Mark and Danielle Miller served as the entertainment committee for their two kids because their former Roswell neighborhood didn’t offer many playmates. They wanted their children to spend more time outdoors with friends their age, after school and on the weekends.
After a couple of years of mulling over the idea of selling their home, the Millers noticed housing prices were ticking up in 2013 and decided to make their move.
The priority
The Millers were ready to find a family-friendly neighborhood for their growing kids, Kate, 8, and Haze, 6. They purchased their existing three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home more than 10 years ago. “We really wanted a neighborhood where our kids can play,” said Danielle, activities director at All Saints Catholic Church. “We realized the house we were in was eventually going to be too small.”
Mark, a State Farm insurance agent, and Danielle followed suggestions from their agent, Debby Braun of Keller Williams Realty-First Atlanta, as they prepared to sell their home. They paid for a pre-listing inspection, made repairs and disclosed any other needed repairs (such as cracks in the driveway and retaining wall) in the disclosure form for potential buyers. The Millers painted, de-cluttered and cleaned the home, which went on the market as they went on vacation. The home received a contract in four days, plus a back-up offer.
The search
With their Roswell home under contract, the family couldn’t dawdle in looking for their next home. The Millers had been on the lookout for home with features such as an updated kitchen, finished basement and big backyard in north Fulton County. They put an offer on a home a week after returning from vacation. Several rounds of negotiations later, they had a contract. After closing dates for both properties shifted a couple of times (they bought and sold within an hour of each other), they closed in October.
The home
The five-bedroom, four-bath brick home with a finished basement was built in 1986 in Alpharetta’s Mayfair neighborhood, which has homes from the mid to high $300,000s. The kitchen had new granite countertops, tile floors and appliances, and the backyard was fenced in. The couple was familiar with the community, which has a pool, swim team and tennis courts.
“The location was perfect for us, and the neighborhood was perfect for us,” Danielle said.
The lifestyle
Now, the children play daily with their neighbors, spending time outside whenever possible. “They come home from school, they do their homework, and they’re immediately playing in the yard across the street,” Danielle said. The move also has cut in half the time to drive the kids to their private school, which had been 15 to 20 minutes.
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