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Old 01-04-2012, 01:38 AM
 
Location: Kittanning
4,692 posts, read 8,988,628 times
Reputation: 3668

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Quote:
Originally Posted by subdivisions View Post
I have two friends, a young married couple, who found their "dream house" in Arlington several years ago. It was a nice house, but they were warned by a number of people about the neighborhood (including me). Nevertheless, they were bound and determined to buy it, and they did so. Two years later, they moved to Bellevue after the male half found himself in the middle of a shootout between two cars while driving down Arlington Ave on his way to work one day. And this was merely the last straw in a series of ongoing incidents involving all their loud, criminal, trashy neighbors who never seemed to do much except drink and fight. Oh, and they weren't ever able to sell the house, because who wants to live in Arlington? So now they pay 2 mortgages and try to rent out the first house. Luckily the first mortgage was cheap.

Just a word to the wise...
Seemingly decent neighborhoods like Beechview can swiftly take a turn for the worse, as aging residents die or move out, leaving their homes on the market to investors and slumlords. It's really a gamble anywhere you purchase a home, whether the neighborhood will remain stable, decline, or improve. And some neighborhoods that decline remain safe (Natrona, Wilmerding, Turtle Creek, East Pittsburgh), while others become dangerous (Duquesne).

For instance, getting a mortgage on a home in Stowe would be unthinkable to me, because I don't know what this neighborhood will be like in thirty years. However, as a place to live cheaper than rent it fits the bill.
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Old 01-04-2012, 05:46 AM
 
Location: Perry South, Pittsburgh, PA
1,437 posts, read 2,860,367 times
Reputation: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by mckeesport_alum View Post
Paying 550 a month to rent in Pittsburgh is about as good as it gets.
Oh I don't know, the last place I rented was one side of a duplex for $400 a month.
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Old 01-04-2012, 08:21 AM
 
6,295 posts, read 11,007,815 times
Reputation: 3085
Steel City Rising. I've been watching home prices rise steadily in the Pittsburgh area now for several years ever since I first started looking into moving there. Based upon what I am seeing I would recommend that you try to buy something before this year is out, otherwise you may have a really difficult time getting any kind of half way decent fixer upper in the price range you specified.

I am shocked to see that areas like New Kensington which had numerous homes for less than 20 grand on the market just two years ago now has only a couple at any given time. And the same can be said for Tarentum and Brackenridge. I've seen this same trend in other areas of the city and suburbs as well. As Allegheny Angel recently pointed out in another string, he could not even find a home that he could move into now for the 10 grand that he paid for his row home in McKees Rocks.
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Old 01-04-2012, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,287,663 times
Reputation: 19071
Quote:
Originally Posted by WILWRadio View Post
Steel City Rising. I've been watching home prices rise steadily in the Pittsburgh area now for several years ever since I first started looking into moving there. Based upon what I am seeing I would recommend that you try to buy something before this year is out, otherwise you may have a really difficult time getting any kind of half way decent fixer upper in the price range you specified.

I am shocked to see that areas like New Kensington which had numerous homes for less than 20 grand on the market just two years ago now has only a couple at any given time. And the same can be said for Tarentum and Brackenridge. I've seen this same trend in other areas of the city and suburbs as well. As Allegheny Angel recently pointed out in another string, he could not even find a home that he could move into now for the 10 grand that he paid for his row home in McKees Rocks.
^ This is exactly why I'm in such a rush to buy as soon as my finances will permit. My own landlady is also looking for sub-$50k homes she can buy, renovate if need be, and then rent out for a long-term profit. She's been outbid on a few homes she's been to see. She already owns our rowhome and another rental rowhome elsewhere in our neighborhood.

It angers me that most of these sub-$50k homes that I'd love to live in as my permanent residence are being snatched up by such "investors" to rent out long-term. If all of the entry-level/starter homes are going in this route, then in a few years I'll be unable to buy into the market here and will have to move elsewhere.

