"It was older, 23 years old, and it needed a lot of work," she said.
She put the house up for sale, not holding out much hope that she'd find a buyer in the still-sluggish real estate market.
"I thought, 'Well, it doesn't hurt to put the sign out,' " she said.
So she was pleasantly surprised when the house, which she listed with Realtor Jen Carstensen of Keller Williams Realty, sold within a few months. She hadn't even started looking at houses.
"I didn't look until I got the contract and accepted it," said Barnett, owner of residential and commercial cleaning company Pro-Glo Cleaning Services LLC.
With Carstensen's help, Barnett scoured the neighborhoods near her former home to find a house that better suited her needs and the needs of her two teenage daughters, Katrina, 17, and Ashley, 15.
Within two weeks, she'd found it, bought it and moved into it.
The four-bedroom, three-bath home in the Sanga Grove neighborhood near Walnut Grove Road in south Cordova is less than a mile from Barnett's old house. It was a foreclosure, which was exactly what she'd hoped to find.
"I wanted to get out of the other house, find a foreclosure and make up the costs of the move, the Realtor fees and the closing costs with my equity in the new house," she said. "So that worked out."
Barnett purchased the 2,900-square-foot home in late March for $180,000.
Despite being owned by the bank, the house was in great shape. Apart from replacing one ceiling fan, buying a refrigerator and dishwasher, and repainting the interior to suit her family's tastes, Barnett had little to do to make the house move-in ready. And it had all the features she'd been seeking and more.
"It's a little bigger and laid out nicer than my old house," she said. "Plus it has hardwood floors, and I don't have to remodel the kitchen."
The house has other features Barnett and her daughters love, like a covered patio, high ceilings and an upstairs bonus space that now serves as a TV room and hangout spot for Katrina, Ashley and their friends.
But one of the best things about the house in Barnett's book is the way it perfectly accommodates her cleaning business. She's furnished an extra downstairs bedroom as a home office; in the old house, she ran the business from a makeshift office in the kitchen.
"And I like the oversized garage," she said. "There's a double mop sink out there and a lot of storage space. The garage was perfect for my business."
The home's entry hall opens to a formal dining room set off by a square column painted the same warm gold as the rest of the downstairs living area.
Beyond the entry, the living room features a large fireplace with a tile hearth that's flanked by built-in bookshelves and cabinetry. Above the mantel, an entertainment niche is enclosed by tall cabinet doors. Barnett was able to use her existing furniture in the space, a dark brown leather sofa and loveseat and wood-and-iron tables.
The room flows into the kitchen and breakfast room, which contains a new round, glass-topped table and four upholstered chairs.
The kitchen features dark cabinetry, granite-look laminate countertops and stainless steel appliances.
"I love the cabinetry in the kitchen," Barnett said. "I like that I don't have to remodel the kitchen like I would have if I'd stayed in the old house."
Beyond the kitchen, the downstairs master suite contains a king-size bed with a bench at its foot and taupe-painted wood furniture. Its soft gold walls are set off by bedding in shades of cream, green, blue and brown. The attached bath has deep green walls, ceramic tile floors, two closets, a whirlpool tub and a separate shower with a bench.
The girls' rooms are separated from the master suite, allowing privacy for Barnett and both daughters.
Katrina's citrus green room is at the end of a secluded upstairs hallway, beyond an aqua-walled TV room furnished with a comfortable chenille section and two contemporary slipper chairs.
"I like my room because it's up away from everything and I have my own little space," she said. "I just like not having everyone coming in and out all the time. It's like a little efficiency."
She also likes the fact that the room looks out over the landscaped backyard.
"We back up to the woods, and so at night I can leave my window open and I can see the moon," she said.
Ashley's room is situated off an aqua-painted downstairs hallway that's lined with family photos and artwork -- Barnett and both girls are accomplished artists. Her favorite thing about her room is the color she picked for its walls: a soft, vibrant purple.
"And I like my room because even though it's not on a different floor, it's still away from everything, off to itself," she said.
One of Barnett's favorite places in the new house is not actually inside the house. On the covered back patio, she's created an outdoor room complete with a rug, ceiling fan, seating arrangement and view to the lush foliage that surrounds it.
"I've got everything I want here," she said. "Everything I was looking for, I found it in this house, and more."
Source: The Commercial Appeal
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