Tim Nellenbach and his wife Deanna had been flying back and forth from Nebraska to see each other while he was renting an apartment in Georgia for 18 months. By fall 2013, they decided to leave the state they had lived in for 24 years to move south.
Why Atlanta?
Tim’s temporary job relocation turned permanent and he wanted a single-level home that was close to his workplace near the Cobb Galleria and Cumberland Mall area. He searched for an area with a decent commute and found that the trip from Acworth was about 25 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening.
Though he would have loved to snag a house at the bottom of the market, Nellenbach found a home near I-75 in the low $200,000s, at a comparable price to what he was seeing in Nebraska. The Nellenbachs closed on the house in the Cherokee County part of Ackworth in November and sold their Nebraska home in April.
“I know I was one of the more difficult sells. I saw a ton of houses,” said Nellenbach, 50, an evaluator for the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations. “But one day, a coworker told me to check out his home in the Woodland Trace neighborhood, and I found what I wanted.”
Putting down roots
The Nellenbachs were happy to find a two-story home with the master bedroom and a second bedroom on the main floor, an open floor plan and a yard for their two beagles. Before they closed on the house, Tim worked with the builder to put up a fence, spending $6,500 to install what he wanted, and to expand parking.
“The house had a small garage compared to what we were used to in Nebraska, which doesn’t seem to be uncommon down here,” he said. “We’ve found that most people with pickups can’t park in the garage here in Georgia.”
The builder added a space on the side of the garage for Nellenbach’s truck. In addition, he installed drywall and electrical wiring for the storage room above the garage so the Nellenbachs can convert it to a bonus room in the future. The changes delayed the closing process and required another inspection, which set back the moving date.
“I was already scheduled to move from my apartment, and I was able to put my belongings into the garage that weekend,” Nellenbach said. “I couldn’t yet move into the living space because we didn’t have a Certificate of Occupancy, but I really appreciated the flexibility that everyone gave us.”
Even though Deanna was in Nebraska at the time, the closing process was smooth for the couple. With the help of Jeremy and Lindsey Haas with Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage, the Nellenbachs were able to sign electronically using DocuSign.
“It was extremely easy to use, and we could exchange and sign all agreements via email,” he said. “I was able to do it on my cell phone.”
Relocation tip
If you’re unfamiliar with the Atlanta area, its size and different neighborhoods can be overwhelming. Talk to coworkers and find a real estate agent who is willing to work hard for you, Nellenbach said. If you have specific priorities in mind, consider new construction and working with the builder to customize it, he added. Woodland Trace currently has homes in the mid to high $200,000s.
“The neighborhood is nice, and I think we picked a good area in Cherokee County,” he said. “It’s been a pleasant and easy transition for us.”
