Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-22-2018, 01:45 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
387 posts, read 466,855 times
Reputation: 450

Advertisements

Nerys,
Jeeze you got a lot going on.
Your goals sound pretty realistic/sound for what you're trying to accomplish.


Just a note: if the house is well insulated & you have a newer model oil furnace, the cost to heat is around the same as natural gas, but there's delivery & contracts & that type of stuff. Just putting this out there. If you're trying to set your siblings up incase you are no longer around, then natural gas is easier & more efficient & newer furnaces don't need chimneys just PVC pipe to vent, so I get why you're headed for it.


Have you considered bankruptcy so you can get rid of the debt?
There's a good forum a friend of mine used when he filed & there's lots of info https://www.bkforum.com/ it's regular people asking all kinds of questions & tips/tricks they cover it all, I learned a lot of info from that site about credit reporting & debt collection even though I didn't file BK, it was a useful site for me as well.
I don't know your situation, but if your siblings are now your dependents I'd look into it for sure.


I looked at some of the houses in New Castle online, since you brought it up--prices are ripe for the pickin & some nice places too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-22-2018, 02:13 AM
 
7 posts, read 10,352 times
Reputation: 10
bankuptcy won't work. an "estate" can't declare bankruptcy. I already thought of that. they already thought of it too and prevented it in law.


the big one for me is taxes. I need low taxes. otherwise I am slaving just to pay rent to the state. sucks hard core.


I so badly want to move to new mexico but that is looking more and more difficult to do :-(


hell I can't even get a mortgage. I have a 750 credit score and can't get a $70k mortgage. get this


big banks. loan amount too small or DTI too high. (they count the house debt against me even though its not technically on my credit) I reply that's ok when I sell the house 100% of the debt goes away. they say OK come back when you do that. no joke. they won't approve on contingency. thats suicide. I can't do that.


hard money. sure we would approve you but not for a loan that small. their bottom limit is $100k and I can't afford that much house.


local banks insitu. sure. we can approve on contingency and we can do loans that small but none of the houses "I" can afford will pass inspection so no loan.


fun ehh? what a damned joke.


as for oil. maybe that applies with a small/modern house but with a larger or older house... not even close. at least not around here in my experience. oil heat is TWICE the cost of Propane/electric and 10 times that of natural gas.


at home 2300sqft propane/electric. $700 a month once we hit the teens.


at work 2400 sqft oil furnace and BETTER insulated and one story once in the teens $1450-$1500 a month in oil and THAT is me going with my 70gallon tanker trailer and buying cheaper than home heating oil off road diesel!! holy crap. I have started running electric heaters to offset the oil heat. dropped my heating cost by $500 even after adding in the increased electric cost. INSANE how much oil heat costs. (15-18 gallons PER DAY when it drops to the teens and lower)


if I had natural gas? would probably be $150 a month tops. at least that is what others with similar sized homes are reporting. $120-$160 a month.


so a lot of this is guessing and hearsay. and that natgas bill includes cooking and dryer and water heater which means much much lower electric bill (usually $400 a month!!)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-22-2018, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
1,491 posts, read 1,448,708 times
Reputation: 1067
Quote:
Originally Posted by nerys View Post
bankuptcy won't work. an "estate" can't declare bankruptcy. I already thought of that. they already thought of it too and prevented it in law.


the big one for me is taxes. I need low taxes. otherwise I am slaving just to pay rent to the state. sucks hard core.


I so badly want to move to new mexico but that is looking more and more difficult to do :-(


hell I can't even get a mortgage. I have a 750 credit score and can't get a $70k mortgage. get this


big banks. loan amount too small or DTI too high. (they count the house debt against me even though its not technically on my credit) I reply that's ok when I sell the house 100% of the debt goes away. they say OK come back when you do that. no joke. they won't approve on contingency. thats suicide. I can't do that.


hard money. sure we would approve you but not for a loan that small. their bottom limit is $100k and I can't afford that much house.


local banks insitu. sure. we can approve on contingency and we can do loans that small but none of the houses "I" can afford will pass inspection so no loan.


fun ehh? what a damned joke.


as for oil. maybe that applies with a small/modern house but with a larger or older house... not even close. at least not around here in my experience. oil heat is TWICE the cost of Propane/electric and 10 times that of natural gas.


at home 2300sqft propane/electric. $700 a month once we hit the teens.


at work 2400 sqft oil furnace and BETTER insulated and one story once in the teens $1450-$1500 a month in oil and THAT is me going with my 70gallon tanker trailer and buying cheaper than home heating oil off road diesel!! holy crap. I have started running electric heaters to offset the oil heat. dropped my heating cost by $500 even after adding in the increased electric cost. INSANE how much oil heat costs. (15-18 gallons PER DAY when it drops to the teens and lower)


if I had natural gas? would probably be $150 a month tops. at least that is what others with similar sized homes are reporting. $120-$160 a month.


so a lot of this is guessing and hearsay. and that natgas bill includes cooking and dryer and water heater which means much much lower electric bill (usually $400 a month!!)
2300 sq ft will probably be north of 200 with a natural gas forced air furnace. If its a particularly cold month it could crest $300. But that is still significantly cheaper than oil.

also, there are hard money lenders out there that will do less than 100k. I can give you a referral if you like. The biggest issue is the interest rates on hard money are pretty high, but if you have no other options and a way to pay it off in a year or 2 ( most require at least 6-12 months of payments or there is an early payoff fee) it might be an ok option.

