How Families Navigate Senior Housing, Caregiving, and Aging in Place

What happens when aging parents can no longer safely stay in their current home?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with Colorado Springs Realtor and Seniors Real Estate Specialist Wanda Wood about the growing challenges families face when navigating caregiving, senior housing transitions, aging in place, and long-term planning.

Wanda shares real-world insight from working directly with older adults and families trying to balance independence, safety, finances, and quality of life during major life transitions.

From right-sizing instead of downsizing to understanding caregiving dynamics, social isolation, and reverse mortgage options, this episode explores the deeply personal side of housing decisions as people age.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

• Why “right-sizing” may be a better approach than downsizing
 • How adult children often become part of housing decisions
 • Why social isolation becomes a major issue as we age
 • How caregiving impacts housing and financial planning
 • What real estate professionals need to understand about senior transitions
 • Why dignity and independence matter during housing conversations
 • How reverse mortgages for purchase are being used today
 • Why community resources and advocacy matter for older adults
 • How Wanda combines aging advocacy and real estate expertise
 • What families should consider before making housing transitions

Guest: Wanda Wood

Wanda Wood is a highly regarded real estate professional in Colorado, recognized for her strategic insight, client-first approach, and deep understanding of the market. With specialized designations including SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist), she is particularly known for guiding seniors through real estate transitions with expertise and compassion.

Wanda’s hands-on style, strong referral network, and commitment to advocacy have positioned her as a trusted resource for older adults, caregivers, and families navigating complex housing decisions. In addition to real estate, she is actively involved in aging advocacy initiatives, caregiving conversations, and community leadership in Colorado Springs.

