Any home remodeler will tell you it takes lots of work, and buckets of money, to turn an abandoned property into one of the nicest houses on the street. Yet as this 2 1/2-half-story Colonial at 148 Penn Ave., Mount Oliver (MLS No. 663681), so aptly demonstrates, the end result is worth it.

Boarded up and condemned when the current owner purchased it three years ago, the house today shines like a new penny, inside and out, thanks to repairs and updates costing more than $40,000. The 1902 house boasts seven bedrooms and two full baths -- both with original turn-of-the-century tile -- a 16-by-15-foot formal dining room and formal living room almost as large.

"It's huge," says agent Lisa Gorman of Keller Williams Realty's Pittsburgh South office (412-831-3800, ext. 164 or www. kellerwilliamspittsburgh.com).

The $65,000 asking price is also sizable for this tiny borough of 3,900, which is surrounded by the City of Pittsburgh, and where houses typically sell for less than $50,000.

On the plus side: It's in move-in condition.

In doing the renovation, the owner was careful to maintain many of the home's 100-year-old architectural details. The double entry still has its original beveled glass windows and tiled floors, and there is a back servants staircase. The house also has five decorative fireplaces with ceramic tile surrounds and a huge butler's pantry off the kitchen with floor-to-ceiling cabinets. Other amenities include a new furnace, updated wiring and a recently repaired slate roof.

The house, which has a 2008 assessed market value of $9,200, was last sold in 2004 for $4,000 (www2.county.allegheny.pa.us). Since June 2004, 20 houses have changed hands on Penn Avenue for prices ranging from $10,000 in August 2006 to $65,000 in December 2005 (www.realstats.net).

Though it is a separate borough, Mount Oliver is in the Pittsburgh Public School District (www.pps.k12.pa.us).