Priced out (flat fee, for rent, mortgages)

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Is it really that hard to resist restaurants or to restrict them to once or twice a month?

I wouldn't know.

[BarqCider]

you know, ive grown up in the dc areas and know whats like to be out priced in housing aka owing a home, but to me PGH is still cheap to buy. the problem I see is, most folks who complain are those who don't have a post HS degree who think they deserve a house with their salaries, which tend to be in the lower end of a salary spectrum. To them, I say :sorry, but its time you move. I find PGH cheap to buy especially for those with a degree and who will make this city better. im an ahole for saying it, but truth is these folks are the ones who can improve this city. We all carry burdens and frankly those in the business who don't make enough are SOL. unless you wish the city to be a Detroit, then I am ok with housing prices to go up.

[BarqCider]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

How did they save up for a down payment and closing costs while paying twice what they would on their monthly mortgage payment in rent? I know it would be cheaper for us to buy, for example, but covering thousands of dollars in closing costs in addition to a hefty down payment is looking to realistically not be viable for us while we're overpaying in rent.

you are a prime example of under using your degree regardless of living here. you make it seem like a closing cost here is like 100,000 when truth is its less. a lot less. I could easily live on your salary and not be so over dramatic of potholes and other crap you make excuses. I eat out every day or so and I live on $40 a week on eating out. heck, you make a crap load more than me and I live a less stressful life and im sure I can buy a house and be ok. you've been making it seem like this city is the next DC when its BS.


I could easily buy a house 200k with your money here but my moms in va? which is worth 950k? no way.

I like you SCR but please stop being so over dramatic.i lived with your PGH salary in....NOVA! and I lived absolutely fine.

[hinsey86]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

How did they save up for a down payment and closing costs while paying twice what they would on their monthly mortgage payment in rent? I know it would be cheaper for us to buy, for example, but covering thousands of dollars in closing costs in addition to a hefty down payment is looking to realistically not be viable for us while we're overpaying in rent.

When we moved here we prepared by cutting out all non essential items for 4 months. No eating out, ( and eating in was limited to cheapest healthiest food we could get) no movies, no coffee stops, no chips, no soda, no magazines etc.. If it was nout truly essential we did not get it. We even debated about coffee at home but it was cheaper than paying for a lawyer . We stayed home mostly...didn't kll us either. We already had some savings so it didn't take as long as it would have from scratch. We were AMAZED with how much we saved. It then became a yearly thing for us to go one month a year in March without spending..coffee still included.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

How did they save up for a down payment and closing costs while paying twice what they would on their monthly mortgage payment in rent? I know it would be cheaper for us to buy, for example, but covering thousands of dollars in closing costs in addition to a hefty down payment is looking to realistically not be viable for us while we're overpaying in rent.

You live poor and save everything you can. I didn't have cable, rarely ate out, drove a 10 year old car, didn't buy clothes I didn't need and didn't travel for a few years. I set a budget and stuck to it. Things happen that cause setbacks, but you have to decide what your goals and priorities really are and continuously work toward them.

I own a home in the city -- I'm a big proponent of city living, but you'd give yourself an immediate 2% raise by moving to a first ring suburb like Dormont, Crafton, Bellevue or Millvale, add less than ten miles onto a daily commute, and probably find a cheaper rental. I don't think it necessarily makes sense to rent within the city limits, especially if you are finding it difficult to save for a house. Write down every single penny you spend for a couple of months. You'll see where you are wasting money. You can either whine about your lot in life or put on your big boy pants and make hard choices. It won't happen overnight, but it won't happen at all if you keep making excuses.

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

How did they save up for a down payment and closing costs while paying twice what they would on their monthly mortgage payment in rent? I know it would be cheaper for us to buy, for example, but covering thousands of dollars in closing costs in addition to a hefty down payment is looking to realistically not be viable for us while we're overpaying in rent.

At the price of house you've talked about here, the closing costs and down payment are not THAT enormous. Barqcider is absolutely right, you're being overdramatic.

People save and make sacrafices for things that they want. Cutting back on eating out, lower cost or free date nights, not buying as much clothing.

I have heard many, many people recommend using mint.com to track spending and budgets. Keep track of each and every little penny you spend, and at the end of a week/month/whatever measure, you'll be presented with a picture of where your money REALLY goes. You might think that most of your money goes to rent, car payments/insurance, gas, etc. But people blow money without realizing it. For example, spending $2 a day on a pop is $10/week, $520 a year. Cutting what seems like a negligible expense can really add up. Either cut that pop, or buy cases when they are on sale or at Costco and vastly reduce the cost. Find a couple little things like that to cut and you can have money saved in no time.

Of course a bank would "freak out" at a 650 credit score and variable income. That means you're a risk. Perhaps you can "afford" to pay $1,000 a month in rent, but for loans it is all about the risk. A 650 credit score indicates to a bank perhaps a lack of sufficient credit history and/or past issues with making payments (I have no idea of your personal situation aside from what's in this post nor does it really matter for purposes of a 10000 ft discussion about credit ratings/income when it comes to loans). Combine that with unpredictable income and it means that it's more of a risk than someone with 700+ credit score and a steady income.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

For example, spending $2 a day on a pop is $10/week, $520 a year.

No pop on weekends?

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

No pop on weekends?

Good point. I was thinking more from the viewpoint of someone working 5 days a week in an office. Weekends can be spending traps, too.

[TheYO]

I imagine the only places cheaper than the Pittsburgh metro are other rust belt metros that haven't rebounded as well. Places like Detroit, Youngstown, Akron, Flint, Gary, etc.

I know rent in Youngstown is a lot cheaper than here. My friend has an apartment two blocks away from YSU's campus, and he's playing like $500-550 a month, all utilities included.

I also remember reading Indianapolis was the cheapest place to raise a family. That was a couple years ago, though. I don't know what criteria they used to determine that, or if that's still true.

Something that makes the Pittsburgh metro unique compared to the others I mentioned, is the fact there are a lot of small cities along the rivers that are cheaper than Pittsburgh itself. Like others have mentioned, places like Braddock are McKeesport really cheap. Those other metros are more of the traditional struggling city with cheap rents, and then suburbs. They don't have the other small urban areas the Pittsburgh metro has.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by TheYO

I imagine the only places cheaper than the Pittsburgh metro are other rust belt metros that haven't rebounded as well. Places like Detroit, Youngstown, Akron, Flint, Gary, etc.

I know rent in Youngstown is a lot cheaper than here. My friend has an apartment two blocks away from YSU's campus, and he's playing like $500-550 a month, all utilities included.

I also remember reading Indianapolis was the cheapest place to raise a family. That was a couple years ago, though. I don't know what criteria they used to determine that, or if that's still true.

Something that makes the Pittsburgh metro unique compared to the others I mentioned, is the fact there are a lot of small cities along the rivers that are cheaper than Pittsburgh itself. Like others have mentioned, places like Braddock are McKeesport really cheap. Those other metros are more of the traditional struggling city with cheap rents, and then suburbs. They don't have the other small urban areas the Pittsburgh metro has.

Hmm, I was just reading the Urbanophile blog and wonder if the reason why Indianapolis might be cheap (don't know how true that is) was in his latest post:
The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » When Sprawl Hits the Wall

I don't always agree with him, but it's always interesting reading.