Bridgette Aaron took a cautious approach to buying her first place, researching financing programs, areas of town and features to determine exactly the type of property she wanted to buy.
A townhome in south Buckhead had the intown location she wanted, but only one bedroom. When Aaron discovered she could buy a larger unit in the same community, she didn’t hesitate. Aaron, 28, a senior campus recruiter for Turner Broadcasting System, chatted about her four-story townhome in City Park.
Q: When did you decide to buy a place?
A: After college, I moved to New York to work for Rubbermaid. I moved back to take the job at Turner. I have been back in Atlanta for about five years. I wanted to think of it as an investment. I’m single now, but five years down the line, I could be married and expecting a family. I wanted to find a home that would accommodate where my life would take me.
Q: How did you move forward to buy?
A: I started last year to really put together a plan for me to buy a home. My lease wasn’t up until December.
Q: What did you want in a home?
A: I had a clear vision of everything I wanted - open floor plan, hardwood floors, at least two bedrooms, two baths. I wanted a garage and I wanted absolutely no yard. I wanted a good mix of the way I grew up in Macon and my life in New York - intown living but kind of an oasis. I definitely feel like I got that.
Q: What was your first impression of the community?
A: We came to see it one Saturday morning. Just the energy of the neighborhood was amazing. It’s right on the Beltline. People were out walking their dogs and with their kids.
Q: When you saw the model, how long did you wait to decide?
A: It was immediate. I knew it when I saw it. It was exactly what I was looking for.
Q: Did you receive any down payment assistance in buying the townhome?
A: I had heard about all the different programs. A couple of co-workers have done Georgia Dream (a state homeownership program). It gave me $5,000. I used part of that for the down payment.
Q: How did the move go?
A: I missed my entire move. The movers were sitting in front of the townhouse just waiting for them to say we could go in. My (closing) appointment was at 1. I was there for four hours. Bill Schulte (City Park sales manager) opened the door for my dad, who came up from Macon. My god sister, Dawn, who is a neonatologist at Emory, came over to see if I needed help and ended up supervising the move with my father. When I got there, everything was in the townhome.
Q: Have you done anything fun with the decor?
A: I have probably terrorized everyone in my office with color swatches. I call it my lady cave. In the living room and kitchen, it’s Wythe Blue (Benjamin Moore). The powder room is Chelsea Gray. Upstairs in the master is Portland Gray (Benjamin Moore). The navy in the master bath is Newburyport Blue (Benjamin Moore). People show pictures of their kids at work. I’ve been showing people pictures of my house.
At a Glance
Bridgette Aaron’s new townhome in City Park has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and about 1,200 square feet. She purchased it in January, assisted by Jackie Johnson-Charles of Keller Williams Realty and Lori Thompson of Loan South. Rene Michele Furnishings was a design consultant. Two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath townhomes in City Park, by Acadia Homes, are priced in the low $200,000s.
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