Dormont/Illinois Ave. (Lebanon, Liberty, Bloomfield: for sale, real estate market, apartment)

[nundoesconido]

Does anyone know about the Illinois/E. Liberty section of Dormont? I currently live to it's west and eventually plan on relocating. I know Dormont in general is a safe place, atleast I've never had a problem with it. I did a search on the crime statistics, just wondering if anyone else knew anything about crime/any other kind of negative attraction in the area.

Also, around the same area..what else is nice/affordable for a young couple?

Thanks.

[Doowlle34]

I think you are generally as safe in that area of Dormont as any other. I've lived in Dormont for 9 years, and I can generally say I've never had anything even close to a safety issue. We did have some younger kids move in across the street from us last year and they had one loud weekend party where some guy was screaming "don't play me like that" at 3 a.m., but generally my girlfriend and I feel very safe here. We often walk on friday and saturday evenings (we're boring and aren't really drinkers), and haven't ever had an issue in the 11 to 11:30 p.m. timeframe. I contrast this with, for example, Bloomfield -- which, while I am not saying is unsafe, definitely feels a little more "busy" than Dormont. Recently, we were considering moving into the city and buying one of the cheaper (though seemingly quickly appreciating) row houses around the new Childrens Hospital. And, frankly, we ran into some "characters" a few times we went there. (On the other hand, on one Sunday evening the only person we ran into was a nice, old Italian man who was sitting on his porch.) And while I don't feel concerned about my girlfriend getting off of the T in the dark in Dormont, I wasn't so sure I wanted her walking from the bus to a potential home in Bloomfield.

[Chihlidog]

Dormont in general is pretty safe, yes, but there are lots of "active" youth in the area, and some parts of Dormont IMO are getting residents that dont care nearly as much about the neighborhood as most longtime residents do.

My parent's house is an example, they live in a nice house in Dormont (Dont want to say EXACTLY where for privacy reasons) but not a hlaf a block down the street from them are rowhouses whose residents are loud, dont maintain the property, and are the type of people in general that arent necessarily a safety hazard but that you dont really want to live that close to anyway.

I see more and more of this in Dormont. I would say that in that area, you could also be looking at Brookline (in the city, whereas Dormont isnt) or Mt. Lebanon (not in the city, and pricier than either but very nice).

[Doowlle34]

Chihli,

I have also seen negative things like you describe in Dormont and wondered if they are harbingers for the future of the neighborhood. On the other hand, I have also seen many real estate investors snap up dilapidated and/or foreclosed properties, rehab them, and sell them to new "quality" residents. Belrose Ave is a particular example that I have been following: two houses have already been rehabbed (one of which was in very poor shape when we moved to Dormont in 1999), and a third is currently being rehabbed.

Look, this borough is always going to be somewhat problematic -- noone is going to move here for the school district, and the high-end of the real estate market is probably somewhat limited (despite the fact that there are two homes for sale in Dormont now that are listed well in excess of 200k -- one of which appears to be another rehab). However, I don't necessarily see evidence that there is a downward trend, but rather there may actually be a bit of a "reawakening" occurring (or at least one can hope)!

[fleetiebelle]

On the other hand, I have also seen many real estate investors snap up dilapidated and/or foreclosed properties, rehab them, and sell them to new "quality" residents.

The problem comes (in any neighborhood, not just Dormont) when investors turn what once were single family homes into rental properties. While not everyone is a bad tenant, renters tend to be more transient and have less of a stake in the neighborhood and keeping it nice than homeowners do.

[shadaro]

Warning! I lived in the apartment building at 1218 with my husband and we had to break lease and move out when they rented to a creepy man who nearly burned down the apartment building and couldn't keep his hands to himself. He also rooted through our garbage and stole our mail. Do not rent from arbors for either the 1218 or the 1220 buildings!

I normally just read here, and was surprised to see Illinois mentioned.

[Duane1961]

I am a life long resident of Dormont and for the most part it is pretty safe. It is less than a square mile and the police respond pretty quickly when needed.
The Illnois/Arkansas area is probably the oldest section of Dormont and is probably the most tired looking part of the boro. An awful lot of rental properties and as a result, the properties aren't always well kept here. The foreclosure mess left a couple of vacant houses around the boro but they seemed to get snapped up during the sheriff sales and are being updated and put back on the market.
Dormont has both of the main arteries into town going thru it and it also is bisected by the "T" light rail. These factors along with a non-city school district have always made it a convient place to live.
With fuel costs rising in the future and a walkable and still active business district. I anticipate increased interest in living here.

[otters21]

Originally Posted by shadaro

Warning! I lived in the apartment building at 1218 with my husband and we had to break lease and move out when they rented to a creepy man who nearly burned down the apartment building and couldn't keep his hands to himself. He also rooted through our garbage and stole our mail. Do not rent from arbors for either the 1218 or the 1220 buildings!

I normally just read here, and was surprised to see Illinois mentioned.

He sounds like he's mentally sick and not taking his medication .My ex boyfriend 's mother was just like that. She was diagnosed mentally ill and when she stopped taking her meds she went off the deep end and she had burnt two homes down. Also she would verbally attack people out of the blue.. Fortunately the last I heard she is living in a supervised enviroment and they make sure she takes her meds. I feel bad for these poor folks and they need to be in a group home setting or in some type of assistant living situation. otherwise Dormont is a pretty nice safe "old school" type town and a great place to live.