First-time home buyer
While planning their 2010 wedding, accountants Slade and Jessica Sellers made another major commitment: to a home. They saw some of the worst properties on the market, including one with teal ceilings and lime green walls. But at the end of the first day, they found the home they wanted in Marietta. Slade, 25, who works at Oglethorpe University, and Jessica, 25, who works for Advanced Productivity Software, chatted about their purchase.
Q: What location and home features were you seeking?
Slade: We wanted an updated kitchen and bathroom. We didn't really want our first home to be something that we had to put a whole lot of work into at this stage in our lives.
Jessica: We were looking in the Roswell/Marietta area because of the convenience to the interstate.
Q: Was it unusual for you to decide on the first day?
Jessica: I think we had seen 30 homes (online). We narrowed it down to the top six. After we saw the top six, I was disappointed. Every house in our price range (low $200,000s) was going to require a lot of work. This home was completely updated. It was ready to move in.
Slade: We both were like, "This is the house we could live in." It had just gotten on the market the night before, for a second time, actually. When we were going through all the houses earlier, (Laura Dew with Keller Williams First Atlanta) said … "I'm going to go ahead and tell you you're going to like it, and it's priced really well, and you're going to need to jump on it if you do like it." We made an offer that evening. This was our first day ever going out and looking at houses. It's not your typical house hunt in this economy.
Q: What stood out?
Jessica: It had an updated kitchen and bathrooms. It has a great laundry room. We just got a puppy, so it's very nice to have that fenced-in area. And our community has a pool and tennis courts and a play area with a nature trail.
Q: Did you have reservations about the home?
Jessica: One thing we were really looking forward to, going into our house hunt, was a master on the main. This one has it upstairs. That was our only reservation about the house.
Q: How did the negotiations go?
Jessica: We initially made an offer, and, of course, they countered. We countered back and they accepted it. When the appraisal came back, it was actually less than the agreed-upon price. It was in our favor, but not in the seller's, of course.
It definitely proved fruitful to have a real estate agent on our side who could lobby for us and negotiate for us. When it was all said and done, they agreed upon the appraisal price.
Q: What type of furniture have you bought?
Jessica: We have a dining room, which neither one of us had in previous apartments. We bought a big dining room table and chairs and a china cabinet.
Slade got a brand new leather chair and ottoman. We got an entertainment center.
At a Glance
Slade and Jessica Sellers’ home, built in 1995 in Marietta’s Thornbrook subdivision, has three bedrooms, two and a half baths and about 2,500 square feet. They purchased it in 2010.
