Grant Lamberson had the flexibility of renting from a friend who gave him the time he needed to search for his first place. Without the extra pressure of having his lease expire by a certain date, he was able to learn about the home-buying process and to find a home with space for a music room and his drums.
Lamberson, 27, who works for a construction safety equipment and manufacturing group, chatted about buying a foreclosure ranch in Decatur.
Q: What did you know about buying a home?
A: I knew close to nothing. I started scoping out neighborhoods that I thought I would like. I was looking online and just doing mortgage calculators so I could figure out what I could afford. I found out I still didn't (add) in property taxes. That threw me off. Once I got serious into it, I took an online course. I realized I heard a lot of the terms, but I didn't know what the terminology meant. I knew equity was good but I didn't literally know what equity was. That really helped me understand the process.
Q: What did you want in a home and location?
A: I decided, first and foremost, I want to live in a safe neighborhood. If at all possible, I wanted something still inside the Perimeter or relatively close downtown Atlanta. I knew it being a first-time home, I tried to stay real modest about quality and appearance. But at the same time, I'm not super handy. I didn't want a total fixer-upper.
Q: How did the neighborhood stand out?
A: When I rented, I lived less than a mile away from where I'm living now. I knew I liked the area but didn't know that I could afford to buy in it. This turned out to be a foreclosure and one of the cheapest houses in the neighborhood. I kind of lucked out. I walked the neighborhood at all hours of the day. I knew the immediate area. I knew what my commute to work would be like.
Q: How long is your commute?
A: It takes me about 40 minutes in each direction. I work out near Six Flags. My rule is live where you want and eat the commute.
Q: Why did this location appeal to you?
A: I like the neighborhood feel. Its slightly suburban feeling, but I have really quick access to downtown Atlanta and the Decatur Square. It's a real simple drive. There is no highway driving to get into the city nightlife.
Q: How quickly did you find this place?
A: This was literally the fourth house we looked at. As we started looking on a Sunday, we looked at this one on the following Monday. We put an offer on it 24 hours after I looked at it. It was abnormally fast. It was a steal (the purchase price was $133,000). I had to catch it quickly.
Q: What’s an interesting feature?
A: It has little windows coming out of the kitchen into the living room and dining room area, which I thought would be kind of fun for serving food out of and parties. The other feature that kind of cracked me it up is it has a full patio on the back with a gazebo. I've been converting it to a tiki porch.
Q: How frustrating was buying a foreclosure?
A: We put an offer. The bank sent us a counteroffer. I agreed to their counteroffer. When it was time for them to sign it, they changed even more of the conditions (when a bank counters, it explicitly states that it is not final until bank management reviews the documents after the agreement is made, and the bank can come back with new terms). It kind of made me mad. Then we had until midnight on a Monday to refuse it and get our money back. Before noon, we get a call that they didn't have a clear title on it. It was a pain, but at the same time, I looked at my first house a week and a half before that. Once we got the cleared title, it went very smoothly.
Q: Did you get an inspection?
A: It was really important to have the inspection because we weren't dealing with the owner and we couldn't ask any sort of questions. It was all a mystery. I needed the knowledge of what exactly I was getting myself into.
At a Glance
Grant Lamberson’s home, built in 1958 in Decatur’s Medlock neighborhood, has three bedrooms, one bath and about 1,094 square feet. He purchased it in May, assisted by Ariane McClure with Harry Norman, Realtors. Homes in the DeKalb County neighborhood are listed from $168,500 to $225,000.
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