Thomas and Jill Rockwood met in Seattle and after having their son, Parker, they decided to relocate to metro Atlanta, where Jill’s family lives. They planned to rent, but discovered they could buy a home outside the Perimeter with a mortgage that would be equal to or less than what they expected to pay for rent.
In Seattle, they were used to seeing fixer-upper homes built in the 1930s and starting at $500,000s or new construction starting in the $800,000s. “The housing market here is so much cheaper,” Jill said.
The priority
“My must-haves were sidewalks. In Seattle, we didn’t have sidewalks. We have a small baby. I felt like I was playing Frogger all the time with traffic,” Jill said.
They focused on established swim-tennis-golf neighborhoods with sidewalks and playgrounds. The layout also needed to include a home office for Jill, 35, director of tax for a CPA firm in Georgia with employees nationwide. They were lead to communities along Ga. 400 also to contain the commute to Atlanta’s Powers Ferry Road for Thomas, who is vice president, commercial and SBA lending for Georgia Banking Co. (his commute typically runs 35-55 minutes).
The search
The couple desired to be close to Buford in Gwinnett County, where Jill’s family lives, and found four- and five-bedroom homes in the $300,000s price range outside the Perimeter. Being in a top school system at all levels was important, Thomas said, and family members recommended south Forsyth County.
When Jill returned to Seattle to visit friends with their son, Thomas and their real estate agent, Laura Mitchell of RE/MAX Center, viewed a few more homes. That’s when he found their Cumming house and put in a binding contract before Jill could see the home in person. Jill says she was confident that their agent knew her style and had selected homes that would fit what she wanted. They closed on the home in May.
“It was the first time I had really driven into Windermere,” said Thomas, 36. “Pulling in, you see the pool and the big green space. You see the tennis courts right there, which I know Jill wanted to have a tennis court nearby. There’s two golf course holes when you come into the neighborhood. It seemed like a complete package.”
The home
The five-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home, built in 2000, has a private, secluded yard that backs up to the woods, the couple said. They plan to update and remodel the home and already have made some changes, such as replacing the windows with French doors in Jill’s office that opens onto the covered deck, which extends across the back of the home.
The lifestyle
They’re enjoying living in a neighborhood with frequent social events, such as live music at the pool. “It’s what we were hungry for because we didn’t have it in Seattle,” Jill, who has joined an ALTA tennis league in Windermere. “It really does fit our lifestyle.”
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