First-Time Homebuyer

Three years ago, Stacey Greenwald started her home search, focusing on one-bedroom condos. As it continued to be a buyer's market, she moved onto looking at townhomes, then to single-family homes, visiting about 50 properties.

Greenwald, 26, a marketing manager at Turner Broadcasting, chatted about how a Marietta home finally sold her on buying her first place.

Q: Why did your priorities change?

A: Everything in my price range was very, very small in the city, and that was where I wanted to be. Over the years, priorities changed. I got engaged in February [to Steve Jones, 27, owner of Drive Smart Georgia and Johns Creek Driving School], so we wanted to settle down. We wanted to stay close to the city and close to my work in Midtown, so we ended up in east Cobb. Steve has offices in Alpharetta and Johns Creek, so our house is almost the same distance from both of our offices. When the housing market started to drop, I felt like it was a good time to buy. Little did I know it was going to get better and better for me.

Q: How did you get to the point where you were OK moving farther out?

A: The houses in town, you got so much less, sizewise, for so much more. It just didn't seem to make sense. Both of us grew up in east Cobb. We also were looking at the school system. We were thinking long-term [their home is in the Sope Creek Elementary, Dickerson Middle and Walton High district]. And a lot of our friends have started moving back to the suburbs, too, so we're not the only ones.

Q: How did this house offer what you wanted?

A: I always wanted an open floor plan, and this house definitely has that. We have vaulted or tray ceilings in almost every room. Our living room ceiling is vaulted at a little less than 20 feet, and the tray ceilings in the other rooms are around 12 to 15 feet. We also wanted a cul-de-sac. We have a puppy who loves to bark his head off [when hearing traffic]. Our house is so, so quiet. He has nothing to bark at, which is nice.

Q: Was there any reason to hesitate about buying the home?

A: It is a stucco house, but they maintained it so well, and the stucco is under warranty. They got a new roof in the summer of 2011.

Q: How stressful were the negotiations?

A: It was actually incredibly easy. They had dropped the price down drastically [by about $30,000], so their real estate agent had talked to mine and said they wouldn't drop down too much more. We put in one offer; they countered. We put in another offer; they accepted. It was all within 24 hours.

Q: Did you make any changes after closing on the home?

A: We took a week to do some work, such as painting some tray ceilings a more neutral color. They had linoleum flooring in the laundry room that was not my taste, so I replaced that with tile.

Q: What's a favorite thing you have bought for the home?

A: The very first thing we bought for the house is an entryway bench from Restoration Hardware. It's the first thing you see when you walk in through the front door.

At a glance Stacey Greenwald's home, built in 1994 in Marietta, has three bedrooms, two and a half baths and about 2,900 square feet. She purchased it in April, assisted by Robin Elliott with Prudential Georgia Realty. Area homes are in the high $300,000s to low $400,000s.