Kid-Friendly Living
Latreice Mitchell set out to purchase a cheap foreclosure to keep her costs down as she relocated from Columbus for her job in the health care industry.
Mitchell, 35 and a mom of three, ended up buying her first home for $45,000 in south Fulton County.
"This was a deal of a lifetime," she said.
The priority
Buying a home with cash so she wouldn't have a mortgage. Mitchell also sought a kid-friendly neighborhood with magnet school and charter school options for her children — Alexus, 15; Alex, 13; and Travis II, 5 — and enough space for the children to have their own rooms. "When you have kids, you have to make sure they're getting the best education possible," she said.
The search
Mitchell compared properties in the area, following advice her father gave her before he died. "He always told me to make sure that the property that you purchase is worth what you purchase it for. You can buy a million-dollar home, but if the house next door is only $80,000, that depreciates the value of your home," she said. "I kept that in mind."
The home
A four-bedroom, three-bath home built in 2007 in Atlanta's Ben Hill community. Formerly a builder's model home, it also had granite countertops and hardwood floors, and stone detail added a Craftsman look to the exterior. The 2,100-square-foot home came equipped with stainless steel appliances in the kitchen and a washer and dryer. Tray and cathedral ceilings added to the openness of the home. The two-story traditional home offered two bedrooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs.
She bought it for $45,000, working with her agent, Keyla Berry of Coldwell Banker Atlanta.
"With Wells Fargo, I was approved for $80,000. To get within half of that, I was superexcited," she said. "I didn't even want to deal with having a mortgage. I said, let me cash in my 401(k), which is dwindling away, and make an investment in my life."
The only repair needed was replacing a missing air-conditioning unit, which had been removed while the home was on the market and vacant.
The lifestyle
Mitchell and her kids moved into the home in October. "We threw a little party for ourselves. I explained to them that this is their heritage and that we're going to grow from here," she said.
A plus of the south Fulton location is accessibility to Turner Field and Zoo Atlanta, which Mitchell said are about 15 minutes away.
The tip
Check into the area's schools and crime rate. "Make sure that they research the area first," Mitchell said. "Look at the crime in the area because that's a growing factor."
