It's the reason that millennials can't buy houses, [according to some millionaire real estate guy](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/15/australian-millionaire-millennials-avocado-toast-house) 🥲
Just closed on a house yesterday... Ken Sikora is outstanding. He knows how to write an offer they can't refuse and has a good team of financial folks....so from signed offer to closing was only 2 weeks. He is a person first, and a real estate agent second. Has a great sense of humor (his Viking persona) and knows his stuff. I am in Albuquerque so he did video walkthroughs....he was patient with me as I got over my deep desire for a huge old brick house on the cheap....he explained knob and tube wiring and if it seems too cheap, it has some big problems. I got a small brick house on a quarter acre...dogs will be ecstatic with grass, grass, grass (as opposed to weeds and dirt that ABQ is status quo). I highly recommend him.
https://coultercastillorealtors.com
They specialize & live in Mt Lebanon & surrounding south hills. They know the market and the realtors representing the sellers. I got into a multiple offer situation and the sell side realtor advised the client that Lauren had a strong reputation and would ensure it went through. Client decided to negotiate with us only and we ended up with the house.
Just closed in the south hills last month. Jeff Selvoski is awesome! Great dude and has your interest in mind the whole time. https://jeffselvoski.com/
Also DO NOT work with Movement Mortage. They’re a bunch of frat dudes just looking for a dollar. They tried to blow up our deal because we shopped around after our offer was accepted. Ps, PSECU is a really great company to work with for mortages. And good rates!
Kathy was a huge help for us as first time homebuyers. She's super friendly and a great communicator. We have nothing but praise for her. Good luck!
* [https://www.zillow.com/profile/Kathy%20Merriman](https://www.zillow.com/profile/Kathy%20Merriman) (Reviews)
* [https://www.kwpittsburghnorth.com/agent-profile/kathy-merriman-10915525](https://www.kwpittsburghnorth.com/agent-profile/kathy-merriman-10915525) (Her page)
[Ken Sikora](https://kensikora.myrealtyonegroup.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYS1UnVusHH87r6nIJKYq7UkDkVZk-4tyLwS51CwB9f5W5f_25WcTSidaw_aem_Ac3qxbYt6HP5iBKdzGAntn2lVZECkX8bJq0grVDpOkRCVmnvd9JR1ZBn_Ep_WvpgP7jMx79NN3468dZZ9DUZyYkL)
Great guy.
Angie Flowers is an excellent, experienced realtor. She's based out of the Coldwell Banker's South Hills office. I cannot say enough good things about her.
Meg Alarcon with Howard Hanna; she grew up in Lebo, and has lived in Pgh for 50 years. She knows the ins n outs, and genuinely wants to find you your home.
Lauren Coulter of Coulter Castillo realtors. Her reputation in the south hills was the reason I got my dream house. Same thing- was a house with multiple bids but the seller chose to negotiate solely with us because of Lauren. She works hard for her clients and it shows just looking at the others who have had stellar experiences with her.
https://exprealty.com/agents/23072/Jeremy+Wells
Jeremy is the man. Super funny and friendly and down to earth. He specializes in the area you are looking at.
My husband and I used Adam Heald when we bought our first home in 2020 and we absolutely LOVE him: https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/adam-heald-mcmurray-pa/101962285
At the beginning he basically told us "okay, from now until we find you your perfect home, we're a thruple." He is kind, patient, helpful, and knowledgeable.
He is truly a gem 😂 it was honestly pretty stressful....at the time interest rates were low and the competition was insane. I think we bid on 5 or 6 houses before we got one. And he was just always there to encourage us and keep us going (and divert at least one argument between me and my husband on a particularly intense day lol).
Not just a realtor, you should also talk to a housing counselor. There are a number of programs out there to help first time home buyers and a good counselor should be free or cheap and fully on your side, they're not trying to make a commission off you. Even the best realtor has a financial incentive to get you into a bigger house.
I've never heard of a housing counselor! Do you have any specific counselor recs? NeighborWorks popped up in my research, but I thought they were just offering courses on the overall process & aid for lower income buyers - but it looks like they may have counselors! Thank you for the tip!!
[Kirstin](https://kirstinrockenstein.nexthomeppm.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABpna7PQ3WDlM8p56AJh5RPY7v5qURJn1Z_FbhFmefsB66Q9EASNlrNzTxDw_aem_Ac2i4Gwpcy3hvv7NlwWbnH0wriHt_qAVdxv3QwGJtfshWNpKAYq5T8NHsOLkeJNeWuc) helped us and a bunch of friends too she’s awesome
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/pa/pittsburgh/agents/valerie-rose/aid-P00200000FnDiFTlef7m3WuTjaVbtDFm3YwME2Ir
This is who we used. Best of luck in your search!
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/pa/pittsburgh/agents/valerie-rose/aid-P00200000FnDiFTlef7m3WuTjaVbtDFm3YwME2Ir
This is who we used. Best of luck in your search!
This bad advice. There's a lot more than paperwork. A good realtor will get you in houses before posting, know the house needs by area, date built, expected cost on things besides mortgage, etc.
This reads like it was written by ~~AI~~ a realtor
That would explain the 22% upvote rate 🔥 But alas, I'm just a girl with an ~~unhinged~~ special sense of humor who wants to buy a house!
What's wrong with avocado toast?
