Priced out of the city! (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg: foreclosed, rental, house)

[chloride1]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

Looks like you're right from a quick check of Trulia. I had remembered Brookline being more expensive than that when I was shopping. Mt. Washington could also be added to the list. However in all of these places $75K is still a limiting budget.

I searched on realtor.com for houses in 15211 (Mt Washington) for $75K a found a couple options that may be good. 1108 Virginia looks promising, for example.

[selltheburgh]

You couldn't find much of anything in Highland Park for under 100k 2 years ago. I bought a few places in HP and East Lib under 75k in the last few years and all of them needed 40-100k in upgrades. They were all gross and had roof leaks, broken furnaces, antiquated electric, etc.

Under 75k 2 years ago got you a 2 br row house in Bloomfield in an alleyway or something in the 10th Ward Lawrenceville on a rough block. now those blocks are better and over 100k.

There are always deals that come up. One of my clients just got a totally livable 2 br row house in East Lib for around 65k.

Why is your budget only 75k? That's a monthly of under $600 per month. That's less than apartments rent for in many of those neighborhoods that you mentioned.

Neighborhoods where you can get a decent house for under 75k that will likely appreciate in the next 5-10 years:
Brookline, Beechview, Troy Hill, Garfield, Larimer, Carrick

You won't get anything that is in tip top shape for that price, so you'll need to weigh the positives with the negatives and settle on some items.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

I'll add that with a budget of under $75K, I think you really need to want to be a home owner for it to be worth it. There's just no getting around it; you will have to make sacrifices in one form or another in that price range. You have to value having your own place and building equity or it will likely turn out to be more hassle than it's worth when compared to renting.

This.

The weird part is you say it would be cheaper to have a mortgage, but if it will only be cheaper at $75k, and you're not interested in fixing up, well, I'm not really sure where that goes. There are certainly houses to be had in that range, but I don't think you really want the hassle of it. (Take it from someone who is pretty tired of the hassle of it after 10 years.)

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by dsd_fan

My wife and I have decided it's finally time to try to buy a house. Both of us have been renting for basically our entire adult lives.
I'm a native Pittsburgher, and my wife more or less is as well (she grew up elsewhere, but her family was from the area and she spent a lot of time here growing up before attending college in the city.) Although I grew up in the South Hills, as an adult I've lived exclusively in city neighborhoods: Squirrel Hill, Oakland, Mt. Washington, and now the South Side. My wife lived in the Regent Square/Edgewood are before we moved in together. It's safe to say that we're pretty much urbanites. We like cultural events and cool bars and restaurants. Most of our friends live on the East End, and while we live on the South Side, we seem to be spending a lot of our time in Bloomfield/Lawrenceville/East Lib./Shadyside area.
So why can't we move there? Because the cost of buying a house in that area has skyrocketed, that's why! It's getting to the point where we can't even find a place to rent in the East End that would suit our needs.
We don't have kids and aren't planning on any, but we need at least a two-bedroom (preferably larger) because I work from home and need office space. We're not fixer-uppers. As I said, we're city people and used to a bit of grit, but we don't want to live anywhere that's too high in crime.
We recently expanded our search to the North Side, but all of the more desirable areas are either out of our price range (Manchester, Allegheny West), too far from the stuff we like to do (Observatory Hill) or just too run-down and/or dangerous.
We may end up moving to the suburbs after all, since we think we found a house that we like that we could afford. But it breaks my heart to have to drive everywhere, worry about parking, and be just another middle-class suburbanite. Being a city resident is almost part of my identity. I like having a walkable neighborhood with small businesses and architecture that's got some character and history. Is it too much to ask to be able to find some place that fulfills those requirements, while still being safe and affordable?

You sound like suburbs kind of people.

I really mean that.

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

I think that's overstating it. You have Beechview, Brighton Heights, Troy Hill, and maybe a few parts of the West End that fall into an under $75K budget while still being safe and walkable. Even in these parts of the city, $75K eliminates a lot of options. And all of those areas are a huge step down in walkability compared to the East End, lower North Side, and South Side Flats.

For OP, it really just comes down to their personal priorities. He and his wife will have to weigh the pros and cons of continuing to rent in the urban core vs. buying a home slightly removed from it.

You don't know that. The kids on my block drawing pictures on the street with sidewalk chalk could be dealing drugs. I mean they're like between 7 and 12, but hey who knows if its safe to be outside when they're out there....and they have this mean little pug/dachshund mix. I'm thinking they're involved in some kind of underground dog fighting. The OP should stay away. Its just too dangerous.

[grep]

Other posters have pretty much said it. Additional neighborhoods to consider might be south side slopes, south fineview, Duquesne, western Wilkinsburg.... but Beechview, Brookline, Greenfield, and Troy Hill are all good suggestions. There are also odd areas like "the run" where houses come up for sale only occasionally but are often good deals. Cast a wide net and wait.

[BarqCider]

i'm still trying to wrap my head around housing being as cheap as 75k. in my mind that is a car payment. It seems to me the OP doesn't make enoguh money between himself and his wife to be able to afford more housing.

i'm curious as to what his rent is currently as i think it's currently at 6-800. keep in mind that's not including insurance for the house/apartment.

sometimes you cant have the cake and eat it op. either save up more money or settle for what has been posted here.

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

i'm still trying to wrap my head around housing being as cheap as 75k. in my mind that is a car payment. It seems to me the OP doesn't make enoguh money between himself and his wife to be able to afford more housing.

i'm curious as to what his rent is currently as i think it's currently at 6-800. keep in mind that's not including insurance for the house/apartment.

sometimes you cant have the cake and eat it op. either save up more money or settle for what has been posted here.

Please. You can find decent places for less than half of $75k within a 10 minute bus ride of Shadyside-East Liberty-Regent Square-Squirrel Hill if you don't mind 'poor' (working-class) neighbors.

[BarqCider]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

Please. You can find decent places for less than half of $75k within a 10 minute bus ride of Shadyside-East Liberty-Regent Square-Squirrel Hill if you don't mind 'poor' (working-class) neighbors.

well being born and raised in the suburbs of DC, finding a house less than 200k is not even remotely possible. Condos? possible. sfh? not a chance.

so to me any house under 300k IS cheap, but 75k? that is astounding from my perspective.

[T. Damon]

OMG- Shadyside, Squirrel Hill and Oakland are some of the most beautiful urban neighborhoods I've seen in my life (just visited- finally! For my first time) and you guys are lucky they are still so affordable. I couldn't even imagine buying into those neighborhoods for under $400k -maybe I'm just used to crazy San Diego real estate -much less finding something nearby for $75k- is the city still that cheap!? I need to move there quick before the rest of the country discovers you.