Steps to Take When Buying A Home in Pittsburgh

Steps for Pittsburgh Home Buyers

Knowing the first steps to take when buying a home in Pittsburgh will help buyers find the best home with the shortest amount of time and effort.

Most Pittsburgh home buyers don’t know were to begin when starting the search for a home. While there are mortgage calculators on-line that show an estimate they don’t replace the need and accuracy of getting pre-approved for a loan. The Pittsburgh real estate market is very active and there is even more competition among first time buyers. I’ve seen many buyers loose out on getting an offer in because they weren’t pre-approved and didn’t realize how quickly the market moves and there are often other offers. Home buyers looking to buy a home in one of Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods like Regent Square, Shadyside, Sq. Hill, Point Breeze or Downtown should expect the most competition and the highest prices. Location is always going to be the most important factor that drives price and many buyers like the convenience these urban Pittsburgh neighborhoods offer.

Here are a few steps and tips that will ensure your Pittsburgh home search is as efficient as possible and help you find the best home in the shortest amount of time.

Step #1: Pittsburgh Home Buyers Should Get Pre-Approved for a Loan

First time and even experienced Pittsburgh home buyers can easily get caught up with touring properties before they are pre-approved for a mortgage and know what type of loan and the maximum loan amount they are qualified for. Getting pre-approved with an experienced mortgage broker or other lender is the first and most important step to take when buying a home. There are real estate agents who will spend time showing homes to clients who are not pre-approved so there is a range of standards in our industry but we know this isn’t in our clients best interests. “Pre-approval” means you have met with a loan officer, your credit files have been reviewed and the loan officer believes you can readily qualify for a given loan amount with one or more specific mortgage programs. Based on this information, the lender will provide a pre approval letter, which shows your borrowing power. You can visit as many lenders as you like and get several pre-approvals, but keep in mind that each one carries with it a new credit check, which will show up on future credit reports.

Step #2: Pittsburgh Home Buyers Should Choose an experience Buyers Agent who knows the market

Having an experienced Pittsburgh buyers agent is a huge benefit to any buyer. A buyers agent makes a commitment not only to finding properties that might meet your needs, getting you in quickly and negotiates offers. Having a buyers agent is a huge benefit and is much more efficient for buyers then trying to weed through properties on websites that often aren’t accurate. As an experienced Buyers Agents we ask all of our clients (those who aren’t paying cash) to get pre-approved before we begin touring homes. Being pre-approved takes about 15 minutes on the phone and a pre-approval doesn’t commit the buyers to use that lender to get their loan so there’s no risk. Buyers need to be pre-approved before they can write an offer and they also need time to digest the variety of loan options and terms they qualify for before finding the home of their dreams. As the buyers agent I want to focus only on the properties my buyers are qualified for and I want all my buyers to always be in the BEST position to present an offer quickly. Once buyers are approved we set them up with a search of all properties that meet their general criteria.