The Silver Tsunami- The Voyage Senior Living Podcast

Stephanie Lawrence with Realty 618 joins host Melise Oakley with a conversation that more families need to be having—the Silver Tsunami.

By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65. That shift is already happening, and it’s changing everything—from housing to healthcare to how we plan for the future.

But this isn’t just about getting older…It’s about being prepared.

At Voyage Senior Living, we see every day how important it is to plan ahead—not just for care, but for the life transitions that come with it.

Because these conversations… these decisions…these are the moments that matter.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Moments That Matter is brought to you by Binkley Ross Family of Funeral Homes and First Southern Bank.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Welcome to the Voyage Senior Living Moments That Matter Podcast. I'm your host, Malise Oakley. Today I'm joined by Stephanie Lawrence with Reality618. And we're starting with a conversation that more families need to be having. The silver tsunami. By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65. That shift is already happening. It's changing everything from housing to health care to how to plan for the future. But this isn't about getting older. It's about being prepared. Because these are the conversations, these are the decisions, these are the moments that matter. Let's get into it. Stephanie, very nice to have you today. Thank you for having me today, Melise. And I have we've been dear friends for some time and we've had a lot of conversations. We have. And one of the ones that I really kind of think about more is we talk about the silver tsunami and planning ahead and selling with purpose.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

So you're a real estate agent.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

I am a licensed real estate agent, yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

And you are with Real Realty 618.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Realty 618, yes. And I have my husband is also a a licensed real estate agent as well. We do it together. That's yeah, he's a jack of all trades and he knows a lot. Yes, he's a master at most of them, yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

But we don't want to say that out loud, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:45

We don't. Well, we do, but we do. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

What do you do at Realty 618?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

So as a real estate agent, you know, we look at properties uh and we typically do most residential. Um so we're going into folks' homes. Uh they contact us to come in. Where do we start, Stephanie? What do we do? How do I get my house on the market to sell? You know, what's gonna make it look its best? So we can get the most value out of their home. That's essentially everyone's goal. And it's their biggest investment.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Typically, yes, it is. And not only that, but it's also the most emotional. It can be, yes. And that's where we you get into the weeds and the trenches with individuals. You know, with the silver tsunami that's coming, this is going to be a huge shift. And you have already seen this. Talk about a little bit of the silver tsunami and some of your clients.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Well, the silver tsunami, you actually called me about that one day and we talked about that. So I had to do a little bit of research. So that's a phrase that's kind of coined for our parents' generation, baby boomers, right? They're kind of shifting into retirement age. And with that, they may have lived in homes that they bought when they got married, raised their kids, uh, had you know, grandbabies, and now the home may not serve them. And what does that mean? That means maybe it was a two-level, three-level home on a couple acres. They don't need that anymore. Uh, just need a one-level, one acre, if not less, in a subdivision. Um low maintenance. Yes, low maintenance, maybe less taxes, you know. There's so many different variables that go into play when you're making those kinds of shifts. And you have to think about all of those.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

That's kind of what we have been through. Like I know I'm personally have gone through this. My mother and father um had a house for 42 years. Right. And we were able to they were downsizing, and then my dad has passed since then. So, what kind of advice can you give people when you are in this state?

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Well, I think it's imperative first to have the conversation with the homeowner. Okay, there's your first thing because they may not, they may not be ready, but the extended family, the kids can see things and see what's happening. And we need to start that conversation of okay. Planting the seeds. Yes, exactly. So having those conversations with the homeowner um to see where they're at. Because it may take a year, a year and a half to get through some of the things that they would need to get through, right? An elephant. It's one bite at a time. Correct, yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

So, and that's the thing, it's overwhelming. Like, I just get so overwhelmed thinking about all the things. Um, because like like I said, so not only that, but like I want, I'm just in my late 40s and I want to downsize. And so my mother and father-in-law want to buy our house. And so, like, the it's like a Tetris almost, like you're you're putting your places and planning versus crisis. Yes. And I see that a lot, and you also do too. So, what would be the first step that you think in? I know we talked about, you know, talking to the home buyer, but then what else do you think could be another step for planning this transition?

SPEAKER_01 5:21

This is my opinion. I think one of the first steps is getting your affairs in order. And what I mean by that is okay, who's in title on the home? Yeah, that's a whole nother thing. Uh, who's on title in the home and things like that? Do they have a will? Sort of a planning for your estate. And you can contact, they we have some really great estate attorneys in this area. And so if you're resources, so no resources. No resources. So I would kind of make sure all that's in in order. The house is in order legally. Yes, because you and I have had this conversation. You're always on me about getting a will, and that's a goal. Because I don't think about that. I'm in my 40s, but you know, now we have children and they're we're getting older, they're getting older. So we really do need to kind of plan and have a plan in case something were to happen. How do we go forward? How are we gonna go forward and where's our investment going to? How is that gonna be dispersed, right? So that's kind of the first thing I would kind of get in motion, having that conversation and getting those things in order. The second I would suggest is call a real estate agent. Call if, you know, ask your friends. Referrals are the best ways. Um, ask a friend. If you don't know any real estate agents, call us. We'll Brian L come in. We're happy to do so. We're happy to come in, have a free consultation. We'll look, you know, at all the things, all the things of your home. And what's really great about working uh with my husband Brian is he is so good at the mechanics of a home. I mean, before he's walking in, he's looking at the foundation, the roof, the structure, the HVAC, the plumbing, the electrical. Because if you haven't maintened your home over these years, then we need to talk about that and how that affects the price of selling your home. So he walks in, that's what he's looking at. I'm already looking at the paint, the powder, and the pretty, cosmetic aesthetics of the home. Because when you first go to a home, that first 30 seconds curb appeal, curb appeal uh makes a big difference. And before I before we even go into a home, I typically do some research ahead of time. So I do a lot of research. I do do a lot of research because I have that background of it. So I want to know all the things.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

