Renting an apartment in Midtown helped engaged couple Richard O’Donnell and Ashley Plank take time to explore Atlanta neighborhoods without feeling rushed to buy.
The couple moved from Cincinnati in 2013 for Plank’s job as marketing director at Swoozie’s, a gift and paper retailer. O’Donnell was new to Georgia, but Plank was born in Atlanta and grew up in Chastain Park.
“I was gone for 13 years, so Atlanta had changed a lot in 13 years,” said Plank, 31. “It was important for me to develop our own new Atlanta together versus just going back to what I knew.”
Working with Erin Yabroudy with Dorsey Alston, Realtors, the couple sought an older Atlanta home with an emphasis on outdoor entertaining. Although the couple had fixed up a home in Cincinnati, they didn’t want to tackle a remodel and a wedding in 2015.
No. 1
Beautiful cottage
A three-bedroom, two-bath home on North Hills Drive in Atlanta’s Garden Hills neighborhood boasted a brick patio and covered porch with a vaulted ceiling. The home had a living room, dining room, sunroom and breakfast room with 9-foot ceilings, but the layout wasn’t exactly what they wanted. The home, built in 1937, was listed for $595,000.
No. 2
Buckhead-area bungalow
A three-bedroom, two-bath home on Ridgeland Way in Atlanta’s Peachtree Hills neighborhood offered a deck and a flat yard. Updates included a new roof, and marble countertops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. The couple wasn’t thrilled with the layout and would need to remodel, they said. The home, built in 1942, was listed for $499,000.
No. 3
Brick traditional
A three-bedroom, two-bath home on Walthall Drive in Atlanta’s Collier Hills offered a lot that was twice the size of No. 2. Two back doors, as well as one from the master, led to the brick patio and a detached carport that offered an outdoor dining space. Granite countertops, dual vanities and dual closets were part of a master bathroom renovation. The home, built in 1940, was listed for $629,000.
The Choice
No. 3. The couple drove by the home about 30 minutes before an open house, so they returned and walked through it. “We saw the outdoor space and Ashley started getting really excited,” said O’Donnell, 30, a financial advisor with Capital Directions. After their agent viewed the home, which even had a color palette they liked, they put in an offer the next day. They moved in during December and have enjoyed Collier Hills’ access to Interstate 75 and Peachtree Road. “We wanted to move into the neighborhood that we felt we were going to love and to be in that neighborhood for many years to come,” Plank said.
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