Are you thinking about buying your first home?  Let me make a suggestion that will definitely help you in the future.

Open a Word doc and divide it into two columns.  On one side, put down all the advantages to buying a home & all the features you really need to have in your new home.  On the other side, list all the reasons you can think of for not buying a home.

Then name the file and put it in a safe folder where you can find it later. 

I know – you’re thinking “this is dumb”.  We all grow up aspiring to the dream of  home ownership – it’s part and parcel of the American dream.  Most of us have very little trouble imagining some version of the house with the white picket fence in a nice neighborhood where we can raise a family. 

So you begin your home search – staying up late looking at virtual tours, hopping from web site to web site, setting up searches on Realtor.com and Zillow.  You find a few older homes in Dormont with charming stained glass windows, gleaming hardwood floors and built in bookshelves or that completely remodeled beauty in Canonsburg that just came on the market and won’t “last long”. 

Now the fun begins – actually looking at houses.  Some of the houses aren’t quite what you imagined, so you rule those out.  Others have potential.  You find just the right house with most of the items on your “must have” list and you make an offer.  After some negotiation, the offer is accepted and you’ve achieved your goals – home ownership.  This is exactly what you wanted.

Or is it? 

Sometime that night or maybe the next day, doubt starts to creep in.  Oh no – what have you done?  Can you afford the mortgage payment?  Maybe you should have waited.  What if you get laid off?  What if the neighbors aren’t nice?  Maybe an even better house will come on the market next week.   Maybe the government will give an even bigger incentive next month or the interest rates will go down.  What if, what if, what if?  Oh no, oh no, oh no.

Relax.  You’re experiencing “buyer’s remorse”.  Everyone goes through it – even the most confident home buyers.  You’ve just signed a binding contract and put money down on the biggest purchase of your life.  Yikes!  It’s completely normal to be scared.  At this point in time, worry and stress will overtake your typical clear and coherent thought processes.  Outside forces will also be in play – parents, friends, co-workers – everybody has an opinion and when they share theirs – you’ll be second guessing yours. 

Find your list.  You made the list when you were stress free and clear thinking.  Get it out.  Look at all the reasons you recorded for buying a home.  You decided when you made the list that the benefits of buying a home outweighed any risks.   Nothing has changed. 

I’m not promising that reviewing the list will completely relieve your worry but it will help.  If you’re working with me – I’ll help, too. 

And if you don’t follow my advice and make the list now… and you enter into an agreement to buy a house…and buyer’s remorse sets in…it’s not too late.  Open a Word doc, divide it into two columns…

According to an article in Forbes magazine, the best place to buy a home right now is PITTSBURGH!!  Pittsburgh has appreciating prices that make home buying a wise investment, 85% of homes in the metro area are affordable to those making $62,500 (median family income) or less, and a relatively low number of foreclosures. 

More evidence that the experts are clued in to what ‘Burghers have known all along.  We did not experience the big highs of the 2005-2006 housing boom and now that things are leveling off, nationally – we’re not experiencing the big lows.  Any way you look at it, Pittsburgh is a great place to live. 

10. Steps, steps and more steps. Our terrain is tough on out-of-towners. Especially if they’re from someplace flat like Ohio. They’re worried about big things like their new job, finding the right school, surviving black & gold fever in Blitzburgh during football season. But they think they’ve got the housing situation figured out. They’ve been on the web sites & looked at a gazillion virtual tours but nothing prepares them for the reality of our 3 story houses on the top of a hill with two flights of steps to the front door. Take them from the basement to the attic and our out-of-town visitor thinks they’ve climbed Rapunzel’s tower. What fun! And even the born-in-the-Burgh buyers want to know how realtors manage to take photographs that make a 3 story house on a hill look level. “But I looked at the pictures online – this lot looked flat!” Airbrushing?

9. Keeping with the rolling and hilly terrain – how about split entries and multi-levels? Most everyone from this area is familiar with the abundance of split entries where we live in our game rooms, in the BASEMENT (see # 8). But it’s fun to show a multi-level to an out of towner. Most multi’s start at ground level in the garage, up 5-6 steps to the game room/laundry room/storage; up 5-6 steps to the living room/dining room/kitchen; up 5-6 steps to the bedrooms and if you’re really lucky – some will go up 5-6 steps to additional bedrooms. Level entry? One floor living? Not easy to find in the rolling hills of Western PA.

