Houses To Avoid

While we are a very large home buyer in Pittsburgh, we don't buy everything that we see! Not every home is going to be the perfect investment or the perfect house to retain its value. While Pittsburgh is a housing market that appears to be on the rise, it is not a guarantee that all the houses in Pittsburgh are a sure thing to appreciate in value. We seek to buy in areas that we feel have a lot of great qualities, and where people would want to live.

Here's a few things to avoid in our opinion if you are buying a house.

Highways

Buying a property on a major highway is a bad idea to us. These properties are very hard to sell as well since, no one wants to live on a highway! This is an issue for many reasons. Traffic can build up in front of the house making it almost impossible to leave your driveway, trying to pull out as people speed 60 mph in front of your property is also dangerous. Of course we have to consider the noise and lack of privacy. It will probably take an added expense of insulation or sound proof windows to help with the noise.

Bad Foundation

While construction is something we do on the daily, foundations are a very scary job. These require the analysis of a structural engineer to begin the project. Then there is the risk of additional problems if the job is not completed properly. Once you get over these fears, the cost is undoubtedly going to be a minimum of $15,000. The worst part is this does nothing to actually create appeal to a buyer or increase the value in a home. This is just bringing it to a point where people won't run away!

Septic Tanks

If you are a fan of the land and rural settings you may see a lot of septic tank plumbing systems. This is something we try to avoid. It can become very costly to pump a septic tank or have a new one installed. This gets well into the 10's of thousands of dollars. Also, it is difficult to tell the state of the tank or how full it is since it is under ground. While there are risks with any sewer system, knowing it is hooked up to the public system is something we focus on when buying houses in Pittsburgh.

These are just a few tips and tricks to finding a proper home to buy. While we don't like these particular characteristics, there's nothing wrong if a consumer is willing to purchase a property with one of these issues. Luckily there is a home and a price for just about everyone, but we prefer to stick in our criteria that works for us!