All Forum Posts by: T Brown

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/jul/26/travel-pittsburgh-pennsylvania/

Since I just took a vacation to San Diego last month, it was interesting to see an article for San Diego visitors to Pittsburgh. :-)

Joseph;
I've lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years and it's a great place. I'm a transplant from Ohio, and I've thrived as an IT professional here. In response to some other commenters, Pittsburgh already has reinvented itself. That's why we have lower than average unemployment and we had no housing bubble or bust. If you're looking for the kind of appreciation you would get in some places like the DC area or southern California, no, you will not get that, but we have lots of solid houses that, contrary to what others have said, do appreciate over time. I bought a "diamond in the rough" personal residence in 2004, and sold it for $55k more in 2010, and no, I did not make any changes other than painting and carpeting. There are currently many houses in solidly working-class and middle class neighborhoods that have great cash flow, and if you look at what's out there, the vacancies are low.

Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses! That really helps.

This is going to sound like a silly question, but I don't really understand why the people who can afford to rent a Class A SFH rent instead of buying. I suspect that I am confused because I've never known anyone who rented such a property. I come from a working-class background, so the only model I've ever seen is that renters are either young and trying to build up enough money for a down payment on a house, or are down on their luck. Either way, the renters I know in my own life only rent Class C, maybe B, untill they either get back on their feet or mature enough for a down payment. I've lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years now, and I don't know anyone who rents who doesn't have to.

This is more than a philosophical question, as I'll need to understand my customers' needs when I get into REI more seriously.

Thanks for your insight!
Trina

Thank you all so much for taking the time to explain everything in plain English to a noob!

Michelle Murray said:

I'm new here, and have lots of questions. :-)
Have you found those rental zestimates to be accurate? I wondered because when I look at the supposed market sale price for the same property, the selling price seems to be wildly out of whack with the actual asking price (the asking price is much, much lower). I wonder what algorthm they are using?

Also, I haven't seen much advice out there on how to figure out rents when the area you are buying in is largely owner-occupied (which is the areas that I often see recommended for where to buy). Any ideas?

Thanks again!!

Thanks, Michael! One thing I wonder about is whether to focus on REO, or just focus on price. I have read a number of people on this site talking specifically about REOs as if they prefer them over other deals. It is simply because of price?

Thanks again for the help!

Thanks so much for your detailed answer! I really appreciate the help. :-)

Hello all;
I am new to this board and to REI. I am interested in being a buy and hold investor. I have a couple of questions I hope the experts here can help me with:

1. When I am looking at the properties on the MLS (realtor dot com), how can I tell what is REO? Is it mostly by price? Or do I get the address and look it up on the county assessment site to see who owns it?

2. I have seen a couple of seasoned investors here mention that they don't tell people what area they invest in. Why don't they want to tell people that? How will they get good deals from wholesalers and agents if no one knows what they're looking for?

Thanks again for the help!
Trina