MULTIGENERATIONAL LIVING: Making Room for Each Other
It often begins with a conversation around the kitchen table.
“Mom (or Dad), what if you came to live with us?”
Sometimes the answer is an immediate no. Sometimes there’s a long pause. And sometimes everyone realizes they’ve quietly been thinking the same thing for months.
The stairs have become a little harder. The house feels a little bigger. Winter brings another season of worrying about snow and ice. The children are checking in more often, while Mom or Dad keeps insisting, “I’m fine.”
And they probably are.
But somewhere along the way, both generations have started wondering what the next few years might look like.
For some families, the answer is multigenerational living.
There’s something wonderfully full-circle about it. The parents who once made room for children are now being offered a place in their children’s homes.
But making room for each other means more than clearing out a bedroom.
It means thinking about independence and privacy. A main-floor bedroom and bathroom. A separate entrance. Perhaps a small kitchen or private sitting room. Maybe the existing home can be renovated to include an In-law Suite. Or perhaps the better answer is selling and finding a new home that works for everyone.
And then there are the questions that have nothing to do with real estate:
Who cooks?
Who picks up the kids?
Who gets the driveway?
When is it time for a parent to stop driving? and,
Exactly how much togetherness is the right amount of togetherness?
These conversations can be complicated. They’re also filled with love.
As realtors, Lisa Marie, Linda, and Lori often meet families when they’re ready to buy or sell. But with a transition like this, we think it’s helpful to start the discussion much earlier.
We can help determine:
Whether renovating makes sense
What your family home is worth
If another type of home would be better suited: individually or together; and
Options that could achieve the right balance of togetherness and independence.
Sometimes the answer will involve selling.
Sometimes it won’t.
You don’t need to know the answer before you call us.
Oftentimes helping your family figure out what “home” could look like next is exactly where our job begins.
