Today a lot of us will squeeze every generation around one table. Grandparents, parents, kids, maybe a cousin who just moved back home. For more families every year, that table isn’t just for the holidays.

Parents are getting older and want to stay close. Adult kids are trying to save in a market that doesn’t make it easy. Childcare costs what a second mortgage used to. So families are doing what families have always done: making room for each other.

The question I hear is, “How do we actually afford a home that fits all of us?” Here’s what I’ve learned.

Why more families are living together

Caring for aging parents. Keeping Mom or Dad close, with their own space, is often better for everyone than a facility across town.

Giving adult kids a head start. A few years at home, paying little or no rent, can turn into the down payment on their own place.

Sharing the load. More hands for school pickups, more people chipping in, and a home that works harder for the whole family.I don’t think about the loan. I think about what that home becomes for your family.

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I don’t think about the loan. I think about what that home becomes for your family.

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Three ways to make room for everyone

1. The right floor plan. A downstairs bedroom and bath, a separate entrance, a second living area. Some homes already work for two or three generations. You just have to know what to look for and shop for it on purpose.

2. An ADU. This is the one I’m most passionate about. With the right renovation loan, you may be able to finance an ADU at the time of purchase, so you don’t need to come up with the cash to build it. Grandma gets her own front door. Your adult kid gets a real place to save from. Here’s how building an ADU without cash works.

3. Buying together. Depending on the loan, family members’ income may help you qualify for more home than you could alone. It takes clear planning about who owns what and who pays what, but for many families it’s the piece that makes it possible.

If you already own a home

Move-up buyers have the most options right now. The equity in your current home could become the down payment on a property with room for everyone, and you may not have to sell first. Here’s how buying before you sell works.

And if the perfect multigenerational home is a fixer, that may be the opportunity. Here’s why the ugly house might be the right one.

What I believe

I believe a home can be the thing that keeps a family together and gets the next generation ahead. The equity, the zip code, the room for a parent to move in someday. That’s legacy, and it’s why I do this work.

If your family has been talking about living together, the conversation worth having now is how to make it work on paper before you fall in love with a house.