Inheriting Aunt Stefy's Place

I inherited the home of my dear aunt, Stephanie, my Dad's middle sister who I affectionately and respectfully called Aunt Stefy. To have an aunt like my Aunt Stefy was a blessing. In my younger years, the foundation of our relationship was naturally centered around my Dad's relationship with his sister. Family gatherings, birthday parties because they were born a day before each other, and every celebration Aunt Stefy was there because of her deep love for her baby brother. They were two peas in a pod. Looking after each other for decades had become their rhythm and nature.

In the 80s and 90s, my brother and I would look forward to going out to Aunt Stefy's condo. Nestled in Germantown with mid century bohemian decor, Aunt Stefy's was always a special place. Family heirlooms, fashion magazines, take out from fancy restaurants, personalized stationery, house plants were all of the things I looked forward to experiencing at Aunt Stefy's. She was "rich Auntie vibes" since way back when.

When I lost my Dad, I developed a beautiful and unique relationship with my Aunt Stefy on my own. We talked daily. In the last year, talked as Aunt and neice in an intimate way, I realized how similar our interests were and what I truly meant to her as her neice. She helped me see who and what I was becoming and from whom I came from. Her conversations that could run the gamut as a self proclaimed conversationalist helped me find the words to identify the woman I was born to be.

Her pride in knowing I bought her grandmother's home and land meant so much to me. It became a very pivotal moment in our latest journey together. We embarked on both a genealogy journey as well as spiritual one. I would use technology to search for deeds, census records, and other archives while she dug through physical family archives that she had been holding on to for decades.

What we discovered was a remarkable lineage of strength, intelligence, wealth, and pride. One day after a few hours of talking on the phone, she went into study about a challenge I was having with Big Mama's house. She called me back with a few scriptures and an assignment. "Nene, study the story of Ananthoth and Jeremiah 32:8.

It moved me so much that I added it to my website and made it the mission of my professional work and real estate career.

I would have never imagined my first real estate project would be hers and my business partner would be my baby brother after losing her.

I am proudly sharing an Inheritance project-Stefy's place here. It is an intimate documentation of inheritance, generational wealth through real estate, and a story of archiving.