ATP: rent or buy

[SmooveDeac]

My wife and I are dipping out of Chicago and moving to Pittsburgh this summer. We're selling our condo in the CHI, and debating whether we should buy a place immediately, or whether we should rent for a while (six months to a year) before getting a new place.

Important background info: I grew up about eight miles south of the city, but haven't lived there since the summer after graduating from Wake, and haven't spent significant time there in five or six years. My wife has spent about twenty hours there in her life.

New job is paying for a house finding trip, so we'll be there for five days at the beginning of June. Actual move will take place in mid August.

What say you, friends?

 

[sailordeac]

look around for sure, you may luck into something great for you on your house finding trip

but more likely you wont and so a rental will give you plenty of time to look around and find what you want and can aford

 

[BostonDeac]

if you are for sure going to buy in a year, id buy now if you can. rates are low, don't know the pitt market but can I assume prices will only go up? also, if you will def be buying in a year, might as well have an extra year of mortgage paid off instead of it going to rent.

 

[leftcoastdeac]

We opted to rent - prices will likely go up, but buying into an area that we didn't like seemed more costly.

 

[TBDeac]

How long do you plan to be there? That's a pretty big determining factor.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

dash has a great property you might be interested in renting

 

[DistrictDeacon]

Buying immediately sounds like a terrible idea and a great way getting stuck with something you'll regret in a few years.

I don't know why people rush into home ownership, especially if they don't have long term plans to stay.

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

You getting out of acting, bruh? Or you on that August Wilson tip?

Pittsburgh is a sneaky dope city. Get a spot in the Hill District.

The thing is, Pittsburgh is not that big. Just don't buy in the college-y areas, and you'll be fine.

 

[SmooveDeac]

You getting out of acting, bruh? Or you on that August Wilson tip?

Pittsburgh is a sneaky dope city. Get a spot in the Hill District.

The thing is, Pittsburgh is not that big. Just don't buy in the college-y areas, and you'll be fine.

Nah, still acting - teaching is just a great paying day job, and there's some good theaters in Pittsburgh, so I'll stay active. Just less TV auditions, which is fine.

 

[SmooveDeac]

How long do you plan to be there? That's a pretty big determining factor.

That's a great question. It's a place we could definitely see ourselves long-term. OTOH, I still have some career ambitions, so it's not inconceivable we're here for only 3-5 years (like we were in Chicago) before heading off to the next stop.

 

[faxmachineanthem]

Rent vs Buy calculator:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0


Using that calculator, when I run my personal scenario, buying makes sense if I'm staying 5 years or longer.

 

[pghdeac]

ETA: didn't see that you also grew up in South Hills and probably already knew a bunch of this stuff, but still curious about where you're thinking about living.

Do you have any idea what neighborhood/part of the city/suburb you plan to live in? If not, agree with other posters who say rent, at least for first year. Most areas are going to seem very affordable compared with Chicago. Pittsburgh has some great up-and-coming neighborhoods that are affordable.

I lived in Mt. Washington before moving to the NYC area and would highly recommend. We lived in a brand new apartment (building was a 100-year-old former church that had been converted to apartments), it was quite cheap, had a nice little main street (Shiloh) plus the high-end dining area of Grandview Ave, 5 minute commute to downtown by car. No real complaints except eastern part's proximity to some not-so-great areas.

The East End neighborhoods (Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, in particular) are probably the most "high end" in the city and prices (rent or buy) will reflect that. Lawrenceville has become like a little Brooklyn (hipster alert) and has a ton of great restaurants.

Of course, since you are involved in theater, you might want to consider living right downtown; the Cultural District along Penn Ave has seen a number of new & renovated apartment buildings open in recent years, not to mention a few others scattered around "the golden triangle" (Market Square, Clark Building, former Verizon building, the Carlyle). As someone who grew up in the South Hills in the 80s & 90s and only went downtown for sporting events or to visit my dad at work, it's pretty crazy to think that downtown has a lot of stuff to do now and people are flocking into downtown like crazy.