Selling Our Young Victorian; a Bittersweet Time

I can’t write one more detail, describe one more project, or pick-up where I last left off without first talking about where we are today. Reliving the renovation of our Young Victorian up until this point, has been so much fun. Fun because I would be writing from my desk in my finished office and I could walk through our finished home, and I was on the other side of the renovation and left with nothing but pride and joy for the home Warren and I had created. Revisiting the renovation has been a delight and a fun reminder of our progress.

A New Season

But today, I’m not in that home that we created. Four days ago, we walked out of our lovely home for the very last time. With tear-stained faces and puffy red eyes, we said goodbye to Annabelle’s Place. It was a bittersweet day; a day filled with sadness for what we were leaving but a day in which our hopeful hearts were excited about where God would be taking us next.

Today is September 27, 2020 and it was just over 5 years ago that we found what would be our new home. She was ugly, stinky, and seriously in need of some love. We had a vision that very first day of what the house could become and last Thursday, we stood squarely in that vision that had materialized into something even better than we had ever imagined.

As we walked through the house that last time, we were overcome with emotions. We had touched every surface in that house over the past several years. Everything we looked at for the last time held memories. Memories of decisions made, sweat and tears shed over the specifics of each and every room, every detail had our hands in it. It was an incredible realization of just how great of an impact we had had on that house and ultimately the entire neighborhood. And while it was sad to say goodbye, it felt good.

We were getting ready to release Annabelle’s Place to her next owners. And from what we had been told, the next owners were in love with her and couldn’t wait to make her their home.

You’re Doing What?

When we began to share our decision about selling our house with friends and family, most would reply like this: “What, all of that work, and you’re selling it now?” We knew people would not initially understand such a decision and we’ve tried to figure out just how we got to that place ourselves. But it’s actually pretty simple. God is in control and this is what He planned for us all along.

We now believe that we were meant to bring that house back to life and transform it into something wonderful that someone else would come to love. We put so much of ourselves into the house; every last detail was executed with a plan that it would be our home for many, many years. But God’s plans will always supersede whatever plans we develop for ourselves. We’re committed to living by this concept.

But Why?

So how did we get here? How did we get to an apartment in Englewood/Parker, Colorado in just a little less than 5 years from the time we purchased our Young Victorian? In early 2020, before everything we knew as “normal” crumbled, we began to realize that God was leading us in a completely different direction.

Three years ago, we made a commitment to a totally different way of managing our finances. I shared some of that process in this post if you’d like to read more on that! While I shared our commitment to tithing in that post (which has transformed a bit too), I did talk about how life-changing the Financial Peace University course was for us, and we believe it even more today!

Merely Stewards

We firmly believe that everything we have is a gift from God. And we know we are merely stewards of those gifts and that we have a responsibility to manage those gifts in a way that ultimately pleases God.

We came to the realization earlier this year, that we were sitting on a potentially large amount of equity in our home as a result of the renovation we had completed. And we also realized that by finishing a few more projects (such as a 1,000 square foot finished basement addition), we could increase the value of the home even further.

Striving to be Debt-Free

Given our commitment to work towards a debt-free way of life, it really was a no-brainer to sell the house. God had already made a way for us to eliminate all other debt; our mortgage was our only debt left. We suddenly realized just how close we could actually be to living debt-free. We knew we could take the proceeds from the sale of the home, purchase a less expensive home and either drastically reduce our mortgage or eliminate it altogether.

We would absolutely miss living in our home and the beautiful neighborhood we were blessed to live in for over 4 years. But not having a mortgage was mind-blowing. Not only because our expenses would be next to nothing but living debt-free would mean even greater giving to charities that glorify God.

And Then EVERYTHING Changed!

When COVID hit, Warren’s business took a hit. His customers are exclusively school districts nationwide. When districts shut-down, so did requests for new work. It was a wake-up call and only further encouraged us to move forward with the sale. No new work cleared Warren’s schedule to work on the last projects we had planned for the home. It was no coincidence that we would spend quarantine working on those projects! God just making a way!

It would take many months to finish up all of the projects and we would get discouraged but I kept reminding Warren that God knew exactly who would be buying our house and exactly when they would buy it. So when it was “done”, was when it was supposed to be “done”. And when THE buyers put in an offer over asking price on day one of the showings; we knew exactly who was at work! God is so good!

The Many Aspects of a Big Decision

There were other aspects of our decision as well. I began to realize just how much the home really meant to us. We were very attached to Annabelle’s Place. And we had become more than a bit prideful in our home and all we had accomplished in the renovation. It felt like we needed to develop some humility when it came to where we called home. It was after all, just a house.

I had also begun to feel a little more isolated than I thought was healthy. By working so hard on the house for so many years, we hadn’t really taken the time to truly connect with our neighbors. We were heavily invested in our home, but not in our neighborhood. We knew that God was probably not all too pleased with that. Living in the mountains is also a bit tricky; most people move to the mountains to gain some space and disconnect to a degree. It felt like we were being called to live a different life; one more connected to those around us. And even though that freaks us two introverts out, I mean a lot, we know it’s something that needs to change in our next neighborhood!

We talked and prayed, and talked and prayed some more. And honestly, God began to make it very clear to us that it was time to move on. So that’s what we did! God made a way every step of the way in the sale of our home. Every step of the process served as further confirmation that we were on the right path!

Waiting for Next Steps

So now we’re in an apartment. Living humbly and waiting for God’s direction on our next move. We have some thoughts on where we will ultimately land but we honestly do not know where God will lead us. We’ve turned it all over to Him and His timing and it feels good!

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So I’ll finish-up on the renovation posts because I have to finish it, right? Can’t just leave it hanging. Nearly five years of our lives is buried deep in that renovation and a big part of our story. So stay tuned for more projects; many, many, more projects!

Thanks for sharing our story with us!
{Shelley}