The role, defined
What is a Senior Transition Advisor for the family home?
By Ryan Riggins, Senior Transition Advisor for the family home, NC broker #361546, eXp Realty
Updated
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.
That’s my job. I’m Ryan Riggins, a licensed North Carolina broker with eXp Realty, and I never take the listing. The house is usually the biggest asset in a parent’s move, and it’s the decision families make fastest, under a deadline somebody else set. I sit in front of that decision so it gets made in the right order.
What the job actually is.
The funding math
I put the community's fee sheet next to what your parent actually has: income, savings, and what the house would really net after a sale. Base rate, care level charges, the community fee, and last year's increase. The question is simple. How many months does the money last, and does the house have to be sold to get there? It's a housing-cost comparison, not financial advice.
Who can legally sign
A power of attorney doesn't always cover real estate, and a deed with two names on it needs two signatures. I find out who can sign and what the attorney needs to confirm, before anybody signs a listing agreement or a cash buyer's contract.
Sell, rent or keep
Selling isn't always the answer. Renting brings income and landlord work. Keeping it costs taxes, insurance and upkeep every month, and an empty house draws trouble. I lay the three side by side so the family picks one on purpose, not because a deadline picked it for them.
If selling, one vetted local agent
If the answer is sell, I refer one local agent I've vetted for this kind of sale, and I tell you why that one. I never take the listing myself, so I have nothing to gain from which way you go.
How it differs from the other people you’ll meet.
Every one of these people is useful. They just do different jobs, and they get paid different ways. Knowing who does what keeps the wrong person from making the house decision.
| Role | What they do | Who pays them | When you call them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Transition Advisor for the family home | Decides the house question before anyone lists: funding math against the fee sheet, who can legally sign, sell, rent or keep. If selling, refers one vetted local agent. | Nothing from the family. A referral fee at closing from the agent side, only when a sale happens. | As soon as a move is on the table, before you call a listing agent. |
| Senior move manager | Runs the physical move: sorting, downsizing, packing, the floor plan for the new place, the estate sale or cleanout. | The family, usually by the hour or by the project. | Once you know where your parent is going and it's time to move the stuff. |
| Placement advisor (senior living advisor) | Helps choose an assisted living or memory care community and sets up tours. | Usually free to the family. Paid by the community your parent moves into. | When you need help finding the right community. |
| Aging life care manager (geriatric care manager) | Assesses care needs and coordinates doctors, home care and the care plan. Often a nurse or social worker. | The family, usually by the hour. | When the care itself is complicated or you live far away. |
| Elder law attorney | Powers of attorney, guardianship, Medicaid planning, deeds, wills and trusts. The legal side. | The family, by the hour or a flat fee. Free Legal Aid help exists for many seniors. | Before anyone changes a deed, moves money, or applies for Medicaid. |
| Listing agent | Prices, markets and sells the house. | A commission from the sale, at closing. | After the family has decided to sell. |
When to call one.
- A parent is moving to assisted living, memory care or in with family, and the house is about to sit empty.
- The community wants a deposit and somebody said, just sell the house.
- You aren't sure the power of attorney covers the house, or who has to sign.
- A cash offer or a we buy houses letter showed up.
- Siblings don't agree on selling, renting or keeping.
- Before you call a listing agent. Not after.
If your parent is moving to assisted living right now, start with what to do with the house when Mom moves to assisted living. If the house is in the Triad or the Triangle, here’s what I do city by city.
What it costs the family.
Nothing. There’s no fee and you’ll never get an invoice from me.
If your family decides to sell, the agent I refer pays me a referral fee at closing, out of the commission you were already going to pay, through eXp Realty. Nothing is added to your cost. If you rent the house, keep it, or wait a year, I’m not paid at all, and I’ll still tell you that’s the right call when it is.
I’d rather tell you exactly how I get paid than let you wonder.
What I’m not.
- Not a mover. I don’t sort, pack or run the estate sale.
- Not a placement agent. I don’t pick the community, and no community pays me.
- Never the listing agent, and I never buy the house.
- Not an attorney or a CPA. I tell you when you need one and what to ask.
Common questions
Questions about the Senior Transition Advisor for the family home.
What is a Senior Transition Advisor for the family home?
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.
Is a Senior Transition Advisor the same as a senior move manager?
No. A senior move manager handles the physical move: sorting, packing, downsizing and the estate sale, and the family pays them. A Senior Transition Advisor for the family home handles the house decision that comes before any of that: the funding math, who can legally sign, and sell, rent or keep. I don't pack or move anything, and I'm glad to point you to a good move manager when it's time.
How is this different from a placement advisor?
A placement advisor helps you pick the community, and is usually paid by the community your parent moves into. I don't pick communities and no community pays me. I work on the other half of the move, the house your parent is leaving, and I use the community's fee sheet to figure out how long the money lasts.
Do we still need an elder law attorney?
Often, yes. Powers of attorney, guardianship, deed changes and Medicaid are legal questions, and I'm not an attorney. I tell you when you need one and what to ask. In North Carolina, Legal Aid of North Carolina's Senior Law Project is free for anyone 60 or older at 1-877-579-7562.
What does a Senior Transition Advisor for the family home cost?
Nothing to the family. There's no fee and no invoice. If the family decides to sell, the agent I refer pays me a referral fee at closing out of the commission you were already going to pay, through eXp Realty. If you rent, keep or wait, I'm not paid at all.
Why not just call a listing agent?
Because a listing agent's job is to list the house, and the clock starts when you call. That's not a knock on agents, it's the job. The questions that decide whether you should sell at all, and when, come first: how long the money lasts, who can sign, and whether renting or keeping makes more sense. Once those are settled, a good agent is exactly who you want.
Where do you work?
In North Carolina I work with families across the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Burlington, Asheboro, Lexington, Thomasville and Kernersville) and the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill). In South Carolina, the Grand Strand: Myrtle Beach, Conway and Georgetown. Anywhere else in the country I work by phone and video. I'm licensed in North Carolina, so outside NC the agent I refer is always a vetted partner licensed where the house is.
Talk to me before anyone lists the house.
A free 20-minute call. Bring the fee sheet if you have it. You’ll leave knowing what to do first.
Book your free callRyan Riggins · NC Real Estate License #361546 · eXp Realty