8. Basement living space. I admit – I’m a basement dweller – have been for years. Long time Pittsburgh residents want a finished basement, or, at the very least, a basement that can be finished. Everybody finishes their basement. Most often, we’re talking game rooms, but there are rooms dedicated to the Steelers and Penguins, rooms for model train displays, playrooms, craft rooms, dens, bedrooms, kitchens (see # 7) and just about any type of room imaginable. Some have very low ceilings because the anxious-to-have-a-finished-basement homeowner covered up all the low beams with ceiling tile and now you have to scooch down to get from the coach to the tv. Out-of-town visitors are like “Is this one of those bomb shelters?” Last year, I showed a house in Canonsburg where the basement ceilings had to be lower than 5’6” (my height) because I could not straighten up. Anywhere! In the entire basement. As opposed to the signs at Kennywood (you must be this tall to ride this ride), this house needed a sign out front that said “You must be no taller than this to buy this house”.

7. Kitchens in the basement. It’s amazing how many houses have two kitchens; the family kitchen on the main floor and the canning kitchen in the basement. I’ve seen a lot of two kitchen houses in the Canonsburg and Houston areas. I’ve been told it’s because many of the people who originally occupied these houses were immigrants from Italy, Greece and eastern Europe. They cooked big meals for large, extended families, had big gardens and did a lot of canning. I always find myself smiling when I walk down the steps to find a basement kitchen because it makes me think about how past owners and their families enjoyed living in the house.

6. Small closets. In the older turn of the century houses, there is a distinct lack of closet space. Some of these houses are oh-so-charming with their stained glass windows, built in cupboards & fireplaces in every room. I can hear the buyers saying “Ooh, aah, oh my – wow”. The showing is going really great and I can feel their excitement growing. Then… as they are imagining large bedroom sized walk-in closets, as seen on MTV’s Cribs, they open the door to find there is not even enough room to put a clothes hanger in straight on – you have to turn it sideways. They’ll turn to me and say “Are there any newer houses on the market in this price range?”

5. Crawl spaces with windows but no doors. Why? So you can look at the space no full sized adult can get in to? Weird. It is fun watching a home inspector debate whether or not he might actually be able to fit through the window or if inspection by flashlight will have to do.

4. Captive bedrooms. A captive bedroom is a bedroom you can only get to by going through another room. No hallway access. This is a tough one for buyers today. If a 3 bedroom house includes a master bedroom and 2 other bedrooms, one of which is captive, most buyers want another bedroom.

3. Septic systems with no holding tanks. Love this one, which is amazingly, not uncommon in parts of Washington County. Here’s a conversation that took place between a buyer & seller: Buyer: “So you flush the toilet and where does it go?” Seller: “Out.” “Out where?” “Outside.” “To a tank?” “Nope, no tank.” “So where does it go?” “Out there – over the hill.” In the car, after this type of exchange, it is not uncommon for the buyer to say: – “let’s only look at houses with public sewers, okay?”

2. Garages. Two issues here. What’s with all those “2 car tandem” garages and narrow driveways? Okay – I don’t care what you say - that is an oversized one car garage. I wish owners and agents would stop calling them two car because nobody in this day and age likes to play the game of shuffling cars around so they can go to work in the morning. And issue #2, in the newer houses – garages are getting smaller and smaller. Today’s two car garage is only really big enough for 2 Honda Civic sized vehicles. Wherever will I park my Hummer and my Suburban?

And the number 1 unique feature: The Pittsburgh Toilet or the Pittsburgh Potty. I know you’ve seen them – in the basement – a toilet – not a bathroom – just a toilet. It can be against a wall and have walls around it (although that’s a pretty high class example); it can be in the center of the room – just kind of freestanding there all by its lonesome. I saw one in the middle of an unfinished basement with a magazine rack next to it and a bright yellow flowered shower curtain around it. You just gotta smile – can’t help yourself.

The Pittsburgh Toilet was born years ago, when steel workers and miners would come home from work and stop in the basement to wash up in the laundry tub and use the facility (toilet) before going upstairs for supper with the family. For those of us whose families first settled in this area – the Pittsburgh Toilet is another little piece of history surviving in houses all over the Burgh that makes us smile and think about our ancestors. And for that anxious-to-have-a-finished basement home owner – a place to begin…”hey, hon – look, a toilet - we can build a game room around it.”

Click the image for location and reviews.

My friend, Tom Smith, teases me all the time about my crazy obsession to find and eat the best hot dogs in Pittsburgh. I admit – hot dogs are my favorite food group – no lie there.

I’ve searched high and low in Washington and Allegheny County but with the current trend to healthier eating, a good hot dog is getting really hard to find. Imagine my joy when I walked into Dormont Dogs. OMG, how COOL is this place!

