Summary
This episode of Care Lab features Ashley Mahoney, an occupational therapist turned real estate agent, who shares her unique journey of combining healthcare expertise with real estate. Alongside hosts Emilia Bourland and Brandy Archie, the discussion covers how occupational therapy skills can enhance home buying experiences—especially for individuals with accessibility needs or those planning to age in place. They explore the emotional aspects of moving, the importance of future-proofing homes, and how to find the right professionals to support these transitions.
Key Takeaway
-
OTs in Real Estate Offer a Unique Advantage
Occupational therapists understand accessibility and functional living needs, making them well-suited to help clients find or adapt homes that support long-term independence. -
Home Buying Can Be Emotionally Complex
Especially for seniors or those with health conditions, moving involves not just logistics, but emotional ties to a home and concerns about independence and identity. -
Interview and Vet Professionals Carefully
Whether it’s a realtor or lender, it’s crucial to find professionals who are patient, resourceful, and willing to cater to specific needs—like low tech literacy or medical considerations. -
Pre-Screening Homes for Accessibility Saves Time and Stress
A professional like Ashley can rule out homes that won’t work for a client’s future needs, avoiding unnecessary visits and potential disappointment. -
There Are Creative Solutions Beyond Nursing Homes
From modern assisted living communities to adaptable ranch homes, there are many options for aging in place or relocating—especially when guided by a knowledgeable OT-informed real estate agent.
Transcript
Emilia Bourland
Hello everyone, welcome to Care Lab.
Brandy Archie
Welcome to CareLoud. I'm so excited. We got another all OT podcast for OT month. Super excited about that. And so glad that we have Ashley Mahoney here, who is an occupational therapist and a dedicated real estate agent who's known for her unique blend of healthcare expertise and real estate acumen, which is so cool to me. And she has a passion for helping people achieve their goals and has spent years in healthcare.
Ashley Mahoney
You
Emilia Bourland
Yes! Yes.
Emilia Bourland
Totally.
Brandy Archie
focused on improving quality of life for her clients through therapeutic interventions. So now she's taking her OT brain and putting it into real estate and she leverages her knowledge of accessibility challenges and solutions to guide clients in finding their dream home. So Ashley is known for her attention to detail. I definitely know that to be true. Her market knowledge, amount of strong local resources to help her clientele adapt homes when needed. She's here. I know Ashley, she's here in Kansas City.
and committed to client satisfaction. And she believes in building lasting relationships and providing personalized service to ensure a smooth, enjoyable home buying or selling experience. And her goal is to help people thrive in their homes and live their best quality of life. So Ashley, thanks for being on the podcast. Yes.
Ashley Mahoney
Thank you for having me. Yeah, thanks for having me.
Emilia Bourland
Can I ask a question real fast? Like what's in the water in Kansas City with occupational therapists? Because it's not that big. It's not that big. Kansas City is what, like a half a million people or something like that?
Brandy Archie
We're doing the thing over here.
Brandy Archie
people in Kansas City proper for those who need to know the geography. There's a million people in our metropolitan area.
Emilia Bourland
huh.
Emilia Bourland
Okay, but still like not mat, not teeny tiny, but not massive. But the number of like OTs doing cool things, being entrepreneurs, like getting out there, there's something in the water in Kansas City, y'all.
Ashley Mahoney
Someone started it. It was Brandy.
Brandy Archie
You
I'm definitely not the first OTpreneur here, but I do think that there is a good amount to say about community, right? If you see other people, this is why representation matters, right? If you see other people doing things that are in your peer group, of whatever peer group that is, then it makes it feel more capable, makes it possible for yourself. So I think that definitely has some to do with it for sure. With some very out loud and in public OTpreneurs here. And so think that's helping that grow.
Emilia Bourland
Okay, that's.
Emilia Bourland
Mm.
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland
Yeah, for sure. You're totally right. Like if you see someone else that you feel like you can relate to or represents you in some way, if you see someone else doing it, you're like, man, that probably means I can do it too. That wasn't my icebreaker question though.
Ashley Mahoney
I think so too.
Brandy Archie
You
Ashley Mahoney
gosh, here we go. Yeah, I'm a little nervous.
Emilia Bourland
Are you guys ready for the icebreaker question?
Brandy Archie
Ready as we'll ever be.
