Finding the Right Fit
The kitchen is very efficient with everything in its place.
“Trust the process,” that’s the advice most new homeowners have for anyone looking for a new house, and Marquita Abram says she couldn’t agree more with the statement. “Yes! You have to.” Marquita exclaimed in our interview.
Marquita’s $235,000 home is located in Lakeland, Tennessee which she recently moved to in September of 2021. The East Memphis transplant is the mother of three children and she says the number one goal on her wish list when she was searching for her new home was to find a safe school system for her little ones. And that wish appears to be working well for Marquita and her kids.
“My eldest son says what he loves [the most] is the school food.” Marquita laughs.
Realtor Cali Neal says Marquita was pretty open-minded during the search for a new home. She says initially Marquita had her eyes set on a four-bedroom house, but after learning about the school her children would attend, she settled proudly into the three-bedroom.
Marquita, similar to many people in this past year, was motivated to find her home after noticing a difference in the housing market trends due to the pandemic. She says she jumped at the idea of finding a new home because she thought mortgage rates would be lower. Marquita says she didn’t factor in how many other people would be thinking the same way, causing a bit of competitiveness in her family’s search for a new place to lay their heads.
Marquita found her new home within two months of her search journey, and she wasn’t shy about talking about the most difficult part. She says if she could’ve redone anything in the process, she would have waited just a bit longer.
Marquita says while many people say the paperwork was going to be a headache that wasn’t the issue in her situation. “The paperwork wasn’t the problem, [the problem] was being outbid every time I bid on a home,” Marquita says.
This is why her realtor, Neal, says she constantly tells her clients to practice the two P’s: Patience and Positivity. She says, unfortunately,
the process of finding a new home can be a lot, but she says to not give up.
“It can be the case for anyone,” Neal said. “Constantly writing offers and not getting them approved while continuing to put your best foot forward,” Neal said. “[then] not getting anything. It can be discouraging.”
Marquita says the master bathroom is her favorite part of the home. She says she loves the fact that her walk-in closet and walk-in shower, and toilet are separated from the other parts of the restroom. However, the kitchen was also high on her wish list. When asked if she liked to cook, she laughed in response:
“Eh, I’m trying. I’m working on it.” Marquita said. “The kitchen was my motivation.” She laughs.