The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Couple find perfect home on first try
Modifications for handicapped help 3-year-old in wheelchair adjust.
Stephanie and Matt Mclaughlin have experienced love at first sight a few times: when they met each other 20 years ago, when their two children were born, and just weeks ago when they found their dream house.
The Mclaughlins were not planning to move, but their landlord sold the home they have rented for six years. Nervous of how they’d fare in the current housing market, they called a Realtor friend, hoping she could guide them through the purchase of their first home.
They sent her houses they found online and picked one to visit first — a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch with a basement in Covington. It was the first and only house they saw.
“It was literally everything we could have asked for in a house,” said Stephanie, 38.
The house is handicapped accessible, which is a plus for the Mclaughlins because their 3-year-old son Max has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. The home has a wheelchair ramp in the garage, a chairlift for the basement stairs and wide hallways.
“We never expected to find a house with all of that accessibility. We just imagined it’d be something we’d have to add down the road,” said Stephanie. “We will save so much money by not having to adapt the house. It’s exactly what we need.”
The Mclaughlins, who are also parents to Meadow, 5, did not have a basement on their list of needs, but it was a huge bonus.
“Max gets physical therapy
via Zoom every week because of COVID,” said Matt, also 38. “The basement will give him so much more room to exercise with his stander and gait trainer.”
They were sold on the house but wondered what the neighborhood was like. Their Realtor, TJ Simmons, knocked on a door to see if they could meet a neighbor. No one answered the knock, but a woman walked out of the home a few minutes later.
“As she walked over, I looked at her, then at Matt and said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Kelly from day care,’” said Stephanie.
Max attends a private Christian day care and Kelly is one of the teachers who helps with his care. The Mclaughlins love Kelly and greatly appreciate how she has stepped up to learn how to tend to Max’s special needs.
“Between the accessibility of the house, then seeing Kelly, it just felt like this was where we were meant to be,” said Matt. But could they get the house? “In the last 18 months, this market has been known to suck the life out of buyers,” said Simmons. “It is very common to go against multiple buyers and the likelihood of someone wanting the first house they see is slim to none. The Mclaughlins falling in love with that house was the first battle; the next was actually getting the house.”
The Mclaughlins had plenty of competition. There were 50 showings at the house in one weekend.
“In the end, it was their offer that was accepted. The way it all lined up was a miracle,” said Simmons. “This is what makes my job so rewarding. Very rarely do we see the pieces fit together without heartbreak and stress.”
The seller’s agent, Tammy Farmer, was happy to hear a special needs family would benefit from the accessibility of the house. In fact, she was a previous owner of the home, the one who made it accessible. She adapted it for her daughter with special needs who has since passed.
The Mclaughlin family loves to cook together and spend time outside, blowing bubbles, playing ball and taking the kids fishing. They cannot wait to make memories in their new home and in the fenced-in backyard. The kids will have their own rooms for the first time. Max has a birthday coming up and his parents can’t wait to surprise him with Star Wars-themed décor.
It’s been a difficult few years for the Mclaughlins. They learned of Max’s diagnosis when Stephanie was 20 weeks pregnant. Matt’s mother’s house burned down, his brother died, and Matt and Stephanie were in a terrible car accident less than a year ago. It was God and their children, they say, that pulled them through.
“We try to remember that God has a plan,” said Stephanie. “Sometimes we can’t see or understand the reason, but it’s there.”
They feel certain it was God who orchestrated the purchase of their new home. Simmons agrees.
“It was such a God thing, I don’t know how else to describe it,” said Simmons. “They’re great parents and such good people. Isn’t it nice when good things happen to good people?”