buy your fixed up place and be a few minutes from work.

Although I'm a recent arrival to PGH, I'm a member of a hackerspace (HackPittsburgh) on the 1900 block of 5th Ave, north of Forbes. We're in the basement of a business incubator, so I get to see a good chunk of the neighborhood just walking from the bus stops to HackPGH. If you're closer to the Birmingham Bridge, you could walk across it and be in South Side/Carson St.

Scott

[bophisto]

I just realized there were people that replied to me. I will be visiting in about 2 weeks now. Looking forward to it.

Cost of living definitely seems lower..but from what I am reading quality of life is a lot better in Pittsburgh.

interesting tip about Uptown/Bluff/Soho region. I saw only two properties for Bluff area but couldn't find stuff for the other area. I was looking on trulia..there was a place for $35,000 that was gut rehab on Boulevard of the allies.

It seems there is not much for sale in Pittsburgh in general.

i keep reading more and more good things about Pittsburgh so I'm pretty sure prices will continue to go up.

Looks like some neighborhoods have already appreciated significantly.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by bophisto

I just realized there were people that replied to me. I will be visiting in about 2 weeks now. Looking forward to it.

Cost of living definitely seems lower..but from what I am reading quality of life is a lot better in Pittsburgh.

interesting tip about Uptown/Bluff/Soho region. I saw only two properties for Bluff area but couldn't find stuff for the other area. I was looking on trulia..there was a place for $35,000 that was gut rehab on Boulevard of the allies.

It seems there is not much for sale in Pittsburgh in general.

i keep reading more and more good things about Pittsburgh so I'm pretty sure prices will continue to go up.

Looks like some neighborhoods have already appreciated significantly.

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