The Search
For several months, Pat and Sarah Tramonte browsed the listings before getting serious about their first home purchase. The couple had time until the lease on their Alpharetta apartment was up, so they waited for the best deal for a home, even if it needed updates.
“We bought with the intention of staying here for quite some time so we figured that we can choose to do the kitchen and the bathroom upgrades ourselves, and let’s put our money now toward more of a house,” said Pat, 25, a consulting engineer for Conway & Owen.
The couple, who grew up in Dunwoody and got married in 2008, was familiar with the Roswell and Alpharetta areas because Pat works in Alpharetta. Sarah, 26, is a nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. Assisted by Scott Smith with Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, they strongly considered three two-story homes in north Fulton County.
No. 1
Stucco foreclosure
The five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home on Windwalk Court in Roswell offered the stucco exterior that Sarah desired. “I preferred a stucco house over a brick,” she said. The home in the Hembree Grove neighborhood had a finished basement, screened porch and deck. A wall in the living room with little square glass windows, letting in light, was a weird feature. But the home, built in 1993 and originally listed for $313,600, had the upstairs laundry room set-up they wanted.
No. 2
Perfect backyard, no finished basement
The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home on Fieldstone Court was on a corner lot in Alpharetta’s Spences Field neighborhood. Natural light streamed through the home, but the exterior wowed the couple. “It had a ginormous deck and the yard was huge and it was all fenced in, with a playground and trees. It was just beautiful. I wanted to buy the house just for that,” Sarah said. The home did not have a finished basement, so they had to consider the cost of completing the lower level and updating the kitchen and bathrooms if they put an offer on the home, built in 1995 and originally listed for $337,900.
No. 3
Must list fulfilled, updates needed
The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home on Waters Mill Circle in Alpharetta had several of the features they were seeking: a stucco exterior, finished basement, hardwood floors on the main level and a large master bedroom upstairs. They wouldn’t have to replace the kitchen counter tops, which were granite, but the kitchen overall needed to be brought up to date. The floor plan was a little odd, with the laundry room in the kitchen. The home, in the Waters Mill neighborhood, was built in 1988 and originally listed for $274,900. It had a screened porch, but not much of a yard, they said.
The Choice
No. 1. The couple actually submitted offers on all three homes at various times, but the sellers of the other two homes wouldn't agree to their prices. For the home they purchased, they spent $5,000 more than they wanted to offer, but were thrilled when the appraisal came in about $40,000 higher than they paid. “We felt more confident about having some instant equity in it,” Pat said. One of the best things they did in their search was give themselves plenty of time and not rush into a home purchase. Since moving in, they have refinished the hardwood floors and painted the entire home. They also realized the extra space was needed, with the addition of their daughter, Kara, who is 11 months old.
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