So getting the most out of your investment that goes into that. For most people, like I said, the home is the biggest investment. How do you help clients maximize that?

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Well, we just sit down and have a conversation. We walk through the home and say, okay, here's what we think, here's our suggestions. And it's just really going to depend on everybody's situation, Melise, right? Variables. Yes, variables. So some people, okay, yeah, I can I have X amount that I can put into this to maximize. And then others may not have that financial. And that's okay. We just like to look the everything over, talk to the homeowner, see if they've done any updates. Um, and what what kind of updates, because most people look for the plumbing, the electrical. Those are big ticket items, right? So if they have a good maintenance.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

But someone like me, I don't know anything about that. Right. And so that's what I love about you, the team that you you and Brian bring to the table because you have those resources and you understand and you're looking at different layers of the house.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Yeah, and resources. That's such a good thing to touch on because most agents have tons of resources that we can call where the typical homeowner may not have nowhere even to start.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

So we can help suggest, guide all of our resources out to you and walk through that because it gets daunting, just and you have your emotions tied to that. So not only are you walking through that and you realize, okay, this is a transition change, and I've got to do all this stuff, and then I've got to get all my stuff out. And like what? So, what should someone do now to prepare their home for the future?

SPEAKER_01 9:25

So I would contact your local real estate agent, uh, have them come in. It's free. We just come in and we talk about everything, and you know, we go back and we make what's called a CMA. Okay, it's a market analysis. What do we think your home's going to be worth right now in this market? Okay, because markets shift. Sometimes it's a seller's market, sometimes it's a buyer's market. So um, it's just gonna depend on hey, this is what we think we can get with your home, you know, it as is where it stands. But if you do XYZ, we think we can get this.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

You put $10,000 in and it may turn around to 40. People are so emotionally tied to these individual houses. And like you said, they've brought their their child home from the hospital.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

They have Easters, Christmases, memories in high school.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

And you're leaving it.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

How do you soften that? So last year we had this client that we worked with, and the children didn't live near the parent. Their home they bought 40-something years ago. Her and her husband bought it 40-something years ago, planted in the community, right? Their lives were in the community, had their children, raised their children. Children moved out of the home. It was just their parents still left. Spouse passed away. Several stories, too. Oh, it had three levels to this home. It was a beautiful home. So we went in there and we were already look, I was already looking for houses, one level for this person, because transitioning could mean one level home. It could mean assisted living, it could mean independent living, like they have at the voyage, which I think is fantastic. What a great transitional um thing to have, you know. So they were trying to plan ahead and plant that seed for their mom. And that was it, it was emotional. It was emotional. So uh she didn't want to leave a change. She was very comfortable in her home, right? But it didn't serve her. It didn't. There's maintenance. You have to pay somebody to mow the yard, um, the upkeep of everything. It's expensive. That's where we just came in and we actually got her a home. And and in this particular instance, we were able to get her into that home first. And Brian and I helped facilitate getting things prepared in the bathroom, handrails. We had a little fence made out back, and because it was in the city limits, again, some people don't realize or have the knowledge uh that you have to get permits for things like that when you build in the city. So boom, get we're on it. We had that fence built for her little dog. So when she moved into that home, there were some comfortable things. Yes, it was different, but change can be good, Melise. Absolutely. We know change can be good. So it was a comfortable transition. So then we were able to empty her home at her pace. At her pace. She was able to go through her things, you know. Do we pitch? Do we donate? Do we have an estate sale? Which estate sales are wonderful for things like that. They come in, they price it, they market it, they do it all. And that's helpful.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

This is a deal. It's already time. Would you please come back and we can talk about more about estate sales and so forth? I would love to. Okay. Thank you so much for coming today. Thank you for joining us today on the Voyage Senior Living Moments That Matter podcast. A big thank you to Stephanie Lawrence with Reality618 for sharing her insight and experience on such an important topic. If there's one thing to take with you today, it's don't wait for a crisis to start planning. At the Voyage Senior Living, we're here to walk along aside you through these conversations and transitions. Because you don't have to figure it out alone. And remember, it's not about where you're going, it's about how you get there. Because these are the moments that matter.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Moments That Matter is brought to you by Binkley Ross Family of Funeral Halls. Locally owned and operated. Binkley Ross Funeral Hall, Blue Funeral Hall, Mitchell Hughes Funeral Hall. Call 618-997-7771 or go to BinkleyRoss.com. And First Southern Bank. Bank with people you know who know and love Southern Illinois. Community banking at its best. Find us at FirstSuthernbank.net.