Budget for a house is 20k-30k. Is there such a home for me? (Pittsburgh: sale, real estate)

[starry123]

Hello, I want to buy my first house in Pittsburgh but I don't want to get a mortgage as I am paying off large amount of student loans. I have about 25k to buy a house and extra 10k for miscellaneous costs to buy a house and moving from NJ.

I am a female and I will probably be moving by myself with my senior dog so I am needing a safe neighborhood. I do not need a job as I work at home but I do need a post office close by (20-30 minutes drive at most) and UPS office access. That's all I need. I don't need a good school around me as I don't have kids and I don't need employment. Just a safe area with a post office & UPS delivery.

My questions are: Is this feasible? If so, would a real estate agent help me buy a house with this budget? I ask because I was trying to buy a property for 15k in NJ but no one wanted to waste their time with such a low priced property. So, I'm feeling very lost and overwhelmed as Pittsburgh is 4-5 hours away from me so it's not like I can drop in and have a look around and talk to agents in person.

[Moby Hick]

I doubt this is feasible. You mention safety, which works be a long shot in itself at that price. You don't mention anything about your ability to fix up a house in poor repair. That's going to be essential. Houses that sell for so little have problems.

[sparrowmint]

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...95-62610?row=6

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...9_M36372-60156

There is stuff like this out there, but obviously you're going to need money to fix up whatever will surely come up on the inspection. It might be livable with fixes made over time, hard to say.

[guy2073]

It is possible, look for foreclosures the bank wants to liquidate, there is a minimum commission involved with an agent. This is how I bought my rental properties

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?...homes_for_sale

[PreservationPioneer]

It's absolutely possible. My first house was $10,000. It was located in Stowe Township. While it needed some work, it was move in ready when I bought it. You can live in a house and fix it up as you go. If you're not handy, you hire contractors, as I did. If you need a realtor, PM me and I will give you the information for my personal realtor, who recently helped me purchase my third low-priced home (only $8000, although this is a rehab).

There are certainly homes under $30,000 that are both in decent condition and in safe neighborhoods. That said, they will be in unfashionable neighborhoods, and they will be dated. One of the things about moving to Pittsburgh is you will have to learn the difference between an unfashionable neighborhood and a bad neighborhood. Most neighborhoods in and around the city are liveable, even the bad ones. I am currently living in McKeesport and feel safe here.

Do a search for homes under $30,000 in Allegheny County on a real estate website. See which ones appeal to you, visit the neighborhoods, talk to the neighbors, and tour the houses that fit your preferences. There are many homes on the market in your price range. Separating the liveable homes from the rehab properties will be the biggest challenge, as many listings in this price range have only one picture. Also, you will have to tour the neighborhoods with the cheap homes and see which ones you feel most comfortable in.

[starry123]

Thank you for your replies. They are very helpful.

Moby Hick: I don't have any ability to fix things up. It's one of those things on my list to do and I am hoping that I could learn from youtube tutorials one of these days.

sparrowmint: The houses you linked look very nice from the photos. I would not mind living in either one if there were no major issues but the first house would not work because my dog is older and too big for me to ever carry her so the stairs would be tough for her. The second house is pending in sale but thank you for letting me know of Millvale. I will keep that on my list of places.

[PreservationPioneer]

Check this one out. It's cheap, cute, liveable, and in a safe neighborhood:

1717 Lynn Ave, Turtle Creek, PA, 15145 | Turtle Creek Real Estate

[starry123]

Wow 2 more replies! Thank you so much!

I was feeling so overwhelmed and wanted to give up before I even started but your posts are giving me some hope of finding a home.

guy2073: I was going to look at Fannie Mae but I heard very bad reviews about them about them not closing on time and about lien issues so I didn't want to take a chance as I have a very limited budget and cannot afford getting multiple inspections on various homes.

PreservationPioneer: That is great to hear. 10k properties would be okay with me as long as they do not require more than 10k-15k in repairs. Would it be okay to pm you in a day or two about the realtor's info? I want to research the areas that you guys mentioned in and compile a list about possible properties and then talk to a realtor about them.

The turtle creek property seems to fit my bill in terms of price and safety! I would definitely like to see properties like this and find one near a post office if I could find a realtor who can show me.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by starry123

Thank you for your replies. They are very helpful.

Moby Hick: I don't have any ability to fix things up. It's one of those things on my list to do and I am hoping that I could learn from youtube tutorials one of these days.

sparrowmint: The houses you linked look very nice from the photos. I would not mind living in either one if there were no major issues but the first house would not work because my dog is older and too big for me to ever carry her so the stairs would be tough for her. The second house is pending in sale but thank you for letting me know of Millvale. I will keep that on my list of places.

Yeah, those are just the first two I saw, I imagine there are others in Millvale in that general price range.

[Rocket88]

BTW OP, that neighborhood where the houses that Sparrowmint posted has a ton of potential and has a great location. Millvale is right across from a neighborhood called Lawrenceville. Lawrencevile has exploded in the last decade and houses in the right location have increased 200% or more in some cases.