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Growing Trend: Multiple Generations Opting To Live Together

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) – It is real-estate week at CBSLA. On Monday, we focus on a growing trend in which multiple generations are opting to live together or close to each other.

Laverne Hanson is part of that trend.  Her residence is within her daughter's home in Murrieta. "I brag about it to everybody. And when people ask about it, they say: Oh, a casita? And I say: No! It's not a casita. It's a home within a home," she said.

Her residence is a one-bedroom apartment with its own private entrance, complete with a kitchen, bathroom and even a washer and dryer. The only thing that separates Hanson from her family is a wall.

"I don't hear them. And hopefully, they don't hear me carrying on over here because I hate to get kicked out for having loud parties," Hanson joked.

"We try to give her her privacy, especially with the kids. We taught them since we moved in. We have a little doorbell or they have to knock and say: 'Mimi, can I come in?' We don't just barge on into her house. And she does the same for us," Hanson's daughter Kristi Elmore said.

Elmore knew she wanted her mother to move in with the family when she was looking at homes.

"My mom was living on her own for the first time in a long time. And there were incidents where she would be home alone and would be sick or I would get a call in the morning that she went to the hospital," Elmore said. "I felt like I was never there for her."

Giving family members a peace of mind is what it is all about. And home builders like Lennar are listening.

Valerie Sheets of Lennar Homes said: "We created a solution to something that people just American families were looking for. We just saw that multi-generational living in general was making a resurgence. It's not a new concept, but in new home development, it is. We just kind of brought it back."

Lennar is not alone in the multi-generational floor plans. Southern California based KB Homes has added junior master suites into their new builds.

"If you have in-laws here, they can go into their own room. They can have their own cup of coffee in the morning. They can have their own little refrigerator and microwave. They can even do their own laundry in there," said Craig Lemessurier of KB Homes. "It really gives you the space to get away from sometimes chaos or sometimes just a place to relax."

It's giving families their independence without out losing their privacy in return, bringing generations closer together.

On Tuesday, we will show you the newest technology in home building inside Southern California first gigabit community.

You can send us your real estate questions using #CBSLArealestateweek. We will answer them live on Friday.

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