Ed and Joan Hubbard retired to a home on the Intracoastal Waterway in Charleston, S.C., but Joan’s severe allergy and sinus problems spoiled the beauty of the marsh setting. When Joan’s doctor recommended that they move to another location, the couple decided to relocate near their daughter and grandson in Atlanta, but they didn’t want to give up the waterfront.
After the Caterpillar retirees’ home sold in two days, they lived with their family for six months while Patrick Malloy Communities built their ranch home with a basement in Cumming’s Waterford neighborhood.
Q: How did you search in the Atlanta area?
Joan: When I rode around, I would check my GPS for water because Edward wanted to live on the water. If I saw any splotch of blue on the GPS I would head for it.
Q: What else was important in deciding a location to buy?
Joan: I didn’t want too far away from my 11-year-old grandson. We are taking care of him. He’s here with us during the week.
Ed: We wanted to be no more than 10 miles away from him (in Cumming). We wanted to live on water. It didn’t have to be a big expanse of water. A small lake would be fine. It took us a better part of a year to finally find it.
Q: Why did it take so long?
Ed: We were looking for a house that was all on one floor and has a reasonably good-sized master bedroom separated from the other bedrooms. The first house we saw we both liked. We waited about a week too long to put an offer on it and it was sold. For the next 11 months we couldn’t find anything. In a process that took many months, Lorin Marsolo (with Re/Max Around Atlanta) was thorough, patient and had our best interests in mind.
Q: How did you find the Waterford neighborhood?
Ed: Joan did her GPS running around looking for water and she found a small lake here in Waterford. We went up to Soleil Laurel Canyon (to view the builder’s models) and walked into their model house called the Upton and both of us said, “Yep, this is the one we want.”
Q: What do you like most about the home?
Ed: The layout. It’s one story but it’s built on a basement. If you look at the back of the house it looks like it’s a giant two-story house, but the whole bottom is the basement.
Q: How are you enjoying the lakefront lot?
Ed: You can sit on our back porch and you can see a lot of wildlife — blue heron, gray heron, geese. I like to read out on the porch. I like to go out in the evening. I just sit and relax and watch the lights ripple off the water. I find that incredibly relaxing.
At a Glance
Ed and Joan Hubbard’s new home in Cumming has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and about 2,900 square feet. They were assisted by Lorin Marsolo with Re/Max Around Atlanta Realty and moved in during January. Homes in Waterford, a Forsyth County neighborhood, are priced from $300,000 to $500,000.
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