Emilia Bourland
It's kind of hard. Sorry, Ashley. Sorry, not sorry. So I want to know something that has been transformative in your life, some kind of event or something that you did or whatever that's been transformative in your life in a positive way, that moved you in a positive direction.
Ashley Mahoney
Yeah. gosh. I don't know. I guess I could kind of say that being a single mom for so many years gave me a different perspective on life. I was a single mom technically for nine years before I got married in August. And so I did the whole COVID thing, you know, on my own and partial homeschooling on my own. And so now that I'm in a place and I'm a constant reflector on like life and, my life and our family's life and everyone, you know,
And I think that now that I'm at this part of my life with a husband who's very helpful and all the resources, you know, that I didn't have before, I think that that just gives me an even more positive outlook on things now, you know, that I overcame so much and didn't even realize it was hard when I was doing it. But looking back now, I'm like, gosh, I don't know how I did it, you know? And so I'm just super thankful all the time. I think working in healthcare kind of does that to me too, you know, when you see so many different situations that are really hard, you just like.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
I feel like I'm just a reflector on that stuff often and very thankful and positive. So I don't know if that was the best answer, but that's kind of what came to mind first.
Emilia Bourland
think that's a great answer. can I say, single parents are superheroes, and my personal heroes, knowing how hard it is with a partner to raise kids and do all the things. I don't know how that gets done as a single parent. So hats off to you. You're my personal hero for that.
Brandy Archie
Yeah.
Brandy Archie
Yeah.
Ashley Mahoney
Thank you. I always tell people when they're like, I don't know how you do it. I'm like, you either do it or you die. Like you just don't, you don't have an option. You either survive or you don't. Yeah. But thank you.
Emilia Bourland
Yeah.
Brandy Archie
Yep, Firefly, that's for sure.
Emilia Bourland
All right, Brandy.
Brandy Archie
Something, ask me the question again so I can decide between my two answers.
Emilia Bourland
something that like an event or something that you've done that has been transformative in your life in a positive way.
Brandy Archie
Okay, I'm gonna go with this. since it's OT month, I'm gonna say, you know how the analogy and like the real life thing is, if you throw a pebble into the lake, you get ripples that go for a long ways. And a pebble that was thrown into my life was somebody came to my freshman biology class and talked about health careers to my predominantly black high school. And now as a grownup, I look back and say, oh, this was some kind of intentional program that somebody did.
in order to get more black kids into healthcare. And it worked because they gave us this list and it had all these health careers in order of their salary. And at the time I had been directed from physician to physical therapist, so I was kind of in that mindset and I found physical therapists on the list. And then above it was occupational therapy because supposedly we get paid more. I don't know that that played out. However, and that's what...
Emilia Bourland
Mm. It doesn't, it doesn't, doesn't feel like it, but okay.
Brandy Archie
God knew what I needed. Right. But that's what I needed at that moment. So I was like, okay, what's occupational therapy? And so from then on, I learned about it, understood that it was much better for my personality and has made a huge change in my life, right? Like I knew what I wanted to do as a high schooler. I love my profession. We're doing things in business now to try to boost the profession. And so to me, like, I don't even know who that lady was who came to our class.
Ashley Mahoney
you
Brandy Archie
who set up that program. But I mean, without that, I don't know how I would have came to be here, right? And so that's the thing. And so that makes me like, it's positive because my life is like completely different than it probably could have been if I hadn't found out about OT. And also it makes me have a super soft heart for doing like students driven stuff because I found out about OT. I'm like, somebody asked me to do something at school and the answer is always yes. So yeah.
Emilia Bourland
And those were both really good answers. So you both made me really think about this. And I think that there are actually, there's so many moments in all of our lives where something happens and there's a turning point, or you get some information and it makes you rethink the way that you look at the world. I would say one of the most
Ashley Mahoney
What do you got?
Brandy Archie
Sure.
Emilia Bourland
impactful things that, in my relatively recent past, that I did was actually like my first half marathon that I ran. And it was really impact. It was before I like left traditional O.T. practice and, you know, decided to go on this entrepreneurial journey. And it was also kind of at this point in my kids life where they
They were still little, but they weren't like the little littles anymore. And so they weren't needing me as much anymore. And so there was suddenly like this space that I felt I could step into where I could start reclaiming something as my own again, as opposed to something that was just about caring for other people. And like, for me, that space was beginning to like take care of myself. And so like the half marathon was like representing that.
