Real Estate Connections with Mary Foerster

Eight months ago, Mary Foerster launched Real Estate Connections with a pretty clear idea of what the show would be. She expected conversations about real estate, lending, moving, downsizing, and the practical decisions people face as they get older.

Then the guests started changing the conversation.

In this episode, Mary invites Julie DeLucca-Collins, one of the people who helped Mary create the podcast, to take an honest look at what Real Estate Connections has become and where it might be going.

Julie sees something Mary has been questioning herself. The show may have started with real estate, but its most meaningful conversations often happen when the subject moves beyond the transaction. Caregiving, family dynamics, identity, independence, community, relationships, and the emotions surrounding major life changes keep finding their way into the episodes.  

Julie believes that is not a sign that the show has lost its focus. It may be evidence that Mary is discovering its real purpose.

Their conversation moves from podcasting into something much bigger: how our original plans change once we gain experience, why trusted guidance matters in a world overflowing with information, and how connection can eventually become community.

Mary and Julie also openly discuss whether Real Estate Connections itself may be ready for another evolution, including a possible shift toward helping people design the next chapter of their lives.

There is no big reveal or final decision in this episode. Instead, you get to hear the thinking happen in real time as Mary asks what she wants the show to become and Julie challenges her to pay attention to what the audience, the guests, and the conversations have already been showing her.

It is also a reminder for the rest of us: sometimes changing direction does not mean the original idea failed. It means we know more now than we did when we started.

Guest Links

Go Confidently Services:
https://goconfidentlycoaching.com/

Julie DeLucca-Collins:
https://juliegoconfidently.com/

Casa De Confidence Podcast:
https://casadeconfidence.buzzsprout.com/1035313/episodes

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/goconfidentlyjulie

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

How do you choose a forever home when life keeps changing?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with her longtime friend Mark Lightner, General Manager of Arthur Murray Studios, about an extraordinary series of moves that eventually brought Mark and his wife Nancy to a waterfront home in Vermont.

Mark has spent much of his life moving for family, career, opportunity, lifestyle, and changing needs.

Years ago, Mark and Nancy thought they had found their retirement home on 12 acres in Walpole, New Hampshire. But a long commute, aging family members, business changes, COVID, healthcare needs, children, grandchildren, and their own preferences continued to reshape the answer to where they really wanted to live.

Mark shares lessons from moving between rural New Hampshire homes, apartments, a Burlington-area condo, and eventually a waterfront home in South Hero, Vermont.

The conversation also explores the realities behind the moves.

Mark talks about a costly lesson involving solar panels when selling a previous home, caring for aging in-laws, the importance of good movers and other real estate professionals, managing financial uncertainty during COVID, and what happened when Nancy was diagnosed with breast cancer just as their family learned that their first grandchild was on the way.

Mary and Mark also talk about something many people considering a later-life move worry about: healthcare.

What happens when you want to leave a major metropolitan area, but your doctors and medical network are there?

Mark shares how access to Dartmouth Hitchcock helped make living outside Boston workable for his family and why proximity to a strong medical center should be part of the conversation when choosing where to live later in life.

The episode also draws on Mark’s decades of experience in the Arthur Murray world, where he has owned multiple studios and helped develop future franchisees. He and Mary discuss what dance, real estate, sales, leadership, and good client service have in common.

This episode is for anyone over 50 who is thinking about moving, retiring somewhere new, living closer to family, caring for aging relatives, evaluating healthcare access, or simply wondering whether the house they once thought would be forever still fits the life they want now.

GUEST BIO

Mark Lightner is General Manager of Arthur Murray Studios and has spent his life in the Arthur Murray dance world.

Mark was born to parents who owned an Arthur Murray Dance Center. Their first studio was in Elizabeth, New Jersey, followed by a move to the Philadelphia area, where the family lived in Medford, New Jersey, and later to the Boston area and North Andover, Massachusetts.

