bellevue, crafton, brighton hts prices too good to be true? (Pittsburgh: cheap house, refrigerators)

[missytoe]

Hi,
I am a native Pgher who has lived in northern California for 25 years. My husband and I are looking to move back for a better cost of living/quality of life. The style of homes in Bellevue, Crafton, etc. really appeal to us and the recent threads about the areas sound even more appealing. We have seen some homes for under $110K. What's wrong with these houses? Most of them are older homes but they are almost all somewhat updated inside. Is it the small yards? Old roof/plumbing/electrical? Busy street or next to the "bad" surrounding areas? We have also looked at the South Hills but when I compare the charm of Bellevue to the mid-century boxes (which I grew up in) of the S.H., and the prices seem so much better in Bellevue, the choice seems clear to me....but I don't trust it. Why are there so many cute cheap houses there? Are they really decent deals?

Thanks!
Melissa

[fleetiebelle]

We have seen some homes for under $110K. What's wrong with these houses?

Maybe you've been in CA too long There are lots of decent homes under $100K in the Pittsburgh area. One of my best friends bought a house for $65K in Bellvue, and she loves the house and the neighborhood. The house itself needed some updating, but what house doesn't?

[missytoe]

Yeah, maybe I have been here too long!! Why do you think when comparing say, Baldwin to Bellevue, an $80K house in Baldwin will typically need a lot more cosmetic updates than the one in Bellevue? Maybe because the S.H. homes were built in what I would consider an uglier decorating period in the first place? Or perhaps the South Hills can just demand a higher price because it is considered a more desirable area? Or is it because the much older homes of Bellevue need some serious overhauls on the things one can't see as easily like structure, roof, etc.?

Melissa

[jhprentiss]

Hey

We just went through the househunting hell you're considering (also from CA). We looked all over, especially in Crafton. We really loved the style of the houses and the feel of the neighborhood. We have small kids, so the community was important to us and we got a great feeling from Crafton.

I'll tell you though, there were two reasons why we chose to by a mid-century box in Mt Lebanon: 1) schools (nuf said) and 2) those beautiful old houses (in our price range anyway, which seems similar to yours...) needed a lot of work.

The schools don't even compare in those areas.

We went through the process many times, identify a great house, bid, win it, inspect it. This was repeatedly the sticking point. No one wanted to go down on the price of a house just because it needed a new roof or plumbing or electrical wiring or siding, etc. (some of those older houses had ALL of those problems!)

So we walked from several deals in that area (and others).

There were also some flips that were nice to look at but hadn't been done very well.

So I agree that the areas are very attractive, but be very careful which house you live in. And if you're not worried about schools, it's great, friendly, convenient to everything. We loved it.

Jen

[Katarina Witt]

We have seen some homes for under $110K. What's wrong with these houses? Most of them are older homes but they are almost all somewhat updated inside. Is it the small yards? Old roof/plumbing/electrical? Busy street or next to the "bad" surrounding areas?

In some cases, all of the above. I grew up in a "This Old House" in suburban Beaver Falls (yes, there is such a place!). There was always something needing to be done to it. "Somewhat updated" can mean many things. Choose carefully.

[Stagger Lee]

I would suggest buying a new box shaped house from Maranda or Ryan homes in a new housing division somewhere with a life of 15 years max to them.

[missytoe]

Shoot, that's what I thought. Thank you for the terrific advice, particularly Jen. I have a 6 month old baby so eventually school districts will be important for me. My cousin lives in Upper St. Clair (but she was raised in Castle Shannon) and I lived in Baldwin and Bethel. My grandmother has lived on the east end of West Mifflin forever. I was back about two weeks ago and we did a LOT of driving around in the South Hills to "show me around". I am not against the mid-century box but it has to be a sort of, well, "cute" one. I am priced out of a lot of Mt. Lebanon homes but I know you can't go wrong with that area. I will keep looking!
Melissa

[gameguy56]

Originally Posted by Stagger Lee

I would suggest buying a new box shaped house from Maranda or Ryan homes in a new housing division somewhere with a life of 15 years max to them.

you should at least tell her that you're being sarcastic. otherwise people might start believing you!

[jhprentiss]

We all know how Stagger feels.

I bought a great house, and believe me, we looked at a lot of them.

Melissa, it sounds like you already have help in the area, but if you need anything, let me know.

Jen

[Katarina Witt]

Most of the tumble-down houses I saw in on my last trip back looked a lot older than 15 yrs! The majority of the housing in Pittsburgh is old. For example, here are the stats for Bellevue (from City-Data):

1999 to March 2000: 6
1995 to 1998: 6
1990 to 1994: 14
1980 to 1989: 234
1970 to 1979: 304
1960 to 1969: 591
1950 to 1959: 652
1940 to 1949: 501
1939 or earlier: 2,462

Numbers refer to the year the houses were built.

The pre-WWII houses (the vast majority) were built with much different styles than newer homes. This is not always better. Kitchen design came into its own during WW II, prior to that, kitchens did not always even have a place for a refrigerator, b/c most people didn't HAVE refrigerators! They have lousy insulation (sometimes none), bad wiring, all the things some previous posters have mentioned. Just something to think about.