Growing Room With Starter Home

Mary Ellen was born and raised in Long Island, New York. After graduating from college, she worked on Wall Street for JP Morgan in New York City...

Meet David and Catherine

David, an engineer, and Catherine, a nurse, are first-time homebuyers. They decided to work with The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team and specifically Listing and Buyers Specialist, Susan Jennings as she sold David’s mom a home several years ago. He wanted someone that he could totally trust.

David and Catherine plan to get married and start a family. Starting or expanding a family is one of the main reasons most people move, especially if they buy a starter home. Susan suggested that David and Catherine consider some growing room with their home purchase.

The Must-Haves

Each homeowner is going to have a different list of priorities, but having a “must-have” list will help make the home buying process a lot smoother.

As young first-time home buyers, David and Catherine knew they must have a home they could grow into and live in for a long time as well as one that did not need much updating.

There is a big difference between wants and needs. The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team suggests that all home buyers create two different lists when searching for a home - a "must-have" list and a "nice-to-have" list. These lists help keep the focus on what is important.

"We were afraid we would never find what we were looking for."

Buying a home for the first time is exciting, but it’s a process that can also bring fears. David and Catherine's main fears were that they would end up spending more money than they wanted to and getting into a home that needed too much work.

Susan Jennings surprised us!

The rapid pace of the current real estate market made it difficult initially to find a home in the couple's price range. David and Susan were prequalified with a lender. This is a vital step in the home buying process. Prequalified means the lender collects some basic financial information from you to estimate how much house you can afford.

Susan went to work and found David and Catherine the perfect home in Marietta, Georgia. Knowing that there is a right mortgage solution for every type of borrower, she also did some research and surprised the couple by finding them a better mortgage product with AmerisBank.