Couple wanted open kitchen, two bedrooms downs -- and found perfect home in Germantown
Patrick and Ginger Haynes’ former home was the reason they decided to move. They felt they needed a second bedroom on the first floor and they wanted safer stairs for their young daughter.
Patrick is chief strategy officer for Capital Financial Group in Clark Tower and Ginger is a research advisor with Eli Lilly & Company, working from an office in their new home.
The couple began their house search by viewing available properties online. “We must have looked at over 1,000 properties, just trying to make ourselves familiar with market prices and the various areas of town,” said Ginger. “Then we contacted Sheldon Rosengarten, an agent with Marx-Bensdorf Realtors."
We met Sheldon almost 15 years ago at our common Starbucks and hit it off immediately. After Patrick and I got married and decided to move to Germantown, Sheldon helped us find our first home — and we absolutely loved it. We were very grateful for his abundance of patience and skillful use of humor in steering us towards that perfect home. When our family grew and we knew we needed to move, there was never any question about who we would call. Sheldon and his partner, Kelly Erb, marketed our former home beautifully, paving the way for us to find our perfect home for three. Over time, Sheldon and his wife, Shelly, have become dear friends – an added blessing.”
Patrick and Ginger toured 18 houses in person. They knew they wanted to find a home with an open-concept kitchen, two bedrooms downstairs and a screened-in porch. They also wanted to be in close proximity to their daughter’s school.
Their search ended when they made a successful bid on a home in The Laurels neighborhood of Germantown. They paid $650,000 for a traditional, two-story house with 3,600 square feet of living space. The home had been custom built by John Clark 18 years ago.
“The house was a beautiful four-bedroom, three-bathroom home with water views,” said Ginger. “Every bedroom had an attached bathroom, along with large walk-in closets. The open floor plan was an entertainer’s dream. The kitchen was exactly what we had wanted. It had custom appliances and opened to the den, both of which overlook a small lake and adjacent woods through large floor to ceiling windows.”
The couple’s current home differed from their previous one in that there were two bedrooms downstairs, the stairs were not as steep and it had a much larger screened-in porch.
Patrick said, “We have plans to make a few changes to our new home. We plan to paint the exterior, add an ornamental front door and enhance our landscaping. Eventually we may add a swimming pool.”
As for their location, Ginger said, “Our neighbors are very friendly and active. We like that our area has lots of green space and walking paths. And we cannot beat the proximity to our daughter’s school. Overall, we’re centrally located, near so many amenities offered by both Germantown and Collierville.”
Emily Adams Keplinger is a freelance reporter who produced this feature for the Advertising Department.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Family finds home in Germantown's The Laurels area
