Pittsburgh's Best Homes Blog

Refinancing (or Selling) your home in Murrysville, PA? Watch Out for the Dye Test!

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:10:47 -0800

If you are a resident of Murrysville, PA, own an older home, and are looking to take advantage of the great rates currently available to refinance your home, be aware that the Municipality of Murrysville requires all residents who are connected to the public sewer to have a dye test and camera inspection of their sanitary sewer lateral for illegal storm or surface water connections to the public sewer system. This inspection is performed by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority (FTMSA) at a cost of $350.

While dye tests have been common for the sale of homes, this ordinance passed in September 2010 also requires homeowners to have the test done prior to a refinance. The catch is that many of the older homes in our area have terracotta lines that are susceptible to tree root infiltrations or cracks over time. If the dye test or camera picks up problems, you will be responsible for having your sewer line replaced, at your cost, prior to being able to refinance. Since this can be many thousands of dollars you may need to consider if the payback on the refinance will justify the cost of replacing your sewer line. In an added problem, it appears that if you have the test done and discover a problem, even if you change your mind on the refinance you may still be required to make the repair within 60 days. Click here to read more about the requirements.

In one neighborhood in Murrysville, three recent sales required replacement lines. One seller had to spend over $10K on the replacement of the line. And you can be sure as a seller, that your buyer will expect you to pick up this cost.

With many homes in Murrysville 20, 30 or 40+ years old you can expect that this will become a problem should you decide to refinance or sell, be sure to consider the cost as part of your calculation when planning either change.

Don't Like Your New 2012 Allegheny County Assessment? Appeal It!

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:47:42 -0800

If you recieved your Allegheny County assessment in the mail and found it to be flawed, then you need to appeal it. In fact, appeals are part of the system to get the values right. As most people would agree, it is practically impossible for a computer model, which was used for the new values, to be accurate all the time, and it is illegal for the assessors to do "spot assessments". So the only way to help make the model more accurate, and get your value correct, is through appeals.

Right now in Allegheny County there is a system of informal reviews and formal appeals. There are specific dates you need to meet for either of these processes. The RAMP website has a detailed list of the most current dates relating to the appeals here.

In order to appeal you will want to take evidence of comparable homes that support your belief that your assessment is too high. You need to find the closest matches in size, number of rooms, condition, age, parking, etc. More information on the appeal process can be found here.

Finally, it is important to note that a higher assessment does not necessarily mean your taxes are going up. The city, school district and county are required under Pennsylvania's anti-windfall law to readjusted property tax rates downward to remain revenue neutral in the year of the assessment. As a matter of fact, Chris Briem, a University of Pittsburgh economist, estimates that 6 out of 10 homeowners could see their taxes go down when all is finally revealed. Read more in a story from Brian O'Neill with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12008/1201780-155-0.stm#ixzz1kIAdUo00

Finally, if you are interested in the play-by-play on the twists and turns of the assessment process, check out the ongoing Reassessment Roulette blog on RAMP's website.

New Pittsburgh Home Buyer and Home Seller Guides

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:14:00 -0800

I am excited to announce that I recently published my Home Buyer's Guide and Home Seller's Guide on my website. Both guides were intended to help Pittsburgh buyers and sellers understand the details and decisions of buying or selling a home. These are not generic guides, but instead something that I put together and includes great Pittsburgh area resources and information. Covering Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties with links for more information on a variety of real estate subjects. You can download either guide, for free, from my website at www.bestpittsburghhomes.com, just click on the "Planning to Buy" or "Ready to Sell" links to get the guide. I hope you find the guides helpful and feel free to call me with any questions about buying or selling your home in the Pittsburgh area.

The truth about Allegheny County Reassessments

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:48:59 -0800

There is a lot of confusion related to the new Allegheny County Reassessments that will be presented to county residents in the near future. Unfortunately a large amount of the information you hear will also be wrong. Here is a bit of the truth...

Myth: The reassessment will cause my taxes to go up.
Fact: Reassessment is a re-evaluation of what your house is worth.

Because of the states' anti-windfall law, the taxing bodies are not allowed to get a huge revenue boost when they do new assessments. In fact they are MANDATED to reduce the tax rate (millage) to keep the total amount of tax collected in line with the previous year. If your assessment goes up, but the millage goes down, you may actually end up paying exactly the same amount, or even less.

However, if you live in an area that had seen good appreciation, or if you have made major renovations or additions to your home, your could see a tax increase, but that is because you also have seen a real increase in the value of your property.

