Julia watched the sunset from her front porch at 694 S. Oakland Avenue. It would be her last sunset there after 38 years. She shared with me the story of why they decided to sell and begin a new chapter in their lives.

“I think I shouldn’t give the real reason,” Julia smiled, “which was the 113-degree day when our air conditioning didn’t work, and I said, ‘That’s it, we’re leaving!’ My husband, Jim, and I had been contemplating selling for a while. He taught philosophy at Caltech for 27 years before taking a position at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. We’d been maintaining two residences for over a decade, which was a lot of work.”

“We love this neighborhood, and our friends here are irreplaceable. But when I experienced that heat wave, I called Jim and said, ‘It’s time to sell.’ We talked to Eva just a week after that. I’d been impressed with the friendly, low-key tone of her newsletters, and we’d met her a couple of years ago when we first thought about selling. She was very positive and straightforward. I thought, here’s a person who is a straight talker. I liked her instantly.”

“It was totally exhausting.”

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“Our timeline to sell was tight. We wanted to take advantage of the capital gains deduction, which requires living in your house for two years out of the past five. We were coming to the end of that fifth year. Jim was in Pittsburgh, still very much involved in his work, so I was emptying our house of almost 40 years of accumulation pretty much by myself.”

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“It was totally exhausting. We didn’t keep any ‘junk’ so everything we had was meaningful to us. And with our downsizing into an apartment, I had to sort through it all and make difficult decisions about what to keep.”

“On top of that, I have a bad knee and couldn’t possibly clear out the basement and art supply closet myself. Eva immediately suggested, ‘Oh, we can get someone to do that for you.’ And it was done in a matter of hours.”

“It was as if they could read my thoughts.”

“Thank heavens for Eva’s team. It was as if they could read my thoughts. The second I started to feel stressed about something, someone would be there to offer support. They helped me clear out spaces, took things to donation centers, and even helped haul furniture to Habitat for Humanity.”

“Sometimes, when I was feeling the most stressed, a box of cookies or tea would appear. When we completed the sale, Eva sent over Jim’s favorite wine and a bottle of Jameson for me! It was that kind of care and attention to detail that made the experience with Eva so amazing.”

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“The actual handling of the sale was surprisingly easy. I expected that waiting for the offers would be stressful, but to the contrary, they came in rather quickly and Eva walked us through each one. We were so pleased with the final sale and really like the buyers; Jim and I can leave knowing that our home is in great hands. We have no doubt that we chose the right realtor, and no doubt that we sold at the right time and at the right price.”

“This home meant so much to us. I was a potter and we built a professional studio in the garage where I’ve shaped and fired more than 1000 pieces of pottery over my career. It’s going to be hard to leave. I’ll miss waking up to the sound of birds. I’ll miss our neighbors terribly. I’ll miss California sunsets and sitting on our front porch. We used to have wonderful parties in our backyard, and that was one of the things I loved most about being in this house.”

“But it will be nice to have just one property and a simpler life. Jim and I are originally from the Upper Midwest, so we both love the change in climate Pittsburgh offers. We’re just a block from the university, living in a co-op apartment with really interesting people. I’m excited about getting to focus on photography and new friendships. And sad as it is to leave Pasadena, we are entering a new era in our lives and it’s one that Jim and I are very excited for.”

Working with Julia and Jim has been a true joy. I’ve loved seeing their thoughtful approach to retirement. While Pasadena is losing a wonderful family, I’m grateful to have played a role in helping them begin their new chapter with confidence and peace of mind. I hope you’ll join me in wishing them all the best in Pittsburgh!