Questions about Washington County (Pittsburgh, Butler: for sale, real estate, affordable houses)

[rapchef2]

Okay, I posted here two months ago about moving and got a lot of great information for Northern Allegheny and Beaver counties. We have been here a month now and have been aggressively house hunting. I am now out of options for affordable houses, and am wondering about changing gears towards Washington county.

My husband is working in Leetsdale. After running into so many brick walls, we are willing to do a 35-40 minute commute and wondering where that would put us in Washington county. He drives into work at 2-3am, so morning commute won't be busy. He returns around 2-3pm. Can we find a decent school district on the upper half of the county? Anyone recommend any areas?

Our income just can't stretch enough to accommodate a decent house because the taxes are still over $2000 in most of Beaver county. So I'm hoping Washington might be more affordable.

[Hopes]

The best Washington County school district is in Peter's Township. You won't be able to live there any cheaper than you can in Beaver County.

If you're willing to recognize that good school districts in the Pittsburgh metro area are superior to great districts in other areas of the country, you're options are greater.

You don't need to live 35-45 minutes away from Leetsdale to find good schools and affordable housing.

[rapchef2]

I don't need the best school, just a nice district. Our kids aren't into sports or in gifted programs. We don't even qualify as middle class, so we don't have a huge list of expensive expectations. But with three kids (3,8,12), we need a house that isn't tiny. We live on one income, so things are tight. I've read lots of postings about Peter's twp, and that's more upscale than what we need. We can afford a larger house if the taxes are less, which is why I'd like to consider Washington county. A school district with a reputation similar to Center, Hopewell, Blackhawk, or Pine-Richland but in Washington county would be more than adequate. Any ideas?

[Copanut]

The Canon-McMillan School District is a public school district covering the Borough of Canonsburg and Cecil Township and North Strabane Township in Washington County, Pennsylvania


I think you could find a decent home for a good price in either one of those townships.

[greg42]

I think the toughest part of it is the size of the house. Are you actually looking for 4BR? What was your price range again? I thought it was like 120k or so. It may exist, in a rough kind of condition, somewhere, but it's hard to say where. More rural and more inconvenient is the most likely, I guess....

Have you tried farther north in Butler County, like north of Cranberry a bit? At 35-40 min non-rush commutes, you can get pretty far, and there are shortcuts to the river, not just I-79.

[rapchef2]

We'd go with a three bedroom if there is a good sized playroom and the rooms aren't all small. We're looking around $125k, but in places like Wash county where taxes can be $1,200, we can get up to $140k. We are hoping for a lot 100x200 and had found 2 such houses, but one wasn't negotiable on price at all, and the other didn't do well in inspection and we pulled out. I've looked all over Beaver county from Chippewa down, in North Alleghany, and South Butler counties. I've put aside all style preferences, but just can't find a good yard on most. We thought it would be more affordable to live here than it's turning out to be for us. If my husband's job didn't cross all three shifts and vary every week, I'd go get a part time job. Oh well.

I've found some houses that might come close, but they are in towns I know nothing about. Can anyone tell me about North Strabane, Hanover Twp, Houston, Burgettstown, McDonald (all in Wash. county), or Callery (Butler county)? Such as, are they nice places to live? In decline? Horrible to commute from (going to Leetsdale)? I've also found 2 houses with Coraopolis addresses, but are listed as Moon Twp and Moon school district. Would those be in the better side of Coraopolis? And what's wrong with the rest of the city(I've heard it's not one of the better ones)? Is it in decline, rough, lots of drugs or such?

I feel like I'm starting all over again!

[Hopes]

Callery is fine. I have some relatives who live roughly in that area. It's very rural. But it's also convenient to Cranberry for shopping.

COPANUT already recommended North Strabane. He wouldnt' recommend an area that's bad.

Aside from COPANUT's suggestions, I agree that you'd do much better going rural.

You should be able to find a big old farm house for a cheap price. It will probably be isolated, not in a neighborhood.

Commute-wise, you can go pretty far out if you buy a house within 5-10 minutes of I79. The same would apply to any of the highways that go near Leetsdale.

I'd say he can be at work within 45 minutes even if you bought a house in any of the rural areas surrounding Morraine State Park.

Have you looked at houses in Ohio and West Virginia?

Try to not be so picky about the condition of the house. 125 is a very low price for a large house. You need to expect that you'll be buying a fixer-upper.

[rapchef2]

I had considered Ohio and WV in the beginning, but most people seemed to thing it would be an hour or more commute to Leetsdale and that was a little too far out.

[greg42]

That half acre lot you're looking for may be a bigger part of why it's tough to find anything. My house is probably around $120k or so, smallish 3BR, 1/3 acre lot and in Ambridge school district. That means taxes north of $2000 annually on a house in that price range. But, it's a little more convenient than some of the outlying places where you might find a less expensive house.

The key is going to be, IMO, to look in areas where it's not as appealing for city commuters. Once you get them out of the picture, there is less market for such a house and thus a lower price.

There are parts of WV and Ohio that might be within about 45 minutes at those non-peak times. I don't think Leetsdale would be a longer commute than, say, getting to downtown Pittsburgh, and people live in the Weirton area and commute to downtown in about 45 min, or so they have told me. I've never actually timed that drive very well. West Virginia has county-wide school districts, though some have more than one high school, which is not typical of PA districts apart from a large city. Hancock County which is where Weirton is located has two high schools. I can't say I am still particularly familiar with WV schools, but I did grow up and go to school there, though not in areas near Pittsburgh.

[greg42]

I'm weird, I like to look at real estate listings even if it's not for myself. ;-) There's a $127k 4BR 1/2 acre lot house for sale in Aleppo. (I don't want to get into linking real estate listings, but you'll find it. Perhaps you looked at it. It says it's subject to short sale at that price (as in they owe more than that on the mortgage), but even if it's a little rough it might be worth it. It might seem like it costs a little more, but you'd likely save it in gas and time spent driving.