Myth: The goal of reassessment is for me to pay more.
Fact: The goal of reassessment is to distribute the tax burden fairly, based on the market value of your property.

Right now, Allegheny County is operating on assessments that were done in 2002. A lot has changed since then, some areas have seen appreciation and others have seen depreciation. Without a reassessment, those areas that have seen a drop in home values are paying more than they should, and the areas with appreciation are not paying their fair share.

Most politicians continue to argue that any reassessment will make everyone's taxes go up, but the reality is that reassessment will simply redistribute the tax burden fairly. The only thing that makes everyone's taxes go up is an increase in the tax rate (or a new tax), not a reassessment.

In 2006, a reassessment of county values was done, and then later thrown out due to a variety of political maneuvers. In 2007, those values were the subject of a study by CMU professor Paul Fischbeck. He looked at how those values would have affected the tax rates of Allegheny County residents. You can read the entire story here. His conclusion was that if the 2006 numbers were used, 75% of the municipalities in the county would have seen their residents get a decrease in taxes. Only 14 communities in Allegheny County would have seen a increase in their taxes of more than 5 percent.

Understand, this is not a decrease in the tax revenue brought in as a whole, but rather a redistribution where those municipalities that saw a depreciation in their home values would have also seen a reduction in their tax burden, while those homeowners who had assessments lower than their value would have seen an increase.

Myth: Whoever assessed my home made the value as high as possible.
Fact: The 2002 numbers that we currently work with were determined by a combination of 7 prices.
Based on 1 computerized estimate of value for your home + 5 comparable sales + one weighted value, with the 2 highest and 2 lowest of the seven thrown out, and then the remaining 3 averaged to get the amount used. It is likely that a similar method will be used to determine the 2011 values that will be coming out shortly.

Fact: The tax rate is going up.
This isn't related to the reassessment, although I am sure the politicians will be happy to blame it on reassessment, rather than take the blame themselves. Coinciding with both the reassessment and the new county administration is a brand new 1 mill tax rate increase for county property taxes starting in 2012. 1 mill is an increase of about $100 per $100,000 in home value. For more information on the increase you can read more here.

The bottom line:
For residents of Allegheny County who will be seeing the new reassessment values in the coming weeks, it is important to first calculate your actual taxes before jumping to the conclusion that your tax bill has gone up due to the higher assessment. This will be directly related to new tax millage rates for each municipality and school district, so be sure to get those before you worry about the bill. You just might be surprised at what you find.

10 Reasons the Holiday Season is a GREAT time to sell your home!

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:38:24 -0800

This is a great post about selling during the holidays and I'd add one more, lots of people who are planning to move back to their hometowns are home to see family for the holidays and want to go out and take a look at what is available. If you are thinking about selling during the holiday season, there are good reasons to do so.

Via Jeanna Martinez (RE/MAX Access):

10 Reasons the Holiday Season is a GREAT time to Sell your Home!

Ok, you need to sell your home. You just got notice of a job transfer, you are getting married and moving to live with your new husband/wife, you just found out you are having a baby and need more space, your last child is graduating and you need less space, whatever the reason….you need to move!

Common sense might tell you that you should just wait until January to put your house on the market because, well quite frankly it might be kind of a pain in the rear to keep your house in “show ready” condition during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Not to mention the extended family that will likely be traipsing through your home during the next month or two.

While all that may be true, I am here to tell you some really great reasons you should make the effort to put (or keep) your home on the market during the most wonderful time of the year!

1.    Holiday house hunters are typically serious home buyers, they aren’t going to be looking during the holiday season unless they really want/need to buy.

2.    Your home will likely feel very homey during this season (as long as you don’t go Clark Griswald on the neighborhood).

3.    Showing may actually be easier than you think if you are planning on spending any time away visiting others during the holidays…your home becomes a “go and show” when you are out of town and is always show ready.

4.    Many of your neighbors will be having family and friends over for parties and such…if they love the neighborhood and see your for sale sign…you might just get some interested buyers.

5.    Let’s not kid…your house will smell amazing with all the pumpkin pies, sugar cookies, and breads you will be making.

6.    Lots of people get Christmas bonuses and some will likely plan to use theirs as a down payment…get those folks interested now, while they have the money!

7.    You don’t have to worry about any yard maintenance or up keep because your yard is likely dead, your leaves are already raked and flowers won’t be blooming for a while.

8.    You can always ask Santa for a ready, willing and able buyer.

9.    People are generally happy during the holiday season, happy people make happy home buyers.

10.                      The majority of folks will think this is a bad time to sell a home so they will take their homes off the market or wait to put them on the market….this means you will have much less competition!

