What a Senior Real Estate Specialist Actually Does for a Family

Who would you call first if someone in your family asked whether it was time to sell the house?

For many families in Cape Coral, that question arrives before anyone has a plan. It may follow a fall, a hospital stay, a visit where something looked different, or a parent who says "I'm fine" once too often. People tend to search for an answer in a hurry. I'd like to answer a few of the questions I hear most, in the order families usually ask them.

Who is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist in Cape Coral?

The Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) designation is a professional credential for real estate agents who work with homeowners in the later chapters of life and with the families around them. I'm Carleen Murone, a Cape Coral REALTOR® who earned the SRES® designation in 2026. I work with homeowners in 33991, SW Cape Coral, Cape Royal and across Southwest Florida, often long before anyone is ready to list.

What does an SRES® do for a family?

Most of the time, the work is not a listing. It is the conversation that comes before one. Does a parent stay in the house, stay with changes, or move? What would the home need to keep working for them? What would a move cost in time and energy, not just money? Who needs to be part of the discussion, and who gets to decide?

The goal is a plan that belongs to the person whose home it is. Sometimes that plan is to stay, and the next step is a short list of changes. Sometimes it is a sale, on a timeline the family chooses rather than one set by a crisis. Either way, it helps to decide early, while every option is still open.

How do I talk to my parents about selling the house?

Start with questions that have nothing to do with moving. What do you love most about being here? What has gotten harder lately? What do you want the next five years to look like? Those three tell you what any plan has to protect, what needs attention, and what the person actually wants.

Don't try to solve anything in the first conversation. Listen, write down what you heard afterward, and come back in a week or two. A suggestion to move can sound like a verdict, and people defend their independence long before they will examine their house.

Should we renovate to age in place, or move?

There isn't a single answer, and I don't believe anyone should give you one before they've seen the house and heard the family. In Southwest Florida, the practical signs usually show up in everyday places: a pool that's harder to keep up, a yard that has become a chore, a lanai screen nobody gets to, mail piling up, a bathroom that's difficult to use. Some of those are fixed with a modest change. Others are a signal to think about a different kind of home. A useful first step is to write them down and sort them by what could be fixed and what couldn't.

Where to begin

If you're having this conversation, or avoiding it, I built the Living Well Forward Assessment as a starting place. It is a short set of questions about the home, how you want to live in it, and what the next few years might ask of it. If you want a second step, there's a one-to-one planning conversation with me afterward. You can begin at livingwellinswfl.com/living-well-forward. There is no obligation to list anything, and no deadline.

Which of these questions would be hardest for your family to ask?

General information about real estate planning. Not legal, tax, medical or financial advice. For those, please consult the appropriate professional.

Carleen Murone, REALTOR® (GRI, SRES®) | eXp Realty, LLC SL3531764 | 239-223-9454 | carleen.murone@exprealty.com