All Forum Posts by: Nick Michaels

So if you are referring to JUST water for PWSA it is $23.25 for the first 1000 gallons, then 9.41 for each 1000 after that. The sewage charge is 7.71 for the first 1000 gallons, then 6.92 for each 1000 after that. 

So if you use 3000 per month, the water would be $42.07 and the sewage would be $21.55 for a total of $63.62

The $120 charge mentioned earlier would be 7,000 gallons per month for water and sewer.

$240 would be closer to 14,000 gallons per month which is astronomically high for 4 people.

It is worth mentioning that PWSA just raised rates 14% - https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/14588172-74/p..., not sure how the 14% is going to be applied (if it will just increase the initial charge or apply it across the board) but good to know.

Meh I dunno I just look at all of the apartment complexes in East Liberty that are ~50% vacant still, I would think more developers (or rather investors I guess) would be pumping their brakes on dumping more money into what amounts to more luxury rental units.

The Esplanade looks neat but is years away - maybe Manchester will finally get the revamp people have been talking about for years because of it.

A lot of these projects just seem like long term appreciation bets and I accept that many people live and die in that space... it's just beyond my wallet and risk profile

Nice list though, thanks for sharing!

Well I mean there really isn’t room for development - there is a small commercial stretch on California Ave around Davis and then a few storefronts around Benton and Brighton.

The California stretch has some businesses that have been there forever and an old bank that has had a few iterations as a coffee shop.

Unless you tear down blocks of homes there is really not room for any new restaurants or breweries or anything like that

I grew up first at the Western end (end of Termon around Marmaduke Park) and then moved to the Eastern end (around Legion Park) - lived there for 27 years and am back there at least once a week. Properties have appreciated strongly in the last 10 years but if you are expecting Lawrenceville type of stuff I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I think there is a good base here for robotics... Autonomous transportation maybe... Uber kind of overplayed their hand with the city, and whether you like him or not, the mayor is definitely reactive. There are certainly other autonomous driving and machine / deep learning based companies all over Pittsburgh so I think it will still be a force in the city in the future. 

A lot of people just see the numbers of population decline here and don't look deeper. The population is declining because the baby boomers are getting older, passing on or retiring elsewhere (though with our low state tax and no tax on retirement benefits I don't see why... from a financial standpoint). This city didn't start attracting younger talent for medical and tech until the late 90s and the growth has been slow and steady (up until recently). There is a steady flow of young folks coming here because of the LCOL and the availability of jobs here. This certainly isn't the Pittsburgh of old where everyone worked in the mills.

I'm pretty bullish on the future of Pittsburgh :)

Yeah I kind of feel like we are already a few steps down the road to being a tech hub. Working in software myself, I can speak from the experience of getting hit up my recruiters that many small-to-midsize companies (beyond Google, Uber, Facebook) that aren't on everyone's radar are already here or in the process of setting up offices. I know Amazon is more than software, but the jobs that HQ2 was gonna bring were tech. 

Good. There are still places that you can get investment properties for reasonable prices... I think that would have changed if they came here. HQ2 would have just brought epic infrastructure problems. It may have been nice if you were playing an appreciation-only game, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am from Pittsburgh and it really varies from street to street and that's within the various neighborhoods in the city itself and if you are outside the city- one of the 120 municipalities in Allegheny County.  http://apps.alleghenycounty.us/website/munimap.asp without knowing neighborhood and street its hard to give advice - there are still some “war zones” in the area

Looking at the numbers - That capex is low for a percentage. Also, even if it is in a lower tax suburb that property tax number is really low - for a house of that value i would expect anywhere from $1200 - $3000 depending on the location.

You need to factor in water and sewer as well. From the pic I am seeing a yard so that needs to be accounted for potentially as maintenance.

Well as it turns out the tenant isn't staying... so while I am bummed at needing to fill two units right off the bat - I am glad to have a clean slate and to be able to dictate my own terms

Thanks for all of the input everyone! 

We are still weighing my options at the moment but leaning towards having him apply for the rental, agree to the lease (assuming the credit / bg check isnt negative) before closing and if not (if he doesnt agree or the his credit profile is poor) then asking to vacate within 30 days

So I have an accepted offer on a duplex where the bottom unit is currently occupied by the seller's son, who wasn't paying any rent at the time - I knew this before I made the offer.

I spoke to him (the son) briefly yesterday as I was at the property for the home inspection - he said that him living there has been part of his "compensation package" from his father for managing his father's properties. Obviously that is going to change. He also seems like a pretty reasonable guy and keeps a tidy apartment. I can see it from his perspective of going from paying $0 in rent to paying $X is rough, but I certainly don't want to get into a negotiation after closing with the son.

My question is - I got the inspection back and plan on making some requests anyways -  should I / can I require that I have a signed lease from the son before closing? 

Thanks!