Peggy Thompson was ready for a ranch home, after living in a two-story house on 4.5 acres for years. She reduced her space, while still finding a comfortable home with columns, vaulted ceilings, a bonus room, a sunroom and a three-car garage, after hunting with Stephanie McCarty of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (formerly Prudential Georgia Realty).
Thompson, who is retired, chatted about her brick home in Monroe.
Q: Where did you move from?
A: I had a home in Social Circle that was a little bit larger than this one. My husband passed away last spring. I had really planned to stay longer but it was just too big and too much to take care of and too many headaches.
Q: What was the selling and buying process like?
A: We sold it after several back and forth contracts falling though, this that and the other. We had put a contract on a house in the city of Monroe. It fell through. Of course I had a good contract for mine. We were like, “What I am going to do? I need a house.” She took me over to Morgans Crossing. We looked at different houses. When you walk in a house, you just kind of sort of know right away. We wound up coming back, put an offer on it, and poof.
Q: What did you like about the home?
A: It was just the character of the house. When you walk in the front door, it’s open and has these columns. It wasn’t your plain, ordinary house. Stephanie said, “Oh, this is Peggy-worthy.” There’s a sunroom off the living room. Like they say on HGTV, “It flowed.”
Q: Was it hard to downsize?
A: This house is about 2,800 square feet. The one I moved out of was 3,200 with a separate storage building. I had to store everything as well as pack up and figure what I was going to keep out and take in. A lot of stuff, I just had to box up because I ran out of time. Now I’m having to go through that stuff.
Q: What other tips do you give for downsizing?
A: I gave my family members the first option. My three daughters got to pick. Whatever they wanted first they got. Then a gentleman has a warehouse – he’ll buy stuff in bulk. He’ll pay probably a little less than yard sale price. You don’t have to do anything. I just called him and said, “Whatever the girls don’t want and I don’t want, do you want to get it?” He came with his truck and trailer, loaded it up and took it off.
Q: What’s your advice for senior adults seeking to buy?
A: Just keep looking until you find something that feels like it fits. Make sure that your agent is the kind of agent that keeps you informed. We ran across several agents that wouldn’t call us back and wouldn’t let us know what was going on. That helped me through it more than anything – she made sure I knew what was going on. That made it so much easier.
At a Glance
Peggy Thompson’s home, built in 2004 in Monroe, has four bedrooms, two baths and about 2,800 square feet. She purchased it in August 2013. Homes in the Morgans Crossing have been priced in the mid $100,000s to low $200,000s.
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