Kare and Scott Beckett looked for a new house for their family of four in and around Atlanta. Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

When Kare and Scott Beckett met seven years ago in a Stop & Shop in Dorchester, Mass., both knew they’d found something special. Ms. Beckett, a Boston native who lived in Atlanta, was in town visiting her grandmother. “But I was also looking for a change, if I’m doing the Hallmark version of our story,” she said.

The two kept bumping into each other in the aisles, and after a brief interaction at checkout, Ms. Beckett and her friend left.

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“I thought that was the end of it,” said Mr. Beckett. “But then they were waiting for me out front.” Two months later, Ms. Beckett, 37, moved back to Boston. The couple got a place together, then eloped the following May. “When he wants something, he gets very focused,” Ms. Beckett said.

In 2021, she convinced him to move down to Atlanta, which promised better home prices and a diverse punk rock scene for Mr. Beckett, 43, a drummer who also works as a sleep technician. Ms. Beckett had attended Spelman College and fallen in love with the historic houses on the west side of Atlanta. Jim Crow-era oppression had led her grandparents to leave the South for Boston, she said, so owning property in the region would feel “absolutely special.”

But Mr. Beckett was hesitant, in part because he thought a lot of houses they saw were overvalued. “I was concerned about people flipping houses and getting all HGTV about everything,” he said.

The couple casually looked for homes over the years. When Mr. Beckett’s father died, he left some money for a down payment. Then the couple had their second child, Jadzia, now 10 months old. They weren’t always on the same page about what to look for, and cycled through a couple of real estate agents along the way. As the tension over buying a house rose, they started couple’s therapy and made a timeline for the search.

In February, the Becketts found a new agent, Christine Love from Compass, who didn’t press them to rush into an offer. “It’s not normal to establish a trusting relationship with someone you’ve never met before, and as a Realtor you have to be sensitive to that,” Ms. Love said. “We took it one day at a time.”

As they looked around the city, they tried to anchor to Brookhaven and Decatur, northeast of Atlanta, near where Mr. Beckett worked and their daughter Yemaya, now 4, attended preschool. But they also loved some of the historically Black neighborhoods on Atlanta’s west side.

With a budget of about $600,000, their ideal home was a three-bedroom, two-bath house with space for a studio, a convenient commute, and a walkable neighborhood. Ms. Beckett craved a beautiful kitchen and good floors, and Mr. Beckett wanted something move-in ready. “I wanted to come into the door every day and have it feel like home,” he said.

Among their options:

No. 1

Updated Four-Bedroom in Northlake

Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

This four-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 2,500-square-foot house from 1967 stood on a big 0.4-acre lot in Northlake, a community just east of Atlanta. The updated kitchen had new counters and appliances, and it opened up on either side so there were good sightlines to other parts of the home. The living room had original hardwood, a bay window and a fireplace. Sliding glass doors led out to the fenced backyard with a patio and a firepit area. The attached garage could be converted into a music studio. It was a convenient drive to Mr. Beckett’s work and Yemaya’s school, and the neighborhood had lots of kids. It seemed like there might be some water issues on the property, and the house was lingering on the market. The price was $655,000, with annual taxes of about $8,500.

Magnolia Classic Properties

No. 2

House With Mural in Westview

Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

This four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,076-square-foot home was in Westview, a historically Black neighborhood in southwest Atlanta with plenty of green space and walking paths. The open floor plan featured high ceilings, a forest-green fireplace in the bright living room, a great kitchen with an island, and a dining area with a dry bar. The ground-level primary suite had a walk-in closet and an en suite bath with double vanities, though the upstairs bedrooms felt a little small. The backyard had a shed that could be turned into a studio — but part of the yard, which looked sizable, was actually a separate vacant lot also for sale. One side of the house was covered in a colorful mural. The commute across town could take up to an hour. The price was $499,000, with about $7,500 in taxes.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International

No. 3

One-Story Home in Midway Woods

Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

This four-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 2,200-square-foot home from 2001 was in Midway Woods, a neighborhood in Decatur, Ga., just over the Atlanta border. The one-story brick house had an open layout, with a breakfast bar in the updated kitchen, a dining area and an extra office space or possible fourth bedroom. The primary bedroom had two walk-in closets and an en suite bath. The house needed work, but it came with a shed out back that could become a studio and a beautiful garden with a patio. The Becketts liked that young children lived on the street and that lots of people were walking around. It was a roughly eight-minute bike ride from lively Decatur Square and a decent commute to work and school. The price was $649,000, with taxes of around $6,900.

Coldwell Banker Realty

Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:

Which Would You Choose?

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Updated Four-Bedroom in Northlake

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House With Mural in Westview

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One-Story Home in Midway Woods

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Updated Four-Bedroom in Northlake

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House With Mural in Westview

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One-Story Home in Midway Woods