How much house can you get for $50k? (Pittsburgh: crime, new house)

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

Oh sorry, somehow I missed this until just now -- no worries, and I would absolutely love if people shared some Mon valley gems on here. It's just fun to learn more about what's out there.

oxymoron


I ran the Mon Valley on the MLS and found about 57 active listings 50K-. I'd stay out of there.

[SolitaryThrush]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

Here's an example that caught my eye in my neighborhood -- this part of Spring Hill is not really walkable to anything, but there's a bus stop close by that gets you downtown really quickly, and you can drive to 279 in a flash. It's not an affluent neighborhood, but not a bad one either; I wouldn't expect this house to appreciate wildly but it would hold value and be a nice place to live cheaply. (It's already under contract by the way, so at least someone thinks it's a good deal.)

2439 Sunset Ave, Spring Hill, PA 15212 - realtor.com®

I usually cringe in these discussions because a lot of the examples turn out to be cheap houses that needs tens of thousands of dollars of work to make them livable.

But that's an interesting place. I've spent a lot of time in Spring Hill b/c of family, and Sunset Ave. is kind of remote, relatively speaking. Looking at pictures the house needs work, but, hell, all houses built in 1910 do. You're right it's not easily walkable to much, but it thankfully does have a bus stop nearby and it is very close to I-279 and Spring Garden Ave. All in all a nice little place.

I'm also intrigued by that $49,500 foreclosure on Harbor St., also in Spring Hill. That's right in the "heart" of Spring Hill, and if you enjoy walking you could get down to Deutschtown (and my dad says you can cut through the woods to get to the Strip District, but I've never tested it).

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by SolitaryThrush

I usually cringe in these discussions because a lot of the examples turn out to be cheap houses that needs tens of thousands of dollars of work to make them livable.

But that's an interesting place. I've spent a lot of time in Spring Hill b/c of family, and Sunset Ave. is kind of remote, relatively speaking. Looking at pictures the house needs work, but, hell, all houses built in 1910 do. You're right it's not easily walkable to much, but it thankfully does have a bus stop nearby and it is very close to I-279 and Spring Garden Ave. All in all a nice little place.

I'm also intrigued by that $49,500 foreclosure on Harbor St., also in Spring Hill. That's right in the "heart" of Spring Hill, and if you enjoy walking you could get down to Deutschtown (and my dad says you can cut through the woods to get to the Strip District, but I've never tested it).

Yeah -- we've had a few threads lately about potential gut rehabs, but I wanted to see what it would be like for people actually looking for livable properties in this range. I've seen several sell in Spring Hill, Spring Garden, etc these past few years, but maybe there will be fewer in the future, even here, as prices keep going up.

The Harbor Street house is cute, too. I would say the walk down to Deutschtown is about the same from either house (esp if you cut down to East Street from the Sunset Ave address), but it's true that there are more families etc in the area around Rockledge.

I wonder what shortcut your dad is talking about -- I'm sure there is one, but I don't know a better way to walk from Spring Hill to the Strip District than simply going down to Chestnut Street and the 16th street bridge. I'm sure there must be a way to do it from Harbor Street, but I don't know how without having to climb up and over Troy Hill, which strikes me as a bit of a pain. A good workout, though.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Copanut

oxymoron


I ran the Mon Valley on the MLS and found about 57 active listings 50K-. I'd stay out of there.

A few years ago I bought an 11 year old house in North Braddock for 17k. I put a little over 2k into it and I get $800 a month from it. The money valley is not so bad at times.

[guy2073]

132 Harphen St, Versailles, PA 15132 - realtor.com®

Without a lot of money this could be a gem

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by guy2073

132 Harphen St, Versailles, PA 15132 - realtor.com®

Without a lot of money this could be a gem

Yes, and that's a really cool deck.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by guy2073

A few years ago I bought an 11 year old house in North Braddock for 17k. I put a little over 2k into it and I get $800 a month from it. The money valley is not so bad at times.

Looks like you are getting a good return. There are deals out there, if you have the expertise to find them. That's pretty good rent for that area.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Looks like you are getting a good return. There are deals out there, if you have the expertise to find them. That's pretty good rent for that area.

With anything on the market for long at these low prices though you have to assume that something is wrong with them or investors would have snatched them up.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by guy2073

A few years ago I bought an 11 year old house in North Braddock for 17k. I put a little over 2k into it and I get $800 a month from it. The money valley is not so bad at times.

I've actually been hearing that the northern part of the Mon Valley has been having a comeback of sorts, insofar as it's close enough to the city for a bus commute, and thus a logical place for lower-income people without regular access to a car to move if they are gentrified out of the city.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

With anything on the market for long at these low prices though you have to assume that something is wrong with them or investors would have snatched them up.

There's a sweet spot of properties where the price is just high enough and/or the repairs are just extensive enough that investors aren't interested because the return would be low and it would require a lot of hassle. But as a personal residence, they are still great deals.