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Old 03-10-2015, 08:24 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
7,541 posts, read 10,282,338 times
Reputation: 3510

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post

The sorts of houses I've been interested in buying would run me a total monthly payment of $400/month-$500/month, which I'd split in half with my partner. Currently we pay $700/month for a shabby apartment, and if we wanted to move elsewhere in the same neighborhood we'd have to shell out closer to $900/month for a 1-BR, further delaying my home purchase. In contrast, when I moved here just in 2010 I was paying $550/month for a nicer 1-BR and was told by long-timers in the neighborhood that was "a tad high for the neighborhood". Now just a few years later $900/month isn't even sneezed at, even for a studio.


If you want to live in a hip place, you have to pay a hip price.


The low priced domiciles in safe neighborhoods are in Shannon, Verona, Brentwood, Avalon, Creighton, etc., but they aren't where its happening, and you won't be able to walk to town and you'll have a commute. The architecture isn't like to be classic, maybe mid century American. But someone has to live there, and lots of traditional Pittsburgh live out there.

Just make a choice, its your money, a lot of previously inexpensive places of the past- like Polish Hill- no longer are that cheap. But you do have choices.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:24 AM
 
11,086 posts, read 8,563,733 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
Pittsburgh was like that when I first moved here. I remember a really cool duplex apartment for $750 in Lawrenceville. The same place would be at least twice that much now.
Most people in the metro area have no desire to live in Lawrenceville.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:26 AM
 
6,601 posts, read 9,009,609 times
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Closing costs suck, but the fact of the matter is that they are not some insurmountable barrier to entry. Scraping up $3-$5K over the course of several years might take some dedication, but it's certainly feasible.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:27 AM
 
6,601 posts, read 9,009,609 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goinback2011 View Post
Most people in the metro area have no desire to live in Lawrenceville.
I don't think there's anywhere in the metro area where most people want to live. Tastes vary too much for that.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,623 posts, read 77,748,929 times
Reputation: 19103
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferraris View Post
Closing costs suck, but the fact of the matter is that they are not some insurmountable barrier to entry. Scraping up $3-$5K over the course of several years might take some dedication, but it's certainly feasible.
Oh believe me I know. I'm saving $250 of every paycheck this year and 10% of my tip income. The paycheck savings alone will amount to $6,000, and the tip savings should amount to around $2,000, giving me $8,000 in the bank by next Spring. Of that, half will go to taxes, leaving me with $4,000. Continuing on that trajectory, though, I'll have $12,000 by Spring 2017---$8,000 after paying another $4,000 in taxes. $8,000 will be enough to buy my first home with 3% down, along with closings costs. In Spring 2018 my car will be paid off, which will free up $400/month+, and the following year, my student loans will be paid off, freeing up almost another $250/month. That extra "wiggle room" in my budget will be used to renovate.

I'll either be able to buy something SUPER cheap needing quite a bit of work in Spring 2016 or buy something more to my liking in Spring 2017---assuming housing prices don't rise too quickly by then.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
3,298 posts, read 3,903,039 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goinback2011 View Post
Most people in the metro area have no desire to live in Lawrenceville.
Not what the real estate market has shown.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:47 AM
 
11,086 posts, read 8,563,733 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ferraris View Post
I don't think there's anywhere in the metro area where most people want to live. Tastes vary too much for that.
Tell the poster who used Lawrenceville as the reason Pittsburgh isn't affordable.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:48 AM
 
11,086 posts, read 8,563,733 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
Not what the real estate market has shown.
Lawrenceville is a small neighborhood in a large metro region.
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Old 03-10-2015, 08:52 AM
 
6,601 posts, read 9,009,609 times
Reputation: 4699
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Oh believe me I know. I'm saving $250 of every paycheck this year and 10% of my tip income. The paycheck savings alone will amount to $6,000, and the tip savings should amount to around $2,000, giving me $8,000 in the bank by next Spring. Of that, half will go to taxes, leaving me with $4,000. Continuing on that trajectory, though, I'll have $12,000 by Spring 2017---$8,000 after paying another $4,000 in taxes. $8,000 will be enough to buy my first home with 3% down, along with closings costs. In Spring 2018 my car will be paid off, which will free up $400/month+, and the following year, my student loans will be paid off, freeing up almost another $250/month. That extra "wiggle room" in my budget will be used to renovate.

I'll either be able to buy something SUPER cheap needing quite a bit of work in Spring 2016 or buy something more to my liking in Spring 2017---assuming housing prices don't rise too quickly by then.
Sounds like a decent plan, though don't know if it's safe to assume your car will still be good enough for you in 2018.

It also strikes me that you're not comparing apples to apples. You're comparing rent in Polish Hill to homes in less desirable areas. If you're going to live in those areas, why not start sooner rather than later and get an apartment or rental house there and save a couple hundred extra a month now and put it towards closing costs and be able to buy even sooner? This also gives you the chance to test out the neighborhood with much less risk.
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Old 03-10-2015, 09:49 AM
 
994 posts, read 903,355 times
Reputation: 923
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFP View Post
The salary you need to earn to buy a home in 27 major US cities | Daily Mail Online

A home buyer is San Francisco has to earn $142,448 to keep up with monthly payments of $3,323 for a median-priced house

Pittsburgh ranked the most affordable metro area requiring a salary of under $32,000

New York City, which has the highest mortgage rate at $4.22 per cent, was the fourth most unaffordable metro requiring homebuyers to earn $87,535
At some point, Pittsburgh will need to complete the transition to a place where people WANT to live regardless of the cheap housing. If that happens, then Pittsburgh will stop making 'most livable' and 'cheapest real estate' types of lists, but will be more desirable. Sort of a catch 22.
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