And I will actually tell you, the half marathon didn't go that well. I finished, but I hurt myself really badly in the process. It was one of those moments where I was like, I should stop running, but I'm gonna finish because I'm too stubborn to give up when I know it's in my own self-interest, which continues to be a personality trait, for better or for worse.
Brandy Archie
No.
Ashley Mahoney
us.
Brandy Archie
but I'm gonna finish.
Emilia Bourland
But I think that I learned so much from that. It was this process of kind of reclaiming something that was just for me and reclaiming myself. And even though it didn't go as well as I wanted it to, it gave me so much confidence that I could do hard things and that if it didn't work, I was gonna be okay. And I think that I...
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
.
Emilia Bourland
Like we know these things from experience that happen in our lives, but for me that was a moment that really solidified it for me. Like I can do hard things. If it doesn't work, I can be okay. And I can get up and keep going again. And like, and if you listen to the podcast, you know that I'm actively like still a runner today. I run a lot. I've done multiple half marathons since that time very successfully. And so like that was...
I think a moment that was really transformative in the way that I thought about myself and how I proceed through my life too.
Brandy Archie
Mm.
Ashley Mahoney
That's awesome. I didn't realize you've ran a half marathon. That's very impressive.
Brandy Archie
I love that.
Emilia Bourland
You know what, here's the thing. Here's a little secret. Actually, probably almost anyone can run a half marathon. It's not as far as, I mean, it's far. It's not as far as you think it in. Here's the trick. You go very slow. If you go slow enough, you can go really far. And you gotta train, like you gotta train up. It's not like you shouldn't hop up tomorrow and try to run a half marathon, but it's more within reach than you think it is. Like many things, it's more within reach than you think it is.
Ashley Mahoney
Thank
Ashley Mahoney
You can make it.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Emilia Bourland
I've never done a full marathon because I don't have time for that. I'm too slow. I'm serious. I'm too slow to train for that. Someday when I have more time, because I'm literally, I'm more time to train because I'm too slow. I got to run longer because I'm really slow. So it takes me forever to train for these things. So like half has to be my cutoff for right now. But someday I'd love to do a full someday.
Ashley Mahoney
Yeah.
Brandy Archie
to ask you are you going to do a full marathon?
Brandy Archie
More time to train. Because you got to run longer. Yeah.
Brandy Archie
Got you.
next
Ashley Mahoney
impressive.
Brandy Archie
I love that. like, you know, the other thing that I think is really important is that I don't think we always think about how our built environment impacts our lives positively or negatively. And so the first time I ever heard of an OT also becoming a realtor, I was like, oh, I never thought of that, but that makes total sense. like, Ashley, tell us a little bit about what made you decide to pivot your career into this direction.
Emilia Bourland
Mm.
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely. Like you said, it makes total sense. But if people don't know what we do in the beginning of our career, maybe it wouldn't make as much sense. I worked in a level one trauma center in the middle of Kansas City. I saw the worst of the worst. I saw the cute, you know, right when they came in and the ICU from a stroke all the way to the rehab side, I got the luxury of being able to do both sides, inpatient and rehab all the way through and saw a lot of folks not be able to make it back to their homes.
Brandy Archie
Yeah.
Ashley Mahoney
So that was earlier on in my first chunk of my career, was just seeing impossible situations for like split level homes, like, you know, someone who can't wait there for 16 weeks and crazy things like that. And it's like, what do you do? You know, you hope that you have family in town or someone that can help you. Otherwise you go to a facility. then, I mean, you know, you know how that goes. So once I became more on the entrepreneur side, I got into marketing, about seven years ago for.
Brandy Archie
Bane of my existence.
Ashley Mahoney
therapy still and helping build programs in the community and things like that and learned about a ton of resources. I honestly wish I knew about Brandy knows this. I talk about it when we have our CEUs, we host CEUs and I talk about how many great resources there are in Kansas City that just no one knows about. And there are so many resources in Kansas City and even more like I learn about all the time now that I'm in the real estate side that like all cater on adapting someone's home.
but there are just still those situations where adapting is not an option. And I had a realtor friend who's a broker now and she's my broker in the community and she worked in the medical field. So she understands and she helps people, you know, with aging in place and finding assisted living if they need that option and selling their homes and things like that. And she helped me realize like there, there is a place for me in the real estate side of, you know, the world. I,
I kind of was able to think about it and mesh how OT and that can help because, you know, realtors, there's tons of different realtors. It's not horribly hard to, you know, become a realtor. You don't have to go through school or anything like that. And, you know, there's some that just don't care about these things that I've seen in a different light as an occupational therapist working with this population. And that won't take time to spend with, you know, people who are trying to downsize. I've done so many open houses where I've seen.
