Sacramento senior move real estate team probate downsizing SRES
Sacramento senior move real estate team probate downsizing SRES
Sacramento senior move real estate team probate downsizing SRES
A senior-focused real estate and lending team helping Sacramento-area homeowners downsize, right-size, and manage probate and inherited-home sales with patience and clarity.
Later-life housing decisions rarely fit into a single category. One family is downsizing from a two-story home that has become hard to maintain. Another is settling a parent’s estate through probate. A third simply wants a home that matches how they live today rather than how they lived thirty years ago. What these situations share is that they benefit from a team that understands the financial, legal, and emotional layers of a senior move — not just the mechanics of listing a house.
Surroundings Real Estate & Lending is a Sacramento-based team built around exactly that work. Our agents pair Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) training and senior-move experience with in-house lending, so downsizing, probate coordination, and financing can be handled together instead of scattered across unconnected professionals. This page introduces the people behind that work, the areas they focus on, and the questions families most often ask before they begin.
Meet the Senior Move Real Estate Team
Surroundings is led by two licensed professionals who focus on seniors, families, and homeowners navigating major transitions across the Sacramento region. Their credentials and license numbers are listed below so you can verify them independently before you ever pick up the phone.
Maggie B. Hopkins
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) & Broker
Maggie leads the brokerage and its lending side, bringing more than two decades of real estate experience to families in transition. Her focus is helping older homeowners weigh their options honestly — whether that means downsizing, staying put, or settling a home through probate — and then coordinating the sale and any financing so the process stays organized from start to finish.
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) designation
Certified Probate & Trust Specialist
Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE)
20+ years of real estate and lending experience
CA DRE #01750680 • NMLS #349517
Rachel Dee Minyard
Residential & Senior Move Specialist
Rachel works directly with clients through the practical realities of a senior move — the sorting, the timing, and the day-to-day decisions that a decades-long home requires. She focuses on keeping each move manageable and paced to the client, so that families feel supported rather than rushed as they prepare a long-time home for sale and plan their next step.
Residential & Senior Move Specialist
Focus on right-sizing and long-time-home sales
Hands-on coordination of move logistics and timelines
CA DRE #02213398
What This Team Focuses On
The title of this page names four things that matter most to the families we serve: a coordinated senior move team, probate support, downsizing guidance, and the SRES® credential that shapes how we approach all of it. Here is how each one shows up in practice.
A Coordinated Senior Move Team
A senior move touches real estate, financing, logistics, and family dynamics at the same time. Working as one team — with an SRES®-credentialed broker and a dedicated senior-move specialist — means those pieces stay connected instead of being handed between strangers who never speak to one another.
Probate & Inherited-Home Sales
Selling a home through probate or after inheriting it carries legal steps and emotional weight. With a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist on the team, we handle the real estate side carefully and coordinate alongside your probate attorney rather than in place of one.
Downsizing & Right-Sizing
Downsizing means less space and lower upkeep; right-sizing means a home that simply fits how you live now. We help you compare both against staying put, so the move you make is the one that genuinely improves daily life — not just a smaller version of the old one.
SRES®-Informed Guidance
The Senior Real Estate Specialist designation reflects added training in the financial, legal, and lifestyle factors of later-life moves. In practice, it means the conversation starts with what you want your next chapter to look like — and the timeline and pace follow from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a senior move real estate team actually do?
A senior move real estate team guides older homeowners and their families through the full arc of a later-life housing change — not just the sale itself. That includes valuing a long-time home, weighing downsizing against staying put, coordinating the timing of a sale with the next move, connecting families with trusted vendors for repairs or staging, and handling any related financing. At Surroundings, that work is shared between a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) broker and a dedicated senior move specialist so both the strategy and the day-to-day logistics are covered. Start a conversation with the team.
What is a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®), and why does it matter?
A Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) is a Realtor® who has completed additional training in the financial, legal, and emotional aspects of real estate transitions for adults age 50 and older. It matters because a senior move often involves considerations a standard transaction does not — retirement income, equity strategy, accessibility, family coordination, and the emotional weight of leaving a long-time home. At Surroundings, broker Maggie B. Hopkins holds the SRES® designation along with a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist credential and a Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE) certification. Learn more about the team’s credentials.
Can you help sell a home that is going through probate in Sacramento?
Yes. The team assists families with selling inherited properties and coordinating probate real estate transactions across Sacramento and surrounding counties. Maggie B. Hopkins holds a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist credential, which informs how the real estate side of an estate sale is handled — carefully, respectfully, and in an organized way for everyone involved. When formal probate proceedings are part of the picture, we recommend working alongside a qualified probate attorney; we manage the property sale while your attorney handles the legal process. Contact us about a probate or inherited property.
What is the difference between downsizing and right-sizing?
Downsizing means moving to a smaller home to reduce space, cost, or maintenance. Right-sizing is broader — it means choosing a home that fits how you live today, whether that involves fewer square feet, a single-story layout, lower upkeep, or being closer to family and healthcare. For many Sacramento-area homeowners, right-sizing is the more useful way to think about a move: the goal is not simply a smaller home, but a better-fitting one. Our team helps you compare both against the option of staying in your current home before you commit to any path. Read more about right-sizing your home.
Who are the agents on the team, and what are their license numbers?
The team is led by Maggie B. Hopkins, a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) and broker, licensed as CA DRE #01750680 and NMLS #349517. She works alongside Rachel Dee Minyard, a Residential & Senior Move Specialist, licensed as CA DRE #02213398. The brokerage itself operates as Surroundings Real Estate & Lending under CA DRE #02220140 and NMLS #2528307. We list these numbers openly so you can verify each license with the California Department of Real Estate and the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System before working with us. Meet the full team.
Why work with a combined real estate and lending team for a senior move?
When your agent and your mortgage professional work from the same company, your sale timeline, financing options, and next-home purchase are coordinated from day one. For seniors managing a home sale alongside a reverse mortgage, a HECM for Purchase, or retirement-income documentation, this integrated approach reduces delays and miscommunication. Surroundings is both a licensed brokerage (CA DRE #02220140) and a licensed mortgage brokerage (NMLS #2528307), so one team can guide both sides of the transition. Explore financing options.
How do adult children start helping a parent move from a long-time home?
It starts with observation and conversation, not pressure. If you are noticing difficulty with stairs, deferred maintenance, or growing isolation, the first step is opening a discussion about what would make daily life safer and more manageable — not announcing a decision. From there, a senior-focused advisor can walk the family through a home valuation, realistic local options, and a step-by-step timeline that moves at a pace your parent is comfortable with. The goal is for your parent to feel supported and respected throughout, not rushed. Read our full guide to helping parents move.
What areas does the team serve?
Surroundings Real Estate & Lending serves clients throughout Sacramento County, Placer County, El Dorado County, and Yolo County. Specific areas include Sacramento, Elk Grove, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, El Dorado Hills, Davis, and surrounding communities. The office is located at 500 Capitol Mall, Suite 2650, Sacramento, CA 95814. Whether you are downsizing, right-sizing, settling an estate, or exploring financing, service is available across the broader Sacramento region. Confirm service in your area.
What is the first step if I am just starting to think about a move?
The first step is a low-pressure conversation about what is changing in your life and what you would like your next chapter to look like. There is no obligation and no fixed timeline. From that conversation, the team can estimate your current home’s value, outline realistic local options, and give you a clear picture of what a move would involve — financially, logistically, and practically — so you can decide whether and when to move forward entirely on your terms. Start the conversation.
Important Disclaimer
This information is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or medical advice. Consult appropriate professionals for advice specific to your situation, including a qualified probate attorney for any probate or estate matter. Credentials, license status, and service areas can change and should be verified directly. Real estate advertising must comply with fair housing laws, which prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
