Houses on Sale for $20,000? (Pittsburgh, Allentown: low income, chapel, co-op)

[eschaton]

As others have noted, these days for $20,000 you can generally get, within the city limits.

1. A wreck of a house which isn't habitable.
2. A small house which needs work, but is in liveable condition, within a ghetto or an area in severe decline (Knoxville, Sheraden, Hazelwood, Homewood, etc).

Right now, this is the only house within the city under $20,000 I would consider buying. It clearly had residents recently, and even has some original features remaining. City View isn't the nicest area, but it's far from a ghetto - more of a falling-apart backwoods enclave. I'm sure at that price it needs work, but it looks like you could live there while doing it. In the $20,000 to $35,000 range I'd cautiously put this, this, and this house in the same boat.

You can do better than this if you don't go on the open market - buying a house at auction for example. However, this requires cash up front. Also if you don't buy in Pittsburgh proper and look in some of the outlying mill towns. In general though, unless you're handy, I'd suggest $50,000 as more the range for a "starter" house in Pittsburgh these days however.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by burghdude

I'm remaining optimistic. My dad grew up in Braddock and my grandmother still lives there, so I guess I'm a little biased though.

There ya have it folks! Burghdude's father grew up in Braddock and his grandmother still resides there to this day! That alone is tangible evidence that Braddock is poised to become the next Lawrenceville! Don't wait! Buy up that cheap property and start gentrifying yesterday!!!

[burghdude]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

There ya have it folks! Burghdude's father grew up in Braddock and his grandmother still resides there to this day! That alone is tangible evidence that Braddock is poised to become the next Lawrenceville! Don't wait! Buy up that cheap property and start gentrifying yesterday!!!

I don't appreciate your condescension. Forgive me for expressing my enthusiasm by citing the fact that I have family ties to Braddock. That's not the only reason for it, but you've kind of taken the wind out of my sails with your remarks.

[ferraris]

If you're just searching on zillow and trulia, you might be getting bogus listings. A lot of "foreclosures" are listed even though they are merely situations where the current owner has received a notice of foreclosure...the property isn't actually for sale yet (and may never be for sale). Also if you end up looking at any HUD homes, beware that the list price is intended as basically a "the bidding starts at" price.

Other than that it's as others have mentioned. Homes for $20K and under in the city proper are in terrible shape and/or are in declining areas. If you'll need to use a mortgage to buy, it's likely any home that cheap will not be in good enough shape to pass the bank's inspection.

[Cam34]

Even though I live outside of the city I just went through the selling of a old "fixer uppper". I was selling my house for 13,000. A 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home, older home but BIG. Rationale of the price was that it needed some roof work (around 9,000) and some windows replaced (3,000). Even with those things the house was move in ready. Sometimes you can get decent houses for low cost, but you need to go look and decide what you are willing to do.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by eschaton

2. A small house which needs work, but is in liveable condition, within a ghetto or an area in severe decline (Knoxville, Sheraden, Hazelwood, Homewood, etc).

There are many areas within Sheraden that are safe to buy and I certainly wouldn't put it in the same category with Homewood and Hazelwood. Sheraden's decline is real but not as severe as other neighborhoods.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

There are many areas within Sheraden that are safe to buy and I certainly wouldn't put it in the same category with Homewood and Hazelwood. Sheraden's decline is real but not as severe as other neighborhoods.

you're right about the housing stock there. people dont really find sherden attractive, though. its just too far from anything - i can deal with ghetto (i do now), but without a big advantage in location, its just not on the radar. that place is a big disappointment. my perspective might be swayed more by other people's perception, though - i knew people from there who were unhappy or are unhappy about it. but they might be the minority - who knows.

[Catia]

They ARE there--& if this is what you want to seek out, you will find them, you just need to do a LOT of footwork, you can't rely just on Zillow, you gotta drive around.

When you are ready to start actually viewing, if they are listed with a RE agency/multi-list have a few clustered close together-& don't get your hopes up too much based on pics you see online-they are usually very selective.

Some REO's can go as cheap as some auctions-& it saves you the hassel of the auction. Banks don't want to be stuck with them & are trying to dump.

Do you have any areas you are interested in? north/south/east/west???

There are some areas within iffy neighborhoods, like the ones mentioned, but a little off the path that are still VERY cheap.

For example--Fairywood, it used to be tons of projects, at one time Fairywood & Broadhead Manor were so dangerous, a previous mayor (sophie maslov) threatened to bring in the national guard to help control. But that was 20 yrs ago.
Those projects in Broadhead have been closed for years-they sold dirt cheap-what used to be the projects is now a gated community!!! Amaxing what happens when people actually PAY to live. The area is now safe.
Fairywood is a cute little nook, really off the beaten path & has some cheap places-it is Pittsburgh West-close to Crafton/Ingram & the industrial park, just a stones throw from Robinson.

How close to being able to buy are you? Most of these houses are easiest if purchased with cash, because as stated, due to needing repairs, banks won't lend. Things are so much stricter now with underwriting.

Buying HUD homes or going FHA is also a possibility--but I will tell you it IS HARD--there is so much red tape & many realtors do not want to deal with them at all due to the excessive amount of paperwork & regulations.
Recently I fell in love with a HUD home, & needed to learn about this process-in the mean time, while still vacant, it was taken 'off market' & offered to govt & non-profits & offered for $1--& I cannot even bid on it now.--So you need to be ready to buy, or approved for a loan before you even start looking into HUD homes, the process is extreme.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Catia

Do you have any areas you are interested in? north/south/east/west???

Catia - not sure if the post and question were directed to me.

thanks for the information. but for myself - i cant think about houses until about mid 2015, at which point i should be close to finishing grad school. following that, i might end up relocating, but for pittsburgh, im not sure what i would do - a cool condo downtown? a ranch style home in Elliot or Westwood? tiny house in the east end, next to the parks?

definitely not suburbs. no offense, Hopes! i just would mind the car dependency most require.

i should hire Steel City Rising as a life coach or something! he always seems to have a plan, and is confident in executing them.

in the meantime, i enjoy reading posts about people's perspectives on homes and neighborhoods in this city, and their 'walking around' stories. i never did walk the south side slopes on a quiet weekend morning with a camera. this saturday might be a good time - a bit warmer than this week.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

On the contrary, I think one of the biggest selling points to Sheraden is the location, given its proximity to downtown and the busway. What hurts Sheraden is the lack of a business district/gorcery store. Residents have to make the trip to Crafton/Ingram or McKees Rocks if they want groceries/shopping. I think this is a common denominator amongst some of the neighborhoods that tend to struggle.

I also believe Sheraden is less desirable due to the high percentage of rentals. We own a rental (our prior residence) in Sheraden and are looking to sell within the next few months. However, it becomes hard to sell without taking a significant loss when values have fallen. So, the neighborhoods end up with people who are forced to become landlords when they either don't have the means or the desire to do so.