A job opportunity within Georgia Power caused Reggie and Moira Roby to relocate from the college town of Athens to a neighborhood south of Atlanta. Along the way, they learned about a fast-moving housing market and made choices with their kids in mind.
The priority
High on their list was finding a home with four bedrooms and a basement. Their previous houses didn’t have a basement and Reggie in particular wanted a man cave and extra space, Moira said.
A neighborhood setting also was something they desired for themselves and their kids, Isaiah, 16; Ivy, 5; and R.J., 1. Having worked in public school systems elsewhere in Georgia, Moira was familiar with the performance of districts around Atlanta. The schools and proximity to Reggie’s job led them to choose Fayette County schools.
The search
The couple started looking for homes in neighborhoods last spring and found those in their $250,000s-$350,000s price range moving off the market quickly. Their agent would tell them about homes during the week, but by the weekend, many houses already would be under contract.
“We had never seen anything like it,” Moira said. “The house market was flipping so fast. Once you think you saw something, you had to get in right then.”
Another hurdle as they looked at new homes was the timing. They wanted to be move in before the 2014 school year began, but some new homes were not expected to be completed by then.
The home
They purchased a new four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home with a basement in Dickson Springs, a Crown Communities subdivision in Fayetteville. The location is about 15 minutes to her job at Starrs Mill High School and about the same length to Reggie’s job with Georgia Power.
They upgraded the appliances and continued the hardwood floors into the living area. For the deck off the kitchen, they added stairs to the backyard. The basement was framed with the heating and air conditioning system installed, and there will be two additional bedrooms in the basement.
For Moira, her favorite room is the kitchen, because of the granite countertops and abundance of cabinets, she said. But the biggest bonus was cooking with gas again. “It cooks so much better than electric. To see the gas stovetop was just, ‘Thank you,’” she said.
The tips
For moving with kids, Moira suggests knowing what makes your child happy. As she told daughter Ivy that she would be attending a different school, her mom emphasized that she would still be close to her favorite restaurants. “I told her, ‘They have an Olive Garden baby, we’re good,” she said, laughing.
Her movers wrapped every single item, even individual spoons and plastic toys, which she said created more paper and more boxes for them. “Throw away as much as you can. Don’t even second guess it,” she said.
