When Steven Boos and Tatiana Abramova discussed what they wanted in their first home, their ideas were different. She wanted a condo or townhouse; he wanted a house with a roomy backyard. Engel & Volkers Realtor Samantha Jones helped them find a home that blended their preferences.
Boos, a systems analyst, works from home when he’s not traveling out of state for his company, Instrumental EHR Consultants, which specializes in the electronic health records field. Having access to MARTA, which takes him to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was important. Abramova, a purchasing coordinator at the Pulte Group, also wanted to be close to her Buckhead office.
They chatted about buying a three-bedroom townhome in Sandy Springs and what they learned along the way.
Q. Was it difficult for you to find a home that you both liked?
Boos: Samantha sent me several listings to look at, and I would immediately say "no" to any of the townhouses. But we did agree on a number of different ones we at least wanted to look at. I also didn't want to pay a homeowner's association (HOA) fee, and those are very hard to find. When I saw that the listing for the townhouse we eventually bought had zero for HOA fees, I called to make sure it was true.
Abramova: When we first started looking, we got very discouraged because we couldn't find anything we both liked. Samantha told us we'd find something we were both going to love, that it would feel like home.
Q. What did you learn from the home buying process?
Boos: I learned that being a little more patient can pay off. On the first few that we both liked, we would tell Samantha and before we could even make an offer, someone else would buy it. That got frustrating. But having Samantha and our broker, Jay Zulauf (Fidelity Bank), in our corner made us feel like we weren't on our own.
Q. What surprised you the most?
Boos: On the day before the closing, Jay called to tell us one of the appraisals didn't go through and we wouldn't be able to close on Thursday. We were extremely sad and frustrated. I packed all of our stuff into a moving truck by myself and had no bed to sleep in or any place to put our things and thought everything was falling apart at the last minute. Samantha and Jay made the rush appraisal happen and got us able to close as fast as they could, which happened to be seven days later on Thursday.
Q. What do you like about living in Sandy Springs?
Abramova: I like to shop at Publix, Trader Joe's and the stores at Perimeter Mall. We enjoy dining at Rumi's, Nori Nori and Johnny's Pizza.
Boos: I like being near the Sandy Springs Gun Club and Range. But one of my favorite things to do is go kayaking, and we're very close to the Chattahoochee River. Our dog, Nacio, likes to sit on the front of my kayak.
Q. What advice would you give to others house hunters?
Abramova: Get pre-approved first. You might find something you really like and find out later that you can't afford it.
At a Glance
Steven Boos and Tatiana Abramova’s townhome, built in 1985 in Dunwoody Creek, has three bedrooms, two baths, two half-baths and about 2,224 square feet. They purchased it in January 2015. Similar-sized townhomes in the Sandy Springs area range from $125,000 to the mid-$400,000s. Nearby schools are Ison Springs Elementary School, Sandy Springs Charter Middle School and North Springs High School.
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