Finding a Home to Rent

Hi S.,

If you are going to be working in Oakland, the easiest commute for you will be from the North Hills of Pittsburgh. Anything South, East or West will have a lot more traffic congestion and take longer even though you may be able to find something closer. I used to commute into Oakland from Wexford and it was 23 miles and took me 20-30 minutes. I had a friend who commuted in from Turtle creek - less than 10 miles away and it took her 30-45 minutes. So my advice is look NORTH - anything along Rt 279 will be an easy commute for you.

I would suggest setting up an appointment ahead of time with a realtor and having them take you to different places. The realtor that we used was for buying homes, not renting, but she might be able to point you in the right direction. Her name is JoAnne Molesky and she is with Northwood Realty.

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

J.
A Mother's Boutique
www.mothersboutique.com

Hi S.,

My husband and I have a house for rent on the South Side Slopes area of Pittsburgh. Full house w/ yard. The address is 715 New Arlington Avenue. View of the city and everything. Very private and it's on the bus and trolley line. Minutes from Oakland.

We use Realty Counseling (www.realtycounseling.com), but you could also email us directly, if interested in taking a look at the place. We'd be happy to show it to you.

J.

Hi S.,

We live in Oakland and I would recommend looking on pittsburghmoves.com (Coldwell Banker for Pittsburgh) under rental properties. We are currently trying to sell our condo to buy a house and are using a realtor from Coldwell Banker named Tanya Faubion and she is really nice. She should be on the site somewhere. Anyway, if you need advice on what areas are nice close to or in Oakland you can email me. I also agree with Nicole that Regent Square is a great neighborhood and would be a quick commute for you.

Good luck with everything!
-L.

We had good luck, with some of the same challenges, using a real estate agent. We used Debbie Berkich (if you Google her, you'll find her website) and she was able to find us a town home in the South Hills. We like it so much, we bought one in the same neighborhood a year later.

Hi S.. I suggest you look in the eastern suburbs. Try the Monroeville, North Versailles, or Penn Hills. You do not want to live in Oakland. Renting is a great idea. We moved here from Ohio and let me tell you a couple of things about PA;
1. every year you have to pay $52 (usually out of your first check) to the city in which you work it is called the occupational tax.
2. your car has to be inspected and new tags (or plates) every year at a general cost of $100. You'll have to do that within 30 days of residencey and your drivers license...if you have AAA you can do it at the AAA office (not the inspection of course that you have to get at just about any service station). Once you do that you have to do it the same month every year...not on your bithday.
3. If you buy a house there is the county tax on your property then there is a School tax. The county taxes aren't bad...the school taxes can be 4-5 times higher than the county tax. For example county tax $400 school tax $2000
4. We found our rental home in the paper. It took us about 3 weeks and the normal rental for a house around here is between $600-$800 a month for a nice house a in good neighborhood.
5. The commute into the city is wild. The freeway in from the east is 376 (called the parkway east if you watch the local news) You have to go through a tunnel from just about any direction and people tend to slow down going through them...
5. There are two main gas companies, Dominion Peoples and Equitable it all depends on where you live.
6. The main phone (land line) is Verizon they have the best deals.
7. The main electrical co. is Duquesne Light Company. Some areas have Allegheny Power, but l've never dealt with them.
8. The main cable company is Comcast but Verizon cable is comming to many areas.
9. Some of the best school districts are Gateway (Monroeville)
East Allegheny (North Versailles, East Mckeesport, Wall & Wilmerding) Penn-Trafford (Trafford, Level Green & others)
Norwin (Irwin, North Huntington & others but they are in Westmorland County and would be a futher drive).

There's tons to tell you...if you have any questions I'd be happy to help since I've been through it myself with three young daughters. Feel free to email me!! Best of luck, and Welcome to the neighborhood!!! :-)

Hi S.,
We live in the Regent Square area. There are several homes for rent and it is an AMAZING family neighborhood. The area is a throw-back to times when kids could play outside, you could walk to shopping and restaurants, and everyone knows their neighbors. My husband works in Oakland and has no trouble with commute. We are minutes from the main highway and surface streets to the Oakland area. If you're looking for a realtor, you might try Michelle Gulya with Prudential. She is a mother and lives in the area, so she is a great source from a personal and professional background. Good luck with your search! If you need anything, please email me!