| "Boldly Living on the Cutting Edge"- Eric Miller Boldly Live Where Others Won't by - Mark Harvey Smith Publish America 2005 When Grace Slick, Jerry Garcia and their respective bands bought property in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, let's just say the entry price to get into housing was a bit lower than it is in today's market. I remember noticing a house there a couple years ago that had just reportedly received a $300,000 paint job. Urban living has been fashionable in places like San Francisco for decades, and now it is coming into fashion again most everywhere. Yet not everyone can see the opportunities that exist today in American cities, and of course living in transitional neighborhoods is not something everyone can do. I have lived in many transitional neighborhoods. Sometimes it is even difficult to call them transitional--looking back on a few today, you'd have to squint to see the transitions. We've long known this as "urban pioneering," and the author of a new book calls it living on the cutting edge. I was listening to talk radio one afternoon and heard Mark Smith talking about his new book, Boldly Live Where Others Won't. I was delighted to learn that Mark was in Pittsburgh, or just outside of it in a town called Wilkinsburg, so I found his number and gave him a call. If you are one of those suburbanites who think the "urban" with the most emphasis on "pioneering" is in the center city, it's not always like that. In Pittsburgh it's in places on the outskirts where the steel mills used to be. Wilkinsburg is in the middle in terms of the amount of emphasis you'd have to give to the word "pioneering." It's actually an early suburb that had very large homes which were later divided into many apartments when the prior occupants discovered they couldn't sell the homes for what they wanted. That in no way diminishes the necessity to use both the words "urban" and "pioneering" to talk about living in Wilkinsburg today. Why do people live in such places? There are both economical and social reasons. As an aficionado of cities and a student of them (I earned a masters in urban studies but always remain a student), I more than suspect the notion of social mobility was more intact when people of different classes and races lived closer together in places like Wilkinsburg (which they still do!). I know we get into the topic of "gentrification" when people of more means move into these "cutting edge areas," but the more different people there are together in one place, the more "city" there is in an "urban" area. Cities are not just dense, they're different. The economic reasons are less abstract. You can live for less and even make a little money (instead of shelling out a couple grand each month on a housing or rent payment). Mark's book is a guide to those who have thought about, or have already started the process of, being a pioneer. It is primarily a real estate book, explaining the ins and outs of buying a property and being a landlord. It is different from other real estate books because it goes beyond that, explaining what it means to be a good neighbor and explaining the difference between being an investor and a stakeholder. Mark says, "While giving new life to communities and properties, urban pioneering has also given meaning to the lives of many looking to undertake a bold new endeavor. These pioneers seek to make a difference both in a way and in an area that most people would never consider. Rehabbing an older property is not new, nor is real estate investment in downtrodden areas. What is relatively new is an engaging, hands-on interest by a new breed of pioneer to live, invest, and stake a claim in those neighborhoods more often fled by the mainstream." I meet with people everyday who are doing just what this book describes. While some run into problems, most find it an engaging and rewarding experience. It's not just the real estate owners who are pioneers, renters attracted by the property owners also take a stake in a "cutting edge" neighborhood and find rewards in the experience. If you've been missing something from life and want more out of the place where you live--want to be in a place you can actually feel a part of, to be in a place where your existence and efforts can make a difference--urban pioneering might be for you. If you've got yourself into an urban pioneering environment and don't quite know what to do next, this is the book you need. Be a "New Colonist" on the next level, and learn to live boldly by picking up a copy of "Boldly Live Where Others Won't." Eric Miller - http://www.newcolonist.com/br-boldly.html |
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| from "Publish America" Boldly live where others have fled, and make some money while you’re at it. This book is for the visionaries who are truly willing to live their dreams, and to help make communities and neighborhoods safer and stronger in the process. Discover the rewards and learn to handle the challenges of living and owning property in America’s undervalued markets—primarily inner-city neighborhoods and small towns on the “cutting edge” of rebound. Examine your wants and needs to determine if such a unique adventure is suited to you. Learn how to find the right property—the “diamond in the rough”—and how to finance it, rehab it, and live in it. Take advantage of bargain multi-unit deals in these overlooked areas and learn to become a responsible landlord while enhancing the quality of life for you, your tenants, and your community. Readers will gain the knowledge to create for themselves a more meaningful life, home, and environment by mastering the brave new world of urban husbandry. Softcover [$24.95] Write Review Read Reviews ISBN: 1-4137-4504-0, 248 pages, 6 x 9 Retail Price: $24.95 ordering information: www.publishamerica.com/index.asp |
| Mark Harvey Smith, 412-585-2227 Fax: 412-871-5724 752 Rebecca Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15221 |
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| PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Real estate broker hits stride with hard sells By Eric Heyl TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 5, 2009 You think it's difficult peddling a house in this recession-ridden real estate market? Imagine the challenges in unloading a slightly used Mennonite church. Or the difficulties in attracting a purchaser able to afford a 65-acre farm complete with barn, orchard and lake. Tall orders, to be sure, but ones that don't faze independent specialized real estate broker Mark Harvey Smith. "Economic and community development consulting are my bread and butter," said Smith, 46, of Wilkinsburg. "But occasionally I'll take on a unique property that might need some extra attention and an aggressive marketing effort in order to be sold." Such efforts would appear to be necessary for two properties Smith is attempting to move -- properties that, given the current economic climate, might be expected to be cobweb-riddled by the time a closing occurs. One is the Pittsburgh Mennonite Church on Murray Avenue along the Squirrel Hill-Greenfield border. The other is Wolf Lake Farm in a secluded section of New Alexandria, Westmoreland County. The church, with an asking price of $349,000, has been on the market since April. Smith said the congregation no longer needs it after agreeing to purchase the United Methodist Church in nearby Swissvale for its new home. So if you've been searching in vain for a place with a cozy 130-seat sanctuary, choir loft, nursery and classroom space -- oh, and don't forget the elegant stained-glass windows -- this might be the place for you. Just don't go thinking you're going to buy it and go all bistro like the Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville, with its beer tanks positioned delightfully and sacrilegiously on the former house of worship's altar. "It's located in a residentially zoned area, which limits its potential re-uses somewhat," Smith said. "But we've still had some interest from a day-care operator and a Buddhist group." No members of any Eastern religion have looked at the farm, owned by Westmoreland County Conservation director Kim Miller. The property, which lists for $975,000, has been for sale for about a year. Smith insisted the near million-dollar asking price hasn't hindered interest. But he said the farm's many updates may have rendered it a little less rustic than some potential purchasers would prefer. For example, don't expect to sully the barn with anything as dirty as hay. "The barn has 2,300 square feet of finished living space, two loft office spaces on the second floor and a third floor that is used as a gym," he said. "The lower level features a parking garage for three or four vehicles and a half-bath with a granite sink top." Though peddling such places in a down economy is a daunting task, Smith isn't complaining. "If someone wanted me to list a conventional single-family home, I probably wouldn't do it," he said. "The odd and unusual properties -- those are the ones I prefer." |
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