Connect with Wanda Wood

Instagram
 @welcomehomewithwanda

Facebook
 Wanda Wood Facebook

LinkedIn
 Wanda Wood LinkedIn

This episode is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

Transcript

0:01

And a welcome to the episode of Real Estate Connections podcast where relationships open doors and today's guest is a fantastic person from Colorado Springs, Colorado. All of that 8,000 feet or wherever they live at. It's Wanda Wood. And you are going to be so amazed by Wanda Wood because I'm so amazed by Wanda Wood. There's a realtor in that area, serves what kind of pikes peak the mountain area. And I got to know her just because she reached out to me, which is a classic example of as people reach out to you, put them in your environment and see if it fits. So Wanda, as we talked, each time we connected, there was more and more we have in common. But what we do have in common in a big way is our concern about housing as we get older. The choices that we make in our middle years that do impact our later years and our later decisions and also those issues that kind of happened to us, an aging parent, a dependent child, whatever it could be. So Wanda will hear from today and get her perspective on things. And one other area that really struck me about Wanda is Colorado can be a very expensive real estate market. And especially in the mountains where you see these amazing homes with amazing vistas. Wanda's price point is low middle. As a realtor speaking, I asked her about that and I'll ask her on the recording today. Wanda, your price point is not like one million something. And let's see what she has to say. Welcome Wanda Wood, realtor from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Welcome to Real Estate Connections podcast, where relationships open doors. I'm Mary Foerster and housing is a universal need. We are often thinking about our existing housing, our future housing that possibly of family members. This is where you're going to hear the issues and the people who are working the issues every day. Please hit subscribe and like if you find this podcast helpful to you. Thank you. Well, welcome Wanda Wood to Real Estate Connections podcast. I'm so looking forward to this discussion because we have so much to talk about. Wanda is a realtor in the Colorado Springs area and I know it a little bit and she knows it a whole lot more and has been a realtor for more than nine years, I guess. And it has so many other interests that we share in common, a military background. We can talk about that, but also her interest in aging, aging populations, how we provide adequate housing and services for people as they're getting older, or what we're finding a lot about is people in their middle whose parents are now part of their world or part of their family. So Wanda, why don't we start by just telling us a little bit about what it's like to be a realtor in Colorado Springs. Well, thanks first for having me. I'm super excited to be here. This is home for me. I was a transplant via military. I was an army brat. We first got here in 1982 and then we got orders in 89 to go to Greece and Germany and then my parents retired here and I kind of stayed. So I have siblings that went other places, but I always stayed and just watching the growth and the people that do want to come here, it's obvious. I think the state would be perfect if we had a beach. That would be the only thing. You have mountains. You have these glorious mountains. Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful. So it attracts a lot of different people for different reasons. So it's home to me and I'm a little biased. I think we live in one of the best states ever. So it's really fun to help sell the state when people are looking to move here. And you have four military installations, so a ton of it. My husband went to the Air Force Academy many years ago. So I've heard about Colorado Springs and I've been to Colorado Springs and it's a magnificent area. What amazes me is not only do you have an urban area, but in a very little bit, you're up in the hills and sometimes very isolated area as well. For sure. It's kind of like our weather here. You might walk out at sunshine and we have a few inches of snow by five o'clock and then it's gone. So yeah, you can be in a different region very quickly and the layout is very different. The terrain is very different. The surroundings are very different. So it's kind of what you like. The mountains, it's here. If you like out east where there's nothing, it's here. If you want a little bit of desert-like and head south to Pueblo, it's there. And of course, more city, bigger city, Denver has grown so much. So there's a lot to offer here for everyone. Yes. The springs have really developed. Our last visit was maybe two years ago and we couldn't get over the development that had occurred there just in the city proper. It was amazing to me. Yes. So do you have a typical market? Do you have in these years as you've evolved? Tell me about your, do you have a typical client or do you serve a wide range of people? I have a wide range and I think, you know, I didn't start coming in and said I did in my mind. I said this is who I know I'm going to be working with, but it didn't work out that way. And I'm glad it didn't because I get to help, you know, a wider range of folks. Military was inevitable, I would say. My husband is retired from Fort Carson as well as my dad retired from Fort Carson as well. So military buyers came pretty easily, I would say. Prior to real estate, I worked in the Department of Corrections. And so I have a level of law enforcement who they're very loyal in different parts of the states. I started there, but I would say first time home buyers were my first start. Now later in career, I'm being seeked out for more senior housing just because of some of the work that I've done, the designation time that I've taken and things like that. So I have a wide range. It's fascinating. It's fun because I feel like I'm on everybody's movie and just kind of watching them go along their journey and watching them move and relocate for whatever reason it is. So I help everyone. And when we talked, when we talked, it was clear your message was to be of service, to really be of service to people. And what also struck me is I followed Wanda on social media for a while and her, the houses that you sell are a couple of hundred thousand dollars. So they're not terrifically expensive. It's certainly not the market that I was used to. And it's in some cases, basic housing for some people. I was so impressed, really impressed because I love that kind of housing. I love it. And as I get older, I think, okay, if something should happen financially, I'd be happy in just a little space. I don't need a big space. I don't need two acres of grass to mow. Come on over. It's that