All Forum Posts by: Ana Ceron

Thanks for all the responses, guys! Lots of good stuff here.

@Brandon Konek -- What a relief it is to find that someone I know irl is finding success in this biz. Might take you up on that offer. Always good to get the scoop from someone with firsthand knowledge.

@Eddie Werner -- Yep, good tip. I drove around Jeannette over the weekend and, well, learned a lot. Planning on snooping around McKees Rocks and the Mon Valley next.

@Joe M. -- Yes, actually, including Erie in my post was a bit of a typo, but I get what you're saying. Drove around Jeannette for a while on Sunday and I saw both rough and pretty. Such a shame, the local history there is really interesting, and there are still so many beautiful buildings.

@Jeremy Taggart -- I love that you mention neighborhood ratings. That's actually really helpful -- it kind of articulates what I'm trying to pursue with my price point. Not the best neighborhood, but not the worst, so need to expand my search radius. I'm noticing, though, the the rental rates for SFHs hover around $700-$800 -- and it doesn't seem (at least to my very in-expert eyes) that renovating something to hold/rent would improve my cash flow. Harder for me to gauge duplexes, though, with the info I can get online. Also -- I come from South Florida, where property value appreciation is almost as tangible as the roof over a house. But it seems like here in SW Pennsylvania, people don't take too much stock in value appreciating -- at least in the types of communities I'm considering. Any thoughts on that? Like, I'm just not sure how I feel about that, you know?

@David Lee Hall, III -- Yes, Erie is farther away than an hour's drive. I made a mistake by not deleting that before I pressed the Post button, I was sleep deprived and brain fried. Thank you for suggesting Beaver County. Have been finding some interesting things there.

@Alex Deacon -- Great advice. First I want to make a list of places to scope out, then once I get a list together of some interesting options, I'll start drilling down for more data. Any areas that you especially like?

Hi there. First-time poster here, very new member of BP.

I'm a renter who is not looking to buy my own place -- unless I can house hack w/in a couple miles of downtown.

Because I believe the chances of finding my ideal house hack to be pretty slim, I'm thinking about buying a SFH or MFH somewhere within a one-hour driving distance from Pittsburgh. My goal is to purchase a property in 2021, but learn the most I that can about the local market in the meantime.

My plan so far is to get a mortgage to purchase a property for $70K-$90K that needs minimal work ("minimal" as in a coat of paint, maybe a new mailbox, etc.), or already has a tenant/tenants in place.

From what I've been seeing online, seems like my best bet would be in the areas/counties surrounding Pittsburgh.

I've heard Erie is a good option. Jeannette is street by street. Someone on a forum here warned against New Kensington. Another poster recommended Latrobe, and another said Charleroi had been working out OK.

I moved to Pittsburgh three years ago, so I'm still learning my way around. What areas would be good for my price range that would also offer a reliable tenant base?

Or is what I'm looking for unreasonable? What can I expect out of my price point?

Thanks for any advice.   ana.