All Forum Posts by: Nathaniel Buck

Hey Joel, I live in Pittsburgh (born and raised) and am just getting started out in real estate investing, currently rehabbing my first investment property. Finding good contractors has been difficult for me so far, which seems to be a common problem. Feel free to DM me with any specific questions about neighborhoods, etc. and I'll help if I can. All the best!

Hey Kevin, congratulations on your first deal! Seems like a crazy situation having to come up with more money the day before closing, but glad you were able to figure it out. I'm in the middle of rehabbing my first rental, so I bet it feels great to have your first one rented.

Hey Joshua, congratulations on getting started!

Reading your post, I guess I'm most curious about the personal side of this financial/investment question (I hope I'm not prying). By improving her quality of life, do you mean that she would still be living in her home still and you would be doing some upgrades, getting it ready to rent? Or you would be moving in with her and be a help around the house? Or maybe she is moving out into some form of assisted living?

I just ask all of that to bring up the hard subjects you may not have discussed with her yet, such as what happens if you can't make a mortgage payment? Or maybe she is still planning to live there and pay you some sort of rent? What happens if she can't pay? Seems like you have a good relationship with her, but adding a financial aspect to a family relationship can definitely put a strain on things even in the best case scenario.

I'm probably reading way too much into this (again, sorry!), but I think my short answer would be to go out and get your own mortgage if you and wife would qualify, especially with interest rates being so low. It will just keep the family relationships healthier and prevent any kind of financial strain from happing in a worst-case scenario.

Hey Chase,

Congratulations! I will DM you the title company that I've used recently.

Hi Joe,

Assuming you’re talking about South Oakland, right next to the college campuses, I think the real question you want to ask is if you want to get into student housing. I don’t have investment properties in that area but do live near there (and went to Pitt). If you’re close to the college campuses, I think you could safely assume a vacancy rate near 0, but you add the headache of dealing with college students as renters.

Also, are you referring to population decline specifically in Oakland, or more broadly in Allegheny County?

Hi @Conte Cuttino, just wanted to add one thing: the population within the Pittsburgh city limits is small (300k like you said), but the population of the greater Pittsburgh metro is 2.3 million. Don't mean to nitpick, just wanted to point out that most of Pittsburgh's population is made up of smaller municipalities outside the city proper. 

For those who commented on McKeesport (or maybe for OOS investors considering McKeeport), I wanted to give some perspective as a Pittsburgh native. I live about 15 minutes away and have attended a church there for twenty years. Most of it is a pretty rough area: drugs, violence, etc. There are better parts (especially bordering White Oak), and a few pockets that are very well maintained, holdovers from McKeesport's heyday when the steel mills boomed, but the good areas are definitely the exception now.

I have a close family friend with about 20 units in McKeesport who has done okay there, but definitely has to deal with the issues that come with lower-income renters. Finally, another guy from my church who has lived in one of the better parts of McKeeport for probably 30 years recently told me that he's considering selling his house and moving now while the getting is good, noticing the expanding creep of the bad parts of the city.

So, just be careful and know what you're getting into if you're looking to invest there.

Hey Devin,

I'm from Pittsburgh and just getting started out too, working toward my first deal. Thanks for sharing your story! I'm definitely interested to hear more of your story. Just starting out, it seems reasonable to save money by doing the work yourself (something I'm considering)—wondering if you'd do it differently next time (or have any recommendations for someone in your same spot).

Hey Anthony, I'm in a similar spot as you – just starting out and from Pittsburgh too. I'm not sure that is a "best" neighborhood for BRRRRing, but I'm searching in decent, class B areas I know well and trying to find a great deal. @Jeremy Taggart's numbers seem right to me (properties with an ARV of 100-150k). So, I'd just suggest doing your homework on the neighborhood and running your numbers to make sure you're getting a good deal, leaving plenty of room for error.

Really nice job, especially considering you managed the project remotely. I'm from Pittsburgh too and would be interested to hear the story of your next project.