Mark’s first studio on his own was in Buffalo, New York. He later spent much of his career in the Merrimack Valley and has owned multiple Arthur Murray studios, primarily in the Boston and Worcester areas, as well as the Charleston, South Carolina studio for a period of time.

His life and career have involved a lot of moving, giving him an unusually personal perspective on how housing needs change with work, family, caregiving, health, finances, and different stages of life.

Guest Links

Arthur Murray Dance Classes:
http://www.arthurmurraydanceclasses.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/amdancebostonarea?rpxt=a2F5c3NqYnQxN2h3

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What does real estate really mean in the second half of life?

In this solo episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster looks back at five recent conversations that, on the surface, seem almost completely unrelated.

She talked with architect Seth Clarke of Bensonwood about offsite construction and creating homes around the way people actually want to live.

She talked with family divorce strategist Kim Korven about gray divorce and what happens when people approaching retirement suddenly have to rethink the house, finances, and future they expected to share.

Wealth strategist Natalie Kime returned to talk about financial preparation, caregiving, and the tools families may need as parents age.

Juli Ford brought the conversation into multigenerational living and what happens when families thoughtfully combine homes, resources, caregiving, and contributions that cannot always be measured in dollars.

Then Mary traveled to coastal Maine to spend time with her longtime friend Jill Finsen, an artist who has intentionally made room in her life for painting, community, friendship, and the places that allow her to continue doing what matters to her.

Five conversations. Five very different subjects.

But they all point toward the same question:

How do you want to live the next part of your life?

Mary also shares her own questions about the podcast, including whether this broad range of topics truly serves the over-50 audience, how much interviewing she has the capacity to do well, and what listeners want Real Estate Connections to explore next.

Then an unexpected message from a former AARP colleague helps answer one of those questions.

This episode is also an invitation.

What are you trying to figure out about your home, family, finances, retirement, caregiving, relationships, or next chapter?

Mary wants to hear from you.

Send Mary your thoughts, questions, and topic ideas:
[email protected]

Seth Clarke / Bensonwood

Bensonwood:
https://bensonwood.com/

Mary's episode with Seth Clarke:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19768038-offsite-construction-and-high-performance-homes-what-buyers-need-to-know
Seth's episode explores offsite construction, panelized homes, energy efficiency, ADUs, and high-performance residential building. 

Kim Korven:
https://kimkorven.com/

Mary's episode with Kim:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19846293-divorce-after-50-your-home-money-family-and-what-comes-next

Kim's conversation with Mary explores gray divorce, housing, family relationships, finances, and planning for what comes next after 50. 

Natalie Kime / The Chat with Nat Podcast
The Chat with Nat Podcast:
https://chatwithnatpod.buzzsprout.com/

Mary's caregiving episode with Natalie:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19667737-when-aging-parents-can-t-live-alone-money-moving-and-caregiving-decisions

Mary's financial planning episode with Natalie:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19739003-financial-planning-for-aging-parents-long-term-care-final-expenses-and-family-protection

Natalie's conversations cover caregiving, aging parents, long-term care, final expenses, selling a longtime home, and financial preparation. 

Juli Ford / Home After 50™
https://juliford.com/

Home After 50™ Podcast:
https://juliford.com/podcast

Multigenerational Living Resources:
https://juliford.com/multi-gen

Mary's episode with Juli:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19813057-multi-generational-living-how-families-can-share-homes-money-and-care
Juli's work includes multigenerational living, caregiving, real estate, financing, and intentionally reimagining home in the next chapter of life. 

Jill Finsen Paintings:
https://www.jillfinsen.com/

Mary's episode with Jill:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553466/episodes/19884123-how-to-build-a-life-around-what-matters-most-with-jill-finsen

Jill is a painter whose current work and exhibitions can be found on her website. She is also active in the Deer Isle arts community. Jill Finsen

Susan Finsen Art:
https://www.susanfinsen.com/

Susan works across painting, photography, and pottery. Susan Finsen
Deer Isle Artists Association
https://www.deerisleartists.com/

The Deer Isle Artists Association is a nonprofit visual arts organization and community of approximately 100 artists and patrons. 

