Sean Bennett and Casey Baird lived in separate one-bedroom apartments in Inman Park and Midtown when they decided to fend off rising rents by buying a condo together.
With a maximum budget of $250,000, the couple had to compete with other buyers interested in living near popular Piedmont Park. A couple of times, condos received offers before they could even view them. After three months of searching in 2015, Bennett, 34, and Baird, 32, bought a two-bedroom condo in Midtown, assisted by Brandi Nickerson with Harry Norman, Realtors. Bennett, who works in information technology staffing, and Baird, who works in medical sales, chatted about what they learned and their tips.
Q: What misconceptions did you have about buying a home?
Bennett: We had been pre-approved by SunTrust. Going into it, I didn't actually realize that was the proper course of action. I thought you grab a Realtor, look at handful of places and go to the bank. No, it is: You go the bank, do your paperwork. You don't stand a chance if you're not fully prepared and fully vetted.
Baird: We had an offer in that afternoon. By the next time we went back to do another walk through, there were 15 cards (left by real estate agents). If Brandi had not set us up well to put an offer in immediately, it would have been much more frustrating. We would have probably lost out on our place.
Q: What was most important to you?
Baird: I was definitely wanting something that was walkable, in a part of town that had a lot of restaurants. I never thought that we could find something in our price range as close to the park (a half-block away). We use it every single day.
Bennett: We have a dog (Scout). It was important for us to have a location that would be dog friendly and allow us to be next to the park or a large greenspace. We got unbelievably lucky.
Q: What type of outdoor space does the condo offer?
Baird: Our place has this huge private terrace that really makes it feel more like a home than it does a condo.
Bennett: You can put a fire pit out here. You have this whole huge space that is rare in the city.
Q: What else do you like about the Midtown location?
Baird: We walk to The Nook (on Piedmont Park). Right down the street is Einstein's, which is great for lunch. We don't even have to get in the car most weekends because we can walk.
Bennett: I can take the train to my office in the Perimeter, which is amazing. It turned out to be an even better location than we expected.
At a Glance
Sean Bennett and Casey Baird’s condo, built in 1984, has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,168 square feet. They purchased it in January 2015. Two-bedroom condos in Colony Park Citihomes have recently sold for the mid-$200,000s.
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