People come in to downsize their home in this multi-story home with no shower or bedroom on the main level. And I'm like, who's representing you? Who's let you come to this today? You're 72 years old and you're coming here where there's laundry in the basement and only bedrooms and baths upstairs. Like who let you come here? So I feel like if I can be more of an advocate and a resource and guide even a chunk of people, I can't help everyone, but even that little chunk of people whose quality of life I can approve still.
with my OT heart. That's kind of how I ended up getting into this.
Emilia Bourland
I just love, I mean, I love everything about what you said, but I love the idea of occupational therapists in real estate, like in this particular niche, because you're right. Sometimes we can adapt the heck out of something and make it work. Sometimes we can't. Sometimes that's just not the easiest or most financially viable option for people. Sometimes it does make more sense to move. And so having...
someone who can still see all those futures and understand how all the pieces get put together and combine that with the really important knowledge that a real estate professional has, I think is incredibly valuable in these situations. What do you think is the most important thing for people to look for if they're looking for a real estate agent and they're needing help with accessibility issues, downsizing, like that?
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely. There's a whole list of things. actually wrote them down so I wouldn't forget anything because I'm very passionate about this piece. But the first thing they need to know is when they're looking to do these things, they need to interview multiple real estate agents and they need to look at, think bigger brokerages are fine, but smaller ones sometimes will cater more because they have the ability to. So even looking into smaller real estate brokerages.
and calling and finding, you do you have anyone on staff who is a senior real estate specialist? Cause that is an actual, like just like we're OTs and we can become hand therapists or whatever we specialize in. That's something that, as a realtor we can specialize in as being a senior real estate specialist. or I think it's very rare to find OTs, but I would even ask for someone with a medical background since we're talking about all over the place, you know, in St. Louis, there's an OT that has
you know, taken off and I think there are many OTs under her that are real estate agents. and then in Kansas city, I'm the only one I know of. but there might be someone else out there that I just haven't run into yet, but I would ask, I would ask around and look for someone who has some kind of medical background in the past life, because a lot of people get out of things and get into things. Or I would ask for someone who's a senior real estate specialist and I would ask to talk to multiples. And depending on, know, the scenario, like I have some folks who are
trying to age in place. And then I have some folks who are younger and have neurological diseases that are, you know, gonna end up leading them to a power chair in the near future. So I don't think it matters if you're a senior or not, but asking for that and then finding out, depending on your situation, if you're, you know, not as tech savvy, I would want to know and ask them like, how are you gonna show me options for these houses? Like,
you and I, can get on an app and we can look and scroll and find our houses or get on the computer. But sometimes people like my parents who are just barely 60, they probably aren't going to do as well, you know, getting on a computer and trying to figure out the email and open links and look at different houses. So I would want to know, can you come to my house and show me houses on your computer? I mean, you got to think about like what's out there or you just going to bring me to random houses that I haven't even approved. And if you're okay with that, then that's fine. I would want to know.
Ashley Mahoney
how do I sign things with you? I wouldn't sign anything with anyone on day one unless you know for sure that's the one. But I would look at options and I would know how do I sign things with you? Are you gonna send me things to my email that I'm not good at opening and figuring out and clicking things that I'm gonna be confused about and need a loved one here with me? Or are you gonna bring them to my house and print them and help me go through this document so that I understand everything? So I think those are huge things to kind of look at. I would wanna know what kind of resources
Will you find me? Do you have lenders that help people like me and my specific population? Do you have different resources in the community? And if someone's not even willing to go find them for you, then that might be a red flag that they might not be willing to do things in the future. And I would just make sure that you ask all the questions, because there are never stupid questions. And home buying is the biggest purchase of your life. And if you're going to be aging there, and this is your long term,
then it's really important to know that you know everything and you're not confused about even one little subject that you feel stupid asking about. So I would say those are the biggest things. Those are the biggest. I think I had everything on my list.
