Pittsburgh too affordable for HGTV's McGillivray (Manchester, Highland Park: real estate, home, contractor)

[BrianTH]

Of course the primary reason people are leaving Detroit is economic. For example, the unemployment rate in the Detroit metropolitan division was about 4.3% higher than the national average in September, and in fact was among the highest for major metropolitan divisions/areas (almost as bad as Riverside and Las Vegas).

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Of course the primary reason people are leaving Detroit is economic.

Um, I think there's another reason.

Most Dangerous Cities In America: Detroit Tops Forbes' List

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Um, I think there's another reason.

That's a fair point, although I would suggest a lot of that crime is in fact driven by economic factors.

In any event, neither unemployment nor crime is the same thing as poor housing stock.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Oh, I wish people would stop acting like it takes $80,000 to restore a house. I will have mine restored for less than $15000. Granted, it's a small house, and I didn't need granite counters.

But you can actually buy $10,000 houses in decently safe neighborhoods in Detroit, that do not need major work. Kind of like here, I suppose, except the houses are of much higher quality in that price range in Detroit, and there is a huge oversupply.

I think you aren't very realistic. I live in a modest suburban house. Off the top of my head, I have close to 70K into mine without even considering small items (stuff less than a 1000) and I haven't touched the bathrooms.

Kitchens get pricey fast. Especially when you need new appliances. A basic kitchen renovation is probably 12000-15000. A powder room is 3000. Average bath is 5000-7000. Master Bath is at least 15000. Furnace and A/C about 5000. A roof on an old house with a good pitch is probably 6000. Windows I would say about 400 per window. Sure you can paint a room youself but a lot of houses require more than cosmetic work.

[Scott2187]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I think you aren't very realistic. I live in a modest suburban house. Off the top of my head, I have close to 70K into mine without even considering small items (stuff less than a 1000) and I haven't touched the bathrooms.

Kitchens get pricey fast. Especially when you need new appliances. A basic kitchen renovation is probably 12000-15000. A powder room is 3000. Average bath is 5000-7000. Master Bath is at least 15000. Furnace and A/C about 5000. A roof on an old house with a good pitch is probably 6000. Windows I would say about 400 per window. Sure you can paint a room youself but a lot of houses require more than cosmetic work.

I think a lot of this depends greatly on a few things, such as

1. What materials are used (linoleom vs ceramic, etc)
2. Who does the work (yourself, or a contractor)
3. Personal preferences

I don't see how a master bath can cost the same as a kitchen upgrade unless you're using full ceramic, jacuzi tubs, etc.

It is possbile to minimize cost while still supporting quality...

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Nonsense. I was in Detroit a couple weeks ago. Downtown was beautiful. There are some great neighborhoods, too.

I've never been to Detroit, but I've long thought of it as a beautiful city. I remember when it was one of America's biggest, most important, and wealthiest cities. And yeah, some of the architecture is stunning (from what I've seen in photos).

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I think you aren't very realistic. I live in a modest suburban house. Off the top of my head, I have close to 70K into mine without even considering small items (stuff less than a 1000) and I haven't touched the bathrooms.

Kitchens get pricey fast. Especially when you need new appliances. A basic kitchen renovation is probably 12000-15000. A powder room is 3000. Average bath is 5000-7000. Master Bath is at least 15000. Furnace and A/C about 5000. A roof on an old house with a good pitch is probably 6000. Windows I would say about 400 per window. Sure you can paint a room youself but a lot of houses require more than cosmetic work.

You can do modest restorations on smaller homes for a great deal less money. Brick houses with flat roofs, for example, are very easy to maintain, and roofing is inexpensive. Bathrooms can be restored modestly with less expensive materials, such as vinyl flooring. Same goes for kitchens. You can also re-use and repaint existing cabinets, and make use of older appliances if they are still in working condition. My appliances are from the 1980s, but they cleaned up beautifully. A/C is optional, and window units are inexpensive. Sometimes older furnaces, like mine, still work great. They may be less efficient, but the cost of replacing them may outweigh potential heat savings. I got new windows in my house for around $200 a window. Not all houses have a lot of windows, and sometimes the older windows are just fine. Just saying, there are cheap ways to make a house functional, clean, liveable, and attractive, without spending a ton. Sometimes it is not realistic to spend a lot of money fixing up a house that is only worth a small amount, but it may be realistic and feasible to fix it up selectively, using modest materials.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Scott2187

I think a lot of this depends greatly on a few things, such as

1. What materials are used (linoleom vs ceramic, etc)
2. Who does the work (yourself, or a contractor)
3. Personal preferences

I don't see how a master bath can cost the same as a kitchen upgrade unless you're using full ceramic, jacuzi tubs, etc.