Jeanna Martinez license #538288

jeannamartinez@gmail.com

210-833-2268

www.sahomesales.net



Texas Law requires all real estate licensees to give the following information about brokerage services: http://www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/contracts/OP-K.pd

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Live, Work and Play in Pittsburgh: Video

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:18:11 -0700

I recently came across a great video about Pittsburgh that I wanted to share with anyone who is thinking this would be a great place to live, or already knows it...

Advice for Sellers: The One Question You Must Ask Your REALTOR®

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:17:16 -0700

I think this is a great post on the subject of pricing and is worth sharing with anyone who wants to sell and avoid the fatal mistake of overpricing.

Via Peggy Chirico, REALTOR® 860-748-8900 Hartford & Tolland County Real Estate (Prudential CT Realty):

Advice for Sellers: The One Question You Must Ask Your REALTOR®

If you are thinking about putting your home on the market (or maybe you already have your home on the market), there is one question you must ask your REALTOR® or any agents that you are interviewing for the job:

What do you think my home will sell for?

Notice I didn't say,"What should I list my house for?" but "How much will it sell for?" You will get (hopefully) an honest opinion of the most likely price for your house. It may not be what you want to hear, but you will be saving yourself a lot of grief and aggravation in the process if you approach it from a realistic viewpoint.    A REALTOR® who knows your market will have a good idea of what you will get for your house, and that's where you should list your house.

Why? The greatest disservice an agent can do is to lead you with false hope in order to get the listing. When you price your home over market value, you will not sell it, you run the risk of having no one look at it, and the listing will expire unsold unless you price it correctly.

"Well," you say, "let's start high and leave room for negotiation." You won't get to negotiation because you won't have a contract, and you won't have a contract because people won't even look at your house. It's better to start with a realistic price to get buyers in the door.

"But," you say, "someone can always make an offer and we will consider where to go from there." WRONG! By overpricing your house, buyers are already thinking you are inflexible. Some may take the bait, but most will move on to something they can afford from the get-go. In addition, when your home is overpriced, it will stay on the MLS a long time; the longer the time, the more stigma it will amass. The first thing people will say after seeing that it has been languishing on the market for six months is "What's wrong with the house?"

"We can't afford to sell it for less than this amount," you say, "so we will have to hope that there is someone out there who will pay what we want for this house." This is so unlikely, but even if one person HAD to have your house and was willing to overpay for it, the house won't appraise and then you will have the appraisal nail in the coffin. The buyers (who HAD to have it) are now going to renegotiate the contract.

"Well," you say, "if it doesn't sell, we will just take it off the market and try again next year." If you aren't serious about selling your house this year at the right price, then wait until you are serious about selling your house. Many of our market areas have high inventories now, and the situation will improve if the non-serious sellers take their homes off the market.

Only you can decide if you are ready to sell, but if you are, price your house to sell. Find a REALTOR® who knows your area, will give you an honest answer about the market value of your home, and will do everything possible to help you get to the next step in your life. You will be on your way, sooner rather than later or never.

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Peggy Chirico, REALTOR®
Serving the Greater Hartford Area
Prudential CT Realty
peggychirico@gmail.com

860-748-8900

If you are buying or selling a home in Hartford County or Tolland County, please call me, email me, or visit my website.  I would be happy to help you with your home search or provide a market analysis for your home.

Find your dream home now!

Quality of Life includes Quality of Environment

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:06:24 -0700

I wanted to write today about a subject that is dear to me, our environment and the ongoing attacks against the EPA. Recently congress and many in the Republican party (sorry, I hate to take sides but this one has to be called out) have taken to making the Environmental Protection Agency enemy #1 for their perceived role in limiting economic growth through regulation. I feel strongly that their attacks are misplaced and believe that the EPA's work has led to a much higher quality of life which is a major driver of economic growth. Case study #1: Pittsburgh!

This is what Pittsburgh looked like in the 40's when it was ok for industry to pump anything it wanted into the air and the water. This is what the city looked like when my grandmother was a young girl. She told me about having to dust twice a day and nothing stayed white. This lack of regulation may have been great for the economy, but it was terrible for the quality of life in Pittsburgh and the health of the community. That lack of quality of life means that people don't want to buy houses or live in these places. And that ultimately is NOT good for the economy. Who would really want to live in that place?

