Mary Beth: Senior Real Estate Specialist

I became a realtor right after I helped my parents move out of my childhood home. They had lived there for 40 years (almost to the day). They had reached a point where the house didn’t fit their needs any more. They wanted a new home with minimal maintenance. They didn’t want a condo or a townhouse or anywhere they had to share walls. They still wanted to have a yard. But they didn’t want to maintain it. I found the perfect place – a new patio home community where the HOA handles the yard work and shoveling. (In fact, I did such a good job finding them a home that I moved into the same neighborhood the next year!)

And then I spent two months helping them with the move. We prepared the old house for sale. We sorted through 40 years worth of belongings. We packed some of it. We gave some of it away. We sold a lot of it – in antique and “retro” shops on Broadway, on Craigslist, and finally at our family garage sale. (If there’s a way to sell or donate household items, I know about it now.) We made decisions and chose mortgages and I did everything I could do to make this really enormous transition easier for them.

And I enjoyed every minute of it. (Well, almost every minute!)

After that experience, I decided I’d like to have the opportunity to help other peoples’ parents the way I’d helped my own. I had learned so much, and I’d found it all so rewarding, that I wanted to do it again. (Well, okay, I wanted to do most of it again. The packing part I didn’t so much need to repeat!)

I got my real estate license six months later. And the first specialized designation I received was as a Senior Real Estate Specialist.

My dad served in Europe during World War II. My parents are part of the “Greatest Generation.” I really love working with that generation, our “seasoned citizens.” They’re straightforward. They look you in the eye. Their handshake is their word.

I have made a special effort, as a real estate agent, to learn a lot about the senior market. I know the types of housing available to them. (I’m a big fan of the patio home concept!) I know the programs available to them. And I know the unique challenges they face in transitioning from a home shared with a family to a home that fits their needs in their retirement years.

I’d like to help your parents the way I helped my own!