Houses as cute as a button--and very historic, too! (Pittsburgh: for sale, renting)

[ferraris]

I really didn't want to rehash the absurd hysteria over crime in Brighton Heights, but just to set the record straight.

From PGH Snap:

Part I crimes per 100 persons:
City of Pittsburgh - 4.0
Spring Hill-City View - 4.6
Brighton Heights - 3.3

Part 2 crimes per 100 persons:
City of Pittsburgh - 4.7
Spring Hill-City View - 6.5
Brighton Heights - 3.9


I agree that neither area is particularly unsafe. I can understand why HipPriest prefers Spring Hill, it definitely has a different feel than Brighton Heights and it seems to suit his tastes better. The only thing that may be difficult there is living car-free, but it's not impossible. It's also worth noting that he is renting, so it's less important that the neighborhood be perfect for him. I'm assuming he's still hoping to buy and is just using this Spring Hill rental as a home base while he shops around in a more long term fashion.

I also agree with what AA is saying. In a broad sense of the term, these homes very well may be livable at the moment. It would be very costly to get them up to modern building standards, but simply to get it into habitable condition should be very doable with a $40K budget, probably even with much less.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

In a broad sense of the term, these homes very well may be livable at the moment. It would be very costly to get them up to modern building standards, but simply to get it into habitable condition should be very doable with a $40K budget, probably even with much less.

Say you buy the house, you have it inspected, and find that many of the systems are functional but at the end of their life cycle. Since you paid cash for the house and are living rent free, you can use these savings to gradually improve the house.

For example, I spent a good chunk of my savings buying my circa 1907 row house. I only had a few grand left, and that is personally much lower than I feel comfortable having in an emergency fund. However, I realized that not paying rent every month would allow me to save a considerable sum in no time, and that happened.

The house needed a ton of work, but nothing needed to be done immediately, so I prioritized the house's necessary repairs. I decided to first focus on the structure of the house. I had it sprayed for termites, had masonry repointed where it had badly deteriorated, and had the rotted front porch rebuilt. The masonry and front porch were the most costly repairs, but I managed to pay for them within the first year of owning the house. Next, I had the flat roof and porch roof assessed and sealed up so that it would last a good while. This was rather inexpensive. I had some old aluminum windows replaced, which was about $200 per window. I had the front door replaced, which was about $500. The furnace and electrical panel were older, but functioning well, so I saw no need to replace them. "If it's not broke, don't fix it." The bathroom had already been updated.

Then I started working on cosmetic stuff, which is really all that was left to fix at this point. The plaster walls throughout the home were in poor condition, and covered with layers of ancient wallpaper, which was covered in layers of paint. So I started scraping with a putty knife (I was basically improvising, as I had never done this before), removed all of the loose wallpaper and crumbling plaster. Then I started filling in all of the holes with mesh and joint compound, sanded, and finally got the old plaster walls relatively smooth. Now I am in the primer process and it's looking sweet.

Oh, and I knew absolutely nothing about fixing old houses when I started, and I'm definitely not handy.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Oh, and I knew absolutely nothing about fixing old houses when I started, and I'm definitely not handy.

Same for my husband. Our house was half gutted when he moved into it 37 years ago. Over 15 years, he rebuilt this house. The only original stuff is the frame structure and the interior doors. (Don't worry, he retained it's period with appropriate woodwork that he made from hand.) He did the wiring, plumbing, insulation, walls, roof, windows, bathrooms, kitchen, flooring, woodwork, etc. He was only 21 years old when he started. Now we're doing everything again!

It does take a special personality to live in a construction zone. I wouldn't call it arduous and unpleasant.

I actually enjoy doing these things ourselves. It's like a hobby.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I actually enjoy doing these things ourselves. It's like a hobby.

Exactly. It gives me something to do when I'm off, besides going to a bar or something like that, and gives me a reason to go shopping (Hello, Lowe's!).

Also, hiring cute contractors is kind of fun. And a run-down house makes a great conversation piece.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Say you buy the house, you have it inspected, and find that many of the systems are functional but at the end of their life cycle. Since you paid cash for the house and are living rent free, you can use these savings to gradually improve the house.

