Condo in the City or Townhouse in the Burbs (Pittsburgh: real estate market, condos)

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by mckeesport_alum

Low? My city property taxes were over $2,100 on a house assessed at $130,000, and that is only due to the millage reduction due to the increase in assessment aka windfall law. Last year it was over $2,500 and the assessment was lower...

I don't have the most up-to-date millage rates on my computer, but I looked a few years back (2009 rates I think), and found at that time, Pittsburgh's combined millage of 24.72 was 108 out of 128 in the county. The only municipalities with lower rates were:

Moon
Ross
Sewickley Hills
Monroeville
Pine
Fox Chapel
Findlay
Hampton
O'Hara
Ohio
Liberty
Collier
White Oak
Bradford Woods
Marshall
McCandless
Franklin Park
Robison
South Versailles
Kennedy

A mixed bag, but mainly newer suburbs in the North Hills or out to the west of the city. Note that even those at the bottom of the scale are less than 4 mils lower, so the property tax savings are fairly minor. PPS has the lowest school property tax in the county. However, the municipal portion is the 11th highest millage, so it cancels this out to a small degree.

[Hopes]

Since they are going to be on a fixed income, it's best to keep their costs down. A townhouse in a low property tax area would be ideal. I agree that you should try to stay away from something that has stairs since it becomes more difficult to use stairs as the elderly age. There are carriage/patio homes, which are basically one story duplexes with attached garages. Look into those.

[Hopes]

Carriage/patio homes are scattered throughout the area. Here's a story with pictures to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Empty-Nesters Flock to Carriage, Patio Homes : Archive : Home & Garden Television

Here's new construction patio homes in Westmoreland county for 179k:

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Newhomes - Development

Here's a video of a patio home in Cranberry:


The Villas at Isleworth Patio Homes in Cranberry Twp, Available Now! - YouTube

These patio homes are in Washington County:

Waterdam Farms Custom Carriage Homes and Patio Homes

You'll just have to search around. They're everywhere.

[Copanut]

Soulless Cranberry!?!?! What are you thinking?

[eschaton]

It's worth mentioning while they aren't in the hot areas generally, there are a fair amount of mid-century ranches scattered around. In most cases the garage would still be downstairs, but at least the living space is on one floor. A few are pretty nice too, although if you got them a house in a stable, convenien,t but not trendy neighborhood (like say Westwood), you could probably get a great deal on something dated but livable.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Since they are going to be on a fixed income, it's best to keep their costs down. A townhouse in a low property tax area would be ideal. I agree that you should try to stay away from something that has stairs since it becomes more difficult to use stairs as the elderly age. There are carriage/patio homes, which are basically one story duplexes with attached garages. Look into those.

Thanks Hopes, I just looked at these patio homes and these seem like a good idea. I think it may come down to a suburban patio home or a city condo that has an elevator. My parents really spend a significant of time downtown going to concerts, the symphony, art events, sports, and dining so they may decide on the city condo is the best option.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It's worth mentioning while they aren't in the hot areas generally, there are a fair amount of mid-century ranches scattered around. In most cases the garage would still be downstairs, but at least the living space is on one floor. A few are pretty nice too, although if you got them a house in a stable, convenien,t but not trendy neighborhood (like say Westwood), you could probably get a great deal on something dated but livable.

This house is another interesting option. Lets say they bought this and updated everything, approximately how much do you think the property taxes would go up once the permits were pulled?

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Soulless Cranberry!?!?! What are you thinking?

And who has a carriage anymore?

[trackstar13]

Something like this would be perfect and basically describes what they want, but this one is already sold:

Squirrel Hill Real Estate - 6324 Forward Avenue, Squirrel Hill, PA, 15217

[jay5835]

Here's a building with a nice front (if you like MCM) at 5100 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside. I'll leave it to you to dig around for the specifics you're interested in. It was the garage that made me think of it.

5100 5th Ave APT 407, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 - Zillow

5100 5th Ave APT 301, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 - Zillow