Have I ever told you how grateful I am for all of my clients? Not only do they trust me to guide them through the major financial transaction of buying or selling real estate, they also allow me into a very special snapshot of their lives. I love that; it never gets old. This guest post is by Sara Smith who along with her husband, Ryan, purchased a home with me this fall. Thank you for sharing your experience, Sara! And to everyone, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

My husband and I are native Pittsburghers. We love so many things about this city: the diversity of activities it offers; its relatively small, quaint size; and the robust public-transit options it has. We knew this was where we wanted to set down our roots with the purchase of our first home.

What we didn’t know, however, was how to get started. We had spent many months looking at homes online, poring over tons of pictures and deciding together what it was we were looking for in a home. Turns out, we’re very particular! With what seemed like a daunting task ahead of us, we saw Lauren’s name on a for-sale sign in a yard and called her. That’s the first thing — on a list of many — for which I’m grateful!

From the beginning, Lauren was kind and reassuring. She helped us focus. She advised us to get pre-qualified and referred us to a banker that she knows. He treated us very well and got us one step closer than we were before.

With our pre-qualification in hand, it was time to start searching with Lauren. Three days before we started the search, my husband and I were spending some time with my young nephews. One of them drew a picture of our future “dream home.” It was complete with Ryan and I in the driveway along with our two dogs, Franklin and Odin. We loved his drawing, but at the time had no idea how much it actually predicted the future!

As it happens, the first house Lauren showed us was the one we ended up buying. She was also the listing agent for it, and we were the first and only people to whom she showed the house. She just knew that we would love it, and we certainly did. From the moment we walked in the door, it felt like home. It had been well maintained and updated, and it even had a sound-proof room in the basement that the seller used as a music studio. One of the things on Ryan’s wish list, though I don’t think he ever actually thought we’d find it, was a music studio! It felt like it was all meant to be.

With Lauren’s help, we navigated the closing process and got the keys to our Monroeville home on Sept. 19. It was a perfect gift to us both to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, which had been on Aug. 1!

After we moved our things into our new home, my nephew’s drawing resurfaced. We looked at it again…and were floored. He had drawn our home!

We are hugely grateful to Lauren. She did so much more than “help” us. She joined us at a critical time in our lives, giving reassurance and sound advice. In the end, she made our dream come true. We’re so excited to celebrate our first of many Thanksgivings together in our beautiful home.

Thank you, Lauren!