Rental Guide: Some Pitt students opt to buy homes

For most young adults, buying a house for the first time is a major life milestone — a… For most young adults, buying a house for the first time is a major life milestone — a milestone that, by the time some Pitt students receive their diplomas, they’ll already have reached.

Today, more and more parents are choosing to purchase homes on college campuses for their children rather than paying thousands of dollars each year for apartments and dorms, according to a 2011 survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

A typical two-bedroom, one-bathroom property in Oakland costs as little as $35,000 — and compared to paying up to $5,000 for a dorm room each semester over a four-year period, it could be significantly cheaper to purchase an Oakland property and make money back by renting spare rooms out to other students. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median value of an owner-occupied home in Pittsburgh is $83,100, and 52.1 percent of Pittsburghers own their homes.

In October 2010, Pitt senior Kevin Muir became the owner of an Oakland condo. Although Muir’s mother paid the down payment and signed the deed, the industrial engineering major is responsible for much more than just his studies.

“I’m in charge of collecting the rent from my roommates and maintaining the whole place. As far as paying the mortgage and the insurance and everything, my mom covers that. That’s what our rent goes towards,” Muir said.

The student landlord is also responsible for filling the house each semester and making sure all utilities are working properly, responsibilities normally fulfilled by a student’s landlord. Muir has had different tenants live in the condo since he purchased it over a year ago.

“Other than the money part and the bills, I’m in charge of everything else,” Muir said.

Muir currently lives with two of his friends in his Ward Street condominium, both of whom he knew and trusted prior to becoming their landlord. And although owning his own place comes with a great deal of responsibility, Muir said purchasing the condo was in his best financial interest.

“There are always college kids looking for places to live,” Muir said. “People are paying up to $600 a month to live — that’s $5400 a year to live. I just started crunching numbers and said, ‘What would happen if we bought our own place?’ And it worked out well.”

Muir said that, although he will graduate at the end of the year, he plans to continue renting out the condo to trustworthy Pitt friends.

Matt DiFiore, a recent Pitt graduate with degrees in history and political science, continues to live in a house owned by two of his college friends. But although his roommates also serve as his landlords, DiFiore said the new relationship hasn’t put a strain on their friendship.

“It was actually very comfortable,” DiFiore said. “Everything was great. We worked out everything so that we’ve had an enjoyable time.”

The Juliet Street house is owned by Jason and Daniel Furente, two brothers who purchased the property three years ago to cut down their collective living costs.

“We bought our house my sophomore year. The reason why we bought it was because my brother was coming to Pitt too,” senior Jason Furente said.

Rather than putting two kids through college and paying twice the rent for four years, Furente’s family decided it would be financially wiser to purchase a house for the two brothers.

“If you do the math, it’s in fact cheaper to buy a house than to go rent an apartment or go through the University,” the elder Furente, a computer engineering major, said. “Besides, if we sell this place, we’ll get the money back.”

After the family purchased the house, Jason Furente asked DiFiore, who had lived on his dorm floor freshman year, if he would be interested in renting from him.

“I knew he was an upstanding guy and wouldn’t punch a hole through my wall or something like that. When you own a house, that’s something that you have to deal with.”

The Furente brothers split the landlord responsibilities evenly to ensure that all housing issues are taken care of — one brother takes care of the finances and collects the rent from DiFiore, and the other is responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the house.

“Any issues with the house quickly get taken care of, and checks are handled promptly for rent,” DiFiore said.

Although the senior Furente and Daniel, a junior, will soon have graduated from Pitt, they plan to keep the house. DiFiore is the only tenant they’ve had thus far, but Furente said they’re definitely still interested in looking for other roommates.

“I kind of like it here. It may be a while later that we sell it back,” Furente said