Don't kid yourself and say this couldn't happen today, if given the choice between lowering costs and boosting shareholder profits, or doing the right thing for the environment, most companies will sadly choose the profits. The EPA is the organization that can protect our environment, our communities, our quality of life and ultimately our economy. We can't fall victim to a shortsighted opinion that reducing environmental regulation will improve our lives through the improvement of our economy, it will only allow corporations to make the choices related to how clean they think our air, water and soil should be, and I for one don't trust the corporations to make that choice for me and my family.

Cut to 2011, this is Pittsburgh now. It's not perfect, but this city has worked hard to fix the damage of the past, and we probably better than most know the real economic cost of poor environmental regulation. We had to reclaim our rivers and our skies. And we still have work to do.

We also can not let the agency that was put in place to protect our environment be gutted for political reasons. There have recently been proposal that required the EPA to make the cost of complying with environmental regulations the primary factor for the adoption of environmental policies, not the value to society or improvement in quality of life. While I do believe that economics should be considered, ultimately I do feel that we must allow the EPA to consider the long term environmental implications in a world that is too often focused on the short term gain.

Social September @ the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:40:30 -0700

If you have kids here is a deal you might want to check out, The Children's museum of Pittsburgh is offering a 50% discount on admission to anyone who connects with them on facebook. Just go to their page at http://www.facebook.com/pittsburghkids and "like" them. The discount is good for up to 5 people now through September 30th.

LiveRoof Green Roofing System

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:52:02 -0700

I want to thank a friend who passed this link on to me. I thought the LiveRoof Green roofing systems was so cool I wanted to pass it on. LiveRoof is the first modular green roof system designed to grow plants on a rooftop environment. The plants arrive at the job site fully grown and once installed the dividers are removed to create a fully contiguous instant green roof. For builders or homeowners that are looking for a green roof this could be a nice option. The photo is from their website of a roof here in Pittsburgh.

Good News From The Pittsburgh Market

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:10:48 -0700

These days it seems like every time you turn on the news you get the “sky is falling” perspective on the economy and the real estate market. I’m happy to say that hasn’t been my experience this summer. Sales have been strong and some of our local industries are doing quite well, so I thought I would start today with a glass-is-half-full perspective.

Pittsburgh’s real estate market continues to do well. In fact, during the first quarter of 2011 the average home price was up 3.5%, compared to a 3.6% drop in the average home price during the same period nationwide. In June 2011, Clear Capital® Reports ranked Pittsburgh the #3 Highest-Performing Major Housing Market in the country.

Interest rates are amazingly low. If you have good credit and a down payment you can get rates in the 3%’s.

The number of foreclosures in Pittsburgh has fallen to its lowest point in 6 years, which in time should result in fewer low priced foreclosures competing with sellers, leading to better prices.

The area’s unemployment rate is 7.4%, much lower than the national rate of 9.2%, and down .6% from this time last year.

Pittsburgh's diverse industries of healthcare, energy, technology and education match up well with the biggest growth industries in general. So while we don’t mind doubling as Gotham City in the movies, in real life we really don’t resemble the dark and dreary manufacturing city.

The 7-county Pittsburgh region totaled $115.6 billion in annual gross product in 2010, up 6% since 2007. That's more gross product than the country of Vietnam, the state of Maine or the city of Cleveland.

The Marcellus Shale boom holds the potential for big economic gains and tens of thousands of jobs for our region. The real question is can it be accomplished without destroying the clean and green environment that Pittsburgh has struggled so hard to reclaim? That will be one of the most important questions for our region, and a debate that all Pittsburghers who remember our history need to take part in.

And last but not least, we are America’s most Livable City for 2011, America’s leading location of the future” in 2011 and 6th on Forbes list for most affordable U.S. Cities.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed by the bad economic news remember how lucky we are to be living here in the ‘burgh!

Calling Green Builders and Developers

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:25:31 -0700

I wrote this blog over a year ago and have not seen much change in that time so I decided to repost it in the hope that I may get more response. Green and energy-efficient building is the way of the future and I'd like to see even more Pittsburgh builders embrace it....

As I build my business servicing clients that are looking for green and energy-efficient homes I keep bumping into the same problem…I have the interested client, they want a green home and I just don’t have much to show them.

This is especially true for those that are looking for truly green homes, not just energy-efficient homes. I’m talking about homes that use sustainable and low-VOC materials, homes that consider indoor air quality, homes that include ecologically sound features like rain barrels, native landscaping even attention to details like composting areas and recycling space. And of course energy-efficiency, water efficiency and daylighting to reduce energy consumption.

Of course many of these features are available in a custom build home and there are some great green custom builders in the area. But the affordable options are limited. A house here… a development there… but nothing on a wider scale.

