Senior Living
Al Iglesias stayed in the suburbs when he moved closer to his Perimeter area job, benefiting from a short sale. Iglesias, 57, director of network infrastructures of iHealth Technologies, chatted about his purchase in Roswell’s Horseshoe Bend neighborhood.
Q: Why did you decide to move now?
A: Cumming is a great place to live, and that's where I was raising my daughters, and they moved away to college and I was by myself. The commute from Cumming to the Perimeter Mall area was taxing, to say the least. It was probably an hour plus each way.
Q: How long did your search take?
A: Forever. I put my house on the market in April 2010. So the house finally sold in September. Because the market was so volatile, I chose not to buy something and not to have any kind of contingency on a contract. When the house sold is when I actively started to look, first of all, in the Dunwoody area. Everything that I was looking at that was in the $300,000 range, they were older homes … and the space was small. So I talked to (Patty Dawkins with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage) and we basically expanded our search.
Q: What was a must have?
A: One of the key elements I was looking for, because I had never had this, was a man cave. I really wanted to have a basement where I could bring my friends over and we could play pool and watch TV, and have a good ol' man cave.
Q: How did you find the home in Roswell?
A: We found one home that was nice. It was a ranch. It had a basement. Truthfully, the listing price was excessive. It was anywhere between $20,000-$40,000 over what it would be selling for in this market. We came close to a price, but we never met the price. And during that negotiation, the home that I bought came up on the market and it was a short sale. I put my bid in, and, from that point on, I think I waited six weeks before the bank started actively talking to me about it.
Q: What type of shape was the home in?
A: It's a 21-year-old home and it needs a little love. There was a mold problem in the basement. Some of the windows needed to be replaced because they had rotted. I had to negotiate guessing that the price I was paying was the right price for the construction and work I had to do. There was lot of unknowns and a lot of risks and gambles that I have not done before.
Q: How did the floor plan work for you?
A: One age-appropriate thing is that it has the master on the main. That to me was a huge seller. It is convenient for me to have everything on the first floor. As an additional selling point, it has a very nice patio that has brick pavers.
Q: How was this purchase different than others?
A: Normally what I've always done is I've bought a house and moved into my new house. This was the first time I had to go into temporary quarters. A good friend of mine offered me her basement … while I went through the search process. That gesture from my friend was very helpful for me to be able to find a house that I liked at a good price.
At a Glance
Al Iglesias’ home, built in 1989, has five bedrooms, three and a half baths and about 5,000 square feet (including 2,000 square feet in the finished basement). He purchased it for $280,000 in January.
About the Author
