Neighborhood of the week: Marshall-Shadeland (Brightwood) (Pittsburgh, McKeesport: home, buyer, closing)

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Make sure you get a sewer line inspection before you buy. Just yesterday I got a sweet $5k estimate to make a repair and its not even replacing the entire line. That would be around $10k+.

agreed. Cost for sewer repair can vary wildly depending how bad it is and the topography and access to the line. Sometimes you can't get a machine to the area and it has to all be hand dug which will hike up the labor costs. Sometimes a whole driveway needs to be torn up and new concrete installed. Definitely worth the 150-250 bucks for a plumber to scope the line with a camera and know for sure.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by jea6321

agreed. Cost for sewer repair can vary wildly depending how bad it is and the topography and access to the line. Sometimes you can't get a machine to the area and it has to all be hand dug which will hike up the labor costs. Sometimes a whole driveway needs to be torn up and new concrete installed. Definitely worth the 150-250 bucks for a plumber to scope the line with a camera and know for sure.

Also, Erie Insurance has underground service coverage that can be pretty helpful for this. It doesnt cover work under the basement floor but definitely worth the cost for the expensive house to street repairs.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Also, Erie Insurance has underground service coverage that can be pretty helpful for this. It doesnt cover work under the basement floor but definitely worth the cost for the expensive house to street repairs.

Thank you. I was curious about recommendations for a home insurer, actually. Some friends of mine recommended Erie. I think I'll go with them. We're expecting to hear news (good or bad) about our offer on this listing tonight, according to our realtor. We've sort of "made peace" with this house, though, in that if it falls through we know eventually more listings NEED to come onto the market at some point. Spring is almost here.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Thank you. I was curious about recommendations for a home insurer, actually. Some friends of mine recommended Erie. I think I'll go with them. We're expecting to hear news (good or bad) about our offer on this listing tonight, according to our realtor. We've sort of "made peace" with this house, though, in that if it falls through we know eventually more listings NEED to come onto the market at some point. Spring is almost here.

It might be worth bundling your homeowners insurance and your car insurance, if you have an insurance company that does both. Sometimes you get a slight discount for that.

[Knepper3]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It might be worth bundling your homeowners insurance and your car insurance, if you have an insurance company that does both. Sometimes you get a slight discount for that.

Very much so, I have All State with a local rep. If you want his info PM me. I've had him 13 years and one thing I love is their quick efficient response. Unfortunately with 2 kids and 2 hit/run on my parked car I've used them plenty (plus 1 ice storm when we first moved here). Dont just go with the cheapest, you want someone who will respond when you need it. I like having a personal/local rep so I can talk through and get questions answered.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It might be worth bundling your homeowners insurance and your car insurance, if you have an insurance company that does both. Sometimes you get a slight discount for that.

Originally Posted by Knepper3

Very much so, I have All State with a local rep. If you want his info PM me. I've had him 13 years and one thing I love is their quick efficient response. Unfortunately with 2 kids and 2 hit/run on my parked car I've used them plenty (plus 1 ice storm when we first moved here). Dont just go with the cheapest, you want someone who will respond when you need it. I like having a personal/local rep so I can talk through and get questions answered.

Thanks. Good point. I currently have State Farm for auto and renter's insurances. I've been neither pleased nor displeased with them since going with them in 2010 when I moved to Pittsburgh.

[ferraris]

It looks like you're cutting it pretty close budget wise, so here's some things to keep in mind:

-When will your first mortgage payment be due (you may wind up with a "free" month after closing)
-What appliances are(n't) included
-Moving van or truck rental(s)
-How long you'll overlap the apartment and the house (double utilities + rent)
-Any costs to end or buy out your lease
-Quote Car insurance at the new address
-New locks
-Any old furniture you could sell instead of taking with you

Also if you or your partner have a retirement account you might be eligible to take an early withdrawal as a first time home buyer.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by ferraris

It looks like you're cutting it pretty close budget wise, so here's some things to keep in mind:

-When will your first mortgage payment be due (you may wind up with a "free" month after closing)
-What appliances are(n't) included
-Moving van or truck rental(s)
-How long you'll overlap the apartment and the house (double utilities + rent)
-Any costs to end or buy out your lease
-Quote Car insurance at the new address
-New locks
-Any old furniture you could sell instead of taking with you

Also if you or your partner have a retirement account you might be eligible to take an early withdrawal as a first time home buyer.

