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Old 10-05-2012, 06:56 PM
 
4 posts, read 9,898 times
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Hey, guys. I'm moving to the Pittsburgh area from northeast Ohio, and I'm having some trouble finding a place to live. Is there a trick I'm missing, aside from checking Craigslist every hour?

I'm hoping to find a 2 or 3 bedroom house/townhouse with a garage, central air, and a dishwasher. I'll be working in the Robinson area, so it would need to be around there. This combination seems nearly impossible to find for under $1500, which is about double what I'd pay for a comparable place in the Cleveland/Akron area.

Any suggestions on what to do? I've been searching for over 3 weeks now.
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Old 10-05-2012, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh PA
1,125 posts, read 2,348,645 times
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This fits almost perfectly to what you are looking for: 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom Modern townhome. Close to city/robinson/airport
I honestly feel that craigslist is the best tool to use to search for housing. Possibly expand the area that you are looking at to places such as Carnegie, Green Tree, Scott Twp. Collier Twp. South Fayette etc. I think that you should not have trouble finding what you want for even cheaper, but like I said the link I provided matches almost exactly what you are looking for
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Old 10-06-2012, 12:46 PM
 
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My search area was pretty wide: I was originally looking from Aliquippa to South Park, before I realized how backed up the parkway gets.

I was able to find 4 places I was intersted in that were in the $1200 - $1300 range, so that's what I was hoping to find again. However, I haven't seen anything similar in a while. I even tried posting my own (extremely detailed) ad on Craigslist, but only heard back about places that weren't really close to what I was looking for.
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Old 10-06-2012, 06:03 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh PA
1,125 posts, read 2,348,645 times
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I am sure that others will be around to provide more information for you, but the other thing that I can think of is to make the trip down sometime and drive around looking for places that have for rent signs posted. I can't think of any other source besides craigslist that isn't run by a management company so unless I think of another source to use, I will just wish you the best of luck finding what you need.
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Old 10-07-2012, 09:50 AM
 
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A lot of times around the area, you have to drive around to find things to rent. People are still old-fashioned in the sense that they post a "FOR RENT" sign in the window/yard more often than posting on craigslist and other mediums.

Since you're only in NE Ohio, if you get a chance to come drive around... drive through Canterbury Commons in Moon Township, Hawthorne Village in North Fayette Township, Walden Woods in North Fayette Township, Pleasant View Estates in Robinson Township, Pennsbury Village in Robinson Township, Independence Square in Hopewell Township (Beaver County). Those are all I can think of off the top of my head. There are lots of townhouse communities in the Airport/Robinson area. Consider contacting real estate agents of ones for sale and ask if the owner would be willing to rent instead of sell.

Good luck and welcome to Pittsburgh. I lived in NE Ohio for years and you will probably like it here. However, a difference is new housing (and property taxes) in the suburbs here is much more expensive than it is in the Cleveland/Akron area.
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Old 10-08-2012, 02:50 PM
 
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Thanks, guys. I've actually looked in a couple places that lifepgh2op suggested. The one in Pleasant View Estates was taken the same day it was listed - an hour before my appointment to meet with the realtor. I'm finding that decent small houses/townhouses only last a day or two on the market, which is pretty frustrating.

I'm definitely not used to the high cost of rentals here. Is $1200 - $1400 a reasonable amount to pay for what I'm looking for west of Pittsburgh?
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Old 10-09-2012, 07:47 AM
 
1,139 posts, read 2,496,883 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OHtoPA View Post
I'm definitely not used to the high cost of rentals here. Is $1200 - $1400 a reasonable amount to pay for what I'm looking for west of Pittsburgh?
Unfortunately, the amenities you're looking for (2-3 bedrooms & a garage) pretty much constitutes a house. It would almost be cheaper to buy a house with these things than to rent, in some cases. You will find that apartments and maybe even condos will be cheaper to rent. Most will not have a garage. Some newer condos to rent in the west suburbs probably offer a garage (not attached) to rent but will charge extra per month for that. Check out The Highlands at Montour Run in North Fayette Township, Ventana Hills in Robinson Township, The Polo Club in Moon Township, Waterford Landing in Moon Township.
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Old 10-09-2012, 08:41 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lifepgh2op View Post
Unfortunately, the amenities you're looking for (2-3 bedrooms & a garage) pretty much constitutes a house. It would almost be cheaper to buy a house with these things than to rent, in some cases. You will find that apartments and maybe even condos will be cheaper to rent. Most will not have a garage. Some newer condos to rent in the west suburbs probably offer a garage (not attached) to rent but will charge extra per month for that. Check out The Highlands at Montour Run in North Fayette Township, Ventana Hills in Robinson Township, The Polo Club in Moon Township, Waterford Landing in Moon Township.

The garage is pretty much a must-have for me. Real estate does seem to be pretty reasonably priced in the area, but I'm on a temporary assignment here, so it wouldn't make sense for me to buy.

I took a look at the properties you mentioned, and nothing really caught my eye. I'm not a big fan of apartments, though. So, it looks like the $1200-$1400 range for a house/townhouse/condo is where I'll have to be.
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Old 10-09-2012, 04:34 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,657,658 times
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Yeah it's too bad because even around there you could probably find something to buy that's under that. My mortgage payment is under $1k and I have 3BR and 2-car garage and dishwasher. Although I'm a good 1/2 hour or so from most of Robinson.

You might be better off looking for single family rentals. They are not especially common but there may be a few available at better prices than the townhouse complexes especially if you can live with 2BR. I think Crafton could be another place to look but you might not find that many garages, not sure....
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