Pittsburgh Advice (not hobby related)

[Charley3]

I would stick with what you’re leaning toward. Rivers, small mountains and tunnels cause a lot of clogged roads during rush hour.
Directly east of Pittsburgh and you lessen some of that.

[bigguyt]

It depends on if you need a good school district or not. If I was single and working in homestead I would look in the newer homes up the hill in squirrel hill. If you need a good school I would look into norwin, bethel park, usc, Mt lebo. I don't know much about Jefferson but there are some nice houses there.

[Grace Preston]

Originally Posted by bigguyt

It depends on if you need a good school district or not. If I was single and working in homestead I would look in the newer homes up the hill in squirrel hill. If you need a good school I would look into norwin, bethel park, usc, Mt lebo. I don't know much about Jefferson but there are some nice houses there.

School district means nothing to me except in the terms of resale value. My youngest has graduated already. For me-- the biggest factors are safety and potential resale value in 5-7 years.

[bigguyt]

Summerset in the frick is a cool neighborhood. It is in squirrel hill so the resale should never go down. The homes are pricey but the condos are reasonable. it is located across the river from homestead.

https://www.remax.com/pa/pittsburgh/...6?gallery=true

[Big Stig]

Im probably biased, but I live very nea downtown and find it extremely convenient. I like the proximity to dozens of great restaurants and other things. Property values are great and I could literally sell my house in 2 minutes at a pretty high asking price. The previous post mentioned Summerset just across the river from Homestead. That is a very nice city community. I have several friends that live there and love the neighborhood.

[Jacuzzme]

I just couldn’t bring myself to spend 700-mil on a place near the city when you can get double the square footage, with acreage, just 30 minutes drive in any direction. We looked at a place in Lawrenceville, on the zoo end of butler, for a kid who was in school in Oakland. Almost 800k for <2000 multi-leveled square feet, surrounded by ghettos. Hard pass, but someone must like them because the entire development is now sold.

[berryberry]

Originally Posted by Jacuzzme

I just couldn’t bring myself to spend 700-mil on a place near the city when you can get double the square footage, with acreage, just 30 minutes drive in any direction.

I agree 100% with you on that. You get a lot more for your money in the suburbs along with lower income taxes. And if safety is the biggest factor, while there are some nice neighborhoods in the city, I don't think anyone would say they are safer than the nicer suburban areas

[Grace Preston]

It is lovely-- but likely a bit out of budget for me. My cap on the absolute high end is going to be around 300k. That's part of the reason why I'm probably going to be leaning more towards Westmoreland, etc... more bang for the buck and all that jazz.

[Typo]

Originally Posted by Jacuzzme

Need more info on where the work will be. It’s tough not having to cross a river to get places around here, it will drastically limit your choices. Check out the Finleyville, Venetia, Nottingham Twp, Eighty Four areas of Washington County. There’s still some decent deals to be had, the high rent districts of McMurray/Peters/Canonsburg/USC haven’t creeped all the way there quite yet.

☝️ This. There are parts of Venetia and Nottingham that can get you to Homestead and Munhall without a bridge or tunnel. Property values are increasing. Peters Township as well, but that would push you over your top end. Canonsburg still has some very nice real estate in your price range, but will add a bit more time to your commute. The tradeoff to Canonsburg is increase in property value that might outpace other areas in your 5-7 year timeline. If you would prefer to be closer than those areas in Washington County, check out Bethel Park, Jefferson Hills, and Whitehall. Parts of all have good access to Homestead/Munhall without a bridge or tunnel.

Best of luck!

[Jacuzzme]

You’ll be able to get something real nice on that budget. 3 bed 2 bath ~2000 square feet~ish with a decent yard. I recently POA sold a relative’s place, actually not far from holmstead, which was 3br/1.5bath about 1800sf with a nice yard for 219.

There’s a lot of property for sale in West Mifflin, which is a stones throw from holmstead, that are within your budget. One on Lisa St caught my eye. That’s in the Clover Crest plan, a nice little family oriented subdivision near the now defunct Century 3 Mall.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[berryberry]

Originally Posted by Typo

☝️ This. There are parts of Venetia and Nottingham that can get you to Homestead and Munhall without a bridge or tunnel. Property values are increasing. Peters Township as well, but that would push you over your top end. Canonsburg still has some very nice real estate in your price range, but will add a bit more time to your commute. The tradeoff to Canonsburg is increase in property value that might outpace other areas in your 5-7 year timeline. If you would prefer to be closer than those areas in Washington County, check out Bethel Park, Jefferson Hills, and Whitehall. Parts of all have good access to Homestead/Munhall without a bridge or tunnel.

Best of luck!

I think you make a good point about property appreciation. It will vary by area but I agree the up and coming areas in Washington County that you mentioned have been and will likely continue to appreciate faster than older established Allegheny County Communities like West Mifflin / Pleasant Hills / Etc. and likely also holds true vs older established Westmoreland County Communities

Just depends on how important that potential property appreciation is to someone

[Grace Preston]

My biggest thing with appreciation is just making sure I at least hold value, if not gain a little. When I bought in Cincinnati-- I managed to choose an area where I'm just barely going to break even-- and given the fact that I bought right before the boom, that should tell you how poor my choice was LOL

[eclipse21]

Baldwin Brentwood brookline are close and ok area

[Jacuzzme]

The real estate market is volatile. Appreciation will be all about timing.

[Big Stig]

As for the city vs suburbs, that's truly a personal preference. Having lived in suburban hell for many years, I will never ever return to that lifestyle. I am a hardcore city person. But, I do get why people gravitate to the suburbs. It's definitely cheaper in some ways. For what I paid for my house in the city, you could easily buy a 4000 sqft cookie cutter mcmansion in the burbs. If that works for you, great. But its not for everyone.