Where to Live

duqcheer04 · December 2009

So after the new year, DF and I are going to start the process of finding a place to live . YAY!

Let me start by saying that DF is from the South Hills and I am from the North Hills, so the lines have been drawn.

I find myself having issues with the whole situation! I think I may be putting tooo much thought into it.

Is it important to think about the school district? We aren't planning on having kids right away, but who knows the house we move into maybe our home forever.

Secondly, DF's job is not always secure. He works in sports and while Pittsburgh has a lot to offer in that regard, no one ever leaves their job, so openings are few and far between. So I'm concerned about buying a house especially if we are going to be moving in 3-5 years.

Did anyone else talk themselves in circles when it came to deciding on a "home"? Or am I just crazy?! ( Which is probably the case!)

marburs · December 2009

Buying a home is a huge decision. There are many questions which arise when thinking about it. If you guys are renting- I would say def buy unless you plan on moving away within the year. It just makes more sense financially. As far as where- I would try to think of whether this will be your forever home or not. FI and I already have an idea what year we plan on moving, so school district wasn't an issue with our house. But if this might be your forever home- make sure its exactly what you want

elishanb · December 2009

Maybe I just love my apartment but I just don't see what is wrong with renting until one knows that they are staying in the area for a more permanent amount of time. Investing in a house to me is more then just for 3-5 years. Especially when there are loads of nice apartments out there that do the same thing that house do, put a roof over you head for a certain amount of money. I would seriously consider finding a suitable place to rent and continue to save until I knew exactly where we were going to live. But that is just me.

KRMac · December 2009

IMO, school districts are important for the resell value, even if you don't think you'll live there when you have kids.

In terms of reselling soon, if you guys would get the tax credit, I'm pretty sure that you owe it back if you resell within 3 years.

I'm a South Hills girl though, so I obviously think you should live there. :P

duqcheer04 · December 2009

Elisha I totally agree with you! DF doesn't "understand" renting and "throwing" money away.

I really didn't think it would be this big of a deal! Our entire relationship we have lived in two different places, so I think I'm just so ready to live under one roof. But at the same time, I want it to be what we want/need.

Why don't they teach you things like "living after college" in school? Seriously! I would have loved a lesson on morgages, bill paying, how to save effectively.

I suppose that is part of being an adult though,

cobrien1976 · December 2009

Buying a house is huge decision. When DH and I bought our house, we weren't even engaged yet. We love the South Hills, were living in Bridgeville at the time, I work downtown and DH was working in Castle Shannon. So we wanted an area that was convenient to his job yet accessible to public transportant. We looked at many different areas but realized that Bethel Park was the right place for us. It has great services, decently priced homes, and a great school district. Even though we weren't at the time thinking about kids nor have thought much about kids after getting married, I still think that living in an area that has a great school is important because you never know what might happend down the road. I have friends who have bought a starter home in the hopes of only living there for a short period of time; well now they have been living in the same home for well over 15 years so you know know what may happen. Just my two cents. GL

elishanb · December 2009

Yea to me renting doesn't always = throwing away money. FI and I are about 95% sure that we are going to be staying in Pittsburgh for at leats the next 10 years or so, but we are rushing to get a house because we are happy where we are, and with saving money to get some that will make us even more happy.

daveys_baby · December 2009

I'm also a North Hills girl, so my biased opinion says stay up there! Personally I think the traffic coming from the north is alot better than any other area, I know there is some major work going on right now, but it's nothing compared to the Parkway East.
DH was from Cranberry, but hated staying in Pittsburgh, so our compromise was that we'd buy a starter home that wasnt' in the North Hills, and our forever home will be in the NH. I'll be honest, there are times that I'm absolutley miserable living in West Mifflin b/c it really is so different than where I grew up...but the price for starter homes is among the best in the nation, the school district is good (even though we'll be out of this area by the time we have school aged children), and I'm really close to work. I'm throwing West Mifflin out there b/c I think if you do need to move to a different area you'd stand a lot less to lose in resale/closing costs than if you bought a home of the same size in other areas of the city...and if you know that his job will stay in PGH, you can just start looking for a forever home in a good school district sooner and not have a huge mortgage looming over your heads. Just my two cents...the home search is exciting, but it can also be a big hastle so good luck!

npales · December 2009

Don't buy unless you plan on being int he house for at least 5 years. Plus, you would owe the tax credit back as KR said.

E & I are in the process right now and have learned quite a lot from it. We are obsessed with school districts, to the point that I know the rankings of the elementary schools in the areas I am looking. A good SD will ensure resale value. Plus, you never know if this will end up being your forever home. Even if you plan on moving, life could get in the way of that plan, so you want to make sure you find a house that you could live in long-term.

As far as areas, I have found that the North & South Hills are VERY different! Other than going up to Wexford or Pine, the North Hills tends to be a bit more urban that the South Hills. I find that the houses are closer together and the streets are narrower. And, for the most part, the lots are smaller.

NH is a much easier commute and has great school districts (North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine/Richland, Hampton), but once you get out enough for more land, you are looking at 20mi away or so. (Again, this is in my experience from looking at houses for sale right now.)

The South Hills feels more suburban, with bigger lots and wider streets, mostly plan neighborhoods (some from many many years ago). However, the commute is more difficult.

Personally, I have found that I like the South Hills a lot better. It suits my style of living and I can find a huge yard much easier than in the North.

