Pittsburgh Agents and Wholesalers

[Amy V.]

My partner and I are in Pittsburgh with the sole goal of landing our first flip. I grew up here, but have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last 20 or so odd years (my S.O. grew up there), minus 6 months over the last year that we spent exploring real estate possibilities in Tulum, Mexico. We found it was just too damn hot to think of investing much of ourselves there, so here we are, in a climate of extreme contrast at this date on the calendar. As for California, we'd like to go back, but we're here because we see Pittsburgh as a place that is turning around, I'm nostalgic for it like most true Pittsburghers who leave, and we'd like to be a part of this town living up to its great potential (not to mention, the Bay Area real estate market is out of control). We want to flip, as opposed to other real estate strategies, because the creative side of transforming a property inside and out really appeals to us.

We consider ourselves prepared financially (in that we are in a better place than those truly motivated investors who make a go of it despite no money and/or bad credit) and have flexible schedules to do what's necessary to find and make deals happen. HOWEVER, aside from introducing myself here, what I'd really like to learn is whether anyone in the area knows of investment savvy agents who recognize that the deals we are looking for are probably not just the lower-priced MLS houses in neighborhoods where there are no comps to support an investment-appropriate ARV.

Over the last two weeks, I've had no luck spending hours on end looking through listings sent from the MLS, or on local broker sites. It is so hard to tell which are really in neighborhoods that make good markets for quick rehab and sell. Actual sales numbers are all over the place, and the difference can be the condition of houses on one street versus the condition of houses on a street just around the corner, which you wouldn't know unless you physically go see for yourself. Pittsburgh's history produced a bounty of houses with the proverbial "good bones," and many of them beg for new life, but if I can't sell because "oh, that neighborhood, well, shootings happen there," or "we never go over to that area," those bones do me no good. On the flip side (haha, see what I did there), if I can't buy it at a price that fits "the formula," because the neighborhood is already so hot (I'm looking at you Lawrenceville and South Side) then that's no good either!! We found a great house, for example, on the edge of the South Side, which we could possibly buy/rehab at a price POTENTIALLY within "the formula," only IF that property would sell for what many other South Side houses have sold for - BUT our agent told us there are no comps for that part of the South Side, so the ARV is just a shot in the dark?!? Ugh, frustration, wish I could just rely on wilting under the overwhelming heat and humidity to call it a day and head for the beach.

Sorry for the vent, but ultimately, my question is, can anyone here recommend experienced, knowledgable agents or wholesalers in Pittsburgh willing to work with a couple new to real estate investing but who bring related real-world experience (I'm a member of the California bar/former City Attorney; he's a freelance IT infrastructure Project Manager/Network Administrator). We are anxious to move beyond wheel-spinning on the MLS, motivated to find a deal and close on it, and have the time and resources to apply toward reaching our goal. Any help would be greatly appreciated.