‘Lawyers told the family there was no recourse'
Initially, the family wanted to fight to keep their homes. They spoke with several lawyers, who all told them they would lose the fight. This is likely due to eminent domain laws, which allow the state government to take property for public use—in Sturgon's case, for a retention pond. Now, the family is coming to terms with leaving.
"I’m going to miss it," Sturgon said. "I look out here. I look at our neighbors. That’s the hard part."
Moving is never easy, but it's even more challenging when you have no choice and realize your home won't be welcoming a new family.
"When you sell a house, you clean it really good for the next person, and I’m purposely destroying the house. It’s pretty different," Sturgon said. "I hope nobody has to go through this because it’s not a comfortable feeling at all."
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Read More‘The family is being forced out of Colorado by high home prices’
Sturgon said the town repurchased the homes for a reasonable price, but it's still not enough for them to stay in Colorado. Rebuying another home in the city is out of their price range, where the median home price is $514,200.
Instead, the family has decided to relocate to Georgia, where the median home price is lower and they can be closer to family. As Sturgon sells off her home piece by piece, she hopes no one else will have to experience the pain of tearing down their forever home to protect others. The lesson here is a difficult one: without careful oversight and accountability, even your dream home can be taken away.
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