DEL.ICIO.USLifestyle: Kirkwood
Search trying, rewarding
For the AJC
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Teresa Badke thought it wasn’t possible to buy a first home, especially one in town, but realized that loans were available to help her make that move. Badke, 29, an architect with Summer/Wise & Associates, chatted about her Kirkwood bungalow, which she purchased in May.
Photos by Christopher Oquendo/AJC Special
Teresa Badke, an architect, wanted a home with at least two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fenced yard.
Shorter commute, more sleep
Location, busy social calendar, diversity of ages among draws
'I think the house found me'
Q Why buy now?
A. Obviously, because of all the benefits right now for a first-time buyer. I started (searching) about a year ago. My mom had mentioned that I might as well try it and see what happens. I was scared I didn’t have enough money. When I realized what was available, I realized it was a possibility.
Q. What were your must-haves in a home?
A. I wanted at least two bedrooms. I wanted two full bathrooms. I needed a fenced-in yard. I have a big dog.
Q What in-town neighborhoods did you search?
A. I was living in East Atlanta, which is right across the highway, basically. I narrowed it down to East Atlanta, Kirkwood, the Grant Park area. Because my budget wasn’t as big, I had to go through some of the bad stuff to get to some of the good ones. I rarely found something that wasn’t a foreclosure. I had (a contract on) another house that fell through, in Reynoldstown. It had too much damage and I couldn’t afford to fix it.
Q. What did you like about the style and location of your home?
A. It had a cute front porch. There were sidewalks. It’s a really diverse neighborhood, which was important to me. I like living in town for that reason.
Q. What type of financing did you get?
A. An FHA 203(k) loan (the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s primary program for the rehabilitation and repair of single-family properties). That enabled me to have some renovation money. I got about $18,000 extra added to my loan amount. I didn’t have a lot of money to put into my first house.
This kind of helped smooth over any of the scary big things.
Q. What type of repairs are you making?
A. One of the bathrooms was in the middle of renovation. I’m having to finish out the bathroom. A rotten window needed to be replaced. My furnace and HVAC were stolen.
Q. What was frustrating about the process?
A. As a first-time buyer, this is a big deal to you; you haven’t done it before. You’re dealing with people who do it a million times a day. You want everything to happen perfectly, and now. Sometimes that’s very trying.