Thinking About Going in on a House With Grandma? Hear From Families Who Bought Together.
You can see the allure: grandma coming up from her place downstairs to read bedtime stories or babysit, not to mention being able to split utilities and mortgage payments with the in-laws. It’s no wonder multigenerational living has been on the rise in recent years. While the move is most popular among nonwhite populations, the total number of people living in such homes went up from 17 percent to 19 percent between 2009 and 2014. As of 2018, a record 64 million Americans are living in multigenerational homes, a move that can seem even more appealing during a global pandemic. From being able to closely care for vulnerable family members to having a larger community at home during quarantine to help with child care and at-home schooling, COVID-19 has cast a new light on this living trend.
Yet, little is known about a subsection of that trend: multigenerational homebuyers. To explore what it means and what it takes to not only live together but to make major life purchases together across generations, Curbed spoke to five people scattered around North America who have taken the plunge.
Pega Ren and Keph Senett
A mother-daughter duo living together in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Keph Senett: This wasn’t something I had planned on, but with the recent economic downturns over the last couple of years, and now COVID, we started thinking about what we could do to make our positions more secure. My mom, who is a therapist, has had her house for ten years. I moved into what she was using as a counseling room in January, and she got a little office space outside of the house before the pandemic.
Before this, I had no intention to become a homeowner for many reasons, including that it’s nearly impossible because of the indebtedness you have to go into. My mom had paid for the first chunk of the house, and I took over the rest with some money from my retirement savings plan, untaxed. There are so many pros to this, from reducing our environmental footprint to sharing labor and resources.
Pega Ren: Gravity has lightened for me by 20 percent — the financial burden was lightened. I can now be picky about the clients I take on. Life got easier in a number of ways, and she cooks! I was able to offer her the security of a single place to live, and she was able to offer me the security of staying in my home more easily, now that I don’t have to work all the time to afford the house. We’ve been able to convert the money we’ve saved into a new roof and fixing the parking pad — things that would have been very stressful otherwise.
Just recently, I had an accident. I cut my leg on a faulty step coming out of the hot tub. I was caught and hurt and was able to just call for Keph. She came to the hospital with me. She just took care of it — all I had to do was call for her.
Go to Curbed to read four more stories of multigenerational homes.
Related Links
Housing starts rise 4.3% as crews return to building sites
A strong force in the housing market: single women
