Ken Huntsman and his wife recently moved into a church parsonage measuring about 1,600 square feet. That is smaller than the master suite of the house they left behind: a roughly 13-acre Washington, D.C.-area estate that is going on the market for $7.495 million.
Mr. Huntsman, one of the original software engineers at AOL, said when he spent roughly $20 million building the Clifton, Va. property about 15 years ago, he knew he was unlikely to recoup the investment. “In all the books they say you will never get the money out of a custom home,” he said.
About 30 miles from Washington, the Clifton property includes a roughly 12,000-square-foot house and a guesthouse, according to listing agent Jeff Wilson at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. On the lower level there is a gym, sauna and a 20-seat movie theater.
About 30 miles from Washington, D.C., the Clifton, Va. property includes a roughly 12,000-square-foot house and a guesthouse.
PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHANThe grounds include a swimming pool and pool house; an outdoor multi-sport court for tennis, volleyball and basketball; and a horse stable with four stalls and an outdoor riding ring. In a corner of the wooded estate is a screened-in pavilion with a stone fireplace. The property is being sold with furniture included because most of the pieces were custom-made for the space and wouldn’t “look right in a regular-sized home,” Mr. Huntsman said.
Now retired from AOL, Mr. Huntsman, 63, and his wife Marci, a pastor, moved out of the house when she was assigned to a church in Southern Virginia. “It’s been quite a change, but we’re enjoying it,” Mr. Huntsman said. The couple plan to eventually relocate to another property they own in Colorado.
Write to Candace Taylor at Candace.Taylor@wsj.com