Questions to Ask When Choosing a REALTOR® Who Specializes in Helping Seniors

Choosing a REALTOR® when an older adult is considering selling a longtime home can be very different from choosing someone for a typical real estate transaction.

The decision may involve downsizing, health or safety concerns, decades of belongings, home repairs, adult children who live out of town, a move to senior living, or simply the difficult question of whether moving is the right decision at all.

Before choosing a REALTOR®, I encourage seniors and their families to ask questions. These are some of the questions I believe are especially important.

Qualifications & Experience

1. What specialized training, education, or experience do you have working with older adults and their families?

I have been a licensed real estate professional since 1995 and have extensive experience helping older adults and their families through housing transitions.

But my understanding of these situations doesn't come only from real estate.

My wife and I were caregivers for our parents for many years. We experienced firsthand many of the decisions families face as parents grow older, including modifying a home for safety, bringing caregivers into the home, considering senior living options, dealing with increasing care needs, and eventually handling the home and estate.

Those experiences have had a major influence on how I work with older adults and their families today.

2. How much experience do you have helping seniors and their adult children?

I have helped many seniors and adult children through situations involving downsizing, relocation, aging-in-place decisions, homes needing repairs or cleanout, and adult children managing a parent's property from outside Louisville.

Every situation is different. That's why I begin by understanding what is happening rather than assuming that selling the home is automatically the right answer.

3. Can you provide testimonials or references from senior clients and their families?

Yes.

I believe one of the best ways to evaluate any REALTOR® is to hear from people who have actually worked with that person. I have testimonials from clients describing their experiences working with me and the assistance I provided.

4. Are you an experienced, full-time real estate professional who knows our local market?

Yes. I have worked in real estate since 1995 and serve Louisville and the surrounding counties, including Oldham County, Shelby County, Spencer County, and Bullitt County.

I understand that neighborhoods and housing markets can differ considerably throughout our area. Those differences matter when determining value, preparing a property for sale, and developing a marketing strategy.

Aging in Place vs. Moving

5. Will you automatically recommend that I sell my home?

No.

One of the most important principles of my work is that I don't tell someone they should move, and I don't tell them they should stay.

Sometimes remaining at home with the right modifications and support is a very reasonable choice. In other situations, downsizing or moving to a senior living community may make more sense.

My role is to help you understand your choices, identify the practical issues involved, and make an informed decision based on your circumstances.

If you ultimately decide that staying in your home is the best choice, I consider that a successful outcome too.

6. Do you understand aging in place, or do you primarily focus on selling homes?

I understand both.

Through my own family's caregiving experience, I have dealt personally with many aging-in-place issues, including grab bars, non-slip flooring, walk-in showers, stairlifts, accessibility concerns, in-home caregivers, and changing care needs.

I also wrote The Aging-In-Place Dilemma Workbook: Should I Stay or Move? to help older adults and their families systematically evaluate this decision.

Selling the house is one possible solution. The first question should be whether moving is actually the right solution.

7. Can you help us evaluate whether staying or moving makes more sense?

Yes.

I believe this decision should be approached systematically rather than emotionally or under unnecessary pressure.

We can look at the current home, safety and accessibility, maintenance, available support, financial considerations, lifestyle, transportation, social needs, and possible housing alternatives.

The objective isn't for me to make the decision for you. It is to help you identify the issues that matter so you and your family can make a better-informed decision.

Downsizing & Transition Support

8. How will you help if the home contains decades of belongings?

You don't have to figure everything out at once.

A longtime home may contain decades of possessions and may also require cleaning, repairs, donations, an estate sale, movers, or other services before it can be sold.

I help families identify what actually needs to happen and put those tasks into a practical order.

The goal is to turn what may initially feel like one enormous project into a series of manageable steps.

9. Can you connect us with people who can help with sorting, packing, moving, estate sales, donations, and cleanouts?

Yes.

A senior transition may require movers, organizers, estate-sale professionals, cleanout services, contractors, donation resources, and other specialists.

I don't pretend to personally perform every one of those services. My role is to help identify what is needed and, when appropriate, help connect you with resources that can perform the work.

10. Will we have to renovate or repair the house before selling it?

Not necessarily.

Before recommending improvements, I want to understand what the house is worth in its present condition, what particular improvements might realistically add to its value or marketability, and what those improvements will cost.

Sometimes making repairs makes financial sense. Sometimes selling the property as-is is the better choice.

I don't believe an older homeowner should automatically spend thousands of dollars preparing a house for sale simply because that is conventional advice.

We look at the numbers and circumstances first.

11. What if the home needs extensive repairs or is in poor condition?

That does not automatically prevent it from being sold.

I work with properties in many different conditions. The important questions are how the property's condition affects its value and marketability, what repairs are worthwhile, and what type of buyer is most likely to purchase it.

There are buyers for properties that need considerable work when those properties are priced and marketed appropriately.

Communication & Pace

12. How do you adapt your communication and the process to an older client's needs?

I try to explain things clearly, avoid unnecessary jargon, and give people enough information and time to make informed decisions.

Some clients want considerable detail. Others prefer the essential information. Some are comfortable with email and text, while others prefer telephone calls or face-to-face conversations.

I adjust to the person rather than expecting the person to adjust to me.

13. Will we work directly with you?

Yes.

I believe direct communication is particularly important when a senior and family are dealing with a major housing transition.

I want to understand what is happening, what concerns you, and what you are trying to accomplish, and I remain personally involved throughout the process.

14. How do you minimize the disruption and stress of preparing and showing the home?

We look for ways to accomplish what is necessary without making the process harder than it needs to be.