AARP
https://www.aarp.org/

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What does it look like to build your life around the things that matter most to you?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster sits down with her dear friend of more than four decades, artist Jill Finsen.

Jill spent much of her professional career at AARP working in state legislative advocacy, public policy, and supporting volunteers. Alongside a demanding career that included extensive travel, she kept making room for photography, painting, rowing, learning, and the relationships that mattered to her. 33-Jill Finsen 4k

Over time, those interests became more than hobbies. They began influencing some of Jill’s biggest decisions about work, housing, money, education, and how she wanted to spend her time.

After leaving AARP, Jill continued studying art and eventually pursued her Master of Fine Arts at The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. 33-Jill Finsen 4k

Mary and Jill talk about what it means to stop treating the things you love as extras. They explore how Jill made practical choices that allowed her to continue painting, rowing, traveling, learning, and building meaningful communities throughout different stages of her life.

It is a conversation about making room for what matters, even when life is busy, and continuing to shape your life as your priorities evolve.

What You’ll Hear

• How Jill made room for art during a demanding professional career
• Why passion does not have to wait until “someday”
• What led Jill to pursue an MFA later in life
• How her housing choices supported different chapters of her life
• Why Jill spends intentionally around the things she values most
• How art and rowing helped create meaningful communities
• Why your priorities can continue evolving throughout your life
• How Jill is thinking about what she may want from her next chapter

Guest Bio

Jill Finsen spent much of her professional career at AARP, where she worked in state legislative advocacy, public policy, and volunteer leadership. After retiring, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts at The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture and now paints full time.

Her paintings are shown in galleries in Delaware, Massachusetts, and Maine, and she divides her time between Cape Cod, Maine, and Washington, D.C.

Working in the spirit of primitive and naïve styles, Jill uses composition, color, and varying thicknesses of paint to balance forms and rhythms and create a distinct and whimsical exploration of surface. Her work draws on early twentieth-century American painters and the Fauvists.

When she is not painting, Jill rows on the Potomac River, Cotuit Bay, and the Bagaduce River, or swims in chilly New England waters.

Guest Links

Jill Finsen Paintings

Jill’s site includes her current work, exhibitions, publications, and information about her painting practice. Jill Finsen

Blue Hill Public Library: “Color!” Exhibition

The September 2026 exhibition features paintings by Jill Finsen and Walter Smalling and ceramics by Susan Finsen. Blue Hill Public Library

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What happens when a marriage ends after decades together?

For people going through divorce after 50, the questions extend far beyond signing legal documents. Where will you live? Can you afford two households? What happens to the family home? How will retirement change? What happens at holidays, weddings, birthdays, and family gatherings? And how do you make decisions about the future when fear and anger are very real?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with Kim Korven, a former family lawyer and mediator who now works as a family divorce strategist.

Kim practiced law for 25 years, including eight years in family law. After seeing firsthand how adversarial family law can intensify conflict, and then navigating divorce herself, she developed a different approach.

Kim encourages people to begin with the life they want to create rather than beginning with the fight.

Mary and Kim discuss gray divorce, adult children and grandchildren, financial consequences, housing decisions, mediation, separation agreements, conflict, retirement, and why the traditional legal system may not always be the best place to begin.

Kim also shares a deeply personal perspective on her own current separation and the fear that can come with leaving financial security later in life. Her philosophy is not to tell someone whether to stay or leave. It is to help people understand what they want, consider their options, and make clear-eyed decisions about the next chapter.

This episode is especially relevant for adults over 50, people contemplating divorce, adult children of divorcing parents, real estate professionals, financial professionals, and anyone helping families navigate major transitions.

