Real Stories

Growing Family Moves from City and Buys Home in Ramsey

Greg and his wife moved into a rental home in Ramsey in May 2008, after living in New York City.  The couple wanted a suburban lifestyle – good schools for their son, friendly neighbors, and lots of room.  By the end of the year, the couple knew it was the right time for them to buy.

“We were waiting to buy until we could get the most value for our investment, which ended up being the right decision,” said Greg.  “By December 2008, we knew our lease would soon be up and we didn’t like the limitations of renting, so we decided to buy a home.”

Greg and his wife wanted more room than they had in their rental house, a bigger backyard, a home office, and a colonial-style structure.  At that time, they also found out that they were pregnant with their second son, making their home search even more urgent.

The couple signed on with REALTOR® Diane and began to look at homes in Ramsey.  They liked the town because of its schools, the large lots available, and its sense of community. 

“We actually saw the home we bought for the first time in December, but did not make an offer because it didn’t fit everything we had imagined in our ideal home,” Greg said.  “We wanted a home on a dead-end road, and this home is on a pass-through street.  We also wanted a big lawn, but the backyard was full of trees.”

After looking a many more houses in Ramsey that did not meet all of their requirements, Diane urged them to look at the home again.  Its price had been reduced, and she thought Greg and his wife might be more willing to compromise on some of their wants after looking at homes for three months.

“We saw the home again in April 2009, and realized how much we liked about it,” said Greg.  “It has a newly renovated kitchen, a great layout, a nice deck, a big lot, and it did not need any major renovations.”

The couple put in an offer and closed after only three weeks.  With a background in finance, Greg knew that a fixed mortgage rate of 4.5% was not something to pass on, so he acted quickly to secure the low rate.

“We’re extremely happy with our home,” said Greg.  “The reason we succeeded was because we looked at our home as a place to stay in, a place we can make changes to over time.  We didn’t look at it as an investment property that needed to be renovated quickly and sold for a profit.”