My own personal moving thread... (Pittsburgh, Butler: for sale, lenders, buying a house)

[selltheburgh]

I haven't seen Morningside listed yet. While not too walkable, it has potential with the small business district and is very flat and bikeable to all East End amenities.

[Hopes]

I agree with Rob about checking into increasing your budget. If you have 150k as a down payment, you can afford a higher priced house. 200k to 250k can get you into Squirrel Hill. You can get a gorgeous place in Highland Park for that. It doesn't get you anything nice Aspinwall, at least not with what's on the market now.

Aspinwall is only 5 minutes away from North Side on off business hours, when you would normally be traveling to visit your inlaws. Once the construction is done, it will be a breeze even during the day.

[Bong477]

Nicer rennovated homes in HP are more pushing more towards the 300k range these days from what I've seen. 250k could be enough though.

Obviously the money doesn't go that far in SH, but I think you can do a little better than you think in the low 200's a few blocks north of the parkway area if you are patient and jump on the right house when its available (and can compromise on a garage and central air which seems to be features that are at a premium from what I've seen).

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

I haven't seen Morningside listed yet. While not too walkable, it has potential with the small business district and is very flat and bikeable to all East End amenities.

I rather like this house. Morningside is a neighborhood we'd only consider when we have the school situation nailed down though. I feel the same way about Highland Park

Originally Posted by Bong477

Obviously the money doesn't go that far in SH, but I think you can do a little better than you think in the low 200's a few blocks north of the parkway area if you are patient and jump on the right house when its available (and can compromise on a garage and central air which seems to be features that are at a premium from what I've seen).

My wife considers a garage to be a negative characteristic of a house. I'm fine if we have one, but only if it's hidden in a back alley, not on display in the front.

We've been living without Central Air for years, and I don't have an issue with continuing to do so. Personally, I hate when they ruin a house trying to put central air ductwork in. I'd actually think about taking it out in certain cases depending upon the character of the house. Only usually if they did that, they also removed the cast iron radiators.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by eschaton

No. We've been dealing with the bathroom remodeling for three years, remember. She's sometimes up until 1AM researching everything from vanities to tile to looking at different floor plans. She puts a huge amount of effort into trying to make things perfect, which is often for naught. I still remember when she stayed up late the night before the painters came looking at different paint options for our front door, and then ultimately decided we shouldn't paint it. She's just the kind of person who is always indecisive, and if you pressure her to make a decision on the spot, she shuts down.

She can't be that indecisive professionally. Since I sense your frustration, I thought it might help if she approached home projects the way she does projects at work. That doesn't work for everyone though. Some people can function in a professional environment because it's necessary to survive, but they shut down at home because they don't have the same fear motivation that they have at work. I wasn't suggesting she make a decision on the spot. I was suggesting not calling contractors until she has everything absolutely finalized. That's all.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Tinare, do you think the asking price is high for the area?

Sorry, I went away for a bit... From what I remember from the outside (I haven't walked past it in at least a year at this point -- I keep trying different routes, and it's on one side street), it doesn't look to me to be overpriced. It was one of the houses I admired while walking past. I remember it having some curb appeal. I'm not sure if there is an alleyway behind that street and I don't think there was driveway, so it might lack off-street parking. A lot of people (I admit to being one when I was house hunting) rule out houses that don't have off-street parking, so that might hurt it a bit, if I'm remembering correctly. It was probably priced a little high at first, but I would think that the current list is in the right ballpark. Not that I'm an expert at pricing real estate, but unless there is an issue, $90,000ish for a 5 bedroom, 1 1/2 baths in the neighborhood seems reasonable. I think it would be worth a look, anyway.

(I also remember admiring a lot of nice vegetable gardens in nearby houses, so Eschaton, if it would work you might end up with nice neighbors who share extra produce...)

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I think we're up to three Mexican groceries, thank you very much. Las Palmas just opened another location on Broadway. And true, it doesn't hold a candle to Brookline, but to be fair, there is Casa Rasta, Slice, Davio, the library, the IGA, a couple of churches, a laundromat, a bank, a couple of bars, a couple of barber shops/salons. It's not entirely a commercial desert.

And it's true that the neighborhood is technically walkable, but there are extremely steep spots with narrow roads. A few years ago the city put in wheelchair/ADA cuts on all the sidewalk corners, and for some of those streets, kudos to anyone in a wheelchair on that block. They must have arms of steel.

I think Beechview has Brookline beat in the restaurant category. We have good convenience food at Las Palmas and Pitaland, but in the sit-down category I think Casa Rasta and Davio are better than any thing on the Boulevard. (Though I haven't tried the Egyptian restaurant.)

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I rather like this house. Morningside is a neighborhood we'd only consider when we have the school situation nailed down though. I feel the same way about Highland Park

Remember that large old homes like this one require a lot more gas and electricity to heat them. You're getting off pretty cheap in your current digs. Further, central air is less crucial in a narrow brick rowhouse that you own now, the home acts like a chimney channeling hot air upwards.

[Bong477]

Rowhouses are pretty well insulated due to the shared walls. We actually (embarrassingly) ran out of oil in our heater in Baltimore. Our landlord probably mentioned the need for oil at some point, but having never had oil heat I didn't know what that meant. The place stayed reasonably warm during the two days it took to get someone out to refill us.

I haven't actually found the energy costs of our big old house to be that bad (although natural gas is super cheap right now which helps). The maintenance and repair expenses however have been pretty rough.

[ferraris]

Do you really want to max out your budget for Squirrel Hill or Aspinwall and still be somewhat unhappy with what you end up with?

I feel like my father saying this, but take your profit and buy a place outright! Sure, you might end up in the West End or Brookline, but that doesn't sound like a major lifestyle issue for either of you plus you won't have a mortgage. You're literally tossing away the opportunity to retire a year or two early. Saving $50K while you're this young adds up very quickly in a retirement account (or for paying off other debt if you have any). Or if one of you two has ever dreamed of opening up a business, you could go that route. Yeah a quarter-million dollar house might be nice, and it's fun for us on here to spend your money, but is utilizing all of your Lawrenceville profit on another house and then tacking on a mortgage prudent?