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Cool house, nice wood work and I love the standing seam tin roof. As far as I know, Troy Hill is an OK area to live in. I don't really hear much about it either good or bad but heck at that price, it's not really much of a risk no matter how bad the place is. I mean my Honda Fit cost more than that and the new roof on my garage did too.
I don't think there's much of an influx of young professionals or hipsters in Troy Hill. Not sure though. I have a little experience with Troy Hill but it is several years old now. My girlfriend briefly lived on Brabec Street. If most of the area is like that still, it is somewhat grittier I expect. Yes, old-school Pittsburghers in some ways I suppose but not necessarily the folks who make for friendly neighbors. I never felt unsafe or worried for my car parked on the street or anything, but it wasn't a place where we had much of anything in common with the neighbors really. The rent was insanely cheap then, I think it was $325 for a one bedroom (3rd floor). It is still convenient to the Strip (you could walk possibly, but nasty uphill on the way back, although so is Polish Hill). And it's not really inconvenient to downtown or Oakland to me. You might find yourself driving it though more than walking, but short drives. As far as what's in the neighborhood, eh. There is the convenience store, laundromat, pizza place(s), Billy's might still be there. Penn Brewery is right on the edge of Troy Hill too. It's not a ton but it's something.
SCR, I've felt the way that you're currently feeling about quite a few houses. The price you know before setting foot in the door, and you know that it's an awesome price that you're comfortable with. However I have been amazed by how much different a home can seem once you actually get inside of it. There's a reason that many homes list relatively few inside pictures and use tiny resolutions. There's no good picture of the kitchen and the bathroom is a complete mystery. Knowing how many other decent homes there are in Troy Hill going for $50K, I doubt that the lack of a 3rd bedroom alone is enough to account for that much of a drop in price. I highly suspect that you'll find something unexpected in the basement, roof, bathroom, furnace, etc. People don't voluntarily list homes for tens of thousands less than they could get for no reason.
Don't get me wrong, you should definitely check it out though! Keep in mind that you can use an FHA 203K loan to fix up anything that needs to be fixed (up to $35K in costs), and if it's drastic enough you'll also qualify for some tax abatements I think (call the URA to be sure, though). You can also ask for up to 6% in seller assist towards the closing costs, which is not a huge deal on a home of this price, but just mentioning it.
My main beef with Troy Hill is the relative isolation. Troy Hill itself is pretty decent, but the bus only goes downtown and the schedule is a pain (3 hour stretches during weekdays the 4 bus doesn't come even once). The relative isolation and lack of yards is what has me leaning towards Brightwood instead. Walking to Deutschtown and the Strip is reasonable from Troy Hill, but it's not uber-convenient either. I do remember reading about some racial tension in the neighborhood a few years ago, I think some people vandalized a black family's home or business with racist remarks.
I'm still in awe over that price. I'm sure the lender will require a home inspection, so if there are any problems you'll know before you commit. It's a really cute house and I'm sure you'll be able to do a lot with it. I would get an estimate on what it would cost to tear down the old house in the back yard.
As far as moving from the East End, I did it when I was 30, many years ago. I was renting in Shadyside, met someone, and we bought a house in East Allegheny on the North Side in 1988. It was a bit of a culture shift, but I got to like it. The price of the house was good compared to Shadyside and we had an FHA loan. The North Side house cost $56,000 when comparable homes in Shadyside were double that back then. Seven years later we broke up and sold the house for a nice profit and I had enough of a down payment to buy a house in Shadyside in the late 1990s, where I remain today (with a new and hopefully rest-of-my-life partner. Now the houses on my old North Side street are selling at $150 - $200.
Cool house, nice wood work and I love the standing seam tin roof. As far as I know, Troy Hill is an OK area to live in. I don't really hear much about it either good or bad but heck at that price, it's not really much of a risk no matter how bad the place is. I mean my Honda Fit cost more than that and the new roof on my garage did too.