Guest Bio

Kim Korven is a former family lawyer and mediator with 25 years of legal practice, including eight years in family law. She holds an LLB and LLM from the University of Saskatchewan and is a government-recognized family mediator who trained at CDR Associates in Boulder, Colorado.

After experiencing divorce herself and seeing the limitations of the traditional adversarial approach, Kim developed a non-adversarial process first for her own family and later built it into The Gentle Way Divorce Consulting Group, which now serves clients across North America.

Kim’s TEDx talk explores how a thoughtful approach to divorce can help foster resilience in children. Her work encourages people to approach divorce as a life transition first, identify what they want their future to look like, and make deliberate decisions about family, finances, parenting, and major shared assets such as the home.

Guest Links

Kim Korven:
 https://kimkorven.com/

About Kim:
 https://kimkorven.com/pages/about

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What does it really take to make multi-generational living work?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with Juli Ford, founder of Home After 50™, host of the Home After 50™ Podcast, real estate broker, Certified Senior Advisor®, and multi-generational living expert.

Juli has spent decades working in housing and real estate, including 20 years in affordable housing, and she has lived in a multi-generational home with her mother for 11 years. Her work now helps families think through the practical, emotional, financial, and relational realities of sharing a home across generations.

Mary and Juli talk about why multi-generational living is becoming more relevant again, especially as families face an aging population, elder care challenges, housing affordability issues, and adult children who may not be able to access homeownership the way previous generations did.

Juli shares the story of how her own family came to live together after her father passed away. She explains why her mother first needed time to live on her own, how the right house eventually appeared, and how her family created a multi-generational arrangement that worked for everyone.

The conversation also explores money, home equity, family contributions, sibling conversations, privacy, ADUs, accessible design, reverse mortgages, multi-gen finance, and the different ways families can create shared housing. Juli also talks about her guides, workshops, clarity calls, Sunday Notes, and monthly Multi-Gen Coffee Chats.

This episode is for anyone considering a parent moving in, an adult child returning home, building an ADU, buying a multi-generational home, combining family resources, or reimagining what home can look like in the second half of life.

Guest Bio

Juli Ford is the founder of Home After 50™, host of the Home After 50™ Podcast, a multi-generational living expert, Certified Senior Advisor®, and real estate broker. Her work focuses on helping women and families reimagine what home looks like, feels like, and means after 50. Through real estate, media, coaching, resources, workshops, and community conversations, Juli supports families navigating multigenerational living, empty nesting, aging parents, major moves, and life transitions. Juli Ford

Juli has spent nearly three decades in real estate and housing, including two decades in affordable housing. She has also lived in a multi-generational home herself for more than 10 years, giving her both personal and professional insight into the decisions families face when they combine homes, resources, care, and everyday life. Juli Ford

Guest Links

Website:
https://juliford.com/

Home After 50™ Podcast:
https://juliford.com/podcast

Multi-Generational Living Resources:
https://juliford.com/multi-gen

Events and Workshops:
https://juliford.com/events

Real Estate Services:
https://juliford.com/real-estate-services

Contact from Juli’s website:
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What if a home built partly in a factory could be stronger, more efficient, more precise, and more durable than a home built entirely on site?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with Seth Clarke, AIA NCARB, a licensed architect with more than 20 years of experience in residential, institutional, and commercial projects. Seth is a graduate of Rice University School of Architecture, a member of the AIA and the Boston Society of Architects, NCARB certified, and currently serves as Director of Business Development for Bensonwood.

Mary first became fascinated with Bensonwood after touring the company’s facility and seeing how its offsite building process works. In this conversation, she and Seth explore what makes Bensonwood’s approach different from common assumptions about modular or prefab homes.

Seth explains why Bensonwood uses the term offsite construction and why its panelized architecture approach is different from the volumetric box-style modular homes many people imagine. He also shares how Bensonwood’s history began in 1972 with timber framing, craft, reclaimed materials, and a commitment to building homes that last.