time of year. But anyway, okay. So you got a designation as a specialist in helping senior population. What does that prepare you for? Well, I think it really prepared me for some of the challenges that our older population, they find themselves in when they have to transition to different housing. Sometimes that is calculated by their timing and sometimes it's not. And some have prepared well for that and some have not. So there are different variables, depends on the client. Everyone has got a different situation. Long-term care, helping them on long-term care. Sometimes estate planning, aging in place, what that looks like, or just finding that location that's going to fit their lifestyle that they're seeking. Because I have some older clients that they're, you know, they just want to, I don't like the word downsize. I'll say that. They're looking to right size their lifestyle. And so that could mean really, you know, looking at some of these long-term or independent care facilities aren't fitting the bill for them. I have one lady who, she's very healthy. She just doesn't want the maintenance of her home. It's too big. It's now only her. But we took tours together and there's nothing that fits what she can't have a bird feeder. She can't have this. And I think that's really important to continue to have those things and to be around, you know, trails and she's very active. So we've decided maybe she's going to hang onto her house for a little bit. We looked at all kinds of things for her, but it just, nothing's going to fit what she's looking for right now. So it just kind of depends. It really does. Do you find you interact with their families, like adult children? Do you get called into kind of more times of the essence? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I actually had a client who unfortunately found herself in foreclosure because she had to private pay for care and have caregivers coming in. Adult children are kind of spread around, but I met with them first, trying to find the best avenue to get her situated long term and then trying to see if we could salvage anything from the house for the cost of her long term care. So yes, I do work with families. Oftentimes, it's the families first because they identify the need for the transition and other housing options. So I just kind of listen, but I do always include, you must include the person they're talking about because I think to having, you know, providing dignity and still allowing them to know that they still have a choice and keeping that independence and making that option. But sometimes it's hard for them to think that's where they're at. Mm hmm. Oh, I fully agree. I was talking with a caregiver recently, and you know, a lot of entrepreneurial women, business women, are now shortening their work time to care for each parent. I mean, physical and direct care. And this one woman, this fantastic lady, Natalie Kime, and she has a chat with Natalie and her mother's living in the dining room now. And and you know, and she is caring for that person. And so she talks about partnership that she is in. She's in partnership with the, in her case, it was her her parents, right? She had to go out of state, sell the home, bring the parent, you know, back to where she was in or where she lives. And that she, that concept of partnership was really ideal, I thought. Now, and I think it is sometimes easy to talk about the person rather than the person. Yeah. So you got a designation. But then the other thing we talked about was you're getting a certificate in gerontology. Yeah, that has been, age has always fascinated me. I didn't know that I would be taking the course this way, but age has always fascinated me more on the level of how can I stay looking the way I look at any age, to be honest. But once you start looking, you know, as a whole, it's it really, it is a number. It's only a number. It really is a number. And that mindset like really sets the pace, I think, for how you age and how you look at aging. So that's a huge thing. I loved this. I just finished my first half. I'll start fall here in September. But it was more of a collaborative thing, I would say. It was an untraditional class. It's not a bunch of, you know, homework and all of that quizzes and tests. But the facilitator brought in like adult protective services and elder care attorneys. And so it was more like networking to me and being able to have more resources to offer and know who to call because you do get those calls. So it feels good. And they now know you. And they know you have on a level of interest, right? And develop skills. You have certainly with each client so different each time, as you say, you learn something new and you learn how to help them really. Right. Excellent. And then I also noticed that you were active in your Council of Governments, which also warmed my heart because I used to be a legislative rep and at the state level. And so are you able to kind of integrate what you're learning in your certificate to what you're seeing in your COG and your Council of Governments? Absolutely. So ultimately, the big thing would be to kind of grow that, I think, and get more people involved with the Council of Governments and the Agency on Aging. I think I mentioned to you when I first applied for that, it was to me, I thought, volunteer opportunity. I had no idea what I was really applying for and then selected. And like I told you, if I knew, I probably would not have applied. But I'm so glad that I did. But it's more of an active approach to advocating for the issues that are like transportation, digital improvement for rural areas in our area, housing, social engagement, and caretaking. So they're kind of following a baseline for our multi-sector plan here, which is a five-year plan based on a survey that older adults took. So we have working groups that we've kind of separated. I'm on caretaking and or caregiving, I should say, social engagement. I didn't do housing because I felt like it would have put me in something that I'm familiar with in a way. But social engagement, I just enjoy. I think that's huge and it's very important as we age. I think we kind of distance ourselves and get comfortable in our little space and in places and don't engage as much. Right. And that isolating, many years ago when I was a gerontological librarian, I remember reading about isolation. But I was in my 20s, I guess my 20s, early 30s, and I didn't really have a full concept. But I think COVID gave us a real kick in terms of what isolating is all about. For sure. Yeah. And I don't think we realize how damaging it can be. It's very... It's a big issue. It really is. Big issue. I think getting a lot of national attention, I think. But how do we address it? In your own family, you connect with your mom. Here I try to stay connected to my