Many people who have mortgages do the same. If you buy a house with affordable mortgage payments and have savings/income budgeted for repairs and improvement you do exactly the same thing. Using your $40k example, a person could put $20k down on a $40k house and have a very reasonable mortgage payment and still have $20k left over for repairs and improvements.

Just because someone can't pay cash for a home doesn't preclude them from buying an inexpensive, or for that matter expensive, fixer-upper. Just sayin...

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by juliegt

Many people who have mortgages do the same. If you buy a house with affordable mortgage payments and have savings/income budgeted for repairs and improvement you do exactly the same thing. Using your $40k example, a person could put $20k down on a $40k house and have a very reasonable mortgage payment and still have $20k left over for repairs and improvements.

Just because someone can't pay cash for a home doesn't preclude them from buying an inexpensive, or for that matter expensive, fixer-upper. Just sayin...

I totally agree, Julie. However, the OP was looking for a house he could pay cash for and the two cited at the beginning of the thread would have to be cash purchases, as they do not meet a mortgage threshold. While it's certainly possible to save money when you have a mortgage, it's even easier when you have no debt.

[The King of Um]

As a prior posted said, what concerns me is what the listing agent is not showing--namely, the bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, and the remainder of the house. Very few interior pictures are shown. That's typically a warning sign. However, this is only speculation, as no one knows for certain until they schedule a viewing, etc.

In the pic showing the back two-story porch, there appears to be rotting wood. It looks to me like the entire porch would have to be rebuilt, which I would hazard to guess would cost thousands. It's really hard to tell from a few pics, though. Fortunately, I have the name of a very highly-rated handyman from Angie's List (I'm a member) who I would pay to check out the house before I even went so far as to make an offer.

If I could get these homes for, perhaps, one third of what the seller is asking, maybe I would take them on. They are, after all, quite historic and rather charming. I fear they won't be around much longer. Having never been involved in a restoration task of this magnitude (or any magnitude, actually), I'm a bit hesitant, though, because I haven't a clue of what it's going to cost me to restore these siblings. Hiring contractors isn't one of my favorite things; I don't like parting with my hard-earned money. My fear would be putting more money into these homes than they're worth.

And I don't want to get into the Brighton Heights vs. other neighborhoods debate again. lol That chapter is over with, thank God. lol All I'll say is that every one of us have neighborhoods that we like and neighborhoods that we don't particularly care for. In all fairness, however, I should mention the one thing I like about Brighton Heights: It has a Ukrainian church. Ukrainians, I can tell you, are honest, decent, down-to-earth people with a very strong work ethic. If there are a lot of Ukrainians in Brighton Heights (I don't know, are there?), then that's a plus for that area.

[Tallysmom]

Well -- I guess this means I'm old. Let me practice here.... GET OFF MY LAWN! Yeah... I'm old.

Sorry -- those places look ghastly to me -- there's nothing historic about them. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's worth saving.

And yeah -- I'm a bit biased. We're doing the urban pioneer stuff out here, and frankly -- it's very over rated. You can pour tons of money and sweat into a house and you still have a little crappy house sans the amenities that people really want in a house in a crappy neighborhood that isn't going to change.

[PreservationPioneer]

Those two homes are historic. If they were properly renovated, they would be extremely charming. 1003 High needs to have the front facade renovated (remove the aluminum, restore the original wood siding beneath and the door and window surrounds, transom, etc.).

I researched 1003 High and it seems to date back to 1871. It's on the 1872 GM Hopkins map and the 1871 Allegheny City directory.

1001 High Street was built in 1898, as per a noted Pittsburgh historian.

Why are these homes historic? They represent working class history, and the history of the German immigrants who came to Spring Garden and Allegheny City. For such modest, wood frame dwellings to survive this long is really significant. Not many tiny wood frame homes from 1871 are still standing.

[eschaton]

I suppose I should say, I had my eye on this house this week. Went on the market on Monday. I was away on a business trip this week, but I called my realtor and made an appointment to see it on Sunday. Was under agreement by Thursday.

I still get pissed seeing the pictures and the potential.