I’ve always loved Dormont where the streets are named after states and access to the city of Pittsburgh is just minutes away. But to find a restaurant in Dormont that specializes in hot dogs with a variety of toppings…this isn’t Dormont – this is heaven.
The ultra cool menu features dogs named after the Dormont streets – each with a different array of toppings. I tried the Texas Avenue dog with chili sauce, cheddar cheese, sour cream and fritos. Yum!! My husband tried the Arkansas Avenue dog with bacon, cheddar cheese, horseradish sauce and scallions. I want to try them all, about 15 varieties, except possibly the Plain Jane.

It’s okay – even healthy eaters can find something to enjoy at Dormont Dogs. They serve all beef Sabrett dogs & vegan dogs, along with veggie chili and a variety of side dishes. And don’t be thinking you’re too good for the lowly hot dog. Captain Barnes, who with his wife, Rachel, owns Dormont Dogs, was the executive chef at Sonoma Grille and is French trained! Crazy!

First Time Home Buyers – here’s your challenge: Email or text me if you know of another place in Pittsburgh/Washington to get a great hot dog.

3 bedroom, 2.5 bath two story townhouse. This is an end unit in a great location in the Cranmoor plan in Peters Township. Enjoy the quiet, peaceful back patio with an incredible view of Canonsburg Lake. The unit needs updating but the rooms are spacious and bright. With the right owner and decorator, this townhouse could be a real show place. Priced to sell – buy it now and your upgrades will increase the value. Located near Rt. 19 at Donaldson’s Crossroads in McMurray, PA. Community pool and amenities are available.  Listed at $153,900.

Just Listed: 2 year old award winning Heartland built 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath two story home, includes a 13x9 sun room upgrade. The light, bright floor plan features a large kitchen which opens to the 1st floor family room and the sun room/breakfast nook. The kitchen provides a large island breakfast bar with seating for 3 or4 and overhead recessed lights in the island bulk-head. Family room includes a gas fireplace and wall of windows. Master bedroom is large with two closets and a full master bath with an oversized curved tub. This home provides lots of storage areas. The basement is roughed in for a bath. The back yard is fenced. Located in the Heartwood Farms community in Cecil Township. Canon-McMillan Schools.

Click here to learn more!

As part of a reflection on the past decade, my daughter's friend was commenting on Facebook about how things have changed.  Facebook, Twitter, all of the social networking sites that have surpassed instant messaging - those are a no brainer when you consider technological advances in the past 10 years.  But in 1999, there were no iPods (remember the portable CD player?), smart phones, text messages, blogs, high definition TV, hybrid vehicles, swine flu - his list was quite long and growing as other people shared their thoughts about the decade.  10 years doesn't seem that long until you start looking back and realize how much has changed.

Real estate demographics and buyer's trends have also changed over the past decade.  Here are just a few examples from the National Association of Realtors:

1. In 1999, 37% of buyers searched for a home online.  Today, 90% of buyers begin their search online.
2. In 1999, the median home value was $137,600.  Today that value is $172,600.  Some analysts believe that when you factor in inflation, that value hasn't really changed much in the past decade.
3. In 1999, 82% of buyers purchased detached, single family homes.  Today, 78% of buyers buy detached, single family homes.  Condos, patio homes, and townhouses are all becoming more popular as our desire for low maintenance living increases.
4. In 1999, 46% of buyers chose suburban neighborhoods.  Today, 54% of buyers choose suburban neighborhoods. 
5. In 1999, 68% of buyers were married couples; today - that number is 60%.  I've definitely seen more unmarried couples buying homes in the past few years.  Not sure if this is a trend away from marriage or more a reflection of couples pooling financial resources while taking advantage of low interest rates and special financing with marriage part of their future plans. 
6. The median age for buyers has not changed.  In 1999 and 2009 - it was 39.
7. Buyer's top priorities in buying a home have not changed.  In 1999 and 2009, they looked for "neighborhood quality, affordability, convenience to work and school". 

I couldn't find a statistic to show how the percentage of home sales by first time homebuyers has increased since 1999.  In 2006, first time home buyers accounted for 36% of total home sales; in 2009 - that number has increased to 47% and is expected to continue to rise through 2010 thanks to the tax credit incentive.

Looking back is fun but looking forward is better.  As we begin this new year and new decade - I'm feeling very positive about the future.  Ralph Marston puts into words a motivating wish for all of us in the new year:

"Get inspired by life.  Get inspired by the possibilities for love and achievement, for friendship and fulfillment.  Get excited about the opportunities for growth and rich experience that come with every turn of events.  Get excited about living in a world that's filled with abundance in every direction.  Get passionate about making a difference in your own life and in the lives of those around you.  Get passionate about expressing and fulfilling those dreams that are uniquely yours."  -- Ralph Marston