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About a year ago, Sydney Sepúlveda and Jacob Juliot were ready to move out of their two-bedroom apartment on Stonewall Avenue into their first home. They said that the knowledge that they could be paying the same amount of money, or even less, than they were paying in rent, for a mortgage payment on their own home was a huge draw.
Sydney is an urban planner at the Memphis Medical District Collaborative and Jake is a Digital Content Creator at Church Health. They really wanted to stay in Midtown, but did not have a big preference with regard to what part of Midtown.
“We knew that we wanted two bathrooms, lots of natural light for our houseplants, a backyard where we could have a garden, a home close enough to bike to work, and a neighborhood where we both felt safe and comfortable,” recalled Sydney.
Jake added, “Melody Bourell, an agent with Marx-bensdorf Realtors, was referred to us by several of our co-workers. Her work ethic and personality quickly reminded us of Sydney’s mom (who is also a realtor, in Texas), so we felt right at home with her. As first-time homebuyers in a very hot market, we wouldn’t have chosen anyone else. We absolutely love our home and neighborhood, and Melody gave us the confidence and
assurance we needed throughout the entire process. We couldn’t have found the perfect home without her guidance.”
With Melody as their agent, the couple looked at five different houses. They ended up choosing a bungalow, c. 1923, in the Crosstown neighborhood. They paid $202,900 for 1,645 square feet of living space, including three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“We really liked the Midtown character of our home,” said Sydney. “It had a plethora of windows, beautiful hardwood floors, a large front porch, a backyard patio, and surprisingly large closets and storage space! The upstairs room (Jake calls it the “crow’s nest”) had walls of windows on two sides. It is now our favorite room and also our cats’ favorite room. We spend the most time there as it has become our workfrom-home office.”
The couple noted that there are obvious differences having moved from an apartment to a house.
“Prior to buying our home, we rented a two-bedroom apartment in a fourplex,” explained Sydney. “We love that we now have room for guests to stay with us, and a front yard and a backyard to putter around in. Our upstairs office space has been perfect for these recent work-fromhome months. We added two cats to our family (for a total of three), which now have plenty of room for themselves. We have an abundance of storage space for all of our bikes and outdoor recreation equipment, whereas things started to feel a little tight in our previous apartment.”
When asked if they’ve made any changes to their new abode, Jake said, “We’ve added a backyard garden and already have lots of ideas in the works for expanding it. Also, we’ve added a stock tank pool to help us cool off during summer months. We might resurface the back deck eventually and add a deck to the pool.”
As for their neighborhood, Jake said. “We love the Crosstown area. The neighborhood has special significance because Sydney worked as an intern with the Concourse Development project during the entirety of her undergraduate career at Rhodes College (from 2012-2016). It’s only fitting that she bought a home in the same neighborhood, just blocks away from the Concourse development, where her interest in urban planning began,”
The couple continues to invest themselves in their neighborhood as Sydney is a board member of the Crosstown Community Development Corporation, and Jake works at Church Health in the Crosstown Concourse building.
“Our neighbors are what has made the neighborhood most special,” said Sydney. “Some of them have lived here for 50 years, while other young couples, like us, see its unique character and value, and want to work together to preserve it.”