Big Moves Across the Street
935 S Euclid in Pasadena, ready for its next chapter.
For the last six years my brother and his family lived across the street from us at 935 S Euclid. There were plenty of things I loved about having them there, but the ones I notice missing now are mostly small: bubble time on the front steps, saying ‘hi’ on our walk to school, or shouting something across the street while one of us was pulling out the garbage cans.
Grace Chang helped my brother buy 935 in 2019, and later helped my family buy our house directly across the street. At the time, I was still working in healthcare, with no idea that I would eventually leave that career. Her friendship, the meaningful impact I watched her make in other people’s lives, and her encouragement were a big part of what inspired me to become a Realtor® and start Second Story. So when my brother and his family decided to move this year, it was the obvious choice to partner with Grace to sell the same house she had helped him buy years earlier.
With Grace Chang, my dear friend and now real estate partner.
Before we could get 935 ready to sell, though, I helped pack their belongings, coordinate the move, and unpack and organize them in their new home. I also began designing rooms to make the new house work better for their family.
935 had been beautifully renovated in 2018 and well cared for since, so most of my work was in the details that accumulate through everyday life, including several with a toddler attending a play-based, shoeless preschool. I scrubbed and refinished grout, replaced caulk, touched up chipped cabinetry, power washed, and tackled a long list of small repairs. We added fresh paint and brought in beautiful staging, and by the time we were finished, the house felt remarkably fresh again.
I knew it was a great property, but seeing it all come together made it really sing.
The living room at 935, much less fun without Hotwheels and kinetic sand.
Grace and I listed 935 at $1,650,000, hosted open houses and invited the neighborhood over for ice cream. We received seven offers, and the house sold for $1,970,000.
935 became the first project where I was able to bring together nearly everything I had imagined Second Story doing: I helped my brother’s family pack and move from one home, prepared and sold it with Grace, and then helped them unpack, organize and design the home they moved into.
What I like most about that, I think, is how naturally it happened. There wasn’t a moment when one part of the work ended and another neatly began. One day I was packing boxes, another I was scrubbing grout, another I was giving a private showing, and later I was figuring out where things belonged in a new closet. It was all part of the same move, and a reminder of just how much there is to navigate in a home transition.