Private lenders would be your other option. Try to find a relative or friend or acquaintance that might want to diversify their retirement account a bit or wants an additional stream of income. You can offer significantly higher than a bank CD or MMA and they have a fairly safe investment that pays them monthly cashflow.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-22-2018, 02:58 PM
 
7 posts, read 10,352 times
Reputation: 10
early pay off penalty is bad. since I will be paying it off entirely or almost entirely almost immediately. (catch22 have to buy a house before I can sell current home but need the money from current home to buy new home. yeah!!)


$200 is still soooo much cheaper than propane. 3 months last year heating cost me just a tad north of $700 a month. that hurt bad.


my rough timeline is if i secure lending I find and buy a home (30 days or so) then I move their and being process to sell this home (2 months) then sell this home (end of that two months) and pay off the loan or most of it when I do that. so I would only be borrowing for 3-4 months tops 5 if something goes sideways.


hence why I am looking for SUCH cheap houses now. $70k is only possible with lending. $40k is my limit without lending. fun fun fun.



I will keep working the problem as best I can :-)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-27-2018, 12:50 PM
 
7 posts, read 10,352 times
Reputation: 10
I guess there are always reasons for houses being so cheap :-(
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-27-2018, 03:53 PM
 
436 posts, read 339,872 times
Reputation: 322
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbsteel View Post
New Castle is dying a bit but I don't think its dangerous or anything.
I don't know, seems like it's the focal point of Lawrence County and it seems to be in the news for the wrong reasons at least once a week.

There's a well known New Castle vs Youngstown gang thing. Lots of Detroit players being arrested there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2019, 09:35 AM
 
18 posts, read 10,397 times
Reputation: 17
I can't speak of New Castle, but my advice would be to look more at Greensburg and the surrounding areas in Wesmoreland County. They have some pros and some cons.

Pros:
- The ARC of Greensburg is an invaluable resource for those with disabilities and I think you could find some needed support.
- The cost for housing is, in general, less than Alleghany County. I grew up in a small town about 12 miles north of Greensburg and decent houses can still be found for under $50K. The biggest issue for most people is the areas are not particularly close to jobs, although that does not seem to be an issue for you.
- Greensburg is a large enough town to have the infrastructure most want and need (i.e. shopping, gas service, city water, etc.).

Cons:
- Taxes are on the higher side. Not as high as Alleghaney Country by far, but still higher than other parts of the country. PA tends to have higher property taxes than surrounding states (although after living in several large US cities, Baltimore MD has the highest taxes I've experienced with the least benefit in return).
- Depending on your lifestyle, Greensburg can be considered a boring place. It is not a urban setting and some people hate that. I hated it when I was young, but I had very few responsabilities back then.
- Schools are just OK. But based on your posts, and if I'm not misunderstanding them, traditional public schools don't seem to be a need.
- The weather in Western PA can be challenging, but at least people here can reasonably deal with it (unlike Washington DC where any snow is treated as a natural disaster).

Just my two cents.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2019, 01:59 PM
 
645 posts, read 1,526,277 times
Reputation: 1236
Quote:
Originally Posted by statistician_5 View Post

Pros:
- The ARC of Greensburg is an invaluable resource for those with disabilities and I think you could find some needed support.
If the ARC of Greensburg is on par with what I have experienced wt the ARC of Crawford Co., then you should be very well served. The folks I know at the the ARC of CC by and large are compassionate, professional, and really try to be good advocates for their clients.

As for New Castle, I wish I had better things to say - I always found it a kinda rough, unfriendly, very clannish/provincial; a 'harsh' place that has a depressed vibe, and not inviting... A true story. I was gassing up my ride at a station just outside of town, and a gal (white) was playing rap music while parked in front of the store. The music was not really loud, but a fella at one of the pumps rapidly approached the car and yelled "turn that n----r music down". Sure, it could be anywhere, but to me in many ways sums up my thoughts/experiences with New Castle. Maybe it has gotten better the last few years?

Not that Meadville is leaps and bounds better than New Castle in my experience, but as I mention their ARC seems really good, and I see a LOT of people they service around town/stores/events. Meadville would be about an hour north of New Castle, similar cost of living/taxes, pretty good bus service if needed, but typically more snow. It is the home of Allegheny College, and I enjoy the cultural programs they offer. I hope you find what you want and need, good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-07-2022, 01:51 PM
 
2 posts, read 1,159 times
Reputation: 15
Hey Nerys, have you ended up moving to New castle?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top