Brandy Archie
I love that too because first of all, you went through all attention to detail, all the details. Like I bought a house before. And so yes, I'm, you know, on the, their app and the MLS app and clicking and not thinking nothing about it, signing on DocuSign, not thinking anything about it. But like that is, could be a foreign concept to somebody and to not have the, it's already challenging to like find the house that works for you and then like want it and move there and love it.
Emilia Bourland
Mm-hmm.
Brandy Archie
but to add additional complexities because of technology or whatever else is going on is something that sometimes we take for granted, I think. And so knowing that you can ask those questions, I find I think it's super important. You also mentioned that will the relator have access to lenders that work with people in my situation? And so I wonder if you can expand on that. Because I think everybody knows that you probably need, if you don't have
Ashley Mahoney
percent.
Brandy Archie
cash for this house, you're gonna need a mortgage, you're gonna work with a lender, it's what it is, what it is. But you're highlighting that specifically. So tell us a little bit more why.
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely, that's huge. feel like having a good lender if you can't buy with cash and a good real estate agent, particularly that can work together, but just good on both sides who will be willing to answer questions is huge. Because if you do not have cash to buy a home outright and you have to go through a lender, you have to go through a lender really before you go see a house. You should have a pre-approval letter before you go see houses.
Because if you like a house and you want to put an offer on it, say today, cause the market is what it is. And it's a seller's market right now. And if you want to buy a house right then and there and they have other offers and you have to put that offer in that night and you don't have a pre-approval letter, then you cannot, um, cannot even put an offer in. So it's huge to have your pre-approval letter, which says how much money you would be, um, offered by this lender or this bank to buy a house.
and having a lender who's able to give you options. So that's something I would interview as well. I would have multiple lenders that you could interview that are highly recommended. Local is always better. I feel like sometimes you'll see better rates and they're just more personable. It's easier to get ahold of them. They'll work nights and weekends usually. They'll respond quicker, you know, than going through a big bank, which people might have to show up in person to an email, you know, with and that.
That's the barrier, you know, when you have these older folks. So I would want to know if my parents were moving and they were doing it all on their own, like, and I wasn't a real estate agent, but now knowing this, I would want to know like, is this realtor going to cater to them and come to them, you know, to have them sign things that they couldn't do it online? And is this lender, you know, looking out for their best interest and actually explaining things to them?
and looking out for all the options that could be involved with what kind of loans you might want and not just being like, well, this is pretty standard, you know, and just kind of explaining more. So I think that's huge to not just like go search somebody on Google, but to get more word of mouth recommendations and find someone who can kind of cater to your specific needs.
Emilia Bourland
I have a question about, well, okay, let me see how I can frame this up. So I think one of the most valuable things about having someone like an occupational therapist who is also your realtor is probably the fact that if you have an accessibility issue, like Ashley, you have the ability to pre-screen homes for someone and say, yes, this is gonna be good or no, this is gonna be too big of a problem.
and so you're saving people a ton of time and heartache just by, filtering out the things that are absolutely not going to work to begin with. But then there's also the side where it's also probably relatively rare to go into any home and have it be absolutely perfect for someone's needs. And so can you talk a little bit about like situations where you help someone they found the house, like this is going to be the best fit.
They love the house. But then you might also need to talk them through, OK, here are some particular modifications that you might need to think about. Like, these are things that not anyone can do, but like you can do. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Ashley Mahoney
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there's been quite a few clients that come to mind, but one more particularly is a gentleman that I'm helping right now who has ALS pretty young. And we're obviously looking at eventually transitioning to a power wheelchair. And I went out of my way to meet with the ALS association to find other resources, which there aren't many, but there is one for ramps. So even a ranch home that we have found.
it's still gonna need a little bit of something to help get, you know, get him in and like doors widened because you know, the power wheelchair needs to be, you know, a certain amount of inches. Like it can't just be the standard 32 inches for a power wheelchair. And so we knew what size he's moving to, cause I'm working with the social worker as well on the side. And we just, knew all these different details, you know, that we have to find to make this house work. But if I didn't know some of these things or
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
willing to go out in my way to talk to an association for a specific disease, then they might have been paying out more money or possibly finding a home that then wasn't going to work for them and the power chair wouldn't been accessible both in and outside of the home. that's just one one example that came to mind.