Thanks, Gene! I, too, love the woodwork (that nook/curio thingy in the middle of the kitchen notwithstanding). I didn't really pay much attention yet to the roof, but the quality of the roof is one of my major concerns since I know how expensive they can be to replace. I don't really hear much one way or the other about Troy Hill, either, but then again it's not my desire to live in a "trendy" or "up-and-coming" neighborhood. I'm not looking to buy this home for $14,900 today and sell it for $49,900 in five years. My rent payment went from $700/month to $350/month when my roommate moved in, but if my total mortgage, taxes, and homeowners' insurance obligations combined could be less than that $350/month I'm currently paying in rent then it IS cheaper to own than rent (especially if I also cut that payment in half AGAIN by charging my roommate rent to live in the house). With paying only $150/month, perhaps, for my housing costs (not including utilities) imagine how much more quickly I could also pay down my car loan and student loans. It almost seems too good to be true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42
I don't think there's much of an influx of young professionals or hipsters in Troy Hill. Not sure though. I have a little experience with Troy Hill but it is several years old now. My girlfriend briefly lived on Brabec Street. If most of the area is like that still, it is somewhat grittier I expect. Yes, old-school Pittsburghers in some ways I suppose but not necessarily the folks who make for friendly neighbors. I never felt unsafe or worried for my car parked on the street or anything, but it wasn't a place where we had much of anything in common with the neighbors really. The rent was insanely cheap then, I think it was $325 for a one bedroom (3rd floor). It is still convenient to the Strip (you could walk possibly, but nasty uphill on the way back, although so is Polish Hill). And it's not really inconvenient to downtown or Oakland to me. You might find yourself driving it though more than walking, but short drives. As far as what's in the neighborhood, eh. There is the convenience store, laundromat, pizza place(s), Billy's might still be there. Penn Brewery is right on the edge of Troy Hill too. It's not a ton but it's something.
Thanks for the input, greg! You certainly did deserve that $500 prize! Polish Hill's "old-school Pittsburghers" tend to be on the friendlier side, so if the ones in Troy Hill tend to be more negative/standoff-ish that will definitely be a drawback. With that being said I could live with having lousy or trashy neighbors if it means being free of long-term-debt by the time I'm in my early-30s. I want to travel---a lot---in my 30s and 40s, and this seems like a great way for me to work towards achieving that goal.
What little the neighborhood has in terms of commerce is still light years ahead of what Polish Hill has.
SCR, I've felt the way that you're currently feeling about quite a few houses. The price you know before setting foot in the door, and you know that it's an awesome price that you're comfortable with. However I have been amazed by how much different a home can seem once you actually get inside of it. There's a reason that many homes list relatively few inside pictures and use tiny resolutions. There's no good picture of the kitchen and the bathroom is a complete mystery. Knowing how many other decent homes there are in Troy Hill going for $50K, I doubt that the lack of a 3rd bedroom alone is enough to account for that much of a drop in price. I highly suspect that you'll find something unexpected in the basement, roof, bathroom, furnace, etc. People don't voluntarily list homes for tens of thousands less than they could get for no reason.
Don't get me wrong, you should definitely check it out though! Keep in mind that you can use an FHA 203K loan to fix up anything that needs to be fixed (up to $35K in costs), and if it's drastic enough you'll also qualify for some tax abatements I think (call the URA to be sure, though). You can also ask for up to 6% in seller assist towards the closing costs, which is not a huge deal on a home of this price, but just mentioning it.
My main beef with Troy Hill is the relative isolation. Troy Hill itself is pretty decent, but the bus only goes downtown and the schedule is a pain (3 hour stretches during weekdays the 4 bus doesn't come even once). The relative isolation and lack of yards is what has me leaning towards Brightwood instead. Walking to Deutschtown and the Strip is reasonable from Troy Hill, but it's not uber-convenient either. I do remember reading about some racial tension in the neighborhood a few years ago, I think some people vandalized a black family's home or business with racist remarks.
This reply is truly worth its weight in gold! I was actually unaware of both the ability to obtain an FHA 203K loan for renovations AND the potential for some tax abatements for renovating a property requiring TLC. I agree with you in regards to the neighborhood's relative isolation. My commutes to both Oakland and Squirrel Hill are a breeze right now from Polish Hill. I know crossing the 16th Street Bridge via car, especially at peak hours, is a pain in the derriere due to the non-synchronized timing of the traffic lights at 16th & Liberty and 16th & Penn. I'd probably be adding ten to fifteen minutes onto each of my current commutes. Rialto Street reopening would make accessing Lawrenceville and Route 28 much easier.
I also remember reading about the racial tensions in Troy Hill a few years ago, which is what also has me apprehensive about how a left-leaning LGBT couple would be received in what is apparently the rare "conservative" Pittsburgh neighborhood. The lack of a photo of the bathroom is indeed suspect. I'm less concerned about the kitchen because from what I can make out in the photograph it at least has all of the usable basic needs (sink, countertops, cabinetry). I'm sure appliances could be negotiable (i.e. a full-price offer with the seller agreeing to leave the refrigerator and stove). If not I believe there's an inexpensive Sears appliance outlet in Lawrenceville.
Are "closing costs" generally calculated as a certain percentage of final sales price?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geeo
I'm still in awe over that price. I'm sure the lender will require a home inspection, so if there are any problems you'll know before you commit. It's a really cute house and I'm sure you'll be able to do a lot with it. I would get an estimate on what it would cost to tear down the old house in the back yard.
