Donora (Pittsburgh, Washington, New Kensington: houses, neighborhood, wedding)

[Ken_B.]

Can some give me the inside on a town called Donora - this house is too good to be true for the money......

RE/MAX Heritage - 58 Manor Road

[kpoeppel]

Donora is famous nationally for a massive air-pollution episode that happened a long time ago...back in the 40's I think. Other than that I don't know much about it.

[Katiana]

It is the hometown of Stan Musial. Maybe I am dating myself by knowing who he is.

[guylocke]

Can some give me the inside on a town called Donora - this house is too good to be true for the money......

I don't know anything about it either. Upon map questing it, it looks like a little place in a part of Pittsburgh suburbs that is still very rural.

I imagine it would be a little bit of a hike to the city, too. The house looks beautiful!!

I think that is a very realistic price for a home like that in Pittsburgh. My parent's little home in Lower Burrell is only appraised at about 165k and it's just as gorgeous if not more so, so I certainly believe the validity of the price. My parents home is all brick, too!!

[guylocke]

Ken_B, I'll link you a few places where my parents are from, I think you'll be shocked. BTW, they may all say New Kensington because New Ken is the largest city in the zip code 15068, but these homes could also be in Lower Burrell or Allegheny Township or several others.

Look at this beauty for 250k!
RE/MAX Heritage - 229 Deer Drive

Here are a few really nice ones for just shy of 200k!
RE/MAX Heritage - 3412 Aloha
RE/MAX Heritage - 258 Hillcrest Drive
RE/MAX Heritage - 160 McLaughlin Drive

Look at this one for nearly 150k!
RE/MAX Heritage - 152 Dinwiddie Dr.
RE/MAX Heritage - 14 ROYAL OAK DR

Look at this adorable place for only 135k!!
RE/MAX Heritage - 115 Fawn Drive

If you want small and quaint, even this is a really great home for less than 90k!!
RE/MAX Heritage - 612 Clyde Street

I mean, I grew up in that area and my parents still live there. I can tell you that these are very well kept and beautiful homes. There is nothing wrong with them whatsoever, and if you think it's too good to be true, you better go check them out, cause it isn't too good!

[Magic Maggie]

Ken D. I am a native of the town across the river from Donora. If you check the post on the next page "what about Monessen" you'll see my response. There's a reason that the house is so inexpensive. There are some lovely homes there, but the place as a whole (hole, ha, ha!) is a dead former steel mill town with a senior citizen tax base and no business community to speak of. Sad. While there are many areas of Pittsburgh that are growing and revitalizing, mostly north of the city, the Mon Valley seems to be the land that time forgot. I read recently in the paper that they wanted to put a meth lab in downtown, which fortunately got voted down.

There is a very good reason why so many homes in this area are dirt cheap. Sorry I don't mean to bash; I'm proud of where I came from, but that is the truth and I really hope things change in my lifetime. Recommend looking north of Pgh or in Washington County near Southpoint.

[maba]

I really don't know much about Donora but having been there once for a wedding, my impression of what little I saw of the town is that it's a ghost town.

[Ken_B.]

thanks for the responses, thought the Donora house was to good to be true.

Guylocke - nice homes and this one def has a bit of WOW factor!
RE/MAX Heritage - 229 Deer Drive

Im looking in the 150 - 200K area. No kids so school districts are only important as far as resale.

[Katiana]

Go for a Sunday drive and take a look arouond. Then you will know if it's right for you. In fact, you should do that for all the areas you are considering. Then you won't waste your time and the seller's by looking at houses you definitiely wouldn't buy.

[Ken_B.]

Originally Posted by Magic Maggie

Ken D. I am a native of the town across the river from Donora. If you check the post on the next page "what about Monessen" you'll see my response. There's a reason that the house is so inexpensive. There are some lovely homes there, but the place as a whole (hole, ha, ha!) is a dead former steel mill town with a senior citizen tax base and no business community to speak of. Sad. While there are many areas of Pittsburgh that are growing and revitalizing, mostly north of the city, the Mon Valley seems to be the land that time forgot. I read recently in the paper that they wanted to put a meth lab in downtown, which fortunately got voted down.

There is a very good reason why so many homes in this area are dirt cheap. Sorry I don't mean to bash; I'm proud of where I came from, but that is the truth and I really hope things change in my lifetime. Recommend looking north of Pgh or in Washington County near Southpoint.

Maggie, I just read that thread - so sorry to hear about your old neighborhood, thats gotta sting. I can tell a similar tale about my old neighborhood when I was a boy, problem is it was always a poor town - just a good poor town, now a bad poor town.

Ken B.