Christine Stah and David Mann wanted to walk to restaurants, shops and a farmers market, which they couldn’t do from their 1950s ranch home in Buckhead. They renovated and expanded that home during the 1980s, but desired less yard work and maintenance.
Stah, a retired computer science professor, and Mann, a retired professor at the Morehouse School of Medicine, bought a three-story home in Meeting Park, a new development near Marietta Square with detached cluster homes and townhomes.
Q: Why did you decide to buy?
Christine: We lived in our previous home inside I-285 on the fringes of Buckhead for 37 years, and though it was a lovely neighborhood with lovely houses, we were tired of doing exterior maintenance. David shouldn't be crawling around under the house or trying to clean out the gutters. We wanted a home where we could walk to places. In Buckhead, you have to drive everywhere.
Q: What were your priorities?
David: We didn't want to move far out of the city because our friends are around Atlanta, and our doctors are around the north side of town. We have a country place in Ellijay, but wanted to find a place northwest of the city. We had an acre of land at the previous home and looked for a neighborhood with lots that were a third of an acre and required little maintenance.
Q: How did you find this house?
Christine: When we looked at homes, we liked that this neighborhood was near the Marietta Square. We thought our old house would take two or three months to sell, but we received two offers in the first 10 days and had to find another place in a hurry. This house was built and ready to go.
Q: How was the closing?
David: We had both closings scheduled on the same day, with one at 11 a.m. and the second at 3 p.m. We wanted to take the equity out of the first and put it into this one, but we didn't finish the first closing until 5:30 p.m. It was too late to have our money wired, so we didn't receive the keys for our new home until the next morning. That second closing went quickly, but we were happy we had our other place in Ellijay that night.
Q: What do you love about the home?
Christine: We're so close to the square, and everybody gets out and walks in this neighborhood. You get to know each other and everyone's dogs. It reminds us of going off to college as a freshman and running into people on the quad.
Q: How have you decorated?
David: We're very proud of a beautiful antique corner cupboard that was (Christine's) mother's. It has curved glass on the doors, which would be irreplaceable, and we were worried it would break during the move. It didn't, and we're happy to have it in our new home.
At a Glance
Christine Stah and David Mann’s new home in Marietta has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms and 2,800 square feet. Homes in Meeting Park, a John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods community, range from the low $400,000s to the mid $500,000s.
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