Transferring to university of pittsburgh,willing to buy a house there,any good place to invest? (Washington: real estate, rentals)

[waltershui]

I am transferring from East Los Angeles college to University of Pittsburgh. i am thinking to buy a house instead rent, so i can have my own bedroom and rents all others. where is a good place to invest(easy to rent,convenience,not so expensive,no a ghetto). i am currently have $20k to put down to get a house over there,the house doesn't have to close the school because i will drive my car to there. last question, since i am Chinese, will i be discriminated in Pittsburgh?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by waltershui

I am transferring from East Los Angeles college to University of Pittsburgh. i am thinking to buy a house instead rent, so i can have my own bedroom and rents all others. where is a good place to invest(easy to rent,convenience,not so expensive,no a ghetto). i am currently have $20k to put down to get a house over there,the house doesn't have to close the school because i will drive my car to there.

I'd actually suggest buying in or near Oakland (where Pitt is located) anyway, since with the student population from Pitt and CMU, there are always lots of people looking to rent. In addition to Oakland itself (which might be your best choice), you might also look at an area called Polish Hill, which has inexpensive homes but is quite close to Oakland (it is a bit rundown, but not at all a ghetto, and indeed quite safe). You could also look in a neighborhood called Bloomfield, which is also convenient to Oakland with some inexpensive homes.

last question, since i am Chinese, will i be discriminated in Pittsburgh?

I always hesistate to answer these questions when I am not the ethnicity in question myself, but I would again suggest it makes sense to stick in or around Oakland, which tend to be ethnically diverse areas, and generally have sort of a college town feel.

[waltershui]

thanks for your reply!
from some researches from this forum that i made, i found there areas:
MT Washington
Bloomfield
Polish Hill(what is the zip code?i need it for some research)
MILLVALE
Sharpsburg
these areas are quiet safe places to live, but i don't know if they are easy to rent

[fleetiebelle]

the house doesn't have to close the school because i will drive my car to there.

I'm sure you're aware of this, but the parking around Pitt is atrocious. The University strongly encourages students and staff to use public transportation (which is free with ID, ) but if you do manage to get a parking pass, it'll be expensive.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by waltershui

thanks for your reply!
from some researches from this forum that i made, i found there areas:
MT Washington
Bloomfield
Polish Hill(what is the zip code?i need it for some research)
MILLVALE
Sharpsburg
these areas are quiet safe places to live, but i don't know if they are easy to rent

Here is a good zipcode resource:

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cp/...codesneigh.pdf

Unfortunately, although a small neighborhood, parts of Polish Hill could be in any of three zipcodes: 15219, 15213, or 15201.

I know that Mt Washington rentals tend to go pretty quickly (lots of people working Downtown or in the South Side rent there), and Bloomfield and Polish Hills rentals do too (if not overpriced), with the proximity to Oakland. Hopefully someone else knows Millvale and Sharpsburg well enough to comment.

[waltershui]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I'm sure you're aware of this, but the parking around Pitt is atrocious. The University strongly encourages students and staff to use public transportation (which is free with ID, ) but if you do manage to get a parking pass, it'll be expensive.

wow, thanks for the info, i didnt really realize that that means i need buy some places where easy to access the public transportations. is Bloomfield had these stations?

[Humanoid]

Unless you plan on staying in Pittsburgh this is a bad idea, the houses in Pittsburgh don't appreciate much (right the lower end is declining). The only want to make money in real estate in Pittsburgh is by buying property and renting it out with positive cash-flow, but the prices are a bit too hight to do this at the moment. If you're only going to stay for 5 years or so, you may as well go to Vegas with your money it would be a more effective investment.

since i am Chinese, will i be discriminated in Pittsburgh?

CMU has a lot of Chinese students (often from the main land), Pitt not as many. Regardless, just stay close to the universities and you'll be fine. Outside of the university area there are very few Asians.

Get use to not eating Chinese food unless you cook it yourself!

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by waltershui

wow, thanks for the info, i didnt really realize that that means i need buy some places where easy to access the public transportations. is Bloomfield had these stations?

There is a bus that connect Oakland and Bloomfield, and a lot of people also walk ... it is about 30-40 minutes.

[pghcleak]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

Get use to not eating Chinese food unless you cook it yourself!

Wow, what a stereotype

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

Unless you plan on staying in Pittsburgh this is a bad idea, the houses in Pittsburgh don't appreciate much (right the lower end is declining).

Do you have detailed appreciation statistics for Pittsburgh? I know some people at CMU did a detailed study, but I have never found it online.