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Megan Murphy and her brother, Jay Murphy, pooled their resources and bought a house together in the East Buntyn neighborhood. The idea came about after Jay had been looking at houses for a while on his own. After looking at several houses, Megan and Jay realized that they could get more house for their money if they pooled their resources. They enlisted the aid of Crye-leike agent Didi Dwyer, whom they met years before when she sold their parents their family’s home in Central Gardens.
Megan explained, “I was in an apartment and was ready to move into a house. When we started seriously looking I had about six weeks to let my apartment know whether or not I intended to renew my lease. I wanted to find a house before that deadline. I wanted more space and a yard for my dog. My apartment was at the corner of a very busy intersection and I wanted to move into a quieter neighborhood. Also, when we started looking at how much house we could afford I realized my rent was as much as a mortgage and wanted my money to be going towards equity on a house versus renting.”
“I was still living with my parents after completing my MBA at the University of Memphis and wanted to make the move to buy a house,” said Jay. “I had been wanting to start investing in real estate, so buying a house was the first priority over renting a house. After many months of looking before and after graduating I decided to join in with my sister to find a better house.”
Megan and Jay gave Didi a list of the things they were hoping to have in their new home. They agreed that they needed a minimum of two bedrooms and two bathrooms. And while they were open to buying a house in need of
small cosmetic fixes, they knew they did not want a major fixer-upper. In fact, move-in ready was preferred.
“We really wanted a home that had been well cared for, with no major things to fix after moving in (i.e., HVAC, roof, etc.),” said Jay. “Additionally, we wanted an older home in Midtown or the University of Memphis area that had character, like hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves and a fireplace.”
“And with the two of us moving in together, we knew we needed ample storage and good closet space,” added Megan. “Plus I wanted a fenced backyard for my dog.”
Jay had started his house hunt before joining forces with his sister.
“Before deciding to look together I looked at around 20 houses,” recalled Jay. “Then Didi, Megan and I looked at four more houses. We actually drove by our current house when we were looking at another house in East Buntyn. We saw that they were painting our future house white and wondered if it was getting ready to go on the market. A couple of weeks after that the house was indeed for sale. At the time we were waiting to hear back about an offer we had put on a house in Central Gardens the day before. When we saw the listing for our current house my sister and I both hoped the offer on the Central Gardens house wouldn’t be accepted because we liked this house a lot more.”
The house they found in East Buntyn had everything they wanted — and more. Jay and Megan paid $331,000 for their traditional, painted-brick cottage. With just over 1600 square feet of living space, it had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home, built in 1940, had retained many period details, like crystal door knobs, hardwood floors, wide baseboards, plaster walls, a fireplace, and original windows.
“The house had a perfect layout for my brother and I with the master bedroom being separated from the other two bedrooms,” said Megan. “Since he works from home as a Software Developer at EPG Insurance, Jay uses the third bedroom as his office. And, I really like the flow of the house. The rooms are separate and defined, but flow well together. I like that the kitchen, den, and dining room are open to each other without being just one big room, like you see in a lot of newer houses.”
“For someone who lived in Midtown their entire life with on-street parking, having our own driveway/ garage is a real plus,” added Jay. “This house has a modern vibe, but has kept many of the old touches that make Midtown great.”
Both Jay and Megan like that there are a lot of windows that let in plenty of natural light. And they appreciate that there’s a lot of available storage in the house.
“There is a huge closet in my bedroom and good closet space in the other two bedrooms. Plus we have a garage, a workshop in the backyard, and a nicesized attic,” explained Megan. “I love the backyard for my dog, as well as the front porch with the porch swing.”
As for their neighborhood, Megan explained that they grew up in Central Gardens and wanted to be in a neighborhood with older houses. They also like the neighborhood’s mature trees. And as the real estate adage states, “Location. Location. Location.” Megan works as a nurse practitioner at St. Jude and has found that she has only a 15-minute commute.
“I feel like we live right in the middle of town and can get to almost any part of the city in 15 minutes or so,” said Megan. “It’s super convenient.”