Help finding a home for my parents

[greg42]

I remember viewing a couple of little ranches in McCandless where the garage was not always in the basement as I recall. Hm, well, wait, maybe it was.... Doesn't really matter anyway as they all had only one bath. They were pretty small 2BRs anyway.

I think Shaler, Hampton, Ross, McCandless makes sense for looking. Allison Park is a zip code covering the actual municipalities are what Copanut mentioned above. Mostly Hampton is what is associated with Allison Park.

Trying to think if there are any single-story townhouse developments around those parts, because that's the kind of thing that would be ideal. I don't know that Rt 8 corridor as thoroughly as some other parts of the north, and I can't think of any in Ross though I hardly know every inch of it. Terms for such a dwelling also include villa or patio home. There's at least one such development in Shaler, not sure how much they sell for when up for sale. There are a couple I know of up closer to where I live, but that would be too far out for trying to be close to Hampton and Squirrel Hill

Once you come down as far as the river, it will only get less likely to have those sort of single-story houses as well as flat entry from driveway/garage. I dunno if Oakmont might be somewhere to look too? Not sure. It isn't exactly as convenient as you might think. Very little on your side of the river is going to be too useful in this search it seems to me, which means it's mostly going to be looking closer to Hampton.

[Bong477]

They'd be happy with a first floor master and some upstairs bedrooms, but that seems to be more of a modern thing that most of the older homes around here don't have. Flat entry from the driveway isn't absolutely critical but it would be really nice to keep the stairs to a minimum. They can both still get up and down stairs okay currently, its more thinking ahead to the future.

Sounds like its more of just keeping an eye out for the right home to come on the market.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Bong477

They'd be happy with a first floor master and some upstairs bedrooms, but that seems to be more of a modern thing that most of the older homes around here don't have. Flat entry from the driveway isn't absolutely critical but it would be really nice to keep the stairs to a minimum. They can both still get up and down stairs okay currently, its more thinking ahead to the future.

Definitely. I think you might as well hold out for something more towards the ideal, unless this is somehow urgent. First floor master is typically a modern thing. There are a few new construction townhomes up in Pine (and possibly elsewhere too, but I know of one specifically in Pine near junction of Rts 19 and 910, aka Wexford) that have first floor masters. I don't think they fall in your price range anymore though.

Originally Posted by Bong477

Sounds like its more of just keeping an eye out for the right home to come on the market.

Yeah, I think that's probably it. Your target areas are reasonably well-focused I think (e.g. you're not looking wildly around all different areas of the metro) so it shouldn't be that difficult. More inventory usually comes online in the spring I think, vs over the winter, apart from people who have other situations forcing them to put it up sooner.

[I_Like_Spam]

The house you're looking for could be in Hampton, Shaler, Ross, Reserve, western O'hara or Indiana townships.

The main problem is in finding one with the topography they'd like, particularly in a town as hilly as Pittsburgh.

It might be a good idea to get a real estate agent specializing in the area to keep an eye peeled for something appropriate.

When I bought my house, the agent told me of this L'ville house I bought even before he had the listing.

[Hopes]

There are older two stories with masters on the first floor via additions but they might need to go slightly above the 200k limit.

As for real estate agents, I can recommend a few that know the area like the back of their hands because they grew up in the north hills.

[Hopes]

I just remembered, some of the old cape cods have masters on the first floor. A few other 2 story designs from the 1970s that have them too.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I just remembered, some of the old cape cods have masters on the first floor. A few other 2 story designs from the 1970s that have them too.

Yes, good point, a real traditional cape (also referenced as 1.5 story) should have everything on the main floor. Although these are often again small and might have only one bath. And I don't really think it's super common around here although there are some.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

Yes, good point, a real traditional cape (also referenced as 1.5 story) should have everything on the main floor. Although these are often again small and might have only one bath. And I don't really think it's super common around here although there are some.

Of the ones I've been inside, the ones with masters on the first floor had multiple bathrooms---2-1/2 or more. The ones without a master had 1-1/2 baths. The ones built in the 1970s can be quite large. It's the 1950s and 1960s ones that tend to be small. Another option are the ranches that had a second story added. They often tore down the walls of the bedrooms on the first floor to create a large master suite. There's also many ranches that have an L shaped addition for a master. It's not going to be super easy to find what they want, but it won't be overly difficult. It's out there in their price range or slightly over it.