Jason and Serap Alvarez started looking for a home last summer after learning they were expecting their first baby. The couple knew their 1,200-square-foot Cabbagetown loft wouldn’t be roomy enough for a child and visiting family. Serap, 36, a research analyst with CMI, an Atlanta-based full-service marketing research company, chatted about their Grant Park home.
Q: How did you start looking?
A: One day I was looking at Craigslist and I saw this listing on the house. We made an appointment and came to see this house.
Q: Did you look at any others?
A: Marc Takacs (an agent with Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Midtown) showed us a couple more houses one afternoon because he didn't want us to jump (without checking out others). We just clicked. It happened with my loft, too. That was the first place I saw and I bought it.
Q: What did you like about it?
A: The location and price. I love the fact that we're down the street from Grant Park. We walk and run a lot. We take dogs to Stone Soup Kitchen and just sit outside. We walk to Tin Lizzy's. Now there's a Doc Chey's opening down the street, which I'm so excited about.
It was just such a good deal, I thought, given the area (they negotiated about $10,000 off the asking price, which had been reduced about $50,000 from the original list price, plus $5,000 in closing costs).
It was recently renovated. With the baby coming, we really wanted to have something that was move-in ready.
Q: What kind of space do you have in it?
A: There are five bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. We have a lot of family out of town. I really wanted them to have privacy. Now they will have their own room and bathroom. I will work from home. Just to be able to close my door and come into the office, that will be great too.
Q: What updates and details did you like?
A: The windows are pretty new. The kitchen has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. There's an exterior refrigerator downstairs in the kitchenette. I make designer cakes for my friends.
In order to sell food in Georgia, you have to have a second kitchen in your home. My eyes sparkled when I saw that little kitchen.
Q: What surprised you during this purchase?
A: The house is 90 years old. The inspection report was kind of overwhelming. They were pretty much selling it "as is." They did little things like fixing the toilets and stuff like that, but no major things like jacking up the foundation, which is going to cost us $2,500. We really want to do insulation because our gas bill and electric bill is pretty high. But it comes with an old house.
At a glance
Jason and Serap Alvarez’s home in Grant Park has five bedrooms and 31/2 baths and about 1,776 square feet of livable space, according to county tax records. They purchased the home, which was built in 1911, in September.
Information
www.gpna.org (Grant Park Neighborhood Association)
Price range: $175,000- $1.6 million
Homes: Several hundred
Square footage range: 750-5,500
Lot sizes: .07 of an acre to 3 acres
Standard features: Front porches
Schools: Parkside Elementary, Neighborhood Charter School, King Middle, Maynard Jackson High
More on schools: schools.ajchomefinder.com
Getting there
Take I-20 east to Exit 59A (Boulevard) and turn right. The neighborhood will be on the right.
Recent sales
$280,000: 316 Kendrick Ave. S.E., Atlanta 30315. A three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow built in 2003 with granite countertops in the kitchen and heart of pine floors.
$375,000: 353 Ormond St. S.E., Atlanta 30315. A four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath renovated Craftsman with walk-in closets and a formal dining room.
For sale
$364,900: 717 Killian St. S.E., Atlanta 30312. A renovated three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow with a basement and deck overlooking a backyard with a koi pond.
$319,900: 405 Kendrick Ave., Atlanta 30315. A restored three-bedroom, two-bath Craftsman bungalow with a detached garage.
Source: Community information provided by Marc Takacs, an agent with Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Midtown
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