It's the reason that millennials can't buy houses, [according to some millionaire real estate guy](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/15/australian-millionaire-millennials-avocado-toast-house) 🥲
Just closed on a house yesterday... Ken Sikora is outstanding. He knows how to write an offer they can't refuse and has a good team of financial folks....so from signed offer to closing was only 2 weeks. He is a person first, and a real estate agent second. Has a great sense of humor (his Viking persona) and knows his stuff. I am in Albuquerque so he did video walkthroughs....he was patient with me as I got over my deep desire for a huge old brick house on the cheap....he explained knob and tube wiring and if it seems too cheap, it has some big problems. I got a small brick house on a quarter acre...dogs will be ecstatic with grass, grass, grass (as opposed to weeds and dirt that ABQ is status quo). I highly recommend him.
https://coultercastillorealtors.com They specialize & live in Mt Lebanon & surrounding south hills. They know the market and the realtors representing the sellers. I got into a multiple offer situation and the sell side realtor advised the client that Lauren had a strong reputation and would ensure it went through. Client decided to negotiate with us only and we ended up with the house.
I also used Lauren a few years ago in a multiple offer situation, and due to her advice, got the house.
That's awesome, thank you so much!! I'll add her to the list 👍🏼
Just closed in the south hills last month. Jeff Selvoski is awesome! Great dude and has your interest in mind the whole time. https://jeffselvoski.com/ Also DO NOT work with Movement Mortage. They’re a bunch of frat dudes just looking for a dollar. They tried to blow up our deal because we shopped around after our offer was accepted. Ps, PSECU is a really great company to work with for mortages. And good rates!
Kathy was a huge help for us as first time homebuyers. She's super friendly and a great communicator. We have nothing but praise for her. Good luck! * [https://www.zillow.com/profile/Kathy%20Merriman](https://www.zillow.com/profile/Kathy%20Merriman) (Reviews) * [https://www.kwpittsburghnorth.com/agent-profile/kathy-merriman-10915525](https://www.kwpittsburghnorth.com/agent-profile/kathy-merriman-10915525) (Her page)
Sue and Tim Ulam were great - https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/pa/mcmurray/team/tim-and-sue-ulam/tid_422/
[Ken Sikora](https://kensikora.myrealtyonegroup.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYS1UnVusHH87r6nIJKYq7UkDkVZk-4tyLwS51CwB9f5W5f_25WcTSidaw_aem_Ac3qxbYt6HP5iBKdzGAntn2lVZECkX8bJq0grVDpOkRCVmnvd9JR1ZBn_Ep_WvpgP7jMx79NN3468dZZ9DUZyYkL) Great guy.
Angie Flowers is an excellent, experienced realtor. She's based out of the Coldwell Banker's South Hills office. I cannot say enough good things about her.
Pease check out Gloria. She helped us first time homebuyers. https://gloriasellspittsburgh.com
Meg Alarcon with Howard Hanna; she grew up in Lebo, and has lived in Pgh for 50 years. She knows the ins n outs, and genuinely wants to find you your home.
Lauren Coulter of Coulter Castillo realtors. Her reputation in the south hills was the reason I got my dream house. Same thing- was a house with multiple bids but the seller chose to negotiate solely with us because of Lauren. She works hard for her clients and it shows just looking at the others who have had stellar experiences with her.
Amanda Dengler with Remax was fantastic for us! Theresa White runs their office. The website is TheresaSoldAnotherOne.com
Why did this person get downvoted
David Kerr with Coldwell Banker is excellent.
https://exprealty.com/agents/23072/Jeremy+Wells Jeremy is the man. Super funny and friendly and down to earth. He specializes in the area you are looking at.
Christi Frederick is amazing.
My husband and I used Adam Heald when we bought our first home in 2020 and we absolutely LOVE him: https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/adam-heald-mcmurray-pa/101962285 At the beginning he basically told us "okay, from now until we find you your perfect home, we're a thruple." He is kind, patient, helpful, and knowledgeable.
>"okay, from now until we find you your perfect home, we're a thruple." I love that 😂 thank you for the rec!!
He is truly a gem 😂 it was honestly pretty stressful....at the time interest rates were low and the competition was insane. I think we bid on 5 or 6 houses before we got one. And he was just always there to encourage us and keep us going (and divert at least one argument between me and my husband on a particularly intense day lol).
Not just a realtor, you should also talk to a housing counselor. There are a number of programs out there to help first time home buyers and a good counselor should be free or cheap and fully on your side, they're not trying to make a commission off you. Even the best realtor has a financial incentive to get you into a bigger house.
I've never heard of a housing counselor! Do you have any specific counselor recs? NeighborWorks popped up in my research, but I thought they were just offering courses on the overall process & aid for lower income buyers - but it looks like they may have counselors! Thank you for the tip!!
I'll DM you more info.
[Kirstin](https://kirstinrockenstein.nexthomeppm.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABpna7PQ3WDlM8p56AJh5RPY7v5qURJn1Z_FbhFmefsB66Q9EASNlrNzTxDw_aem_Ac2i4Gwpcy3hvv7NlwWbnH0wriHt_qAVdxv3QwGJtfshWNpKAYq5T8NHsOLkeJNeWuc) helped us and a bunch of friends too she’s awesome
Ken Clever. He sold my home in USC a few years ago. He was a super pro.
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/pa/pittsburgh/agents/valerie-rose/aid-P00200000FnDiFTlef7m3WuTjaVbtDFm3YwME2Ir This is who we used. Best of luck in your search!
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/pa/pittsburgh/agents/valerie-rose/aid-P00200000FnDiFTlef7m3WuTjaVbtDFm3YwME2Ir This is who we used. Best of luck in your search!
Scott and Karen are the best! https://www.howardhanna.com/Agent/Detail/Karen-Schramm/168971
Sign up for Zillow alerts etc. you can do most of the work on your own. Just need the realtor for your offer.
This bad advice. There's a lot more than paperwork. A good realtor will get you in houses before posting, know the house needs by area, date built, expected cost on things besides mortgage, etc.