Renting in Fox Chapel (Pittsburgh, Indiana: apartment, rental homes, homeowners insurance)

[lust4life2]

I am considering moving out to Fox Chapel because my daughter will soon begin kindergarten (but we dont want to move too far because my husband works in the city). I am wondering if i should rent for a year and test the community before buying a house. is there a supply of rental homes in fox chapel? is there such demand at all?

[SteelCityRising]

There will be a select few homes to rent in Fox Chapel, and they'll all be very expensive due to the prestige of both the community and school district. House rentals are expensive in this entire area to begin with due to the limited supply.

[gg]

Originally Posted by lust4life2

I am considering moving out to Fox Chapel because my daughter will soon begin kindergarten (but we dont want to move too far because my husband works in the city). I am wondering if i should rent for a year and test the community before buying a house. is there a supply of rental homes in fox chapel? is there such demand at all?

There usually are some homes for rent in Fox Chapel Borough. They will rent for over $2000 a month for the most part. There is one on Woodland Farm Road for $2100 a month. If you expand your search to include all locations within the Fox Chapel School District, that will give you rent ranges from $400 and up. Not sure what you are looking for exactly? Here are the places in the Fox Chapel School District you can look for rentals and there will be a good supply.

1. Aspinwall- more of a town atmosphere/nice place for kids/homes pretty close together
2. Blawnox- Cheaper than Aspinwall, smaller homes for the most part. It is an okay area.
3. O'Hara- Parts of O'Hara are as nice as Fox Chapel and some parts can be as cheap as Sharpsburg. Mostly homes with yards and a very wide variety.
4. Fox Chapel- The most expensive area in our region that is only rivaled by Sewickley Heights. Larger homes for the most part on larger lots. Fox Chapel is a nature preserve.
5. Indiana Twp. Some of Indiana Twp has homes over a million in value and some parts are as low as $50K, so a wide variety here. Most of it is more country in feel and for the most part it is further out.
6. Sharpsburg. Cheap rent and not as nice, but still in thee district. I wouldn't consider it if your rent range is above $600 a month.

I want to mention about Kindergarden. I would try and get in O'Hara, Fairview or Hartwood. I like O'Hara because it has a little diversity. Fairview is the least diverse and is mostly quite wealthy due to its location. Kerr would be my last choice, but certainly it would be much better than most places around the city.

[robrobrob]

There is a big difference between Fox Chapel Borough and the Fox Chapel Area School District. In the Borough, I bet the starting price for a rental is about 3000 a month. Howard Hanna has 3 rentals listed, 3500, 4500 and 10,000 per month. I would contact a realtor at either the Fox Chapel Howard Hanna office or the Fox Chapel Prudential Preferred office about listings. Perhaps, Fox Chapel Realty might have a couple of places. Alternatively, if your budget is smaller then I would look into the other communities that feed into the Fox Chapel Area School District like Aspinwall or O'Hara. Another option are the apartment communities called the Docks or River Oaks.

I bet most people just buy and don't bother with a rental so rental will be scare.

[Bong477]

Fox Chapel is about 95% owner occupied, so there are some rentals but they are few and far between.

Fox Chapel (borough) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Here's a listing from craigslist for $2100 Fox Chapel Borough as an example, I'd post more but that was the only one I saw that looked legit.

[lust4life2]

Thanks!!! Wow! I never knew people rented at 3500 / 4500 (or 10,000!!)

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by lust4life2

Thanks!!! Wow! I never knew people rented at 3500 / 4500 (or 10,000!!)

Usually executives or physicians who just moved to the area. May be here temporarily or might be while looking for a house. Relocation packages for execs will cover some of that while you carry a morgtage elsewhere.

I'd say athletes and people in the business of sports are also likely to pursue expensive rental options like this.

[Bong477]

The median home price in Fox Chapel is (supposedly) in the mid 500's, so when you add in property taxes and homeowners insurance $3500 is about what the mortgage payment would be on an "average" 100% financed home.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Bong477

The median home price in Fox Chapel is (supposedly) in the mid 500's, so when you add in property taxes and homeowners insurance $3500 is about what the mortgage payment would be on an "average" 100% financed home.

The big rents are usually on very expensive homes. I think the one for 10,000 a month is on a house that might go for 1.5 or higher. Property taxes on a 400,000 home are about 10,000 then you have the mortgage. You aren't renting a 150,000 house in Fox Chapel.

The one for 2100 a month is in a pretty nice area. I almost looked at the house a few years ago when it last sold. At the time it was small and dated. You were paying to live in Fox Chapel which wasn't a draw for me.

[Bong477]

The PITI on a 1.5M home (100% financed at current low rates) would be around 10k/month, so yeah, that's about right where the mortgage payment would be as well on such a home. I'd imagine both the supply and demand for rentals in Pittsburgh is pretty low but apparently not entirely non-existent. You'd need to make around 500k/year to make such a home affordable by typical affordability standards.