House Hunters: Pittsburgh TAKE 2

With little success finding the "perfect" house in our first attempt, we decided to try again.  We dedicated our last full day in PA to scowering the Pittsburgh area for our future home.  Kory was able to schedule a meeting at the University of Pittsburgh with his potential professor of research. 

As usual, we tried to include as much of our family as possible.  This adventure included Kory's dad and my mom.   The company was wonderful and the combined knowledge, as expected, invaluable. 

We started our day at the McGowan Institute for Kory's meeting.  While Kory familiarized himself with the building and got to know the professor and what kind of research he does, Kory's dad, Joe, along with my mom, and me sat on a beautiful balcony overlooking Pittsburgh.  I imagined Kory sitting out there in the warmer seasons eating his packed, "poor college student" lunch and dreaming up ideas that only his brilliant mind could fathom.

After his introduction to what will soon be, his new life, we headed to Cheesecake Factory across the bridge and then to meet up with Inga, German real estate agent. 

We started our day by putting in an offer for a house that we fell in love with on our first visit.  It was a home that Kory and I agreed would not have ever caught our attention online but after touring it, it definitely seemed like the perfect starter house.  It was in a beautifully well established neighborhood, lined with mature trees, and homes that had clearly been well maintained.  This house was certainly the ugly duckling of the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, this was the home that required a cash purchase if bought within 90 days.  We attempted to appeal to the owner's (an investor) financial mind by offering to pay rent for the 90 days then buy the house.  We would find out later that this was not a deal he would be interested in.

We continued by touring several homes.  Some too small, some needing way too much work, and may just not what we are looking for.  At the end of the day we had toured homes in the most expensive neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and homes in what would be considered the ghetto.  At the end of our very long and exhausting day, one thing was certain, our budget will not get us very far in the booming Pittsburgh market.

Our house hunting team for the day, from right to left - Kory's dad, Joe; Kory, me, and my mom. 

Meet the woman who promises to make our dreams come true by finding us the perfect house - Inga... Affectionately nicknamed "The Inga-nator" by my clever father! :)