Thanks. Very helpful information!

1.) Not sure yet because we're still not under contract.
2.) Refrigerator, stove, and microwave convey. Washer and dryer do not, but I did the laundromat route for years and don't mind doing that again until we can save for our own.
3.) We'll only need a small U-Haul truck rental for one day. Not very expensive. Almost everything we own except for like four things will fit into my hatchback with all the seats folded flat in about 50 trips back-and-forth. I moved my fiance in with me (his futon, his mattress, his bookshelves, etc.) by taking numerous trips between his former Marshall-Shadeland rental and our Polish Hill apartment without renting a U-Haul.
4.) Yeah, double utilities and a rent AND mortgage payment will be tight for a bit. Banking on the arrival of a tax refund, a retroactive pay increase, and using some funds from checking. Also turned off student loans from this month through June just to be safe ($260/month and my biggest debt at $4,000).
5.) Our lease ends at the end of this month. We think our landlady forgot about this since in the past decade I've rented from her our leases have always ended in the summer. We're just going to send her rent like we usually do for March 1, and if she remembers in March that the lease is up we're going to explain the situation and try to be out by March 31.
6.) I doubt car insurance will be significantly higher in 15212 vs. 15219 (both of which have iffy neighborhoods). It may even be cheaper if we bundle it in with insurance on the new home. Car will also be garaged and locked nightly in 15212 vs. on the street in the open in 15219.
7.) Yeah, I forgot about new door locks. Oh well. We'll figure that out. Thanks.
8.) In a pinch we could raise several hundred dollars selling stuff for sure. I mean I have a PS3, controllers, numerous games; an XBox 360, controllers, and numerous games; and a lot of rolled coins I could turn in. My fiance has a lot of things he could sell, too.
9.) We both have retirement accounts. He has a 401(k). I have a pension. I know for a fact I could borrow against my pension for a first home purchase. I'm just trying to see if we can make do without it. Worst-case scenario if we negotiate upwards with the lender from 4% interest to 6% interest we can finance $2,000 more of the closing costs, which means we'd have to bring <$5,000 to closing. I think we'll be fine one way or another. I wish we had an extra $1,000 in wiggle room, but given how tight this real estate market in the city is at our price point we really had to pounce since we saw a house we liked that needs little work.

I won't fault myself for cutting it close budget-wise going in. All the talk of "budget 10% of sales price for closing costs + down payment" was bunk since closing costs are so exceptionally high in Pittsburgh. Now we can warn other prospective first-time home-buyers that your closing costs alone are actually closer to 10% of the sales price if you buy in the city.

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I won't fault myself for cutting it close budget-wise going in. All the talk of "budget 10% of sales price for closing costs + down payment" was bunk since closing costs are so exceptionally high in Pittsburgh. Now we can warn other prospective first-time home-buyers that your closing costs alone are actually closer to 10% of the sales price if you buy in the city.

Low down payment mortgages have higher closing costs due to prepayment of the PMI and escrow for taxes/insurance. There may also be a funding fee similar to FHA on the loan. then the 2.5% per side transfer tax. On most avg priced homes, 10% saved is pretty standard for FHA or 3% conventional, but as the price goes lower it can be more than 10% due to some of the costs being rather large on a % basis of the purchase price.

as for insurance, definitely shop it around and bundle. You will most likely get a 20-30% discount for having both home and auto with one company. I have both all state and State Farm policies for different places. I find all state to be better for owner occupied homes and State Farm better for investment properties. A friend of mine is a local all state agent in the N Hills area( might be Kneppers agent actually) and definitely provides good customer service.

[Knepper3]

Originally Posted by jea6321

Low down payment mortgages have higher closing costs due to prepayment of the PMI and escrow for taxes/insurance. There may also be a funding fee similar to FHA on the loan. then the 2.5% per side transfer tax. On most avg priced homes, 10% saved is pretty standard for FHA or 3% conventional, but as the price goes lower it can be more than 10% due to some of the costs being rather large on a % basis of the purchase price.

as for insurance, definitely shop it around and bundle. You will most likely get a 20-30% discount for having both home and auto with one company. I have both all state and State Farm policies for different places. I find all state to be better for owner occupied homes and State Farm better for investment properties. A friend of mine is a local all state agent in the N Hills area( might be Kneppers agent actually) and definitely provides good customer service.

Is his name Mike?