My New Home: Finding a smaller footprint in Fountain Pointe
Kirk and Grace Taylor wanted to downsize their abode. In seeking a smaller home, they wanted to find a house that was less than 2,500 square feet, preferably built no later than 1990. And in terms of location, they wanted to live in East Memphis so as to be close to their daughter's high school and close to Kirk's work. Kirk is a product manager at Green Mountain Technology in East Memphis and Grace is an office manager for Family Medicine Partners in Collierville.
As the couple began their house hunt, they contacted Deborah Mayes, an agent with Hobson Realtors. “Deborah was an excellent real estate agent,” said Kirk. “She not only helped us find our new home, but also handled the sale of our former home. Deborah had a ton of experience. She knew exactly what we were looking for and hit the nail on the head on the third house. Her experience included an offer strategy to help us beat out four other offers — even though some of those offers were higher than ours and one was a cash offer.”
Grace added, “When Deborah sold our place, she answered all questions and facilitated a multiple-offer scenario with best bid by Memorial Day at 5 p.m. The strategy was to give seller time to find a new home in the D.C. market. She also held our hands throughout the process, including an introduction to one of the handymen in her network.”
“Deborah took us to see five different properties,” continued Grace. “ We knew that we wanted to find a home that had all the living space on one level. And for ease of upkeep, we wanted to have more tile and hardwood floors than carpet.”
The Taylors found just what they were looking for on a corner lot in the gated community of Fountain Pointe in East Memphis. They paid $367,000 for their traditional, unpainted brick home. It offered just more than 2,000 square feet of living space, all on one level. The home had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They liked the way the kitchen, which had a breakfast bar, opened to the dining room. And the kitchen had been updated by the previous owner with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. There was also a light-filled keeping room and a living room with a cozy fireplace and new flooring.
“The bathrooms had also been renovated with new vanities, faucets and light fixtures. In the master bedroom was a huge custom-designed closet that included a built-in dresser and extra shelving for an abundance of storage,” said Kirk. “And this home had Pella windows and doors, plantation shutters, security doors, a two-car attached garage and many more upgrades.”
The family’s new home gave them the smaller footprint they were seeking, almost 1,400 square feet smaller than their previous, two-story home in Collierville. With the house being 22 years old, there were a few things the Taylors wanted to change to give their new home a facelift.
“We hired a handyman who was good with construction to work on the items we had on our priority punch list,” explained Kirk. “For instance, we replaced the carpet in all three bedrooms and updated the light fixtures throughout the house. Also, we had him repaint the entire interior of the home. In the kitchen and the dining area, we ripped up the old flooring and installed porcelain tile. Outside we had a new concrete patio poured and added a pergola and a swing.”
Grace added, “We took the plunge and removed a lot of landscaping on one side of the yard. We plan on planting Yoshino cherry trees in the Spring. And we liked the fact that the yard came with an irrigation system.”
The couple said they really liked the safety benefit of living in a gated community.
“Fountain Pointe is a quiet area filled with nice neighbors,” said Grace. “It is a beautiful, gated community located right in the heart of East Memphis. Our Home Owners Association takes care of the majority of the day-to-day maintenance. Our common areas include an expansive lake, children’s playscape, book lending library, and seating scattered throughout the grounds. We feel like we are in the center of the metropolitan area, yet we enjoy both quiet seclusion and convenience to all of the area's amenities.”
Emily Adams Keplinger is a freelance reporter who produced this feature for the Advertising Department.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Finding a smaller footprint in Fountain Pointe