Brandy Archie
Yeah, I think it's like so that's like, it's so important to be future thinking when you're getting a house, right? And so none of us as humans are very good at planning ahead. Like we always assume, Amelia, we talked about this in an episode a few weeks ago about that we were just gonna assume that everything's gonna be fine till we die and then we're done, you know, but most of the time we need some level of help and.
If you haven't been a caregiver for somebody and seen some of those changes that happen, you might either expect that nothing's going to change for you or that there's, you won't just kind of know what are things to think about. And I think one of our superpowers as OTs, and when we're looking at people's homes where they live, is that we've seen hundreds of thousands of patients, right? And the things that can happen as we get older, even just getting older without a disease process.
and how sometimes really small things that you wouldn't even notice when it comes to buying a house make a huge impact in your ability to function when things change. And so like, it's such a big benefit to have an OT's brain on the situation to be able to like pre-plan out what might come down the pike and how we could like choose house A over house B, cause I like them both.
because house A is going to be more accessible. Do you feel, and so in that frame, and I know this is like specific to Kansas City, but just like in general, are there, have you, how do you feel about the housing stock? Like, do you have a lot of good options to send people to, to be like, yes, there's a whole community of ranch houses over here. This is where I like to hang out over here and work for some of my clients who need this or like.
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely.
Brandy Archie
I know people like to live in certain communities because they've got community there and that's important. So like how do you navigate all of that like complexity I guess.
Ashley Mahoney
and then, yeah.
Ashley Mahoney
yeah, it's definitely very specific to each individual. Obviously, like the most perfect world would be everyone could fall in this one price range where we could go build a new build. Cause they're building a lot of new builds right now in the community. They're all a little bit further out from the city. They just go a little bit further out now, but all, all of these new additions have ranch home options and it's just phenomenal. And they're all building walk-in showers.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Brandy Archie
Yeah.
Brandy Archie
Yep.
Brandy Archie
that's great.
Ashley Mahoney
And you know, they're already, they've already prepped. We've already learned. already have the baby boomers going on. You know, we are building tons of new ranch homes and that is just most. Yeah, that's the most ideal. mean, they obviously have other options and all the neighborhoods that are building, but there's so many builders that they're reverse ranches and they're ranches and you know, and it's just, gosh, if we could just be in that perfect price range and everybody would be okay with being.
Brandy Archie
That's great, I didn't know that.
Brandy Archie
Sure.
Ashley Mahoney
15, 20 minutes from downtown Kansas City and the Metro, know, that would be like the most ideal situation, but not everybody's in that price range. So, you know, lower than that, there are older ranch homes. They all look about the same. I'll tell you, I've seen about 70 of them and they all, they all look the same. There's one client who I'm, I was talking about that falls in this price range and we've been looking at these ranch homes and they're all older. They're all close to, you know, just right under a hundred years old. They all have.
the same structure, the same similar issues you can get in the front. You usually can't get out the back because it's usually down in the basement. It's usually, you know, out in the garage to get down to the basement. But there's a lot over, both on the Kansas, Missouri side and like Lee's Summit side of these homes that I'm talking about that are ranch homes that are very, very doable as long as you can stay on the main level. And there's a lot that have, you know, laundry on the first floor too. So there's a lot of really great options.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
in the downtown and like Lee summit and Raymore or Raytown area. But then out, you get to Overland Park Olathe and the Johnson County side, these like longer ranch homes turn into like smaller box homes. And there's a lot of ranch homes that size, still same age, but there weren't a lot in the middle, you know, in the middle price range, they're all a little bit older homes or you get a brand new one. You know what I mean? There's not.
a lot of options both ways. It's like they just stopped building ranch homes for a while in Kansas.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Emilia Bourland
I think that's so interesting how, I mean, real estate and architecture are so geographically specific. in Texas, we don't have basements because the soil quality here doesn't really support that. So that's a totally different thing. And I think, I've done a ton of home assessments and home modifications and consulting all over like DFW.
Brandy Archie
Yes.
Emilia Bourland
But if you pick me up and you put me in like upstate New York, that would be a totally different learning curve for me, right? And just knowing that housing stock and having someone who's really, really familiar with it is very valuable, again, in like the home search and home buying situation.
