posted by Joe Polk at 1:06 AM /
Foreclosures increased in several upper- to middle-class neighborhoods even as the numbers dropped overall in Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties in 2009.
Affluent communities in Allegheny County saw a five-year high in the number of residential foreclosures this year, said Dan Murrer, vice president of RealSTATS, a real estate information company based on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh. The same trend holds true in Westmoreland and Butler counties.
Seven communities in Allegheny County saw the highest numbers of foreclosures in 2009, including Mt. Lebanon, Avalon, Bridgeville, Oakmont, Fox Chapel, Bell Acres and Pitcairn.
Read more: www.yourplum.com/plumadvanceleader/article/foreclosure-rates-spike-upper-middle-class-neighborhoods
Affluent communities in Allegheny County saw a five-year high in the number of residential foreclosures this year, said Dan Murrer, vice president of RealSTATS, a real estate information company based on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh. The same trend holds true in Westmoreland and Butler counties.
Seven communities in Allegheny County saw the highest numbers of foreclosures in 2009, including Mt. Lebanon, Avalon, Bridgeville, Oakmont, Fox Chapel, Bell Acres and Pitcairn.
Read more: www.yourplum.com/plumadvanceleader/article/foreclosure-rates-spike-upper-middle-class-neighborhoods
Labels: foreclosure, real estate
2 Comments:
This was my observation when I saw 6 MTL properties listed for Sheriff's sale this morning.
It is costly to live here and Mt. Lebanon's residents are not insulated from the downturn in the economy. Working with the public as I do, I am aware that the price tag on Mt. Lebanon properties which includes high taxes is becoming a deterrent to those who live here now or recently considered moving here. I am deeply disappointed about the hit our library has taken and the necessary reduction in services. Although our residents will have less service the taxes will not go down since the loss to the library was through other funding sources. Nonetheless, the municipal budget could not fully replace the lost funding and keep things going as they were. I do not know what all the answers are, or what all the problems are for that matter when it comes to balancing our budgets but one thing I do know is the thought of spending $115 million on a high school renovation scares me. I shared this concern at last Monday’s school board meeting and I know that they listened, but whether or not my concern is shared by other board members who can hold the line on costs will be revealed as time goes by. I realize that posting here is risky in that it will open the door to all kinds of criticism. My hope is that whether the reader agrees with me or not, they will at least try to understand my point of view. I wonder, are other residents thinking about our taxes and do they care enough to share their ideas with their representatives, school board directors, commissioners or anyone for that matter? It looks like our state and county taxes will be on the rise, but are any of our local decision makers thinking about that? Here are my comments to the board:
“I am a 24 year resident of Mt. Lebanon. My husband and I have raised two children here and my second child is graduating this coming spring. I also work here…
…In my September letter to you, I raised concern about the $115M project cost and the contention between our need for a high school renovation and other resources that will be needed to ensure the reliability of our township’s infrastructure. Decisions around the high school costs will impact the economic foundation of our larger and integrated community. As I understand it, our municipal budget was approved utilizing a “band-aid” approach to avoid increasing taxes or cutting services this time around, a practice that should be avoided in the future when tough decisions will be required.
In addition to continued acceptance of the CAC’s input, I also hope that you will find a way to complete the project well under the current projected cost. Graduates of Baldwin High School, my husband and I moved here with the idea “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. While attending Baldwin High School, the Pre LEBO-Baldwin football game frenzy escalated as the words “BURN LEBO” were displayed on the school and visible from Rt. 51. I only remember one game when Baldwin won due to a Hail Mary pass into the end zone.
Who is winning now? The Baldwin High School renovation with a project scope of 80% of the old school being fully renovated finished in 2009 and approximately $1.5M under its $63,000,000 budget. No trailers were used as temporary classrooms and a new gym with seating for 2,000 was built. In talking with an employee of the district, I understand that some things got cut along the way – the indoor track concept was eliminated and the new pool went from 8 lanes to 6. The project’s emphasis remained on support for academics – with technology being a top priority, the creation of large and small college-like lecture halls, new classrooms and science labs. To oversee the construction a construction committee was formed and it included 6 residents, 2 from each borough. Baldwin Whitehall is proud of their accomplishment and invites anyone who is interested to make an appointment and tour the high school facility.
Thank You.”
-Charlotte Stephenson
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