Why such cheap houses in Beltzhoover? (Pittsburgh, Allentown: top neighborhoods, real estate, safe)

[italianbluesboy]

I was checking realtor.com, and I see dirt cheap houses in a neighborhood called Beltzhoover. Is it that bad? I mean I would expect cheap prices in Homewood or Wilkinsburg due to their dangerous reputation. Is this Beltzhoover that bad? Because for 8,000 or 10,000 dollars one could have a weekend home in the city!

[lifepgh2op]

Just to name a few...
Body found in yard of Beltzhoover house

Three people stabbed in Beltzhoover

Man, 18, faces trial in Beltzhoover killing

15-year-old shot in Beltzhoover

Victim of Beltzhoover stabbing dies

Man charged with killing Beltzhoover grandmother

Authorities seek Beltzhoover homicide fugitive

[steindle]

Yes, I have to say...I grew up and had a fine childhood in much-feared Mount Oliver, so I am not usually quick to judge a neighborhood, but...Yeah, Beltzhoover is rough. In many areas, the housing stock is among the most dilapidated in the city. Just take a look on Google Streetview, virtually anywhere in the neighborhood you will see the classic "missing tooth" housing pattern on most blocks.

I took the bus and walked through Beltzhoover almost every day of 9th grade and didn't have much trouble because I was an obvious outsider, but I still go the occasional rock-throwing or name-calling treatment. There are virtually no stores or commercial or industrial enterprises in this area -- the closest it gets is adjoining Allentown, which is very much struggling itself. This fact itself separates most of the rough South Hilltop neighborhoods from their East End counterparts (like Homewood or Wilkinsburg, as you mentioned). In the East End, there is some population density and actual stores -- for example on Wood Street in Wilkinsburg or Frankstown in Homewood. In many of Pittsburgh's South Hilltop 'hoods -- Knoxville, Beltzhoover, St. Clair Village, Arlington, etc -- there is very little going on commercially or culturally. It's a sad state of affairs.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by steindle

for example on Wood Street in Wilkinsburg

Yeah but turn the corner on to Penn Avenue and head south and there are plenty of empty store fronts.

[Bazzwell]

Originally Posted by italianbluesboy

Because for 8,000 or 10,000 dollars one could have a weekend home in the city!

8k to 10k won't buy you an old mobile home on an eighth of an acre lot in the most backward area in four counties around Pittsburgh city. Just what realistic expectation would you have for such a price within a mile or two of the city itself?

Try this.....take a weekend visit to the area. Park your car, walk around, talk to the residents, shop at the stores. You'll get a much better idea of the neighborhood.

I understand this might seem a tad sarcastic but really now....

[italianbluesboy]

Okay, thanks. I get the idea. I think I'll just forget about it. But I was just hoping that with the economy the way it is that it is a buyers' market, and a cheap but decent 2nd home could be had. It would be nice to have a home in Pgh. city to stay at on the weekends and be close to activities and events.

I guess 99.99% of the time its true - you get what you pay for. And the other cliche - If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

[Drover]

If you just need a basic, structurally sound place with four walls and a roof to serve as a crash pad and don't care about aesthetics, decor and the like, you can find some really cheap stuff in relatively safe neighborhoods like Troy Hill, Polish Hill and even Bloomfield. It won't be pretty, and it won't be $8,000 cheap... but I bet you could get a bone-ugly but habitable place in one of these neighborhoods for around 25 to 30 grand.

ETA: Check this place out -- a 3-bedroom for 18 grand. Ugly as hell and in an ugly as hell neighborhood... but a decently safe neighborhood. Also looks like East End redevelopment is starting to push Bloomfield real estate prices up. Still some cheap stuff there though, just not much in the under-50-grand territory any more.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by Drover

Ugly as hell and in an ugly as hell neighborhood... but a decently safe neighborhood.

Haha, hey watch yourself! That house is literally on the same block that my father grew up on .

[Drover]

Originally Posted by steindle

Haha, hey watch yourself! That house is literally on the same block that my father grew up on .

LOL... lets be real, Troy Hill is an eyesore. It has its own bizarre, rustic blue-collar charm in a way, but it is still one ugly-ass little patch of real estate.

[john7104]

Originally Posted by Drover

If you just need a basic, structurally sound place with four walls and a roof to serve as a crash pad and don't care about aesthetics, decor and the like, you can find some really cheap stuff in relatively safe neighborhoods like Troy Hill, Polish Hill and even Bloomfield. It won't be pretty, and it won't be $8,000 cheap... but I bet you could get a bone-ugly but habitable place in one of these neighborhoods for around 25 to 30 grand.

ETA: Check this place out -- a 3-bedroom for 18 grand. Ugly as hell and in an ugly as hell neighborhood... but a decently safe neighborhood. Also looks like East End redevelopment is starting to push Bloomfield real estate prices up. Still some cheap stuff there though, just not much in the under-50-grand territory any more.

I don't get it. It looks like every other house in Pittsburgh.