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H.I.P. – Househunting In Pittsburgh

January 18th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

Lushie and I have considered buying a house since we got married over 4 years ago but something always came up and the timing just wasn’t right. That changed last month when we started the process and got the pre-approval. We’ve outgrown the rental we currently live in and Teaspoon needs more room for all this toys. I thought “Hey if my landlord reads this he’s not going to fix anything knowing we’re moving” but really, the nest of dead bees are still rotting in the ceiling and the basement still gets water every rainfall. They’re not fixing anything.

I’m starting a new series called “HIP – Househunting in Pittsburgh”. Yes I know househunting is 2 words but H.H.I.P. is lame. You’ll follow our adventures into being first time home buyers with the first story coming up as soon as I finish this post. I’m going to use social media and the tools available on the internet to buy a house. I’m open to suggestions/advice so either leave them in comments of each post or shoot me a message on the contact form.

Some things to point out:

  1. We need at least 3BR. Ideal would be 4 so if Teaspoon gets a sibling I would still have an office area. Furnished basement is a plus since I need to move Studio B.
  2. We have a Realtor. She is badass. We’re not leaving her even if you are porn star smoking hot and offer me free beer. My Realtor will kick your Realtor’s ass.
  3. We are open to most sections of Pittsburgh. Neither of us are native to the area so there is no fear for crossing a river or driving through a tunnel that would be restricting us. There’s a 99% chance we’re not living in the eastern part of town, however, since that’s not logical for things we do. It may be for you, not for us. Farthest north is Cranberry, south is Bethel Park, West is ummm I really don’t know anything in the west but I think Lushie has ruled most of it out.
  4. If you are selling a house in Pittsburgh and do not have pictures online, you’re not getting my business. Yeah we could miss out but this is 2010 and that’s how I do business. It’s easy to do and if you’re not putting that effort in then I’m wasting my time. Also only pics of just the outside don’t fly.

Let the hunt begin!

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    • Stacey

      Oh the adventures that you will have! I still remember the house we went to look at at the suggestion of my mother and grandmother. (My mother and grandmother thought it would be a great house, with a little work, and such a good price for two acres – you can tell that Mom hasn’t been house hunting for about 30 years). My realtor walked through the front door and said “Ok, I’m done. I’ll be outside.” Old foreclosed upon farmhouse=a lot of scary stuff :) Dad and I were the only two brave enough to venture to the basement. Had Dad not been there, I wouldn’t have been brave enough either.

      I can not wait to read about your adventures!

    • http://douglasderda.com douglas

      I’m glad we didn’t get to go inside because I’m sure that would have made walking away a bit harder.

    • http://www.theburghbaby.com Burgh Baby

      Stock up on booze. That’s my main piece of advice. Stock up on lots and lots of booze . . .

    • http://douglasderda.com douglas

      We’re gonna need it! Wherever we end up going, Teaspoon may have to spend moving weekend out of town with a grandma.

    • http://kdiddy.org kdiddy

      I live in Brookline and there’s a gorgeous house near me that’s been for sale for a few months and I’m just dying for someone to buy it. I’m not sure what your price range is but it’s currently 163,900 and it’s located at 738 Bellaire Avenue. 15226 is the ZIP

    • http://douglasderda.com douglas

      Thanks for the tip! I’ve been swamped so I haven’t had much time to get on here. We havent ruled out Brookline so who knows. We found some in Bellevue, North Hills, Castle Shannon, Mt Lebo and Sewickley we may go look at. As you can see we really are all over the place.