Kyle Bowman spent four years going back and forth about buying a condo. After not finding the right one in Buckhead and Midtown, he redirected his search to Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward and Cabbagetown neighborhoods, where friends from his church, Trinity Anglican Mission, lived.
Bowman, 33, who works in marketing, chatted about the foreclosure loft he purchased in StudioPlex and the renovations it needed.
Q: What did you like about the StudioPlex setup?
A: It’s live-work, so I like that. If I decided to get another business up and running, I could basically live here and use part of it as an office. There are two entrances, so that people would not be walking through my living space. That’s a really nice feature to me.
Q: How did the architecture appeal to you?
A: I like really open spaces with taller ceilings. I like the fact that it looked cool and it would be a little lower maintenance because it had concrete floors. I liked the uniqueness of it.
Q: What was the state of the unit?
A: Most people, I think, were a little like, “Wow, what did you just do?” It’s just really dated. While the place was sitting empty, there was a leak. The water main came into the place above me, and it flooded out the bathrooms, so they had ripped out a bunch of stuff. I don’t have a sink in the bathroom or any storage or cabinets or mirror. But I’ll get that fixed soon enough. I am willing to do work. I also like the fact that I am going to make it mine. I can choose how I want it to be.
Q: Did you consider how much the changes would cost?
A: I asked a friend who is a contractor, before I purchased this place, give me an unbiased opinion about what I’m getting into here. He gave me a general estimate. He told me [it could cost] $30,000, or it depends on how much I want to do myself, and how amazing it is going to look and what type of things you choose.
Q: How did you negotiate the purchase?
A: I actually bid over the price. I was ready to move. And it was in my price range and it met all of my goals, so I didn’t want to wait another six months hoping something came on the market. I was a cash buyer, though. I think it’s much more complicated if you’re getting financing.
Q: What changes did you make?
A: I just cleaned a lot. It had two rooms that were studded and dry-walled (with a gap between the dry wall and the ceiling). I borrowed tools from friends and then I took all that out so I would leave it open. I’m going to polish the floors and paint. I’ve got to mount my TV in the brick wall. Then I’ve got to put a garbage disposal in. I need to put together a game plan for how to get the bathroom done. Once I get that done, I’m going to take a little bit of a breather and figure out what I’m going to do with the kitchen. The kitchen has old melamine cabinets. It’s not the most amazing-looking kitchen right now.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the location?
A: I walk two minutes and I’m on the Beltline. It’s awesome. I love it. I can bike to Piedmont Park in five minutes. It’s just invigorating, that entire area. There’s people eating along it, there’s all ages of groups walking, biking around the Beltline. It was one of the main considerations for buying where I bought.
At a Glance
Kyle Bowman’s loft, built in 1925, is in StudioPlex in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. It has one bedroom, one bath and about 980 square feet. He purchased it in August, assisted by Adrian Smith and Kay Quigley with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Lofts in StudioPlex are priced from $79,900 to $135,000.
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