One of the primary motivating factors in my decision to leave NoVA was that I would never be able to afford my own starter home on a lone $50,000 salary while simultaneously paying nearly $1,200/month in rent alone, plus other expenses. I don't know how that was expected as realistic possibility there. In Pittsburgh I'm netting a little over $20,000 annually while being underemployed, but with rent of only $550/month and most other expenditures having gone down (coupled with the much lower housing prices here) there was a glimmer of hope I could buy a cozy starter home here. With all of these investors pouncing, though, I fear in several years we'll have generated our own "housing bubble".
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Old 01-04-2012, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Kittanning
4,692 posts, read 8,988,628 times
Reputation: 3668
Well, I just had a realtor from Prudential come to assess what she thinks my house is worth. She basically said that because it's a row-house, and because it's in Stowe Township, I could only expect to sell it for around $12,000. So I guess my point is that people who have these liveable, modest homes must be pricing them higher than they are worth, based on comparables.
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Old 01-04-2012, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,287,663 times
Reputation: 19071
Quote:
Originally Posted by alleghenyangel View Post
Well, I just had a realtor from Prudential come to assess what she thinks my house is worth. She basically said that because it's a row-house, and because it's in Stowe Township, I could only expect to sell it for around $12,000. So I guess my point is that people who have these liveable, modest homes must be pricing them higher than they are worth, based on comparables.
Well, that's still an appreciation of $2,000 (20%) over the $10,000 you paid for it. How much have you invested into the place? I know you've stabilized the front porch and installed a new front door.
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Old 01-04-2012, 10:47 AM
 
Location: Kittanning
4,692 posts, read 8,988,628 times
Reputation: 3668
I have $18,000 into the house, however I have saved several thousand dollars living here, so it's basically a wash.
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Old 01-04-2012, 10:57 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,287,663 times
Reputation: 19071
Quote:
Originally Posted by mckeesport_alum View Post
Paying 550 a month to rent in Pittsburgh is about as good as it gets. Even with an FHA loan, you will be dropping thousands before you even get in the door. If you buy in a decling neighborhood, it will take many many years to get out without losing your shorts if you are forced to move. I feel I made a mistake buying, and I'm in one of the hottest markets (SS Flats) and received an $8000 federal tax credit. Don't try to catch a falling knife.
Why do you feel as if you made a mistake buying? I feel as if I'm throwing $550 into my landlady's pocket every month whereas if I bought a cheap home I could pay the same (or slightly less) every month while at least applying part of that monthly figure towards building equity in an asset that SHOULD appreciate (or at least hold its value) over the long-term. You bought in a neighborhood that will GUARANTEE you a return on your investment when the time comes to sell. Why is that a mistake in your eyes?

I pay $6,600 annually in rent. My total closing costs and down payment combined should be less than that, meaning those two sunk costs will have paid for themselves in less than a year as I begin to build equity in my very own home---a home I can customize to my heart's content.
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Old 01-04-2012, 11:01 AM
 
482 posts, read 1,230,107 times
Reputation: 358
Quote:
Originally Posted by WILWRadio View Post
I am shocked to see that areas like New Kensington which had numerous homes for less than 20 grand on the market just two years ago now has only a couple at any given time. And the same can be said for Tarentum and Brackenridge.
Be aware that a good portion of the houses in this area are being filled by contractors that have come in to build ATI's new hot mill in Brackenridge. They'll be here until at least 2013.
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Old 01-04-2012, 11:13 AM
 
Location: North Oakland
9,150 posts, read 10,828,709 times
Reputation: 14503
Don't know if anyone has posted this yet, a P-G story about "blaring music" leading to "fatal stop":
Police say blaring music led to fatal stop

Motorist tried to flee officers in Knoxville
Tuesday, December 27, 2011

By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A confrontation that ended when Pittsburgh police fatally shot a motorist in Knoxville began when a pair of undercover officers tried to get him to turn down his blaring music, police officials said Monday.

Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly, of the Zone 3 station in Allentown, said residents often cite loud music as a top quality of life concern, and the officers were being proactive on Friday by stopping the man's vehicle on a heavily traveled stretch of Brownsville Road.
Moderator cut: shortened, copyright protection

Last edited by Yac; 01-05-2012 at 04:46 AM..
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