Ashley Mahoney
Yeah, yeah, it is so crazy how different it is everywhere.
Emilia Bourland
It is, yeah, it's nuts. It also is kind of like fun, I think, to go explore different areas and see how different houses are built and like, you know, how does that reflect upon the culture 100 years ago? And I think all that stuff is really, really fascinating, actually. Moving, though, kind of to shift topics a little bit, moving is also really an emotional journey. It's emotional in the best of circumstances.
If someone is moving because they are having an illness or an injury or there's an accessibility issue, it becomes way more emotional. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Ashley Mahoney
capsule.
Absolutely. Change is hard for everyone, as we all know, and hear a million times, you know? And it's absolutely true, especially when it revolves around the most expensive thing you're ever buying. It's absolutely emotional and things that, you know, a home, it's where you grew, you know, your family maybe, you know, for 50 years and, you know, you and your husband might be getting older and your family wants you to move somewhere else, but...
This is where you made all your memories in your life and you just think that you're going to pass away in your sleep with, know, your loved one one night and that will be it. Kind of like you guys mentioned, and it's just not the case. mean, there's just, I've had clients who are, you know, getting to the age where family members are starting to be like, okay, like we've got to do something like you can't keep living here. And it's really hard on people to get to that place emotionally, especially when maybe cognition is impaired and you know, they're just there.
Brandy Archie
Mm-hmm.
Emilia Bourland
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
I feel like maybe our generation might be more open to change, but sometimes the older generation who worked really hard for what they have and just the husband drives and pays all the bills and the wife just has no experience with driving or paying bills. They can't even fathom like we have to move somewhere just in case the husband passes. Like people don't want to talk about death sometimes, you know, but what if the husband goes to the hospital? Like I have a particular client in mind now, you know who I'm like, everything's fine right now, but if something happens.
Brandy Archie
you
Emilia Bourland
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Mahoney
How are you gonna drive yourself? Like you can't drive, you've never driven and what would you do? So being in a, even contemplating whether I'm pro staying in home as long as possible. The research shows quality of life is higher when you live at your home or family members home versus moving into a typical nursing home, you would say. But nowadays they have things like assisted livings that are full blown communities.
and luxury and all of these other things, increased socialization. So it's not a bad thing. And people don't realize, I think that you could still make that a home if that's the best option in certain situations like these impossible ones where like sometimes the husband is still the only one paying bills and driving and what would happen to the wife. But if you're already in a community that you make your home and that you have an apartment or a condo or a villa, there's just so many options here in Kansas City.
and bigger cities, I'm sure there's not quite as many in the rural areas, but here there's just so many options and so many things to think about where you want to definitely find good representation and someone who might be better educated on that to help support the family and the client who it might be so emotional and might be resistant and it might be, you know, poor on me to be like.
No, let's go buy a Let's go buy a Let's just buy a little small home, a ranch home that'll be easier for you. When really I'm like, I think that this might be an option where you need to go to a decent assisted living that you would be happy with. Obviously you have to vet them all out. can't just be like, let's just go to one. Because I don't think people realize what options there are out there. I think people just think of nursing homes immediately. And we think of the pee smelling hallways and just the
back in the days when they'd make movies about them. And I think that it's very emotional for people to come to that realization that there needs to be a different solution. And I feel like it comes down to someone being responsible and open and willing to think about these changes and possibilities. So I think there's a lot that plays into it. And I always try to respect whatever someone's decision is. And I would never push someone to do anything that they wouldn't.
Ashley Mahoney
happy doing, but I feel like what I've seen on the medical side, you know, helps me have that other edge to kind of stronger educate families like on different situations and what might be more feasible for someone. I feel like I'm just a mini social worker case manager without the degree and you know, really learn a therapist some days. So
Brandy Archie
Exactly.
Emilia Bourland
I mean, you are a lot of things. I think, I mean, first of all, one of the things that we should say is like, if you're in the Kansas City area, I'm sure you want to know how you could get in touch with Ashley for her services because clearly they're incredibly unique. I mean, what I'm sitting here thinking though, as I'm listening to you describe all of the things that you do for your clients and all of the pieces of the puzzle that you put together.
for them is like, my gosh, we have to have more Ashley's in the world. Like we have to have more Ashley's in the world. We need to have more OTs who are stepping into real estate rules and other healthcare providers too, so we can start thinking about these bigger pictures. And also I think you bring up some really good points about like making sure that you're thinking about, which of course it's always the job of any professional.
