House Hunting Saturday, Month #4

E and I went out yesterday and looked at four properties. All of them surprised us for different reasons. Here's the breakdown:

House 1

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Ranch, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (possible third), game room

Pros: Master Bathroom
Cons: Location was awful! The house was small with a cramped kitchen and a layout that felt everyone would be on top of each other.

This house was incredibly over-priced. It was small, on a super duper busy street with a hardly usable yard.

Verdict: A resounding NO!
Major conclusion: I still don't like ranches.

House 2

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Multi-level, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths (with room to make it 2 full)

Pros: It is a nice street and a corner lot. The owners have done a fantastic job renovating with new floors, molding, etc. Nice room sizes and closet sizes.
Cons: The house is too small for us. It does not have a basement or a family room, so there is no room to put E's office unless we take one of the bedrooms. The yard is hilly.

Verdict: Very pretty, but doesn't fit our needs.
Major conclusion: It is amazing what good renovations can do!

House 3

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Colonial, 4 bedrooms, 1 full and 2 half baths, 2-car garage.

Pros: The house is a great size with good bedroom sizes, decent closets, a PR off the MBR, a big living room and dining room, great hardwood floors, pretty tile in the kitchen and baths, a great garage, nice patio, beautiful large yard, and fantastic curb appeal.
Cons: The house needs work. The seller's are disclosing a leak from the first floor powder room, a basement backup (the pipes are open), and a leak during heavy rain in the second garage. We also observed an ivy problem, a few trees that need to be removed, a new fence is needed in the yard eventually, new windows eventually, and a few things that need to be repaired due to teenagers living in the house (doors with drawings, one wall with a fist-size hole). Also, the home-owners smoke, so the house needs a serious scrubbing!

The price is easily $40-50K under what it would sell for if it was in move-in condition. The neighborhood is fabulous with a playground and a walking-running trail accessible through neighbors' yards. The repairs are mostly ones that could be done throughout the years, since most of the house is in working condition. If we were to get the house back to move-in condition, it could easily sell for over $200K in five years, but it will require a lot of work.

Verdict: Although it needs work, it is a fantastic house in a gorgeous neighborhood.
Major conclusion: A little elbow grease can go a long way!

House 4

Location: Mount Lebanon
Stats: Row-house, 3 bedrooms (actually 2), 1.5 baths

Pros: This is a flipped house with new everything. The entryway is beautiful, the kitchen is gorgeous, the attic space is a plus.
Cons: The house is actually a two bedroom, since the third bedroom does not have a closet. The other two bedrooms have teeny closets where you probably can't fit even a shoe (depth). There is only parking for one car. The house sits on a hill up 30 steps. The basement has very obvious water damage, with no indication that it was fixed by the flippers. The attic, although a nice space, is not heated. The walls in most of the house could have used a skim coat before painting, as you can see old drips, glow in the dark stickers, etc. under the paint. The windows, aside from the first floor, are all old single-pane windows.

Verdict: Over-priced for a house that is actually a 2-bedroom.
Major conclusion: I'd rather do the repairs myself and be sure they are done to our standards.