With a toddler on the move and new jobs in town, Ryan Bonfiglio and Jamie Butcher re-thought their Roswell rental and decided to buy inside the Perimeter.
Searching for homes while trying to occupy their 18-month-old turned them into motivated buyers, and after a couple of weeks of searching in Decatur, Oakhurst, Kirkwood and East Atlanta, they put an offer on a home.
The priority
They wanted to cut the commute to their jobs at Presbyterian churches in Atlanta, in order to spend more time with their 18-month-old son, Leo.
“We were excited to locate down closer to our work,” said Bonfiglio, 38.
The parents looked for homes with renovations and up-to-date mechanical systems, in order to avoid maintenance headaches. A screened-in porch and yard for Leo to play also topped their wish list.
“Then, of course, the challenge that I think most first-time homeowners face is realizing you can’t get all of that. You have to set some priorities and try to find homes that give you the best combination of the things that you both want,” Bonfiglio said.
The search
The couple moved to Atlanta in 2009 and had lived at one time in DeKalb County. Their agent, Cheryl Gosa of Gosa Properties at Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Midtown, set up an email alert to notify them of new listings. The home they bought popped up for sale one morning, and they viewed it that day.
Recent renovations gave them confidence that there would not be immediate costly problems with systems, such as heating and air conditioning. Plus, the home had an unfinished basement and storage with “closets tucked away” in the home, Butcher said. Having a front yard and a backyard with trees checked off items at the top of their list, and it was near a small park.
“We really value some proximity to nature. We were really thrilled to find that,” said Butcher, 35.
That same day, they offered above asking price, knowing there were other interested buyers. The seller accepted their quick offer.
The home
The three-bedroom, two-bath home was built in 1942 in the Winnona Park neighborhood, which is about a mile-and-a-half from downtown Decatur and has homes listed from the high $300,000s to the low $800,000s. The previous owners converted the attic space into a second-floor master suite with an office nook. Plus, it had the screened-in porch they wanted, along with a one-car garage.
“It kind of amazingly had so many of the things we were looking for, but still was in our price range,” Bonfiglio said.
When they made an off-hand comment about liking the seller’s furniture, they discovered the seller was moving out of the country and they negotiated purchasing the living room and dining room furniture. The layout also made it easier to baby proof than their previous home, which had a “split foyer” setup with stairs going up on one side and down on the other side.
“In this situation, that’s much more manageable,” Butcher said. “It’s just an easier space for him to play, which was great.”
The lifestyle
The family moved in during June. They’ve enjoyed living closer to friends and discovering new favorite places, like Taproom Coffee & Beer in Kirkwood and Good Karma Coffee House in Avondale Estates. The move also has changed commuting habits.
“I actually bike to work two or three times a week,” Bonfiglio said. “That’s a great quality-of-life upgrade for me.”
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