aunts who are well in their 80s now, almost 90. But even my own age, I feel like I'm sinking in too. My world might be getting a little smaller, even though we're doing a podcast. I think it's great. I think it's awesome the work you do. Yeah. It is so much fun. It is fun. Are you finding that other realtors are also being forced to take a look at this population and do a lot of intervention and problem solving? Obviously, you're experiencing this, but are you seeing another realtors as well? Are there professionals? I can't say that I do. I can't say that I do. There are a lot of situations that are super unique. And if not handled properly, it can be harmful, I think, to the consumer. If you don't know how to guide certain people with certain things. People are not familiar. You have to be familiar with some of the Medicaid look backs. That's changed. You have to know what's going on in their world in order to aid them. I would say the designation helped quite a bit because it opens up another whole world of reverse. Most people don't know reverse mortgage lenders. If you don't work with that population, you're not working with one. Most people don't. Are you encountering the new reverse mortgages? Do you see people using them more? I see it more so for purchase. It's almost reverse for purchase. So that's for something smaller. It kind of sets them in a better bracket than worrying about having to sell right away and then having to put XYZ into the new house. I'm seeing a lot of that. How does it work? I have a house in Springs. It's worth$500,000. I really want to be in a smaller world. How does that work? How do I get a reverse mortgage for a purchase? I'm not a lender, but I would just tell you how it kind of explains to me. It's almost if you think of it as a bridge loan. The subject home must have adequate equity, whatever that number is. They can actually purchase that other home outright because usually they're purchasing something lower than what they're selling their current home for. Then they're not worried about any type of payments. I wish I could tell you all the little things in between, but I'm not a lender, but that's how it works in the grand scheme of it. You can do reverse mortgage for purchase. For me, I thought about, wow, that sounds like almost a bridge loan. Yes, it does. It sounds like a bridge loan. The idea is that when you would sell your house, you could pay off the bridge loan. Are people not doing that? Are people keeping the reverse mortgage in place? It depends, but a lot of people don't know their options. That's why it's really important because sometimes I find they spend more doing something that I think they should be doing when something else could be saving them a lot more money in the end. Yes. Several lenders have come to me and said, "I want to be on your program to talk about reverse mortgages." Well, I haven't embraced it yet that you brought this up. I haven't embraced the issue yet because I want to approach it cautiously. When I was at ARP, we would hear these really nice things. They would sound very attractive. We would have to assess what is the short-term impact, what is the longer-term impact. You're the first person realtor that has brought that up to me. I'm now more inspired to go do some more. To be honest with you, reverse mortgages had such a bad connotation for a really, really long time. I'll be honest with you, the few lenders that I did meet, I wasn't very receptive. I was upfront with them and told them why. They did a really good job of explaining how the actual program looks. I had a bunch of questions about things that I've heard about it and why I wouldn't want a client. I wouldn't put them in, but it really isn't. It's not for everyone. I will say it is not for everybody. It doesn't fit one size fits all, but it is definitely an option. If it works, it's a great option. Right. I think that caveat is really important. It's not for everybody. Really, every loan is not for everybody. The other caveat is really examine it and study it and get some more information and see if it impacts you. I love to go to trusted lenders. People I've seen interact in often very difficult, stressful situations. There are many, and you obviously have some. I've had a number of them over the years. I think the next program is going to be, I think it's called HECM, right? Home equity something. I was told HECM. The other thing that came to mind as you were talking was the concept of downsizing. I had a guest recently, Saul Skolnick from New York, Westchester County. He talked about side sizing. I don't know why it's so hard to say that, but he sells his house, his 200-year-old house in this gorgeous little town, and then he goes for another house, another residence. It might be less expensive. It might not be. Interest rates are different, obviously now as well, than many people were handling 15, 10, 15 years ago. He has coined this term side sizing. I'm attuned to it, and I like the idea. I like the idea a lot. Well, the idea is really, really, really awesome. What's the future for Wanda? Wanda, you have so many interests. You obviously are down a very strong path in the aging community. Do you see yourself doing anything differently or just kind of expanding your life? Yeah, I think right now just kind of an expansion because I didn't know what I could be doing and I'm doing it. I didn't know who those clients would be that I'd be helping and I'm helping them. So I think as I go along, I meet more people. It just comes. You collect the resources and you just... I don't know. It just happens. It just comes. So, yeah. Excellent. Well, thank you so very much for spending time with me today. I really like it. And every time we connect, it's like, "Oh, we have that in common and we have that in common." Yeah. And you're what, 2,000 miles away. Yes. But I so enjoyed getting to meet you and getting to know you. And I hope we connect again and don't hesitate, audience, to reach out to Wanda Wood. If you're in the Colorado Springs area, I'm not supposed to endorse anybody, but you can see that Wanda would be a good person to confer with and to consult with. And also is a great person to get other referrals to, such as estate planners or all lenders. Because that's what we do, right? Yeah, we're connectors. Yeah. Very good. Well, thank you again, Wanda. And I look forward to another conversation. Thank you so much. Great. Great. Thank you so much for joining us today. And I hope you found this conversation useful to you and your real estate goals. You'll find the contact information for our guests and any links they recommend you have in the show notes. And should we be able to help you identify some strong real estate professionals in your area, drop us a note at info at realestakeconnectionspodcast.com. Thanks again. And bye for now.