East Liberty, Garfield??? Good for fixers? (Pittsburgh: for sale, apartment, renters)

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

I believe it, I just don't know that area terribly well. Would love to see listings if you know any...I love seeing pictures of old houses and thinking about what some tlc can do.

I don't think the OP will find anything under $40k in Manchester -- the neighborhood has been improving steadily for a whole now -- but you never know. Marshall-Shadeland is just north of Manchester and there might be something up thay way...there have been some recent cheap listings along Brighton Road, but they go fast. I think the OP really wants something like this, but it's already been snatched up:

1116 Success St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 - realtor.com®

Love it! Looks like it needs some TLC and some fine tuning, but great bones. I promised not to wear my Redskins hat...

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

How about this one..location wise mainly....311 N. Mathilda 15224.

Wow, you aren't kidding about doing a gut rehab. They are asking almost $50k and there seems to be a tree sprouting from its side. But yes, the location is probably good -- anything walking distance to Penn Ave is probably going to go up in value in the foreseeable future.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Here's another option, fix up one side, rent out, then fix the other side, each side is ~$40k
$84,900
2beds · 1baths
2831 1/2 Mary St, Pittsburgh
http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...3_M30485-92072

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

Love it! Looks like it needs some TLC and some fine tuning, but great bones. I promised not to wear my Redskins hat...

Ha, funny. My husband is from Tidewater and we also wear mainly burgundy and gold in the Fall

[Hal Roach]

Is the crime tolerable? The numbers look pretty bad. I actually lived in Oakland about twenty years ago....constant car breaking, women were terrified....I think Thailand has a lot safer streets, and there are jails full of criminals here, too. I haven't heard of a female being assaulted in the perimeter of a 40,000 student University in four years. They will use the coin laundries in the middle of the night, and really think nothing of it. CCTV helps, but you just don't have the fear of strangers. I hope you all can relate.

[eschaton]

There's a house on the market right now in Troy Hill at that price range. I like Troy Hill a lot honestly compared to other neighborhoods in its price point. The neighborhood has a local cafe/market, along with a random upscale restaurant and a photography bookstore. Plus a fair amount of typical working class venues and a walkable urban environment.

[UKyank]

You need to focus on some of the other neighborhoods mentioned on here to find what you're looking for; basically need to find the 'next hot thing' rather then the 'current hot thing'. I'd add homestead/munhall area to be on the lookout for decent places as I see it on the rise.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by eschaton

There's a house on the market right now in Troy Hill at that price range. I like Troy Hill a lot honestly compared to other neighborhoods in its price point. The neighborhood has a local cafe/market, along with a random upscale restaurant and a photography bookstore. Plus a fair amount of typical working class venues and a walkable urban environment.

Yes -- but note that it's the same one I posted; there aren't a lot of these left at this price...they do come up pretty regularly but they also sell fast.

We really like Thursday night burgers at Pear & Pickle. Troy Hill and the area around it is really nice.

About crime -- I can't speak for the area around Garfield (though I suspect most of Pittsburgh is better now than Oakland was in the 90s), but the Northside is very safe. Sadly there's a lot of heroin and the sort of crime that comes with drug abuse, but it's generally non-violent and doesn't affect people with a reasonable amount of street smarts. There's also a ton of families and young professionals -- we live on Spring Hill with little kids and go to Troy Hill etc a lot, and we don't think twice about it.

[selltheburgh]

311 N Mathilda needs a total renovation.

You'll be hard pressed to find a house for under 40k in those two neighborhoods that don't. It could happen though.

[sky329]

Don't rule out penn hills.. cheap buy in and they are still selling houses out there like nobody's business