All Forum Posts by: Rob Gerstenberger

What part of town @Jeremy Pace?  I am a landlord in the regent square area.  Probably not the "low-income" area that you speak of in your posts.

I concur....I'm still approximately 20% below market on my properties and am seeking to increase every year.  In the East End, with the exception of the Bakery Square development, there is minimal new housing stock available for rent.

@Jeffrey H. thanks so much for your feedback!  I had not thought of the "test advertisement" approach to get an idea of interest in the market, great idea!

My wife and I live and own a duplex in a part of town that is growing, easy to find tenants, and has solid market rents.  Our unit is the "owner's unit", meaning it has stainless appliances, hardwood floors, and granite counters.  This is a step above the other unit in the duplex.

A few years ago, when we were considering a move to a SFH to get a little more space, we got pre-approved for a mortgage that assumed that when we moved out, the unit in our duplex that we occupy would be vacant. This reduced our overall preapproval amount.

Has anyone had experience showing that your unit is easy to rent out?  It would be silly to move to a short-term apartment, just to rent out our unit and show a full duplex completely rented out.  I'd appreciate your thoughts! 

@Karen F. I stumbled on your post here today and realized we have a lot in common - I also live and own property in regent square and have been for the past 4 years.  We should compare notes sometime! I own a duplex and can resonate with many of your comments above. Thanks for the post!

Hi Jim,

The house has been on the market since October 2014.  The listing price has not changed.  I think that's a while without a price reduction, but I'm not sure.  Also, here in Pittsburgh, I imagine not a lot of properties move between October and February in real estate - gray, gloomy, and cold weather 

What I know about the property is that it was bought in 1996 for $124000.  Not sure on the mortgage, though I know the seller is in her 90s.

Thanks for the idea about contacting the realtor directly about lowerin the price, that's a good idea!!

sell at a higher appreciated price.

the property we are looking to buy is a single family home with a plan to live in for 5-7 years.  

I'll clarify. The house is listed at $270k. We think that we can buy it for a discount due to its condition. Hopefully between $210k and $240k.

My wife and I are considering making an offer on a home in the city of Pittsburgh that we think has a lot of potential.  The home is in an area where the median home price is $350,000. The home we are considering is listed for $270,000 but we think it will sell for between $210-$240k - it hasn't been updated in the past 20 years (old kitchen, dated bathrooms, ugly paint/carpet) but has good bones and a nice layout.  It probably needs $20-30,000 of updates and improvements.

The home is situated on a  street that ends with a culdesac and has about 6 other single family homes and duplexes on it, so it has a mix of tenants and owners as neighbors I would imagine. The neighboring properties to the left and right are valued at >300k. Each has comparable sq footage and amenities as the house for sale...just updated. In fact, one sold for more than 430k 2 years ago.

Here is our question, is it worth buying a home like this that has neighbors with such wide economic disparity? we are trying to think of the end game 5 years out. The good news is that the home is on the cheaper side of prices in the broader neighborhood.

I'd appreciate your thoughts!