It is possbile to minimize cost while still supporting quality...

Sure you can do things for a lot less. But how many people put vinyl floors in? I put them in a powder room as a temp fix but I wouldn't call that room restored?

I was talking a master bath. Soaking tub, separate shower, tile, double vanity. Lot of plumbing costs. I don't do plumbing. If you move the location of he sink, etc. it really ads up. Lot of tile in a "master bath". I have two friends that just did theirs. One spend 18000 and the other around 25000. The one that spend 18000 is nice but not real nice. The one that spend 25000 is real nice. Both moved plumbing and gutted the room and installed new floors.

Kitchens really add up if you get new appliances and redo the flooring with something other than laminate that you diy and if you are adding lighting well that is just more money. Trust me I just went through this. Then again I didn't diy anything but my contractor got it done it 2 weeks. Amazing.

I wouldn't say a kitchen is "restored' if you have appliances that are 15 years old. Functional but not restored.

[algia]

OK! I am a veteran HGTV watcher, no let's put that in perspective HGTV is ALL I watch on TV! why? because nobody yells or screams or kills anyone...AND you learn something if you pay attention.


THAT SAID...The Income Property show is the least of my concerns, AT least they fix up the places to where they'll be livable for a LONG time. What puzzles me is how can someone have a $400,000 home and pay $1200 in mortgage and still feel like that's too much (last night's episode). I don't get that.

The show that is most insulting to intelligence is "Property Virgins", if you want to see blown out of proportion prices...watch that one!

They are mostly in Canada, but that's not an excuse, she does the same when she's in the US, just did that in Virginia, and the homes SUCK royally, actually they're not even worth $100k, let alone $500k...however, I've been watching that show from day one and I can tell you flat out that it began by actually TEACHING in's and out's, and now it is where she's always making comments that "ohh they won't budge because it is priced right with the comparable's", etc etc...which I don't buy. She used to work to get a deal, and now this past year worth of episodes, it was "ohh there are multiple offers (since Buyers have no way of checking that out, especially the ones who use a realtor), and she is making ppl offer above the asking price which is CRAP and is what drives the market to higher prices to begin with! Realtors are out to get their big fat commissions back and they're leading ppl to the next bubble. I can only hope people LEARNED the lessons.

I find it VERY interesting how come they picked Pittsburgh, where the housing market wasn't that affected to begin with.

Originally Posted by Perryview22

I saw a sort of infommercial this morning on PCNC about Investment Property Guy Scott McGillivray coming to Pittsburgh to host investment property seminars.

I really have a problem with our fake economy as it is...created in great part by people pouring to vast part of their incomes on housing, trying to build wealth without enterprise by doing things like flipping houses, and jacking up rent as high as the market can possibly bear.

Once of the reasons why Pittsburgh has been called one of the most livable cities is its relatively affordable housing. I do not see that Pittsburgh has a lot of affordable low-income housing but at the middle tier, this city definitely has much more affordable housing than places like CA, AZ and DC (for example).

I admit that I enjoy watching some of the programming on HGTV but I have a problem with the way this network promotes higher and higher housing costs.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Why not contact them and suggest this? I'm serious with this suggestion--you could volunteer to do a show about your house (and maybe some homes of friends in a similar situation). If you tell them you'll do this for free, as part of your effort to encourage people to become urban pioneers, I'll bet they'd be interested. Use your photo tours to intrigue them. They probably wouldn't want an entire series (at first) but you might persuade them to do a one time "special" program. If it turns out well, they might even offer to pay your for a few future shows.

I think they might bite. After all, their advertisers are places like Lowes and urban pioneers do a lot of business with Lowes.

Pittsburgh's version of "This Old House". "Redd up da 'Burgh n'at".