b'A Visit to the Suburbs Results in a Maplewood Dream HomeWorking with Bonnie Ramsey and Kelly Lombardi I N G HBY ELLEN DONKER D ON MIF EM attSmithwantedtothen she was like, Yeah, we have this house. We movetothesuburbs.bought this house.ThinkingbacktohisEverything moved quickly from that point for-childhoodoutsideofward. Matt was working in Vancouver when it was Johannesburg,Southtimefortheinspection.Katiesays,Bonniewas Africa,hesays,Ihavethere with me for the whole inspection the whole fond memories of ridingentire day, and my daughter fell in love with her. my bike after school and kind of just living a bit of aAt the closing in May when Matt was traveling free-range existence.again, Katie says both agents were there checking Thats what he wanted for his two kids. His wife,[that] the oven is working and the water is coming Katie, wasnt ready. But then last summer the familyout of the spout, and the toilets are flushing, and visited Katies aunt.doing all that work to make sure that the house is in We would sit on the back deck of this house inthe contractually agreed upon state. They did a lot of Rhode Island with the newspaper. The kids would goThe Smith family found their dream home. hand holding with us too.and make a hideout in the bushes and Georgia (theirMatt didnt see the house until moving day. Look-daughter) would just be crawling around doing herlight,andtheresthehighceilingsandthewooding back to the many ways he and Katie depended own thing, Matt says. We wouldnt have to come upfloors, she says. The block is really sweet and pret- on Tandem, he says, They had such good insight on with activities for them. Thats something we wouldty. She felt it was the right house for their family. things that are important and things that may need to have to do a lot in our apartment in Brooklyn. AfterKnowing she had to submit an offer quickly, shebe looked at in the next five years. I think also one of the trip in Rhode Island, we realized if you find thecalled Matt. He was in the mountains of Patagoniathe great things about working with them is that they right space, the space does a lot of the work for you.filming a commercial for Mountain Dew. He said,have such a wide network of folks that they work with That experience changed Katies mind. So thatsPut in the best offer you think we can. With nofor specific things. The couple still calls the Tandem what ultimately it took, she says. Spending a niceexperience buying a house, they looked to Ramseyoffice for recommendations even though they closed weekend in the suburbs and dreading going back toand Lombardi for advice. They definitely gave uson the house months ago.New York City to open my eyes to the wonders oftheir best suggestions, Katie says. Now that the Smiths have lived in the house for living outside of the city. When Katie got a call from Ramsey and Lombar- a season, Katie reflects on her home. I dont know The couple needed to zero in on an area, so Katiedi telling her they had gotten the house, she says, Ihow to describe it, other than I walked in and I talked to a mom from her sons preschool who waswas like, Youre lying. Dont play with me. Theyrecould see myself living here, and I could see my kids movingtoMaplewood.Katieremembershersay- like, No, you got the house. So it was definitely arunningdownthe ing,Its a beautiful little town. Its really close to thebig surprisebut I mean, a great surprise, becausehallwayandcoming city, great community. A lot of people from Brooklynwe love our house. downthestairs.Its move there.She recommended they connect withMatt,whokind of like an Amer-Bonnie Ramsey and Kelly Lombardi of Tandem Realwas at the air- icanahomebecause Estate Group.port in Buenosits got the brick, its In November 2024, the Smiths met with RamseyAireswhengotsomesidingon and Lombardi, who helped familiarize them withKatiecalled,thetop,andthen Maplewood and South Orange and showed them awasequallythere was an Ameri-few homes. Besides adequate bedrooms, a nice yardastonished.canflagoutfront. and a quiet street were highest on the Smiths list. Hesays,IItjustlookedvery Toward the end of March, Katie and her momwas like, wait,much like an Ameri-made a day of house hunting. Although Katie wasntwhat?Whatcandreamhouse. veryenthusiasticaboutthephotosofahomeondoyoumean?Anditjustfeltlike Bonnie Ramsey and Kelly Courter Avenue in Maplewood, they looked at itMatt was in Buenos Aires when heTheyaccepteda good family house.Lombardi helped the Smiths nonetheless. I remember I walked in, and theresheard their offer was accepted. ouroffer?Andfind a house in Maplewood.finding home /47'