That can include carefully planning preparation, avoiding unnecessary work, coordinating appointments, and considering the senior's energy, privacy, schedule, and daily routine when arranging access to the home.

A successful sale matters, but so does how we get there.

15. How do you work when several adult children or other family members are involved?

I try to establish early who has legal decision-making authority, who should receive information, and how the family wants communication handled.

Families don't always agree about what should happen. One person may want Mom or Dad to remain at home, while another may believe it is time to move.

My job isn't to take sides in a family disagreement. My role is to provide accurate real estate information, explain the available options, and help the appropriate decision-makers understand the practical consequences of those options.

Long-Distance Adult Children

16. Can you help if I live outside Louisville and am trying to manage my parent's home?

Yes. I have helped many long-distance adult children manage a parent's home from another city or state.

Depending on what is needed, I can meet contractors and service providers at the property, help coordinate repairs and other work, check on the property, provide frequent updates and progress photographs, and handle many of the local real estate-related details that might otherwise require you to travel to Louisville.

I recognize that adult children may be balancing their parent's needs with careers, children, travel, and their own responsibilities.

My goal is to reduce that burden wherever I reasonably can.

17. What if I can't travel to Louisville for the closing?

In many situations, you don't have to.

If an owner or someone acting under a power of attorney cannot conveniently come to Louisville for closing, I can work with the title company or closing attorney to determine what remote-closing arrangements are available.

When appropriate, that may include having a mobile notary come to your location and returning the properly executed original documents to the closing agent.

That can eliminate another trip and another item on an already long list of responsibilities.

Financial & Professional Guidance

18. How will you explain the home's value and our selling options without pressuring us?

I explain how I arrived at my opinion of value, what comparable properties tell us, how the condition of the home affects its marketability, and what different selling strategies may mean financially.

I want you to understand the reasoning behind my recommendations rather than simply being told what to do.

And I don't believe every consultation has to result in a listing.

19. Can you work with our attorney, financial advisor, senior living professional, or other advisors?

Yes.

Senior transitions frequently involve issues outside a REALTOR®'s area of expertise. With your permission, I am comfortable working as part of a larger team that may include an elder law or estate attorney, financial professional, senior living advisor, care professional, or other specialist.

I don't try to provide legal, financial, tax, or healthcare advice. When an issue requires expertise outside my role, I believe in getting the appropriate professional involved.

20. Do you have a network of other professionals who can help us?

Yes.

Over time, I have developed relationships with professionals and organizations that can assist with different parts of a senior transition.

Depending upon the circumstances, that might include movers, organizers, estate-sale professionals, contractors, senior living professionals, home-care resources, attorneys, financial professionals, and other specialists.

No REALTOR® should pretend to be an expert in all of these areas. Part of providing good service is recognizing when another professional's expertise is needed.

Service Beyond the Real Estate Transaction

21. Are you willing to do things that aren't normally considered a REALTOR®'s job?

Within reasonable and appropriate boundaries, yes.

Senior moves frequently involve much more than marketing a property and negotiating a contract.

I have met contractors and service providers, checked on properties, provided progress photographs, communicated with distant family members, and helped coordinate many of the practical details that arise during a transition.

Some of these things go beyond what people ordinarily expect from their REALTOR®.

I do them because I understand how complicated these situations can become and how much responsibility may already be falling on the senior or adult child.

22. What support do you provide after we accept an offer?

My involvement doesn't end when we have a signed contract.

There are still inspections, appraisal, financing, possible repairs, title and closing issues, moving arrangements, and numerous deadlines to manage.

I continue helping coordinate the real estate portion of the transition through closing and keep you informed about what is happening and what comes next.

23. What happens if we're moving to a senior living community?

Selling the home is only one part of that transition.

When appropriate, I can coordinate with the senior living community and other professionals involved in the move so that the timing of the home sale and the move work together as smoothly as reasonably possible.

My role remains the real estate portion of the transition, but I recognize that the real estate transaction doesn't exist in isolation.

Understanding the Senior and the Family

24. Do you really understand what caregivers and adult children may be going through?

I have experienced caregiving personally.

My mother-in-law lived with us for many years, and later my parents moved into our home as their needs increased. We dealt with home modifications, professional caregivers, increasing care needs, senior living decisions, skilled nursing care, hospice, family concerns, and eventually the issues that follow the death of a parent.

I don't assume that my family's experience is identical to yours. Every situation is different.

But I do understand that there is often much more happening in a family's life than simply selling a house.

25. Why did you choose to focus part of your real estate practice on helping seniors?

Because this work became personal long before it became part of my real estate practice.

My wife and I spent many years helping our parents as their needs changed. I learned how complicated these decisions can become and how much responsibility can fall on a spouse or adult child.

Older adults deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and families deserve someone who understands that selling the house may be only one piece of a much larger transition.

I consider helping seniors and their families through these situations part of my calling.

The First Conversation

26. What should we expect when we first meet with you?

Primarily, a conversation.

I want to understand what is happening, what concerns you, what condition the home is in, what your timeline looks like, who is involved in the decision, and what you hope to accomplish.

You don't have to decide during that meeting that you're selling your house.

Sometimes the most useful outcome of our first conversation is simply having a clearer understanding of your options and knowing what the next step should be.

One Final Question I Believe Every Senior and Family Should Ask

27. If selling this house turns out not to be the best decision for us, will you tell us?

Yes.

My job isn't to convince every person I meet to sell a house.

My job is to help you make a well-informed housing decision.

If staying in your current home, with appropriate support or modifications, is the best solution for you, that is a perfectly valid outcome.

And if you decide that selling and moving is the right choice, I can provide the real estate knowledge, experience, and hands-on assistance needed to help you through that transition from beginning to end.