House Hunting (Pittsburgh, Ross Township, Bellevue: hardwood floors, for sale, real estate market)

[dickens]

My husband and I are hoping to leave Baltimore soon. We went house hunting in Bellevue, Avalon and Brighton Heights. The housing was disappointing. Why, oh why, doesn't anyone update their homes? And what is up with painting each room an obnoxious color? Anyways, I digress.

The areas we looked at are not for us. We want to be on the North Side of the city for the relative easy commute. If we were to look at West View would it be more of the same?

Ideally, I would like two full baths, off street parking and central air and a decent kitchen. I have to think of resale value.

What is the perception of North Hills communities? Unfortunatly, I am a first time home buyer and my max amount is $150K.

This forum has been an invaluable tool in my search. I really appreciate your advice!

[rsalis]

i agree. i've found it shocking both times i bought a house in pittsburgh. it doesn't matter what price point you look at, people just don't update around here.

which makes it great if you want an old house that hasn't been messed with too much. and at any rate the houses are pretty cheap!

[Hopes]

West View will be more of the same.

If you're starting out in the 150k range, you should expect to be buying an older home that needs updated.

As for resale value, my sister and her husband bought quite a few properties in Brighton Heights and made a fortune reselling them. Most of the homes just needed new paint and flooring along with some minor updates elsewhere in each house.

My only other recommendation is to check out Ross Township. You might be able to find a small ranch out there for 150k. Even then you're most likely going to be looking at houses that need updates.

Here's a quick search of houses in Ross Township between 100k and 150k:

http://www.northwood.com/property/pr...RM_PageSize=10

[claremarie]

West View might be more of the same, but there are some very nice pockets, especially near Highland Country Club. I grew up near West View in Ross, and my parents are still there. Their neighborhood, in zip code 15229, is mostly 3BR 1.5 bath homes that are at least 50 years old. No original A/C, but many owners have since added it over the years. Some have additions with full baths. Most homes have garages, but very few are 2-car garages.
I agree with Hopes that Ross is your best bet, for a quick commute and relatively affordable homes. Paint is cheap, so don't worry about the obnoxious colors. The nice thing about these older homes is that many have lovely hardwood floors underneath the shag carpeting, the walls are plaster rather than drywall, and the lots are decent-sized.
If you find anything interesting in Ross, post again and I'll see if it looks familiar....

[Hopes]

Claremarie and I forgot to mention that the North Hills School District (where Ross Township children attend) is a very good school system.

North Hills High School rans 7th out of 64 high schools in Allegheny County, and Ross Elementary School ranks 3rd out of 181 elementary schools in Allegheny County.

Ranking of High Schools in Allegheny County

Ranking of Elementary Schools in Allegheny County

[subdivisions]

I agree with the whole "don't update" thing. This amazed me too while we were house hunting. We saw one house that probably hadn't been touched since about 1972, no joke. It looked like something from the Brady Bunch, orange wallpaper and all + portraits of people in 70's clothes still on the wall even though the house had been empty for at least 6 months. What was really sad about that house is that it was a large Victorian in a relatively unpopular neighborhood (Beechview). It's probably still on the market now and I'd be surprised if it ever sold because there wouldn't be any point to spending money updating a home that big in that neighborhood, at least right now. You'd have to sink at least 1/2 the price of the house into it to even make it livable. Unless of course you want to pretend that it's 1972 when you come home to your 6 bedroom Victorian with a disco flair!

Other houses we saw looked nice on the outside, but had entire floors painted neon pink, and stuff like that. And we lived in an apartment when we first moved here that was entirely furnished in turquoise carpet that hadn't been changed since at least 1945. It was kind of amazing and horrifying at the same time. I think it's because a lot of houses come on the market here because the owners die, and old people don't update homes (not in my experience anyway).

But I guess the upside to the fact that people don't update houses here is that you have a blank slate to do what you want with a house. You don't have the psychological dilemma of taking out nicely updated stuff if it's not your style. Instead, you get the pleasure of ripping out ugly old orange linoleum and green shag carpet!

The house we eventually bought was the best of what we saw - it only had pastel trim (in the process of being painted over right now)!

I swear, if Pittsburgh's economy does ever start to "boom", this will be the most amazing real estate market for house flippers ever. Just think - thousands and thousands of old cheap houses with terrific potential hidden by 70s decor...

[claremarie]

Subdivisions is onto something. There is not as much housing turnover in Pittsburgh as in other cities. My parents and inlaws have both lived in the same house for more than 40 years, and they have plenty of neighbors who are also "aging in place." You rarely see "for sale" signs in either of their neighborhoods.
People of that generation, at least in Pittsburgh, are thrifty, string-saving children of the Depression. They don't replace carpeting or wallpaper or kitchen appliances until they absolutely have to. The whole idea of "updating" perfectly functional rooms is completely foreign to them. And they tend to hang onto their homes for years, even after they can't really maintain them (and heaven forbid that one would HIRE someone to paint or replace windows or pull up worn carpeting....unthinkable...they think that their son will do it next time he visits from out of state....).

When someone falls and breaks a hip, or has a stroke, and they are forced to move suddenly, their kids are generally too overwhelmed by the medical crises to bother fixing up the house before putting it on the market.

[tmorrisn]

Our realtor recommended Shaler to us - there were a few houses in that price range. Good luck.

[5stones]

Paint is cheap, so don't worry about the obnoxious colors. The nice thing about these older homes is that many have lovely hardwood floors underneath the shag carpeting, the walls are plaster rather than drywall, and the lots are decent-sized.

so so true!! my older 1960's house had BEAUTIFUL hardwood in pristine condition under that ratty old brown carpet! check the bedroom closets if they are hardwood so are you floors. YOu can be sneaky and pull up a bit of a corner!
Most do have plaster walls and they are som much better than drywall! Plus most of the houses are brick and not ugly siding.
(our house had a purple kitchen and an orange and blue living room dining room!!) We updated the baths the kitchen (nothing fancy just nicer) all the lighting and neutral paint colors and made $75K on our house. (it still neede new elecrtiacl and windows etc...)

We lived in the South Hills but it's pretty much the same everywhere in the area esp in the under 200k price range. of course Ryan is going in and buliding developments etc...and you can get newer houses, just not for 150k.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by 5stones

so so true!! my older 1960's house had BEAUTIFUL hardwood in pristine condition under that ratty old brown carpet! check the bedroom closets if they are hardwood so are you floors. YOu can be sneaky and pull up a bit of a corner!
Most do have plaster walls and they are som much better than drywall! Plus most of the houses are brick and not ugly siding.
(our house had a purple kitchen and an orange and blue living room dining room!!) We updated the baths the kitchen (nothing fancy just nicer) all the lighting and neutral paint colors and made $75K on our house. (it still neede new elecrtiacl and windows etc...)

We lived in the South Hills but it's pretty much the same everywhere in the area esp in the under 200k price range. of course Ryan is going in and buliding developments etc...and you can get newer houses, just not for 150k.

I have two words for you -- swirl plaster... you have no idea how nice swirled plaster is.

Out here in California, they spray a large spatter coat on and then knock it down with a trowel... it seriously looks like some idiot barfed on the wall and another idiot painted over the chunks. It's EVERYWHERE out here... Putting Up Knockdown | Extreme How To, DIY - Do it Yourself, Home Improvement, Home Decorating

I'm glad to hear the Pittsburgh has homes that haven't been HGTV'ed -- I'd far rather go into someplace with great bones and do it up the way I want it...