My New Home: Enjoying the best of both worlds in High Point Terrace
Wayne and Erika Parr moved to Memphis from the Nashville area when Erika accepted a job as an assistant professor of mathematics at Rhodes College. Wayne is the managing director of client services for an eDiscovery consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia. He is able to work remotely. The couple had previously been in Memphis for a year, but at that time they rented a house in the Central Gardens area.
“We knew we planned to be in Memphis for the next few years, so we were interested in buying rather than renting again,” said Erika. “We knew we wanted to find a house that was move-in ready. The market was so hot that we knew we were going to have to bid on houses from afar without being able to see them in person first. So it was especially important that we knew what we were getting and limit the questions we'd have when putting in an aggressive bid.”
Through recommendations from friends, the Parrs connected with Marjo Labonte, an agent with McWaters & Associates Realtors. “We can't recommend Marjo enough, especially in this competitive market,” said Wayne. “We never saw a property in Memphis in person. Instead, we browsed online and saw one or two homes over a social media platform with our realtor. We were excited when our offer was accepted on this property.”
That property was a newly built home in East Memphis in the High Point Terrace area that provided the couple with the security of knowing exactly what they were getting. No hidden surprises since everything was new.
The Parrs paid $612,500 for their new home which offered 2,857 square feet of living space. The home was constructed with many high-end amenities. There were four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The huge master suite included a separate freestanding tub and a shower. Also the master bedroom had a massive master closet with built-in drawers. Throughout the house, there were wide plank, white oak floors. In the kitchen, all the cabinets had soft-close doors and drawers, and there were beautiful quartz countertops. Other features like a trash pull out, built-in spice rack and utensil pull out really set this house apart from others. Plus, there was a tankless water heater, a bluestone front porch, an electric gate across the driveway and the house was wired with ethernet for streaming. Out back, the yard was enclosed by cedar fencing.
“We liked that we found a new home that had been built on a mature lot so we have established trees and greenery,” said Erika. “Other things that were special about our home were the white oak wood floors and custom wood cabinets, the master closet and the upscale master bath with stand-alone bathtub.”
“Our last home in Nashville was a new build as well, but with a national builder,” added Wayne. “This home was also a new build, but constructed by a local builder. We could tell a difference in the quality of the finishes in our home here. So much thought went into the selected finishes. One major difference from the national builder was the ‘smart’ home aspect of our new home. As a result, when we moved in here we immediately swapped out the original electrical for smart switches, locks, cameras, etc. The only other change we are considering at this point is that we may change some of the landscaping.”
When asked how they liked their new neighborhood, Erika said, “We love the convenience of having retailers close to us. They are all within walking distance of our home. And, having access to a Greenline entrance is another plus. We have friendly neighbors and the overall noise level in our neighborhood is not bad. We really like being close to Midtown while also not being far from East Memphis and Germantown. It feels like we have the best of both worlds in this location.”
Emily Adams Keplinger is a freelance reporter who produced this feature for the Advertising Department.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The best of both worlds in High Point Terrace