FWIW- These are my fav South Hills areas
-Mt Lebanon (more urban that rest of SH) and smaller lots
-Bethel Park (great SD, large lots)
-Pleasant Hills (so pretty!)
-South Park

I did not like Greentree or Scott as much as these others. And Mt Lebanon has yard that are too small for my taste, but it's a whole different style of living.

marburs · December 2009

I guess if you look at a house as a 'forever home' expensive investment- than yeah, renting could be 'saving money'. If you go with a starter home tho, you could be paying the same amount towards your mortgage as you pay for rent. However, you would be getting that money back when you sell your house (depending on the market). Hence "investment".

But I compeltely agree- buying a house is very scary and renting is just easier, and if you want to go straight to a forever home, then maybe renting and saving money would be the best so you can get exactly what you want when the time comes.

duqcheer04 · December 2009

Thanks for your insights girls! I'm glad I'm not the only who is/did go crazy weighing all the options.

I'll keep you posted! In January/February we are going to start the bank process, narrowing down our scope.

dicer2 · December 2009

I bought my own house and lived there for 3 years before selling. Over that span, the cost was about the same as if I had rented. (I didn't figure it out exactly.) One advantage to buying is the tax breaks. We're renting right now and it's killing me because we're spending so much $ and not building equity or getting the tax breaks. Just my viewpoint!

daveys_baby · December 2009

We felt the same way Candice, our mortgage+utilities is close to what we'd pay to rent, possibly even cheaper. I think one of the good things about Pittsburgh's home market is that it's pretty steady so you're not going to lose a hundred thousand dollars on resale b/c the housing bubble burst, so we saw it as a fairly safe risk. Maybe when we sell we won't get what we paid for it (or maybe the improvements we made will pay off), but atleast it won't be losing $600+ for every month that we rented. On the other hand, I totally understand not wanting to deal with the upkeep and all the other "joys" of owning a home and that's one of the benefits of renting.

jennybean2010 · December 2009

i've lived in the north hills and didn't like it. and i don't like the south hills at all. it's too much of a pain to get out there and get to anywhere around there. it drives me crazy. FI is from south park and upper st clair, so we're always out there and i despise it. i won't go farther in to the south hills than beverly st if we decide to buy a home in the area. we've looked more west as a result, and also within the city. we love mt washington, and would love to own a home here should we ever be able to afford it. but since we're contemplating a move to NC next fall, purchasing isn't in our vocabulary really anymore.

Er/jer · December 2009

Pretty much ditto what N said. We planned to stay in our house for about 5 years - but we know now (it's been about 5 1/2) that there's a good chance it may be another 5 before we can move. We like our house (don't love it) but we can definitely stay there without a huge issue for another 5, if it comes to that.

And I'm also partial to the South Hills. I love Bethel Park. I think it's convenient to the city - but you can find a place with a great yard, and the school's are really good. South Park is great as well, as is Peters and Mt. Lebanon.

Obviously before you really start doing anything else- you need to figure out what area of the city you want to go to, then start researching everything else.

For us - SD was not a concern since we don't plan on having kids. Plus - our house really isn't condusive to having kids, so it's doubtful whoever buys it would be worrying about that either.

kwynn · December 2009

Renting is not throwing money away. I used to feel that way too, but after reading several financial books, I realize that renting is providing something in exchange for your money. The key is getting a reasonable rent. If you are just starting to live together, I don't know that I would buy a house yet, especially if you are not sure on his job stability, etc. I might rent for a year to figure out if you like the area and what your needs as a couple are.

I agree with Cheryl that so many people buy thinking that this will be a starter home and then end up staying there for years and years. This is because moving is expensive, a hassle, and selling/buying are not the easiest processes either. The starter home concept is a new one, anyway, because a traditional mortgage was 15-30 years, so that was as long as you were expected to stay in the home.

If you guys are renting- I would say def buy unless you plan on moving away within the year. It just makes more sense financially. As far as where- I would try to think of whether this will be your forever home or not. FI and I already have an idea what year we plan on moving, so school district wasn't an issue with our house. But if this might be your forever home- make sure its exactly what you want

I disagree with this statement. It is not worth it financially to buy unless you stay, as PP mentioned, 3-5 years in the house. That is because of closing and financing costs. Also, the first years of your mortgage are not going towards principal, but interest, and therefore, you may still owe the same amount as you paid when you go to sell, meaning you have very little/no equity in the home. Add to that home repairs/upgrades and buying a home for a short amount of time can actually cost you money if you are not careful. (This is why many companies will buy the house from a person forced to relocate, because they realize that the employee will be out thousands if they do not).

Home buying is a great financial tool. If you go to MM on the Nest, they have a lot more info, but basically, 20% down is the standard, plus a large cushion for emergencies/repairs. If you can't put down 20%, you shouldn't buy, IMO. Budget may affect where you are looking to purchase.

School districts are really important for resale even if you don't have kids. (Of course, if you are staying forever or buying a place that isn't kid-friendly, it doesn't matter as much). Also, SD's change over time/proposed mergers.

I like West Mifflin, Mt. Lebo, Pleasant Hils, South Park, etc. I even like White Oak (where several of my friends live), but the SD is McKeesport, which can be rougher. Elizabeth Township/Elizabeth Forward can be nice too. If DH and I were to buy in Pittsburgh, we'd probably look at Carnegie, Bridgeville/USC, Point Breeze, those areas because of their commute to downtown.

Where to Live

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