Winston-Salem, NC · Forsyth County
Senior Transition Advisor for the family home in Winston-Salem, NC
By Ryan Riggins, Senior Transition Advisor for the family home, NC broker #361546, eXp Realty
Updated
If your parent in Winston-Salem is moving to assisted living, settle the house before you call a listing agent. Confirm who can sign, put the community's fee sheet next to what your parent actually has, and then choose sell, rent or keep on purpose. Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County, and Forsyth's tax relief cuts both the county and the city tax bill, which changes what an empty house costs to carry.
I'm Ryan Riggins, a licensed North Carolina broker with eXp Realty, based up the road in Greensboro. I work with Winston-Salem families on the house decision before anyone lists it, and I never take the listing myself.
What I do, in one sentence.
A Senior Transition Advisor for the family home helps a family decide what happens to a parent's house before anyone lists it: the funding math against the community's fee sheet, who can legally sign, and sell, rent or keep. If selling, one vetted local agent. Not a mover, not a placement agent, never the listing agent.
More on what a Senior Transition Advisor for the family home is, and isn’t.
Forsyth County, and the city tax on top.
A Winston-Salem house pays two property taxes, the county's and the city's. North Carolina's senior tax programs, administered by Forsyth County Tax Administration, lower the value both of them tax. So whether your parent keeps that relief after the move is real money every month the house is held.
Everything else runs through Forsyth too: the Register of Deeds, DSS and the aging services below.
What’s specific to a Winston-Salem house.
Keep the house empty, or rent it? The tax relief may ride on it.
North Carolina law lets an owner keep the Homestead Exclusion through an extended stay in a rest home or nursing home, as long as the house is empty or only a spouse or dependent lives there. A tenant is neither. Before you run rental numbers, call Forsyth County Tax Administration at 336-703-2300 and ask what renting would do to your parent's exclusion.
The Circuit Breaker lien is paid at closing.
If your parent uses the Circuit Breaker, the unpaid difference is a lien at 6% interest that comes due when the home is sold. Put it in the funding math up front so the net number isn't a surprise at the closing table.
Record the power of attorney in the right place.
When an agent under a power of attorney signs a deed, North Carolina requires the power of attorney to be registered with the register of deeds first, in the county where your parent lives or where the house is. For a Winston-Salem house that's normally the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. Have an attorney confirm the document covers selling real estate before you count on it.
None of this is legal or tax advice. Signing authority, deeds and Medicaid belong with an elder law attorney, and the tax side of a sale belongs with a CPA. I tell you when you need one and what to ask.
Local help worth a call.
From my Forsyth County Senior Help Directory. Confirm current details with each program.
- Senior Services Inc., 336-724-2040
The Winston-Salem and Forsyth hub for anyone 60 and older, with a Help Line for referrals. Meals on Wheels is 336-725-0907. - Forsyth County DSS Adult Intake, 336-703-3501
Medicaid, energy assistance and food benefits. - Forsyth County Tax Administration, 336-703-2300
Homestead Exclusion, Circuit Breaker and Disabled Veteran Exclusion. The deadline is June 1. - Crisis Control Ministry, 336-748-0217
Help with rent or mortgage, utilities and heating fuel, and small home modifications for residents 50 and older. - PACE of the Triad (West), 336-550-4040
Full medical care for people who would otherwise need a nursing home, so they can stay home. - Legal Aid of NC, Senior Law Project
Legal Aid of North Carolina's Senior Law Project: free civil legal help for anyone 60 or older, including powers of attorney and Medicaid. Senior Legal Helpline 1-877-579-7562, weekdays 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
The full lists: Forsyth County Senior Help Directory.
How working with me goes.
- 1. A free 20-minute call. Phone or video. Bring the community’s fee sheet if you have it, and the power of attorney if there is one. You’ll leave knowing what to do first.
- 2. The funding math. The fee sheet next to what your parent actually has: income, savings, and what the house would really net. How many months does the money last, with the house and without it?
- 3. A written plan, if you want one. The Senior Transition Roadmap is free, by application: an intake form, a call with me, a written plan we build together, a follow-up call and 90 days of email support.
- 4. Sell, rent or keep, on purpose. I lay the three side by side. Here’s how sell, rent and keep compare.
- 5. If selling, one vetted local agent. I refer one agent I’ve vetted for this kind of sale and tell you why that one. I never take the listing.
What it costs: nothing to your family. If you sell, the agent I refer pays me a referral fee at closing out of the commission, through eXp Realty. If you rent, keep or wait, I’m not paid at all.
If your mom or dad is moving right now, start with what to do with the house when Mom moves to assisted living.
Common questions
Questions from Winston-Salem families.
Should we sell Dad's Winston-Salem house to pay for assisted living?
Maybe, but decide it with numbers. Get the community's full fee sheet, put it next to his income and savings and what the house would really net, and see how many months the money lasts with and without a sale. Then compare selling, renting and keeping, with an elder law attorney and a CPA for the Medicaid and tax questions.
Can we rent out Mom's Winston-Salem house while she's in assisted living?
You can, but check two things first. Rent is income, which can matter for care costs and benefits, so ask the elder law attorney. And a tenant may affect her Homestead Exclusion, which in Winston-Salem lowers both the county and the city tax, so ask Forsyth County Tax Administration at 336-703-2300.
Where do we record a power of attorney for a Winston-Salem house?
North Carolina requires it to be registered with the register of deeds before a deed signed under it is recorded, in the county where your parent lives or where the house is. For a Winston-Salem house that's normally the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. The closing attorney usually handles it.
Do you work in Winston-Salem if you're based in Greensboro?
Yes. Winston-Salem is part of the Triad I serve. The first call is free, 20 minutes, by phone or video. If your family sells, I refer one local agent I've vetted, and I'm paid only by that agent's referral fee at closing.
Other cities: Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill. Or see every city I serve.
Talk to me before anyone lists the Winston-Salem house.
A free 20-minute call. It costs your family nothing.
Ryan Riggins, NC Real Estate Broker #361546, eXp Realty. Not legal, tax or financial advice.