Mary and Seth talk about energy efficiency, airtight wall panels, vapor-open wall systems, energy recovery ventilation, indoor air quality, moisture management, factory-installed windows and doors, and why building in a warm, dry factory can create better results.

They also discuss the buyer process, financing conversations, working with local jurisdictions, ADUs, New England housing needs, missing middle housing, and why duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and small multifamily buildings may become an important part of solving the housing affordability crisis.

This episode is for homeowners, real estate professionals, developers, buyers, architects, and anyone interested in smarter, more efficient, more durable ways to build.

Guest Bio

Seth Clarke, AIA NCARB, is a licensed architect with more than 20 years of experience in residential, institutional, and commercial projects. A graduate of Rice University School of Architecture, Seth is a member of the AIA and the Boston Society of Architects, and is NCARB certified.

Seth currently serves as Director of Business Development for Bensonwood, where he advises homeowners, architects, and construction managers on the possibilities of Bensonwood’s design-build offsite approach. In this episode, Seth helps explain how Bensonwood’s panelized construction, building science, and high-performance home systems are changing the way people think about modular, prefab, and factory-built homes.

Guest Links

Bensonwood:
 http://www.bensonwood.com

Seth Clarke on LinkedIn:
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethclarkeboston/

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What financial plans should families have in place before aging parents need care?

Natalie Kime returns to Real Estate Connections for a practical and eye-opening conversation with Mary Foerster about aging, caregiving, long-term care, final expenses, annuities, life insurance, and financial planning before a crisis.

Natalie is a wealth strategist, financial professional, and host of The Chat with Nat Podcast. She works with individuals, families, and business owners to help them become financially literate and create customized financial plans that support their goals and dreams.

In her previous episode, Natalie shared the deeply personal story of moving her parents from Utah to Texas after her mother’s vascular dementia diagnosis. In this follow-up conversation, Mary and Natalie talk about the financial mechanisms that helped Natalie support her parents while also preserving their independence.

Natalie explains how her family organized legal documents, medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, trusts, savings, annuities, and income planning. She also talks about what happened after her parents sold their longtime home of 43 years and how those proceeds were positioned to help cover possible future care needs.

Mary and Natalie also discuss final expense policies, funeral and burial costs, cremation versus burial, why families may need access to funds quickly after a loved one dies, and how planning ahead can reduce stress during an already painful time.

The episode also explores long-term care planning, life insurance with living benefits, fixed index annuities, self-insuring for care needs, capital gains conversations before selling a home, and why a wealth strategist often works alongside a CPA, investment advisor, and other financial professionals.

This conversation is educational, compassionate, and practical. It is for anyone thinking about aging parents, future care needs, selling a family home, caregiving, retirement income, legacy planning, or how to make sure loved ones are not left scrambling when life changes.

Guest Bio

Natalie Kime is a financial professional, wealth strategist, and host of The Chat with Nat Podcast. She works with individuals, families, and business owners to help them become financially literate and create customized financial plans that meet their goals and dreams.

Natalie believes in removing fear and emotion from financial conversations by meeting clients where they are, walking alongside them, and helping them understand their options. Her work is relational, practical, and grounded in helping people make educated decisions about their future.

In this episode, Natalie brings both professional expertise and lived experience to the conversation, sharing what she learned while helping her parents navigate aging, caregiving, selling their longtime home, long-term care planning, and final expense preparation.

Guest Links

Instagram:
 https://www.instagram.com/nattykime

The Chat with Nat Podcast:
 https://chatwithnatpod.buzzsprout.com

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What happens when the old idea of independence no longer fits the realities families are facing?

In this solo episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks about necessity as the mother of invention and how that idea is showing up in housing right now.

Mary reflects on the cultural message many older adults grew up with: own your home, raise your family, stay independent, and do not become a burden to your children. But today’s families are facing a different reality. Housing costs are high. Many adult children are living with parents longer. Long-term care is expensive. Older adults may want to age in place but still need support. And families are beginning to rethink what home, independence, and shared living can look like.