When a clients says they are looking for a green home in a specific area most of the time all I can do is explain that the green homes that are available are in specific places in the city, but not in the one they are looking for.

The clients are there, everyday I have requests and no way to fill them. It’s frustrating and that’s why I am writing this post.

If you are a builder, developer and renovator in this city consider making your projects green. Specifically, I am looking for:

Older green renovated homes with character in walkable communities
Newer green homes that are priced from $150K to $300K
Affordable green homes with a more modern style
And I need them in locations all around the city and out into the suburbs.

If you are building these kind of homes let me know and if you are thinking about creating these kind of homes, I’d love to talk.

McCandless Township, PA - A great place to live

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:59:15 -0700

For those that live in McCandless Township, PA they already know it's a great place to live but just in case you don't know why the North Hills area is so popular then find out why on CNN Money's top 100 list. CNN named McCandless #46 in the nation as a great place to live. Read why here.

Buying or selling in Pittsburgh's North Hills? Call Christa Ross from RE/MAX Select Realty, at 724-933-6300 x214 (office) or 724-779-1437 (direct) or visit my website at www.bestpittsburghhomes.com.

Common Mistakes Made When Purchasing Pittsburgh Real Estate

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:37:07 -0700

Many first time homebuyers will rush into a Pittsburgh real estate agreement without thinking things through and this can end up being disastrous. Without properly assessing the residence or property first you could lose a significant amount of money. It is very common to see homebuyers simply fall in love with a house and purchase it without getting it properly inspected. In some cases the new homeowner may end up being stuck with a house that is beautiful on the outside but failing apart behind the walls.

Here are some of the other common mistakes that many buyers make when purchasing a new Pittsburgh home.

Not finding the right mortgage
Having the right financial institution to back you up financially can save you thousands of dollars over the course of years of payments. Most Pittsburgh homebuyers do not have the means to make a purchase on their own, which means that they will have to obtain a mortgage and pay it off over a certain number of years with interest. Never take the first mortgage offer you encounter. Always compare mortgages and consider using a mortgage broker. He will do the comparison shopping for you and in many cases find a deal you may have missed otherwise.

Failure to get the home inspected
This can be a very big mistake for first time and experienced homebuyers alike. Home inspections will reveal the good and the bad aspects of the house. You have to know the state of the Pittsburgh home before putting any money down. There is always the chance that there is underlying damage.

Property taxes
You need to learn about the property taxes you are going to have to pay once you own the home. There are a lot of costs involved in owning and maintaining a home and Pittsburgh property tax is one of them. You’ll need to make sure that your budget can accommodate these extras.

These are the common mistakes many people make when searching for Pittsburgh real estate. Take the time to learn about your taxes, get a home inspection done and shop around for the best mortgage. All of these things can end up saving you thousands of dollars in the long run.

I can help you avoid mistakes when buying or selling in Pittsburgh. Call Christa Ross from RE/MAX Select Realty, at 724-933-6300 x214 (office) or 724-779-1437 (direct) or visit my website at www.bestpittsburghhomes.com.

Don't Quit Your Job When Buying A House

Christa Ross (RE/MAX Select Realty - REALTOR and Green Homes Specialist) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:23:27 -0700

Yes, I know this should be an obvious statement, Don't quit your job when buying a house, but apparently is needs repeating. So I will repeat it, if you are applying for a mortgage and waiting to close on a house you can not make any big financial changes.

Even if you have already made your mortgage application,

Even if you have already provided all the financial information to the mortgage company,

Even if you are just a few days away from closing,

Even if it is a better job, making more money,

Even if you have lots of money saved up,

Don't quit.

Your mortgage company will pull your credit again, call your employer, and any of a variety of checks right before closing. A change of employment can sabotage or delay your closing. If you find yourself in a position where you plan to change jobs, or can't wait until closing, you need to discuss the situation with your mortgage broker as soon as possible.

Oh, and a few other tips along the same lines, when you are waiting to close...

Don't transfer large sums of money to your bank accounts without explaining it to your mortgage broker

Don't buy a new car

Don't buy a house full of furniture or take an expensive vacation on your credit card

Don't stop paying your current bills or rent

Don't take out any other loans

Just remember, the mortgage company is watching you up until the day you close so watch your spending, don't mess up your credit and please, don't quit your job.

Buying or selling in Pittsburgh? Call Christa Ross from RE/MAX Select Realty, at 724-933-6300 x214 (office) or 724-779-1437 (direct) or visit my website at www.bestpittsburghhomes.com.