As far as moving from the East End, I did it when I was 30, many years ago. I was renting in Shadyside, met someone, and we bought a house in East Allegheny on the North Side in 1988. It was a bit of a culture shift, but I got to like it. The price of the house was good compared to Shadyside and we had an FHA loan. The North Side house cost $56,000 when comparable homes in Shadyside were double that back then. Seven years later we broke up and sold the house for a nice profit and I had enough of a down payment to buy a house in Shadyside in the late 1990s, where I remain today (with a new and hopefully rest-of-my-life partner. Now the houses on my old North Side street are selling at $150 - $200.
Thanks for recommending I receive an estimate on the tear-down of the abandoned rear home. Who knows? I really didn't get a close look at that place---yet---and if it's at all refurbishable (is that a word?) I may be able to fix it up and rent it out for additional income.
The beauty of Pittsburgh, to me, is the huge variety and diversity in its neighborhoods. The East End definitely has a different "vibe" than a place like Troy Hill, and I'm just curious to see if it's something that will be a deal-breaker. I'd hate to buy in the North Side only to become homesick for the East End. That's my biggest concern, actually. My other big concern is that if I don't act soon I'll be priced out of ALL of the city's inner neighborhoods. People who were priced out of the East End USED to instead settle in the South Side or Lower North Side. A recent view of the offerings on Howard Hanna shows both of these locales are now also becoming very expensive. Where will people flood into next in their pursuit of affordable housing in the urban core?
I think the East End can be well worth it if you can comfortably afford what you want, but that doesn't mean it is the only part of the core area worth considering. I think you understand the basic appeal of the East End--the nicer parts of the East End are well-established, and they are mutually convenient in terms of action/amenities. But if you are willing to live in a more transitional neighborhood and/or one that is bit more isolated from the action/amenities of the East End (although not necessarily more isolated from Downtown), then you can definitely look for relative bargains in terms of the actual housing.
If the house is priced that low, take a good long look at it. A price like that means something is wrong--find out what it is, and then decide if you can live with it. The big question may be crime in the neighborhood. Or, there may be a geological problem with the property.
The problem with the house is the alley house in the back, which is close to falling down and needs to be demolished before it falls on the neighbor's house or your own. I had a couple quotes from contractors who claimed it might be 10-15k to demolish the house in the rear, because there is no access to the backyard. Even with the added cost of the demolition, though, the house would only be in the 20k range. The realtor told me to make an offer of 7k, but I backed out after I got the demolition quotes. I think this would be an excellent first house for Steelcityrising. It's quite old and dates to the 1880s. It's definitely a piece of Allegheny City history.
So far, I have lived in Chalfant Boro (1 year), Shadyside (1 year), and Stowe Township (3 years). I have no regrets about living in any of these areas. To me, downtown Pittsburgh is where it's at, not the East End. I'm getting tired of big city living in general, aside from the beautiful old buildings, so it doesn't bother me to be outside of the action. To someone into all of the Starbucks, Whole Foods, Pride Flag waving stuff, I imagine the quiet lifestyle outside of the East End might be stifling. However, to me at least, it is refreshingly down to Earth and unpretentious, while still possessing the same level of walkability (I can still walk to a bakery, cafes, hardware store, post office, grocery store, and the main business district in Stowe, I just don't have to trip over poodles, muscle stud runners, and Audis to get there).
Last edited by PreservationPioneer; 08-18-2012 at 03:06 PM..
Foundation, roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Make sure you know what condition they're in and what it will cost to fix anything that's wrong so that you have as few surprises as possible if you do buy the house. I like your plan for an American flag and a rainbow flag. When I was MUCH younger I hung out with Gilbert Baker who went on to design and make the first rainbow flag. My brush with celebrity. Haven't seen him in over 30 years.
Foundation, roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Make sure you know what condition they're in and what it will cost to fix anything that's wrong so that you have as few surprises as possible if you do buy the house. I like your plan for an American flag and a rainbow flag. When I was MUCH younger I hung out with Gilbert Baker who went on to design and make the first rainbow flag. My brush with celebrity. Haven't seen him in over 30 years.
The foundation and furnace looked pretty good. The roof was metal and appeared to be in decent condition (those last forever, don't they?). The house still has fuses (no breaker box) so that may need to be updated, but it was all working. Other problems I saw when touring the house: termite damage and water damage in the kitchen walls. The bathroom is in the basement, and kitchen is in a shaky looking addition off of the basement.
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Polish Hill's "old-school Pittsburghers" tend to be on the friendlier side, so if the ones in Troy Hill tend to be more negative/standoff-ish that will definitely be a drawback. With that being said I could live with having lousy or trashy neighbors if it means being free of long-term-debt by the time I'm in my early-30s. I want to travel---a lot---in my 30s and 40s, and this seems like a great way for me to work towards achieving that goal. 