Ashley Mahoney
We do, that would be great.
Brandy Archie
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland
to ethically think about the best recommendations and the needs of their client before anything else. But I think that you have such a unique viewpoint as an occupational therapist in doing that because you have this broader knowledge base to say, here are some other options. And also, you know, this other like deep down ethical code that we all carry with us as occupational therapists too, to think about
justice and non-maleficence, which just means that's just fancy for do no harm. And all of these other things that we have to bring to the table whenever we're interacting with folks in whatever professional capacity. I just want to say thank you for what you do, because I think it's pretty incredible, Ashley.
Ashley Mahoney
Yes. Well, thank you. Thank you.
Brandy Archie
I'm so glad you brought that up, brought that out of what Ashley said, Emilia, because I was thinking the exact same thing. In terms of finances, it's a fiduciary, right? You want to work with a financial advisor who's a fiduciary because they're ethically bound to help you first before helping themselves. And it's part of our ethics code as occupational therapists. so I'm not saying that if you end up with a realtor who is not a clinician, that they're not going to help you well.
But when you have a broader base of knowledge about all the options, then it just gives you better information to make better decisions, right? For now and for the future. And so I think that's just like really important to be considering because they might push you towards a rare charm. And like you said, like, you know that there's also alternative options that are not necessarily that. And you should, you as the buyer should be able to like have all the options on the table so you can make the best decision.
And of course if people are in Kansas City, should be working with Ashley. And if you can't find an OT realtor in your area, it is possible to find an occupational therapist that could consult, that you could hire to consult with you as you go around with your realtor. So like this is a thing that I've done virtually with people. So they're deciding between two places maybe, and because what my expertise is, is I'm modifying home. It's like, hey, I like these both. Which one's going to be easier for making the modifications?
Emilia Bourland
Mm-hmm.
Brandy Archie
And then we talk through that process and like make decisions and think about the bigger picture, right? That goes with it. So like, that would be like my third option for you. you can't find, if you're not in Kansas City and you can't find an OT in your area, that's a realtor. Consult with an OT in private practice who can help you with that too.
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's great.
Emilia Bourland
Yeah, that's actually really awesome advice. I'm glad that you gave that because I'm sure there are people listening like, well, what are the chances that I can find an OT who's also real estate? Probably pretty slim, but there's, so there you go. Like there's an option for you. Ashley, before we wrap up here, where can people find you to work with you?
Ashley Mahoney
Absolutely. Sure. Obviously, my cell phone is probably the easiest option. I love to talk on the phone first versus just texting. I love to meet for coffee first too as well. So do you want me to just give my phone number out here on here or how do you do these things?
Emilia Bourland
think that's up to your comfort level. I probably wouldn't give my cell phone out to go out over the internet, but do you have a website or something? Do you have a website where folks can find you and maybe fill out a contact form or something like that? Okay.
Ashley Mahoney
I know, I'm like, yes, yes, yes. Absolutely, let me pull that up because gosh, I should have my website memorized by now and I just don't. I always get it confused with my email. But I don't go to my website very often, but everyone on here should know, I'm just kidding. Okay, yeah, it's Ashley, A-S-H-L-E-Y, bossreality.com.
Emilia Bourland
Hahaha!
That's hilarious.
Emilia Bourland
And we will link that in the show notes as well. folks, you're listening, if you're watching, you should be able to go to the show notes and just click on that link and you can find Ashley there.
Ashley Mahoney
Perfect. Perfect.
Emilia Bourland
Ashley, thank you so much for being on this episode of Care Lab. Yeah, you're awesome. We need to come up with an excuse to have you on again. And I'm sure there are many layers of this onion that we can keep peeling with you. And we would love to do that. Listener, if you made it to the end of the episode, please make sure that you are liking and subscribing. Go find another episode. Download it. Leave a comment. Tell us what you think. And ask your questions, because these are all great ways to make sure that
Brandy Archie
Thank you so much for being on.
Ashley Mahoney
Yes, thank you guys for having me.
Emilia Bourland
other people who can benefit from this content are actually finding it as well. Until then, we'll see you next time right here on Care Lab. Bye!
Brandy Archie
Bye everybody.
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