‘We had to kiss a lot of frogs’

James and Lisa English relocated from Denver to Atlanta this year for James’ job with The Home Depot and sought a strong school system and short commute. The couple and their children, 6-year-old Cullen, 5-year-old Reece and 20-month-old Lila, found a two-story traditional home built in 1998 in Canton. The couple chatted about their search and purchase.

Q: Why did you buy in Canton?

James: We wanted to be north or west of work, which is in Vinings. We were obviously looking at schools. Based on rankings and all the research, Cobb and Cherokee (counties) were the areas we targeted. We had better luck as we were searching finding more house for the money as far north as Canton.

Q: What is your commute like?

James: The commute is 20 miles to work, which is not bad at all.

Q: What did you want in a home?

Lisa: One of the big things we were looking for was for each child to have their own room. We definitely had to have something with four bedrooms. We definitely had to have a yard that was somewhat even, and the kitchen, to me, was one of the biggest parts, just because that's such an expensive area to renovate.

Q: What did you find on the market?

Lisa: Definitely you see the same floor plans over and over again, after you've seen about 40 homes. Heidi (Wentz with Harry Norman, Realtors) could weed out some of the ones that wouldn't work in our situation. I did not see one other floor plan like this one. It was the smallest house that we looked at of all the houses, but it didn't seem small (because of the floor plan and features such as vaulted ceilings).

Q: What else did you like about the house?

Lisa: It had new carpet. A year ago, they completely remodeled the master bathroom, half bath and kitchen. It was in an excellent school district.

Q: How did the kitchen updates appeal to you?

Lisa: I like the fact that they did the white cabinets with the dark silestone counter tops. They had all stainless steel appliances. We thought if we could get that in the purchase, that would be great because we didn't have to worry about moving any appliances outside of our washer and dryer. A lot that we looked at wouldn't have a refrigerator. They wrote it into the deal (along with the shed).

Q: What do you like about the neighborhood’s amenities?

Lisa: As the process went along, we thought maybe we should have a pool. We went with a neighborhood that had a pool and tennis courts. We are near a mountain biking trail. We're two miles from Allatoona Lake. I think we did a good job in selecting an area.

Q: What did it take to make it through the house hunt?

Lisa: Patience. It's hard to look at 30-something homes and they all start to blend together. We had to kiss a lot of frogs.

At a glance

James and Lisa English’s home has four bedrooms, 2 ½ baths and about 2,350 square feet of livable space, according to tax records. They purchased it in April.

Highland Point

Address: 113 Blankets Creek Way, Canton 30114 (See listing information below)

County: Cherokee

Price range: High $100,000s-high $200,000s

Homes: 84

Square footage: 2,079 to 4,157, according to county tax records

Lot sizes: One-third to three-fourths of an acre

Standard features: Hardwood floors, two-car garages

Amenities: Pool, tennis courts, clubhouse, sidewalks, street lights

Homeowners fees: $525 a year (no initiation fee)

Schools: Sixes Elementary, Freedom Middle, Woodstock High

More on schools: schools.ajchomefinder.com

Getting there

Take I-75 north to I-575 north to Exit 111 (Sixes Road) and turn left. Travel about 2 miles and Highland Point will be on the left.

For sale

$299,900: 303 Sixes Way, Canton 30114. A five bedroom, 4 ½-bath home built in 1999 with cherry cabinets and an open floor plan.

$299,900: 113 Blankets Creek Way, Canton 30114. A five-bedroom, four-bath home built in 1998 with a full basement and double decks.

Recent sales