Looking for more ideas on next neighborhood... (Pittsburgh, Bloomfield: second mortgage, big house)

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Hopes

They don't like Greenfield because it's too suburban. She'll think Squirrel Hill and Regent Square are too far since she thinks Morningside and Highland Park are too far. Mt. Washington is an option, but I'll bet they'll feel it's too suburban like Greenfield.

My wife was somewhat open to Squirrel Hill, but really, we can't afford anything within walking distance to the business district, unless it's a rowhouse not much larger than where we currently live. South of the Parkway might as well be Greenfield.

Houses in the city portion of Regent Square are really, really hard to come by at any price. It would be like waiting around for a decent house in Polish Hill (which is somewhere both of us would otherwise be okay with).

We're trying to keep an open mind about Mount Washington. Neither one of us like it much though. Even though it's an old neighborhood, it seems rare that any historic/intact houses go on the market there.

Originally Posted by Hopes

The easiest solution is to convince the in-laws to move to the city, but that's unlikely if his wife gets her stubborn streak from her parents.

Her mom would love to move to the city. Her father, however, had the house custom built in South Park back in the 1970s, and is planning on dying in it. It's starting to become impractical for them as they age - not only because of the steps, but because it's situated really far back on property and has a steep driveway. I'm convinced he'll break his hip shoveling it one of these years.

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Not sure where in the South Hills you need to go but Friendship would be close to both Linden and to the South Hills by way of Bigelow Blvd. to West Liberty.

We're both open to Friendship, but little goes on the market there for under $300,000. There's a beautiful one right at the threshold, but my wife says it's "too big."

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I agree that you should have your wife make the decision. She is going to be unhappy with either the drive to her parents or the length of your daughter's bus ride to school.

I would probably vote to live close to school. Years ago I took a bus from Churchill to Squirrel Hill and it was brutal. If you live in the East End your daughter would be closer to her school friends theoretically. You would also be close to school for activities. But let your wife make the decision.

One thing I didn't mention is PPS provides bus service to the school, but only if you live more than 1.5 miles away. So basically if we lived in Point Breeze (excluding Park Place) or much of Squirrel Hill we'd have to drive our daughter to school every day anyway, which is a disincentive to getting too close.

Originally Posted by ferraris

What about Dormont?

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Your wife is telling you that you are going to move to Mount Lebanon. Congratulations. I hear it's nice there.

My daughter got into the magnet system in PPS, and my wife is 100% committed to staying within city limits.

Originally Posted by Hopes

She definitely needs to make the decision because she is the one who is creating this impossible scenario. If she's forced to be in charge of finding the new house, she might change her mind.

I've thought about it, but we just won't move ever, and I don't want to be in this house for the rest of my life. My wife is one of those people who when she has a stressful decision in front of her tries to procrastinate rather than biting the bullet. It's made dealing with contractors frustrating, because we get a bid and she waits a month to get back to a contractor to try to get other bids in, at which time the first guy doesn't want it any longer.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

That Hafield house was illegally split into apartments last year. It was priced at 299k. There were offers much less than that and they didnt' fly. The seller came back to Pgh, did work on the house, listed it at 369k, then dropped it and it is now under contract.

Not a bad house, has a side lot and the improvements made it sell.

I missed that it is contingent. It's a nice house. Very big and having a lot is a bonus. I could have overlooked the kitchen for the right price.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

My daughter got into the magnet system in PPS, and my wife is 100% committed to staying within city limits.

I think maybe my training as a psychic couples counselor was a waste.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by eschaton

We're both open to Friendship, but little goes on the market there for under $300,000. There's a beautiful one right at the threshold, but my wife says it's "too big."

That's a beautiful house!

You do realize that neighborhood ideas isn't the problem here. It sounds like it was a miracle you both agreed on the one you currently own. All I can advise is to buy whatever house she says she likes because it may never happen again.

Maybe if you sell your house first, she'll be more motivated to make a decision while living in a rental. Prices are only going to continue to rise. If she doesn't decide quickly, you may find you can't afford to do it in a few years. So if you suspect she'll drag her feet as a renter, that's not a good plan because your current house will at least continue to gain equity while she's procrastinating.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I think maybe my training as a psychic couples counselor was a waste.

Don't feel badly. The patient herself isn't online. It's harder to get that psychic read through a spouse.

I was going to recommend therapy but hesitated because I suspect she wouldn't be willing.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You do realize that neighborhood ideas isn't the problem here. It sounds like it was a miracle you both agreed on the one you currently own. All I can advise is to buy whatever house she says she likes because it may never happen again.

To be perfectly honest, we didn't buy a house together. I did.

When we were first dating, she was essentially gentrified out of her apartment in the South Side, as the owner announced he was going to be selling it, and the new owner was going to convert it into high-price condos. She had money saved up towards a down payment, and was planning on using to look for a house. The plan was she would buy, and then I would move in with her.

She looked for around a year, and didn't find anything she liked within her price range. Now, she seemed like she had a bad agent. Her agent kept showing her stuff in Swissvale she wasn't interested in (possibly because she was a seller's agent on those houses) and refused to show her certain things because "a single woman shouldn't live there." But eventually her car broke down and she needed to use the money towards that instead, so I started looking for a house.

I looked around five houses in Bloomfield and Lawrenceville before deciding on the one we now live in. It needed everything redone, but the front facade was intact, which was the most important thing to me. We redid the floors right before move in, the kitchen right before the wedding, and the attic right before our daughter was born. Finally, after years of procrastinating (admittedly because we had a kid in part) the bathroom was redone just before our son was born. Besides some concrete work in the yard and basement, nothing really needs to be fixed now.

[Moby Hick]

Maybe you could add a Florida room to your current house.

[sealie]

"Too big" is sort of a silly dealbreaker if you want historic as most of Victorian Pittsburgh was either your modest rowhome or your showpiece for the semiwealthy with not too much in between. The kitchen and bathroom take longest to clean, sweeping an extra couple rooms is no big deal and you can hire that out. I would bet you are not going to find that "just right" size until the 1920s at least, probably an American Foursquare, which is right on the edge of what you find acceptable age.

I would ask your wife to rank her requirements in order, either size or South Hills convenience is going to have to go. Alternately, since very little will fit all the requirements, you can just plug them all into your real estate app of choice and ask to be notified when something meets all of them and is anywhere within city limits. You won't get too many emails since the overlap is going to be so small, it'll be manageable and less work than searching manually by neighborhood.

How serious are you about making this happen this year?

[Hopes]

It's hopeless. Take out a second mortgage and build a third or fourth story onto your house.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sealie

How serious are you about making this happen this year?

It's obvious he's serious and she's not.