PHLF Restored Homes in Wilkinsburg For Sale (Penn: 2nd mortgage, houses)

[PennHillsNative80]

I just got this in my email.

Thought it was very interesting! This link shows the floor plans of the homes that were restored by the PHLF.

http://www.downtownwilkinsburgparealestate.com/files/PDF_Wilkinsburg_History_Landmark_houses.pdf (broken link)

[PreservationPioneer]

They look nice. I wonder what the income restrictions are? Maybe I could qualify. I don't really need a four bedroom house, though.

[PennHillsNative80]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

They look nice. I wonder what the income restrictions are? Maybe I could qualify. I don't really need a four bedroom house, though.

If you zoom in on that PDF file, it says that the homes will be sold to households (familes ranging from 1-8 members) that make between $53,750 - $101,400 annually.

I was actually surprised that there weren't more bedrooms in these homes, unless there are bedrooms up on the 3rd floors. I walked by these homes a couple of weeks ago and they looked beautiful. They also looked like they were remodeled with quality and care, instead of somebody doing a sloppy patch job of a remodel.

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by PennHillsNative80

If you zoom in on that PDF file, it says that the homes will be sold to households (familes ranging from 1-8 members) that make between $53,750 - $101,400 annually.

I was actually surprised that there weren't more bedrooms in these homes, unless there are bedrooms up on the 3rd floors. I walked by these homes a couple of weeks ago and they looked beautiful. They also looked like they were remodeled with quality and care, instead of somebody doing a sloppy patch job of a remodel.

The quality of the remodeling on the PHLF homes is pretty high. They gutted them completely, leaving just the exterior shell, so everything inside is new. They are spending about 200k on each remodel.

[BrianTH]

If you look at the plans, some of the bedrooms are on the third floor (they make nice offices and guest bedrooms if you don't need them regularly, by the way). I assume in the original layouts there would have been more bedrooms on the second floors, but they have used that space to create much bigger closets and bathrooms.

Edit: Oh, and buying one of these PHLF projects is a real steal. They do top-quality work and then sell it off at way below cost.

[groar]

these are quite a bit more expensive than the last round of phlf houses (which i believe were 80 with a $20k deferred 2nd mortgage, granted that was 4-5 years ago) - the quality of the houses is worth it, but i do wonder if they'll sell as quickly as the last ones. i mean, no matter how nice the houses, they're still in a neighborhood with a bad reputation, high taxes and lousy schools. hopefully they do sell, and fast! the peebles square houses sold for a similar price, but it took a long time. and that's on the "right" side of the busway.

[groar]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

They look nice. I wonder what the income restrictions are? Maybe I could qualify. I don't really need a four bedroom house, though.

i didn't really look at the plans so this might not apply this time around, but in the last bunch of phlf renovations, one of the houses was 2 units.

[BrianTH]

I agree that is ambitious pricing, but I think that is the goal--to help establish an upward trend that will attract new private investment. I certainly hope it works, and I am at least cautiously optimistic they know what they are doing.

[PennHillsNative80]

I spoke with one of the construction workers who was working on 517 Jeanette, and he told me that there was so much water damage in the house that the floors had just about all fallen in. They gutted everything down to the bare bones of the house and rebuilt the insides. It sounds like a massive amount of work.

You can tell by looking at some of these floor plans that there were originally more bedrooms on the 2nd floor (before they had bathrooms built in these homes). I like how they reworked these old structures to fit modern living.

I'm sure these will sell fast. The others that they restored sold instantly. Someone had told me that they have a list of people who want these homes and are waiting to get them once they are restored. I don't know whether that's true or not, but I hope it is. That shows the increasing demand in this neighborhood.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I agree that is ambitious pricing, but I think that is the goal--to help establish an upward trend that will attract new private investment. I certainly hope it works, and I am at least cautiously optimistic they know what they are doing.

Well, you can always lower the price, but you can't raise it.