Mary explores the rise of multi-generational housing, accessory dwelling units, and family-based housing solutions that allow older adults, adult children, and caregivers to live with more flexibility. She also talks about why these arrangements require thoughtful planning, honest communication, written agreements, and a clear understanding of both financial and non-financial contributions.

This episode also highlights resources families can explore, including AARP, the National Aging in Place Coalition, Generations United, Julie Ford’s work through Homes After 50, and Natalie Kime’s caregiving conversations through The Chat with Nat Podcast.

This conversation is for anyone thinking about aging in place, helping adult children, building an ADU, planning for caregiving, sharing property with family, or exploring what multi-generational living could look like in real life.

Resources mentioned:

Aging in Place: https://ageinplace.org/
Generations United: https://www.gu.org/
Julie Ford / Homes After 50: https://juliford.com/
AARP: https://www.aarp.org/
The Chat with Nat Podcast: https://chatwithnatpod.buzzsprout.com

For help connecting with strong real estate professionals in your area, contact Mary at:
 [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.

What happens when aging parents can no longer live safely on their own?

In this deeply personal episode of Real Estate Connections, Mary Foerster talks with Natalie Kime, a wealth strategist, financial professional, and host of The Chat with Nat Podcast.

Natalie works with individuals, families, and business owners to help them become financially literate and create customized financial plans that support their goals and dreams. She believes in removing the fear and emotion around financial conversations, meeting people where they are, and walking alongside them through each stage of the planning process.

Mary originally connected with Natalie to talk about financial planning and long-term care. But before that conversation could happen, Natalie’s own family story became the heart of this episode.

Natalie shares how her mother’s vascular dementia diagnosis changed everything for her family. Her parents had lived in their Utah home for 43 years. After a doctor said they could no longer live on their own, Natalie began the process of moving them to Texas so she could care for them in her home.

This conversation covers the real-life decisions many families avoid until a crisis forces them to act: reviewing legal documents, preparing a home for sale, holding an estate sale, coordinating with siblings, protecting access to finances, managing proceeds from the sale of a longtime home, and honoring a parent’s independence while making safety the priority.

Natalie also speaks openly about the emotional reality of caregiving. She shares how her father struggled with the loss of independence, how she helped redefine the word “burden,” and how her family created clear caregiving roles during her mother’s decline.

This is a conversation about money, but it is also about love, dignity, family communication, dementia care, real estate decisions, and finding moments of joy in one of life’s hardest seasons.

Guest Bio

Natalie Kime is a financial professional, wealth strategist, and host of The Chat with Nat Podcast. She works with individuals, families, and business owners to help them become financially literate and create customized financial plans that meet their goals and dreams.

Natalie believes in removing the emotion and fear around financial conversations by meeting clients where they are, walking alongside them, and helping them understand their options. Her work is deeply relational, not transactional, and the relationships she builds with her clients are the lifeblood of her business.

In this episode, Natalie also shares her personal journey of moving her aging parents from Utah to Texas, caring for her mother through vascular dementia, and helping her family navigate the financial, emotional, and practical realities of caregiving.

Guest Links

Instagram:
 https://www.instagram.com/nattykime?

The Chat with Nat Podcast:
 https://chatwithnatpod.buzzsprout.com

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

Connect with Mary: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-foerster-realestate/

https://www.instagram.com/realestateconnectionspod/

Real estate is about more than buying and selling property. It is connected to how we live, build wealth, care for our families, navigate change, and plan for what comes next.

On Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster brings together trusted professionals, thoughtful conversations, and practical information to help you make more confident decisions about your home, finances, and future. Episodes explore home buying and selling, downsizing, aging in place, multigenerational living, real estate investing, renovations, caregiving, financial planning, and the personal transitions that often accompany a move.