What Happens to the Prop 19 Exclusion if the Child Moves Out or Rents the House?
The Prop 19 parent-child exclusion ends when the house stops being the child's primary residence. How the reassessment works, a San Jose example, and how…
When real estate intersects with family, everything gets more complicated and more meaningful at the same time. Whether you’re an adult child helping an aging parent sell a longtime family home, a couple exploring multigenerational living options in the Bay Area, or a family trying to figure out how to pool resources to buy in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, the stakes are high on every level and not just financially.
This corner of my site is dedicated to all of it. The practical stuff, like how to handle sibling disagreements when mom or dad’s house goes on the market, or how to structure a family loan to help your kids buy their first home in Silicon Valley. And the real-life stuff too, because families need to live somewhere worth living, and the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County offer some truly wonderful places to put down roots and make memories.
A big part of my work as a Bay Area Senior Real Estate Specialist is helping families navigate what I’d call the “gray zone” of real estate decisions, those situations where someone’s age, health, finances, and family dynamics all converge at once. Long-distance caregiving is more common than most people realize, and managing the sale of a parent’s Silicon Valley home from across the country, or even across town while managing your own life, is genuinely hard. I’ve helped a lot of families through it, and I write about it here because I know how much it helps to feel like someone understands what you’re going through.
The articles you’ll find in this category cover the full spectrum of family real estate topics: from multigenerational home buying and the growing trend of ADUs and in-law units in Silicon Valley, to the emotional complexity of sibling dynamics when an estate is involved, to the joy of raising kids in a community with great parks, farms, and local traditions worth celebrating. Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz County are remarkable places to raise a family and to age well, and I believe those two things are more connected than people often think.
If you’re trying to figure out the right move for your family, whether that’s literally a move or just a smarter financial strategy, you’re in the right place. Browse the posts below, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to talk through your specific situation.
The Prop 19 parent-child exclusion ends when the house stops being the child's primary residence. How the reassessment works, a San Jose example, and how…
DISCLAIMERNothing on this page should be considered to be tax, accounting, legal, or investment advice. If you need a referral to an expert in these…
you're a long-time homeowner in the Silicon Valley getting ready to sell, or you are an adult child helping your parents through the process, I…
takeawaysMost of the biggest mistakes in senior home sales are entirely preventable -- they happen because families did not know what they did not know,…
Key takeawaysIndependent living, assisted living, and memory care are distinct care environments serving different needs -- choosing the right one requires understanding the differences clearly.In…
How a successor trustee sells a living parent's house after incapacity: physician certifications, trust vs. POA, capital gains without a step-up, the care-facility rule, and…
How to choose a community, handle the paperwork, set up the room, manage moving day, and then sell the family home, from a Silicon Valley…
you're reading this, there's a pretty good chance you're sitting somewhere between two phone calls. One was with your mom or dad, and it ended…
Key takeawaysThe SRES designation (Senior Real Estate Specialist) is a starting point, not a guarantee of deep experience. Ask follow-up questions.A genuinely experienced senior real…
Key takeawaysAmericans are living significantly longer than previous generations -- a 65-year-old today has a meaningful probability of living into their late 80s or early…